Philoking.com

Being an owner of an AppleTV, I have a few points to make in response to Tim Cook’s comment about the Apple TV being a hobby for Apple.

Apple is pretty good at making good software. Apple is also pretty good at making deals with media companies. The only problem is that Apple is really good at making gobs of money. That’s where the catch 22 comes in. Just about every major improvement, and by major I mean functionality, not complexity..Apple stands to lose money by allowing you to watch content you didn’t pay Apple for.

Imagine for a second, turn on Netflix, add Hulu support. Bam, this device is an instant hit for it’s tiny form factor, no noise and sleek interface.

The only problem is that just like the Flash/iPad issue, Apple doesn’t want to give you options to watch free content unless it’s worthless content like YouTube. If it’s something they can charge for, they are going to make sure you have no other way to watch it.

Frankly it pissing me that I paid $300 for something a company now says is a hobby. Talk about screwing your customer..it’s basically saying

Thanks for your $300, enjoy this box as it stands now because we really don’t give a crap about it and don’t take it seriously enough to bring anything new to the table.

That’s followed by a few upturned fingers and an offer of lube I am sure. The unfortunate reality is that with the exception of Mac computers, Apple devices are simply vehicles for Apple to sell you content. You can guarantee that for as long as iTunes reigns supreme, you’ll be hacking them if you want to get anything on them without having to either steal it or pay for it.

I voiced my displeasure with me AppleTV experience on Twitter and to a few friends this weekend only to be told that it’s not the AppleTV’s fault, it’s the content I chose (Survivor) and not the fault of Apple. Of course one of those friends is an admitted Fanboy and the other is a big fan himself, but it makes me wonder. Having just finished three seasons of Heroes in HD quality on Netflix via Xbox 360 (HDMI) I was shocked to see that Survivor’s video quality was just about on par with YouTube. I wish I could say I am exaggerating or blowing it out of proportion, but I am being quite literal.

Quality sucks, who do I shoot?

So Matt thinks that “It only looks as good as what was delivered to Apple.” Which I get, but that makes me question Apple’s quality control and pricing. I paid $19.99 for this season of Survivors, that’s $1 more than the Seasons we purchased at Fry’s on DVD. So I am paying more money for less quality. Something doesn’t sound right.

So who is responsible? Should Apple provide content quality ratings of some sort? Should they discount substandard quality content? Should I get an asterisk of some point that says “This is <1500k bit rate content and it’s going to look terrible on a larger TV?” I feel like I did not get what I paid for.

One of the things I have noticed with Netflix is even Standard Definition content looks really good. I have watched 30 Rock, Heroes, Dexter, Harper’s Island, not to mention countless movies and documentaries and have yet to come across something that looks as bad as what I have seen so far with AppleTV, and I pay around what this season cost a month to watch whatever I want.

And while I am on my soapbox, a few other questions about your content delivery and media options:

1. Why does everyone love Netflix Watch Now, but have a huge problem with paying a subscription for music ala ZunePass? What’s the difference?
2. How much would you pay per month if everything was available, even new releases?
3. Should the AppleTV be so automatically integrated with iTunes on the Mac? What if I don’t want the video on the AppleTV copied onto my Mac?
4. How important is it to you to be able to get one copy of a content item and use it on any of your devices regardless of brand?
5. If all TV shows were available on Netflix the day after (like Harper’s Island) would you cancel Cable?

These are just some of the questions I am wondering. With Comcast totally screwing over us Media Center users by dropping analog cable and making it all but impossible, without some questionable hackery, to get digital content, I am pretty close to dropping cable tv. If I can get fast, reliable internet from FIOS or Quest, and get the most important channels via Over The Air HD, supplant my watching options with AppleTV, Xbox 360 and Netflix, my need for cable is dropping rapidly.