
Does the New iMac Foretell the Next Apple TV? - newacc
http://theappleblog.com/2009/10/23/does-the-new-imac-foretell-the-next-apple-tv/
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randallsquared
No. A 40-inch iMac is almost certainly not in the cards. The display input is
an awesome idea, but mainly because displays are typically longer-lived than
the rest of the computer. I can see a lot of people buying a 27" iMac and
then, in 2-3 years, buying a Mac Pro and plugging it into their existing iMac
for the screen.

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martingordon
I don't see anyone buying an iMac instead of an HDTV. The resolution on the
iMac is way overkill for 10 ft viewing, but is great for computing. If Apple
were to release a 40" computer (with 1080p resolution), it would more likely
be branded Apple TV (or something new) than iMac.

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sjs
Not so crazy really. Samsung and other HDTV manufacturers are already starting
to include a barebones PC running Windows in their television sets. I was
quite skeptical of the article until the last paragraph reminded me of this.
It would be a stretch for Apple but people laughed when they heard Apple was
making a phone. I like Apple but still wasn't sure about them going up against
the likes of Nokia, and now _Nokia_ is scrambling to catch up. Apple has the
ability to shake things up.

> Do I think this is definitely the direction Apple is moving with the iMac?
> Not necessarily, but its actions thus far have certainly got me thinking
> about it and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple make a strong play at the
> high-end of the HDTV market. In a few years you may be able to buy 30, 40
> and 50 inch iMacs, at a premium over standard HDTVs, but with a lot more
> functionality built-in. It’s certainly Apple’s style to go into an industry
> and try to slice off the top 10 percent of market share, which also happens
> to include the lion’s share of the profits. It’s done it in computers, it’s
> done it with cell phones, why not with HDTVs

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the_real_r2d2
HDTV and PC vendors will converge to a similar product. In Europe the
iniciative is called Hybrid Broadcast Broadband (<http://www.hbbtv.org/>). One
of the pushers I think is the BBC.

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jodrellblank
Was thinking about this yesterday, when I realised that with an EyeTV the 27"
iMac would be larger and have more features than our current LCD TV and DVD
playing/hard disk recording device, and look neater too.

Also when I compared it to a colleague spending most of a thousand UK pounds
on a 32" Samsung TV with a media player, ethernet port, basic web browser and
USB ports in it, even at the current price the basic 27" is not terribly far
away from that.

They could be a good TV now with the right TV Tuner and good software.

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ajg1977
A 32" 1080p HDTV is about $500-$700 at the moment depending on the brand.
Nobody looking for a TV is going to spend 3x as much on an iMac that has a
smaller screen and a single input that can't even be used with most
consoles/dvd/bluray players - good luck finding an HDMI/Component to Mini
DisplayPort adapter.

Apple may one day get into the TV market with some TV/AppleTV hybrid, but when
they do it'll either need to be a lot cheaper or a lot bigger than the 27"
iMac to stand a chance.

In the meantine, if you're desperate for a TV that runs some version of OSX
then buy a Mac Mini and a 40" HDTV. Not only do you get more for your money
but it's better suited for any non-computing purpose.

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jodrellblank
_A 32" 1080p HDTV is about $500-$700 at the moment depending on the brand._

£800 for the Samsung one I was talking about, which is ~$1300, plus a couple
of hundred for a DVD player / HD recorder and the base 27" iMac at £1350 is
30% more not 3x more.

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gojomo
An Apple-branded big-screen HDTV might explain the 'mystery shipping costs'
forecast by Apple for the next quarter. [1]

I'd love to see in such a true Apple TV:

\- 2 iPod-connector docks

\- video-camera

\- built-in infrared corner-LEDs (to support Wii-style pointing-controllers)

[1] [http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/20/apples-
sauce-34-billion...](http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/20/apples-
sauce-34-billion-in-cash-stock-peaks-and-mysterious-shipping-anomalies/)

