AppleTV

There is no doubt that the Internet has had a profound impact on many media industries. Newspapers are being ravaged by blogs and online news, the music industry has been transformed by MP3 players and file sharing websites and e-commerce solutions continue e to redefine how the world shops for goods. However, one media area that has not seen a substantial change with Internet technology is television and movies largely because systems and hardware that replace the living room viewing experience have not yet developed. That was until the last year and a half when some promising new services and technologies have surfaced that are poised to change who can give us video content and the way we watch it.

AppleTV is leading the way in developing a standardized Internet gateway for your living room. On demand technologies and Internet equipped television services have been around for over a decade. However, all of these systems coupled computer like functions with content from service providers who already dominated cable and satellite programming like DirecTV, Cox or Comcast in each area. The difference with AppleTV is that content is browsed, paid for and viewed in a completely unique interface running on the iTunes network. From my personal experimentation with my own AppleTV that I purchased in December, I think that the future of Internet TV systems will be defined by the ease of use of the hardware that links the content from the Internet to your living room and the content it offers.

Much of the current commentaries and research on what AppleTV will mean for television media was done before Apple’s latest firm wire update was released. The genius of AppleTV is that with a simple software update that can be initiated from your couch, Apple can upgrade all past AppleTVs with new media service programs. This latest update, has addressed AppleTV’s main, initial complaint, the inability for users to browse content directly on AppleTV. Previously all media had to be downloaded and managed from the computer base station, which was then automatically synced to the hard drive. Now, Apple has created a vivid browsing interface for movies, music, TV shows, Podcasts, Flickr albums and YouTube videos. The ‘My Movies’ option, for content that used to be managed on your computer, has been relegated to the last choice on the browsing lists as it is evident Apple wants you paying for and directly downloading all of your newest content. Movies can be rented for $3.99 where they sit on your hard drive for 30 days until you hit play, after which you have 24 hours to finish them. They are then deleted and returned to the iTunes store. TV Shows can be purchased for $1.99 an episode or by varying lump sums depending on season length. Music is the standard $.99 per song $9.99 per album and most pod casts are free.

With this newest update there is no doubt that Apple is now committed to expanding the potential of AppleTV to be an Internet media gateway for the masses. In comparison with Joost, a highly anticipated Internet television system which I was able to test yesterday, the programming on AppleTV is currently much deeper and its on my 32” high definition living room screen, while Joost is only on my computer. But the question is, will the average Joe, who will be buying most of his content from AppleTV, think that the advertising free, a la carte prices are fair and see it as an alternative to normal television; probably not for a while. AppleTVs movie rental and television shows can be compared to OnDemand, a system that people have been used to for quite some time now. What AppleTV must bolster is its free or very cheap programming that will supplement the premium pay per view options so users do not feel like they are constantly throwing two and three dollar bills down the drain. Apple has been able to do that to an extent with its Podcast selection and YouTube feature. All Podcasts are free and include everything from action sports video blogs to 30 minute Anderson Cooper reports to old re-runs of Comedy Central’s The Man Show.

This Podcast section is the most promising element of iTunes and AppleTV because anyone can make and upload a podcast. This is very exciting for the reinvigoration of the public sphere. Podcasts are a refreshing hope for young, independent and technically savvy journalists, writers and film makers looking distribute their works. While discussing his new book “The Assault on Reason” with Jon Stewart, Al Gore stated, “Internet is a beacon of hope for democracy due to low entry barriers and active contributive efforts.” The technologies that make it possible to share this new Internet media easily and efficiently in the company of family and friends in front of the big screen will be in demand in the future. It is evident that Jobs intends to use iTunes, iPod Video, iPhone and AppleTV to continue to redefine how we get our media. Jobs has began conversations with Jeff Zucker of NBC universal again after their content was pulled from iTunes last fall for fear that “Jobs would ruin the video business the same way he’d destroyed the music business.” Jobs commitment to resolve stalemates and secure premium content after the writer’s strike has ended is promising for iTunes and AppleTV’s future. I believe that the general discontent with mundane mainstream programming will convince users to experiment with internet gateways that offer a la carte and independent programming like AppleTV in the years to come.