Apple TV & netflix

are there any plans to have Apple TV support netflix as well.

No. In fact, various media reports have it that none of the VOD set top boxes are selling well, including the ATV and the Roku player.

A completely redesigned, streaming-only ATV is reportedly on the way (sans Netflix), but the future of Internet-based VOD is TV hardware integration rather than free-standing players.

Wow, that was my exact question..one day on here and the answers come. I suppose Netflix would be in competition to Itunes but I know if I rent something and love it, I go buy it. I really like the ATv and would love to get rid of comcast all together. Not having a monthly cable bill would certainly allow me the freedom to buy Season Passes to my favorite shows on Atv and have a netflix subscriptions for movies, then buy them if I love them.

My feeling is that a standard for an integrated UI for media via the Internet is doubtful, after getting on for nearly a century of TV we haven't even got a standard for over air broadcasts. I suspect stand alone devices will be around for a very long time yet, particularly when you consider that many of us want access to more than just content which is provided for us or don't intend replacing our TVs for some time to come.

My feeling is that a standard for an integrated UI for media via the Internet is doubtful....

The technology already exists and Google already has agreements from some TV makers to include the hardware and software to play GoogleTV, Sony among them. I expect Netflix will do the same.

It isn't that complicated when it comes to streaming video to a TV. There is already the DLNA standard, which everyone except Apple is using. I expect that will be the platform for Google, Netflix, and anyone else who wants to sell streaming video to TVs without a set top box.

Even Steve Jobs has reportedly said that nobody wants to buy a set top box, so I think it's clear that the future lies with TVs themselves. Set top boxes will be needed by those with older TVs, but people who buy DLNA compatible TVs won't need them.

I really like the ATv and would love to get rid of comcast all together.

The ATV isn't quite a replacement for cable or satellite TV. I think we will be seeing TVs in the not-too-distant future that can do everything, which will eliminate the need for set top boxes.

capaho wrote:
Even Steve Jobs has reportedly said that nobody wants to buy a set top box, so I think it's clear that the future lies with TVs themselves. Set top boxes will be needed by those with older TVs, but people who buy DLNA compatible TVs won't need them.

although that may the feeling in the US, external set top boxes seem to be very much the preferred option in Europe. TV's have only just recently started to integrate Freeview (and now Freesat), but everyone already has external boxes for those, and if they want recording capabilities they do need an external box. and for Sky DSat the only option is (and always will be) an external box.

capaho wrote:

My feeling is that a standard for an integrated UI for media via the Internet is doubtful....

The technology already exists and Google already has agreements from some TV makers to include the hardware and software to play GoogleTV, Sony among them. I expect Netflix will do the same.

That's true but my point wasn't that integration won't take place but that I'll doubt there will be a standard that will be adopted by all manufacturers in all countries, which is a necessity if the stand alone box is to become obsolete.

And even if a universal standard is created for content delivered via the Internet, I would think it even less likely that that standard would include unified protocols for delivery of our own content from a wide range of hardware and software.

And even if a universal standard is created for content delivered via the Internet....

Perhaps your focus on proprietary devices like the ATV has you a bit confused on this issue. There are already well established standards for Internet data, the framework is already there. There is no need for a standardized interface as the framework is flexible, each service provider can send their own UI data and the TV will display it.

So, you expect android enabled tv's to let me purchase and rent from itms and I'll be able to view all my photos from iphoto and my home videos I have in itunes. I'm not saying it won't happen but I have my doubts.

If Apple ever decides to add DLNA server capability to iTunes you could access your iTunes content on a DLNA capable TV without the need for a set top box. The ATV itself is unnecessary from a technological standpoint, it simply keeps iTunes content locked into a proprietary system.

it's all ifs and buts though, and to be honest i can't see every TV manufacturer and every content owner and provider getting together to make 1 system that plays every single type of file possible.

And if they did, I'd then be able to play my home videos complete with sprites for example. Not that I can on the tv either, but that's not the point.

I do understand what you're saying I just don't expect integration to ever eliminate the stand alone device.

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It's only the last few years that tv's have had digital tuners and eliminated the need for stand alone devices for regular broadcast tv, now I need to add stand alone boxes because they don't have HD tuners.

Message was edited by: Winston Churchill

it's all ifs and buts though....

Does your LCD TV have candle backlighting?

Seriously, the technology already exists and it's in use. Google TV, with Sony and Intel behind it, among others, will use existing Internet technology to bring a much wider range of VOD to TVs. Big changes are coming, and they're coming soon.

The real problem with this is not the technology involved but the infrastructure. A lot more bandwidth is going to be needed at a time when ISPs and telcos are reluctant to spend money on service improvements. The technology producers are getting way ahead of the bandwidth providers.

capaho wrote:

it's all ifs and buts though....

Does your LCD TV have candle backlighting?

i don't get the reference

It was a metaphor.