DISQUS

Chris Sanderson · 1 year ago

I must admit I am a HUGE Apple TV fan. I have three choices when it comes to getting the latest US TV Shows

- Wait for it to arrive locally on TV.... and you think downloads are slow...
- Grab it from a Bit Torrent Site and watch it on my laptop
- Subscribe to the show at iTunes and stream it to my Plasma to watch at my leisure.

Sure it takes a while to download from iTunes but there's plenty to do in the mean time.. :-)

Watching YouTube on the Apple TV is another matter though, very choppy... not great at all.

Tony Pannone · 1 year ago

Ok I agree with all that has been stated. Let's look at the technology and where it is going. Think wireless, I will tie it all in at the end.
In the US we use two different technologies for our wireless providers, CDMA and GSM. Both with the right equipment can blow DSL speeds out of the water and rival most cable providers. Using their EVDO and HSDPA/CDMA2000 (3G networks). There is already technology to acheive 280Mbs in bandwidth speeds. It's called Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Mobile_Broad...
It is the combination of both technologies at their best.
Remember this....when the FM radio was invented, it got locked away for 20 years! Why? Because there was still a ton money left to be made on AM radio. What! They held out on new technology just so they could make a few more pennies? Want more proof? Why does the US come in 12th for Internet speeds? Yes because it is bigger and in some cases Dial-up/Satellite are the only options. Cell phone coverage does not quite reach everybody and may never. However our major cities don't compete either. Do a Google search for world Internet speeds. You'll see.
What does wireless have to do with the story? Why would we ever need Internet speeds of 280Mbs? Well faster Internet of course. But what you can do with faster other than view more pages? With those speeds you could download a movie in less than one minute (HD programs are about 15-20 times in size). What would happen if your cable companies merge with your wireless carriers? And they had the ability to put cell phone type modems in side your TVs? Cable lines would no longer need to exsist. On demand TV Internet! Space still a problem?
My only coral with story is that it is compared with current technology. It's technology don't be "out dated". Any time you have an "awe ha" technology is usually involved. Current status que will always win when compared to new technology for the first time. Look at TV's and cell phones.
Ever said "I am not going to get one" and did?
Plus you don't get much of a choice if that is what they are selling.

John Cannava · 1 year ago

Great comments above. One point that hasn't been made is the nature of the question. The question is based on the premise that as a consumer, the purchase of hardware would be required to view an undefined internet television product. Had the question been phrased as, "How much would you pay to watch your favorite television shows, movies, internet shows whenever you wanted at a per-view download rate?" I believe the results would be more encouraging. Even more, to tap/generate a market for such services, consumers need to be provided with a vision of the value proposition such technology provides. The average person doesn't buy hardware, they buy entertainment. If content providers have learned anything from the music industry, they'll view the impending marriage of television and the internet as a new business model from which profits can be made rather than a threat to their current advertising-based business.