Why no web browser on Apple TV?

there is a hack already which does it so the juice is there

Antony, I agree with you. Whether Apple gives us a full blown Safari, or comes out with specific web widgets (like the BBC iPlayer), I think it's only a matter of time.

As you mentioned, your iPhone or iPod Touch can now act as a keyboard for AppleTV. I believe this is a first step in the process of giving us access to more web based media on the AppleTV.

@Winston
TV screens should be better than computer monitors. TVs easily do 1920x1080 resolution @ 60Hz, while only the best computer monitors are capable of such. The majority of computer monitors by default are doing 1024x768, with maybe the option of going up to 1280x1024, both at 60 hertz. This makes TV excellent candidates for web browsing! I'm running a web browser on my ATV and it looks great!! I just wish I could figure out how to make a mouse and keyboard work with it.

user1724 wrote:
What Apple needs is an app store for the TV. Then you would get a browser and a bunch of other cool stuff I am sure.

This is a recipe for disaster. The device is clearly overburdened.

Sr. Vergas wrote:
@Winston
TV screens should be better than computer monitors. TVs easily do 1920x1080 resolution @ 60Hz, while only the best computer monitors are capable of such. The majority of computer monitors by default are doing 1024x768, with maybe the option of going up to 1280x1024, both at 60 hertz. This makes TV excellent candidates for web browsing! I'm running a web browser on my ATV and it looks great!! I just wish I could figure out how to make a mouse and keyboard work with it.

Cobalt Jacket wrote:
To be sure, pretty much any computer monitor from recent times should be able to do 60Hz.
Also, some of the newer TVs are 120Hz (30 * 4 = 120, 24 * 5 = 120).

Not really the whole picture though is it. There are some tv's that might display a web browser with reasonable clarity, but not many. Most 1080 tv's do not actually have 1920 x 1080 pixels - they simply upscale a 1080 signal. And of course more important than the overall resolution is the relative resolution by area and more importantly the distance between pixels, then of course there is overscan, anti-aliasing, brightness, pixel pitch, viewing angle, colour bit depth, response time and more that tv's simply can't compete with a computer monitors on.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I'm not sure how soon it will happen, but it's inevitable isn't it? With an Apple TV App Store, the BBC can finally write an iPlayer app exactly the way they want it.

I run a web browser on my appletv to my LCD HDTV via HDMI cable and I'm telling you it looks great. Sure, if you buy a crappy tv then the internet is gonna look like crap. But if you have a true 1080p tv then it looks great! I'm just waiting for apple to release their own, hopefully better, web browser.

I think HDMI is the key thing here as much as I hate it for it's restrictions.

As people say AppleTV text can look great on a TV via HDMI, but I've tried connecting my Macbook via miniDVI>DVI>HDMI adapters and I just can't get decent output on the plasma - a variety of overscan/underscan sceanarios occur when I select different output resolutions and even choosing 1920x1080 doesn't work well, unlike AppleTV outputting 1080p. Text is a complete blur from the Macbook.

Now a lot of the fault lies with the TV hiding advanced settings in a service menu that I haven't felt brave enough to tackle yet, but if only MacMinis or Macbooks had HDMI out then I think Front Row would do 99% of what I wanted.

AC

Alley_Cat wrote:
I think HDMI is the key thing here as much as I hate it for it's restrictions.

As people say AppleTV text can look great on a TV via HDMI, but I've tried connecting my Macbook via miniDVI>DVI>HDMI adapters and I just can't get decent output on the plasma - a variety of overscan/underscan sceanarios occur when I select different output resolutions and even choosing 1920x1080 doesn't work well, unlike AppleTV outputting 1080p. Text is a complete blur from the Macbook.

I am using my MacBook now on a Sony 46" 1080p LCD through HDMI and it looks great. The TV says it is getting a 1080p signal from the Mac. The trick is to put the TV in pixel mode in the settings for that input. Then it becomes a big 1920x1080 digital monitor. You would not believe how great this is unless you see it. I have 2 Sony 46" 1080 LCD's - two different models - and they both look fantastic with the MacBook.

Now if you buy a cheap TV without the proper circuitry, then you get what you pay for.

Cobalt Jacket wrote:
This is a recipe for disaster. The device is clearly overburdened.

That makes no sense. The TV is plenty powerful enough to run a browser and other small apps. It pretty much is a Mac Mini with HD output. But I would expect, given the design model, not to allow mutiTasking anyway. Play tunes OR browse the net, OR run a fun app. Just more options from the existing menu.

The trick would be getting the apps to work right with the remote and not need a keyboard. But as an example, look at the Wii. Browsing the net with the Wii is fun using the remote. Great from the sofa. But the graphic output is poor so the pages do not look as good. But I still do it, just because it is such a nice user experience. It could be much better with the TV.

user1724 wrote:

Cobalt Jacket wrote:
This is a recipe for disaster. The device is clearly overburdened.

That makes no sense. The TV is plenty powerful enough to run a browser and other small apps. It pretty much is a Mac Mini with HD output. But I would expect, given the design model, not to allow mutiTasking anyway. Play tunes OR browse the net, OR run a fun app. Just more options from the existing menu.

The trick would be getting the apps to work right with the remote and not need a keyboard. But as an example, look at the Wii. Browsing the net with the Wii is fun using the remote. Great from the sofa. But the graphic output is poor so the pages do not look as good. But I still do it, just because it is such a nice user experience. It could be much better with the TV.

This is a joke. The Crofton processor (1GHz, single-core derivant of the 32bit Pentium M) in the AppleTV is nowhere near the performance of what comes in a Mac Mini. Why do you think the AppleTV costs a fraction of the price (other than the DVD drive)? There are only two things that the AppleTV has over the Mini, and that's HDMI output and the H.264 decoder.

On paper, the Mac Mini seems to have a decent amount of horsepower, but in practice, it's molasses. It's already got too much to do. If you want a Mac Mini, get a Mac Mini.

OK. let me rephrase maybe the MacMini was a bad analogy.

There is more than enough power in an TV to run a browser. It is just a low power Mac with different video capabilities. You can run the browser on an iPhone or an iPod, you know the TV can handle it.

And maybe, using the Remote app for the iPhone/iPod Touch, as you touch and flick through pages in your hand, the Apple TV updates in real-time to show the same pages, but larger, and in High Definition.

Yes I would like ATV with browser and wireless mouse/keyboard.

What, apple afraid people would go to netflix and buy/watch content from it?

If iTunes Store has similar amount of content or better, most people would buy/rent from it. Apple could also put in place hw/sw 'locks' so other content is not playable with iTunes.

I don't know... I just think ATV is somewhat limited but almost there.

maybe because so people dont stream movies from else where or buy general media from the compatition ?

you can request it here
http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html