10-31-2011, 09:22 AM
When looking at this stuff from an investing standpoint, you have step away from being young and technically competent/geeky. Yes, all of us are able to rig stuff up with game consoles or, even better, hooking our PC up to the TV directly and using XMBC (which I did for a long time).
But...the average family ISN'T technically competent. I know this because everyone in my wife's family (as well as neighbors) are constantly calling me to come help them fix something or get it working in the first place. I'm sure most people on this board have experienced the same thing.
The average person wants something that just works, that they don't have to screw around with and configure and so on. Plus in most family households, the Playstation/Xbox/whatever isn't attached to the main family TV, because the adults want to watch TV, not fight for control of it with their game-addicted kids.
Yes, there are more and more TVs/blu-ray players that have Netflix/Amazon/whatever streaming built in, but most people don't buy new TVs very often, especially in this economy. And most people buy cheaper-end blu-ray players that don't have streaming, or bought earlier models that didn't have it (ours doesn't). So there is a big market for add-on boxes - AppleTV and Roku between them have sold many millions of units.
But I agree, an add on box isn't ideal. People don't want to screw around with changing inputs, depending on what they are watching. Which is why I think an Apple-designed TV that is fully integrated (no changing inputs), and has Apple's typical "it just works" ease of use, will sell big.
And Slamz, Apple already has streaming on Apple TV, it's just a per-item approach, not an all-you-can-eat monthly subscription. I can buy or rent movies or TV shows, and stream them instantly. I know they are working on a subscription plan that will let you dump cable and just get the channels you want, but the cable providers are fighting tooth and nail to block it. But it's gonna happen sooner or later.
But...the average family ISN'T technically competent. I know this because everyone in my wife's family (as well as neighbors) are constantly calling me to come help them fix something or get it working in the first place. I'm sure most people on this board have experienced the same thing.
The average person wants something that just works, that they don't have to screw around with and configure and so on. Plus in most family households, the Playstation/Xbox/whatever isn't attached to the main family TV, because the adults want to watch TV, not fight for control of it with their game-addicted kids.
Yes, there are more and more TVs/blu-ray players that have Netflix/Amazon/whatever streaming built in, but most people don't buy new TVs very often, especially in this economy. And most people buy cheaper-end blu-ray players that don't have streaming, or bought earlier models that didn't have it (ours doesn't). So there is a big market for add-on boxes - AppleTV and Roku between them have sold many millions of units.
But I agree, an add on box isn't ideal. People don't want to screw around with changing inputs, depending on what they are watching. Which is why I think an Apple-designed TV that is fully integrated (no changing inputs), and has Apple's typical "it just works" ease of use, will sell big.
And Slamz, Apple already has streaming on Apple TV, it's just a per-item approach, not an all-you-can-eat monthly subscription. I can buy or rent movies or TV shows, and stream them instantly. I know they are working on a subscription plan that will let you dump cable and just get the channels you want, but the cable providers are fighting tooth and nail to block it. But it's gonna happen sooner or later.
Ex SWG, L2, CoH, Wow, and War
Currently PvPing in the stock market
Currently PvPing in the stock market