Apple's TV hobby

Circa 2011, I bought a new TV. big one with all the fancy "smart TV"
stuff like built-in Netflix app etc.

I also got a Sony Blue Ray, which also has many apps.


The Sharp TV no longer gets any software updates, and I think I lost the
YOutube app on it (not 100% sure there was ever one though).

A couple of weeks ago, a Canadian documentary about 2 journalists out to
interview the leader of North Korea became available on YouTube.
Unfortunatly, you could only get the HD version on "current" YouTube
*apps*, not via the web.

I am not about to replace a perfectly good TV just to get more modern
software on it. The solution ? turn the TV into a dumb monitor and put a
"box" in front of it with upgreadable software and apps in it.


Unless Sony/Samsung/LG/Sharp start to build TVs whose software can be
upgraded in the long term, I am starting to see a future for devices
such as Apple TV which provide the upgreadable Smart TV functions once
the TV's own have become outdated.

Apple may be that patient cat, waiting without a single move for the
right time to pounce.

When I originally got the Sharp TV, I saw no reason for me to ever buy
an Apple TV box. Now I do. (or some other box since Apple's tend to be
proprietary).

Apple will need to add a built-in OTA tuner though. If i am to turn my
TV into a monitor, I want to ditch its remote control and have the TV
fundtions controlled entirely by the box.

 

Yeah, massive problem with what can be one of the
most expensive consumer items many people have.

The manual should at least mention that if it was.

That's why your Sharp TV no longer gets any updates,
Kim Jong Un's goons have sabotaged your TV when
they discovered that you wanted to watch that.

The death squad will be round any day now, they are just
a bit busy killing everyone who wants to watch that doco.

I've always gone that route myself.

It isnt clear what is going to happen about that.

Trouble is that Apple TV has the same problem. If you want
to be able to do the latest thing, have your ipad or iphone
send that doco to your Apple TV directly, you need to buy
a new Apple TV if you had one of the earlier ones.

But they aren't pouncing when just and Apple
TV and a stupid TV alone won't do anything
like what the latest smart TVs can do.

Certainly a useful approach if you have other stuff
like an ipad or iphone but I can't see that too many
of the technoklutzes will find that approach as easy
to use as a decently done smart TV.

And not well enough designed in the first place.

It should have always been able to used with just
the Apple TV and an iphone or ipad, no network.

In which case it would basically be a full smart TV with no screen.

Certainly there is a market for something like that, but
its hard to say if Apple is interested in that approach.

Or that there will be that many stupid TVs to use with it.

I'm not sure that's true of most who watch TV tho.

And if Apple TV was enhanced in the way you propose,
you really need to go much further and have a full
multichannel PVR as well so that everything is in the
one box with a nice clean UI which is certainly something
Apple can do very well indeed when they want to.

I doubt Apple will be going that route tho or even doing
the massive great 80" monitors it would need either.