Filed under: Apple TV
Patent filing shows DVR for Apple TV
Gallery: Apple TV DVR patent filing
Earlier this week, AppleInsider reported on an Apple TV patent filed in 2006 and just published; it shows DVR features, and the patent also includes a feature where the iPod could be docked with the Apple TV to sync content for on-the-go viewing.
"For example, program data for upcoming programs, e.g., for the next month, can be downloaded and stored on the remote control device," Apple said in the patent. "Thereafter, a user of the remote control device can search programs that are to be broadcast and determine which programs to record. The recording settings can be programmed onto the remote control device, and then be provided to the video device when a data communication is established between the remote control device and the video device."
If Apple manages to implement DVR functionality for the Apple TV, it could definitely bring a game-changing device to the TV industry. Who knows, it could become a direct competitor to the TiVo. Be sure to look through our gallery of patent filing pictures.
[via AppleInsider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mark said 12:05AM on 3-16-2008
I hate to invoke the grammar police, but the clause "If Apple was to implement this..." is seriously poor English, folks. It should be "If Apple were to implement this...." :-)
And yes, if Apple were to release a DVR, I think we'd be looking at some formidable competition for TiVo. Most of my friends who have TiVos are also Mac users and would kill to have an Apple-branded DVR. This could be *huge*.
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Michael Rose said 12:36AM on 3-16-2008
Cory originally had it as "If Apple were..." and I changed it to "If Apple was..." since Apple, the company, is a singular noun and does not act collectively -- although it's certainly colloquial usage to refer to companies as "they," it happens to drive me batty. Or perhaps that wasn't your point, in which case I'll just be wrong.
In any event, I've reworded the sentence to get around the were/was issue. Thanks for the sharp grammatical eye.
Michael Rose said 12:42AM on 3-16-2008
My in-house grammatical consultant informs me that "were" is correct in the subjunctive, which is what we've got here, and it's got nothing to do with singular/plural -- so, as I surmised, I was just wrong. Oh well! Apologies to Cory & Mark. Going to bed now.
Modano said 1:59AM on 3-16-2008
Am I crazy or does this sound like you could record shows remotely with an iPhone? All the programming data would be on an iPhone app and you could schedule recordings from that. Um, that would pretty much rule.
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Rob said 2:49AM on 3-16-2008
I was thinking the exact same thing!
This "Device" mentioned could easily be an iPhone...
wOOt!!!!
Galley said 8:21AM on 3-16-2008
Since I recently cancelled my DirecTV service, I would love a DVR for my tv. I have been streaming shows on my MacBook, but it would be great to have them on my HDTV.
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chewbee said 10:15AM on 3-16-2008
If Apple could do this without the monthly fee that Tivo charges, it'll threaten not only Tivo but every cable company's DVR too. And I was just thinking about buying an Apple TV.
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rvr said 11:42AM on 3-16-2008
i am a long-time tivo customer and i absolutely *love* my tivo. i have a tivo s3 now, and it's fantastic. this is the only thing that could get me to give up tivo. even if they charge a monthly fee i'd do it in a heartbeat. and, to top it off, if they offered movie subscriptions--a la netflix--it would be the absolute ultimate device. i would gladly pay $30 a month to replace netflix and tivo with one device that also accessed my itunes library. and the whole remote concept in the filing, and the ability to use the iphone is brilliant. could integration get any better than this? just give me real web access and streaming capability (like a slingbox) and we're looking at complete domination of the home entertainment product space. i don't see how they could lose with that sort of functionality.
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Eideard said 2:01PM on 3-16-2008
I always end up wondering about fellow geeks who don't know squat about business. Though, TiVo market share continues to diminish since they were cut loose from DirecTV, the reason for charging a monthly continues. A downloadable Guide costs money and is a service worth charging for.
The significant problem for Apple to overcome [or negotiate] is access to HDTV content. They - and most others - only have less than a year of SD content being preponderant. Steve Jobs doesn't need to be a visionary [though I happen to think he is] to look down the road and prepare for an abundance of HD content.
DVR's from DirecTV and DISH already work just fine with HDTV; so they're not highly motivated to offer a plug-in for AppleTV variants. Some cable companies may - but, Apple may figure there's enough of a market share just sticking to the niche of urban OTA telecasts - and cheapskate geeks who are satisfied with network TV.
All this gets a bump, tomorrow, when D11 is launched [successfully, I hope] and completes enough hardware around the planet to checkoff 2500 simultaneous HD telecasts - including all the LIL locals. When the leader of the pack bumps their capacity, it ain't long before the rest of the crowd are forced to migrate to greater capacity, as well.
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chewbee said 7:17PM on 3-16-2008
not sure if you're commenting on my post re: paying for the guide...
I understand business enough to know that I'm already paying for a guide when I pay my cable bill to Time Warner cable. That's why I don't want to pay again, either to Tivo or Apple, for another guide.
