Apple TV- Good Technology, Limited Sales Potential

Any company that brings a new product to market has to take risks in order to do so, but the biggest risk of all- the one that could make all of the other risks even more likely to come up and bite that company- is the possibility that consumers will meet the product with indifference. That's the situation that some TV industry analysts are anticipating with the new Apple TV from Apple Inc. (Formerly Apple Computer Inc.) Any company that brings a new product to market has to take risks in order to do so, but the biggest risk of all- the one that could make all of the other risks even more likely to come up and bite that company- is the possibility that consumers will meet the product with indifference. That's the situation that some TV industry analysts are anticipating with the new Apple TV from Apple Inc. (Formerly Apple Computer Inc.)

The Apple TV is a set top box that can wirelessly receive music, digital photos, and video at resolutions of up to 720p from a computer and then display that media on a TV set. The Apple TV is designed to provide easy access to a variety of digital media in a way that makes it easier to watch and share with friends and family through the home entertainment center than it would be directly through a computer.

While the idea of transmitting high definition video over a wireless connection is certainly impressive, there are a number of strikes against the Apple TV. One of the major strikes against this device is that it's very limited in what it can do. Sure it can put all of these types of media on your TV, but it doesn't consolidate any of the features of other home entertainment accessories. For example, some models of the TiVo perform similar functions as the Apple TV- albeit over a wired connection- but also records programming to be watched later. The Apple TV is just another piece of equipment to clutter up the already crowded home entertainment center.

The idea of the Apple TV is also a concept that consumers have rejected, or at least been lukewarm to, many times in the past already. For example, media center computers are able to do everything that the Apple TV can do, and do it better. For example, a media center computer can feed video and digital photos to a TV set, and feed music to the stereo system, just like the Apple TV. Media center computers can also record video onto their hard drives, function as DVD players (and many can burn recorded video onto DVD's as well), and serve as video gaming systems. They can also allow the user to surf the Internet on their TV's. Yet despite having so many more functions than the Apple TV, and the fact that they can consolidate many of the set top boxes that plague modern American living rooms, media center computers aren't at all popular. For that reason, combined with the fact that the Apple TV will only receive items transmitted from the computer's iTunes folder (very limiting indeed!) there is really no reason to expect the Apple TV to be very successful.

Of course, the Apple TV does have one thing going for it: it's made by Apple Inc. The cult following that Apple has will undoubtedly provide for some sales of the Apple TV, but that will only go so far. Even some of the most devote Apple followers will question the value of a relatively limited device like the Apple TV.