WIRED Reports on iTV Features I Don’t Care About

So, according to WIRED Blogs: Gadget Lab, maybe it’ll be possible to add some sort of DVR capability to the Apple TV device so that the shows that you want to record using Apple TV as a DVR could be synced with your Mac for storage, since the Apple TV has such a small hard disk. I think I’m getting that right.

Who cares?

OK, maybe that’d be kinda cool, but it’s way down the list, right? The trick with Apple TV *should be* that it makes it easy for you to buy, watch and store (at least for a little while) content from the Apple Store. That’s why it should connect DIRECTLY to the iTunes Store even though — inexplicable — it seems from all accounts that it doesn’t do that.

Make it do that.

Imagine an Apple TV that offers the iTunes Store interface right on your widescreen TV. Zap over to the TV shows, grab an episode of lost and then switch over to listening to tunes while you slip a bag of popcorn into the microwave. (By the way, use Newman’s or some natural brand; the regular ones do something weird in the microwave that’ll kill ya.)

That gives the Apple TV enough of a head-start on streaming the show from the Store that you can settle in and start watching while the rest downloads in the background.

Am I describing Apple TV 2.0 here? This seems like the logical solution, really, and Apple could make an absolute killing on this thing if it were totally standalone like that. But I’m surprised that direct access to the iTunes Store isn’t part of the design from the ground up. What am I missing?

While we’re at it — and I’ve said this before, too — Apple TV should also act as a home server for media, files and print sharing. I know I’ve harped on that point and now I’m just whistling Dixie. The AirPort Express functionality should be *built-into* Apple TV, not a $200 add-on. The Apple TV Deluxe (or whatever) could be another $100, have better storage and be the central hub for Internet access, file sharing, printing and TV watching.

To be honest, it’s a little frustrating to think that Apple is charging $299 so that I can download and watch Battlestar Galatica off my Mac. I can do that (yeah, yeah, in SD) for about $40 worth of cables. I’m just not quite getting it.

March 21, 2007 · Filed Under Apple TV, Tech