[opendtv] Re: Apple TV Ensures TV's Future Is Not Just Apps, For One Really Obvious Reason - Forbes

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2015 07:40:27 -0400

On Oct 30, 2015, at 8:27 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


(1) Most of these articles that gush about Apple TV seem like they're written
by utterly clueless people. And (2) we know already that linear TV viewing is
on the decline, used by less than half of the TV audience, in the US. It
might take a little longer for that to become the case in the UK, but that
wouldn't be so unusual, would it?

Did you even read this article Bert?

It was hardly a gush about Apple. I fact the author, who used "Apple" to score
some hits on search engines, was rather negative about the whole idea of Apps
on the telly.

And by the way, you are wrong about linear TV being used by less than half the
audience in the U.S. It's about half if you only count viewing of this content
live; if you add time shifting by DVR it is much higher.

I've mentioned this already. With Windows 10, I can download all the same
"apps" that Windows phones have. And as far as TV watching goes, there's
simply no big deal difference there, compared with just using your one
"browser app."

Perhaps you should consider the reality of the Windows App infrastructure. It's
not exactly what we are talking about here. In fact the idea of running apps
designed for a cell phone or tablet on a PC is kinda absurd. I hope Microsoft
keeps trying to make Windows do everything. It will only accelerate the trend
to having Windows do nothing, as it slowly spirals into obscurity.

You might learn something from the fact that the market for PCs declined 11%
last quarter, while Mac market share increased 3%.

And once again I will remind you that your browser does not provide access to a
significant portion of the content people are watching in both the U.S and U.K.

The only meaningful difference is in what is available FOTI, what is
available only after 8 days, and what is available only with subscription. As
far as I can tell, the "app" and the generic browser method are somewhat
complementary, with Win10.

They are complementary on Macs too. apps are designed to work with a touch
screen interface, while browsers are designed to work with a mouse or trackpad.
Only Windows tries to do both across both PCs and touch screen devices, and it
is costing them market share.

On CBS, the browser does not impose an 8-day wait, while the "app" method
makes *some* of the library content available FOTI, as opposed to none. ABC
and Fox always impose that 8-day limit, for current shows, when using the
browser method.

I thought many of these shows were available in the C-7 window, as they are on
my browser and Apps. Sounds like they are starting to treat the PC as a second
class citizen.

As far as ease of use? Absolutely no difference, for TV content. Obviously, a
browser is infinitely more useful for other content. Ease of setup? Hardly
any different, right? The little box and the PC both use WiFi and both
connect to the TV via HDMI.

Your opinion. The PC as a front end to the TV is all but irrelevant. People
watching TV on PCs are typically watching on a PC screen; you are just one of
the last holdouts, and for some reason believe that an interface designed for
the desktop works well on the sofa. The difference is significant, and that was
before Apple introduced the new Apple TV with the touch remote and Voice
interface.

So once again, people that make a big deal about "apps" sound, to me, like
they just crawled out of a dark cave, after 30 years in the dark. Especially
when they gush about "apps" in a device like Apple TV, Roku, and the like,
which are not limited to a hand-held, small footprint. And especially when
the device starts to cost something approaching 1/2 the price of a
full-fledged, although budget priced, PC.

The price of a PC can only decline so far Bert, before they have to give them
away. One of the major reasons that PC sales are declining is that many vendors
are still pushing Windows 7, and many chose to clear out the bloated channel
inventory before launching machines based on Windows 10. And many like you just
took advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10, rather than buying a new
machine.

Take a look at what Microsoft is doing in the hardware space Bert. Surface
tablets cost more than the cheap PCs you are recommending. And the Surface Book
starts at $1,500 - it cost more than a MacBook Pro!

Time to Wake up from your 30 year snooze...


Regards
Craig

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