Seth A said 2:44PM on 3-16-2008
This is awesome news! I hope it surfaces at some point. I have been gambling getting an Apple TV, but I just don't have much content, and the cost wouldn't be justified, at the device stands now. I gotta say though, throw DVR functions in there, I would drop my Cox DVR in an instant. Even better, throw in Sling functions, so I can get rid of that box, and what the hell, throw in a blu-ray drive. There is three boxes on my shelf in one. Oh, even better! Integrate it into a TV! Oh wait, I am a college student, yeah, lets stick with DVR for now. :-)
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tmd said 2:56PM on 3-16-2008
Hmmm - wonder how well it'd all work with CableCards to tru2way (or whatever CableCard 2.0 turned out to be). I'd imagine existing Apple TV owners wouldn't get all this functionality via simple software update - unless there's sometype of USB hardware that adds two cablecard slots and the coax input. :)
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Mark said 5:07PM on 3-16-2008
I'm confused here. Is this for a future, "version 2.0" of an Apple TV appliance? (as opposed to the Take Two software update).
How would one get a cable (satellite, line in, whatever) feed into the current AppleTV design? It's a one way appliance as far as your TV is concerned - it feeds, doesn't suck down. It of course gets its feed from wifi, iTunes, and the Internets, but no cable in, no line in, no hdmi in, no component cable in.
I just bought an AppleTV. As usual, Apple and Hollyweird are neglecting markets outside of the US (all I have in my "Movies" section is trailers and my own movies, no movie downloads), but I was aware of that.
I've suffered through almost four years with a Philips Streamium stereo system - the kind with wifi built in (B) and streaming of music from your computer or the 'Nets. I say "suffer" because a) I have become hooked on having my entire music collection available in the living room via wifi and the Philips, as well as Internet radio streaming, but b) the darned Philips Streamium mci-250 (http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2003/08/03/philips-streamium-mci-200-mci-250/) is just on the edge of the wifi connectivity in our home, and would frequently not connect, take forever to connect, drop connections. It's not so much a knock on the Streamium (awesome device), but on the connectivity problems.
When we went sorta Apple last Christmas in the house with two iMac purchases, I decided to put my past frustrations to rest, and go to a more powerful streaming solution - not only audio, but video as well with the Apple TV (and a Time Capsule, and a dual-band wifi network setup with the Time Capsule doing 5ghz N, and a Belkin connected to the TC sending out a 2.4ghz G/B signal).
For me, the AppleTV does most of what I want - I get video and audio in the main living room, on the telly and on the hifi (via the Telly's audio output to hifi). I was fully aware of the shitty anaemic Movies support in iTunes Canada (read: none at all, except for trailers). All my past connectivity headaches with the Streamium are gone, and I have the bonus of a) video feed, b) podcasts, c) flickr (got lotsa flickr buddies), d) youtube, e) streaming from my fiance's iMac iTunes as well as my own. I guess I was one of the super minority "ideal" customers for the original Apple TV. Take Two, besides improved podcast support, flickr and Youtube, does little for people outside the US.
I'm in Canada so I use a Shaw HD digital cable box with PVR ability (a measly 80gb hard drive though :( ) which in many ways is so much better than TiVO, but it would be nice if the AppleTV could get in the act, perhaps PVRing shows and sending them back to the house computers. But I don't see how it's possible, software only upgrade, on the current gen ATVs.
I only wish I could also stream Internet Radio to the Apple TV. That's a glaring ommission by Apple, not having that ability built in.
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miike said 5:12PM on 3-16-2008
Well, I don't have TiVo, In fact, I don't even have cable or Dish. I git mah televisionals over the airwaves! Yikes! But I do have a Philips DVDR with a 160GB hard drive. It's great and it has a SDTV tuner. (I also have a Panasonic DVDR, but, sadly the model with no hard drive). I like the remote and controls (menus) of the Panasonic over the Philips, but darn, that hard drive is too sweet. And I can save a show, with chapters, on dvd material.
A DVDR controlled by an iPod... or even (wirelessly, perhaps?) with an iPhone! Yay! If I read the graphics right, it also stores the info about the show... oh, man! With easy to use controls? Sounds like somebody has been reading my wishlist.
Now, if only it could record two shows simultaneously and I can output to any device, iPod, iPhone, laptop, dvd, or whatever... now that would be a revolution of video-ness!
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Mark said 5:12PM on 3-16-2008
Oh, one more comment - a bit OT: I did read there was a "trick" to streaming internet radio to an AppleTV - put the feeds in a playlist on iTunes. I did this and it worked when I was only streaming music to the ATV. Once I set AppleTV to import all my music and playlists, iTunes refuses to send the stream links to reside on the ATV.
Is there any other way to spoof it so you can get radio feeds on the ATV?
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Marc Edwards said 5:52PM on 3-16-2008
IceTV in Australia already does that (remote programming via iPhone/web/mobile/widget).
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Kellsworth said 10:47PM on 3-16-2008
His David Letterman drawings are horrible. It has his posture down though, but thats about it.
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