Sam Oliver
Released last month, the new Mac mini with an HDMI port starts at $699 and allows easy connectivity to an HDTV. HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a cabling standard intended for home theater, built on top of the computer-oriented DVI, or Digital Video Interface, specification.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has long been convinced that Apple wants to get into the HDTV business, and he interpreted the introduction of the first Mac with an HDMI port as evidence that the Cupertino, Calif., company is continuing on that path. He still believes that Apple would introduce such a product within the next 2 to 4 years.
He also acknowledged that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said last month that the Apple TV product remains a hobby because there isn't a viable market, due to the fact that existing set top boxes are heavily subsidized by cable operators. "That pretty much squashes any opportunity for innovation," Jobs said at the All Things D conference, "because nobody's willing to buy a set top box."
But Munster said he believes Apple could solve all of these hurdles with an Internet-connected, all-in-one Apple television.
"In the connected TV market software, content and portability would be key differentiators for Apple with a premium all-in-one solution (different than Apple TV or Mac mini)," he wrote. "The set top box and live TV content are the primary hurdles that remain."
Munster's solution sees Apple offering an Internet-based iTunes TV subscription for between $50 and $90 per month, effectively replacing a user's $85-per-month average cable bill and offering access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels.
"Additionally, this hurdle could be solved with the addition of an App Store for the TV, offering apps like Hulu Plus (currently available for the iPhone and iPad) with current TV content through Hulu for $10/month," he said.
The Hulu Plus applications and premium service were launched this week, offering viewers the ability to watch every episode of every season of a number of shows from broadcast networks in the U.S. However, the CEO of Hulu has insisted that the service is not intended to replace a customer's cable subscription.
Munster believes Apple could be the savior of the TV business, where the average selling price of HDTVs and home entertainment has fallen by more than 50 percent. He believes a connected TV with a greater emphasis on software and Web content could lift the average selling prices of HDTVs. Apple, as a company experienced in marrying hardware and software, would be an ideal fit, he said.
"History shows that Apple can succeed by redefining mature markets (portable music, mobile phone)," he said. "Home entertainment systems aare combinations of an expensive HDTV, complicated A/V components, and a monthly service fee often with a total sticker price of $2,000+... We believe Apple is uniquely positioned to combine these elements and charge a premium ($2,000) for an Apple-branded television at a sticker price that would be competitive with most home entertainment systems."
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31 Comments
Hmm... this could be very interesting.
As someone who works in the Audio/Visual field, I'd be very interested in seeing what Apple could come up with.
There certainly is potential for Apple to own this space - it certainly would require something special.
I look forward to see how things unfold...
See this blog in today's New York Times: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...ving-room/?hpw
I suppose there's a segment of the marketplace that this might work for, but I think a vast majority of people are used to having access to a lot of different content, not just TV shows or movies. Until they figure out how to provide at least the same accessibility to real-time news, sports, weather, financial channels, etc, any offering in this space, even from Apple, will have a much narrower appeal than a cable set top box. Content is king, and right now, the cable and sat operators still can deliver a lot more than an Apple TV
Perhaps if Apple built in some cable or sat tuning and sold it as a stand alone, customer purchased box like a TiVo or Moxi DVR...but then, you're back to the content and revenue stream being the operator and not apple (I know TiVo charges a monthly fee for their guide service, but last I heard, they are struggling to maintain the value add....)
I dont see any connection between Apple releasing the new Mini and the possibility of an Apple internet TV. I would imagine that a smart, internet HDTV from Apple might replace the need for an Apple TV, but you wouldn't want both, nor a smart TV and a Mini to buy as well, and so this analyst is making up a link to support a view he already has.
I do think that the new Mini with its sleeker aluminum design and media-friendly HDMI connector means Apple want Minis in the home. My guess is they will now sit back for quite a while and see what people do, then decide whether to kill the Apple TV and how much to push the Mini in the home with new negotiated content or perhaps Tivo-like front end and ability to communicate with cable cards, or whatever is the result of this experiment.
There's NO WAY Apple would EVER jump into a low-margin commodity business like selling television sets.
Their strategy of selling devices that can connect to ANY HD television set 9or monitor) makes FAR more sense.
Just look at one brand and see how many models they sell. That sort of strategy is so far from Apple's, it's ludicrous to entertain.
When will these idiotic analysts figure that one out?
It makes as much sense as Apple starting to make assault rifles. iKill?