Often things do get developed in silence. What looks like a "lull" could be a lot of stealth mode activity.
TV is a fascinating market that has a few challenges.
I have a TV that is hooked up to a computer and a game console. I used to have a Blu-Ray player attached to the TV, but I hooked up a portable Blu-Ray writer to the computer, installed some software, and removed a bulky thing that had to be positioned awkwardly so it could see the remote control.
Blu-Ray disks aren't really "movies", they're really Java applications that have access to a really great multimedia API. It turns out a computer is much faster as disc loading and interactive features because cost constraints cause standalone players to be underpowered, even expensive players.
For 5.1 sound we have an HTIB. Add it all up and people who visit our house have a hard time figuring out what remotes to grab and what buttons to press to do simple things.
I'd like to see a TV that has a remote control similar to the Wiimote in that I could use it as a light wand, pointing at things on the screen.
The "multiple remote control" problem could be solved by using the back channel that's available in HDMI. Although the PHY is standardized, the messages aren't, so this only works if all the stuff connected to your TV comes from the same vendor. (Samsung or Sony could make a whole suite of products, but Apple is awfully dogmatic -- if they had any sense you could get a Blu-Ray drive in a mac mini and then have a pretty little package that flattens the alternatives.)
Another trouble is economic. A TV could have a ten year or more lifespan, but the electronic package in it will be becoming obsolete in five or so, particularly if they economize it.
The cable box is another barrier. The cable companies are going to resist anything that makes TVoIP easy. Yet, cable delivers a huge amount of entertainment, and a super TV will only be super if it delivers a super experience watching cable.
As disappointing as it is, Apple could be making a very reasonable choice to get into cable boxes, since that is the place that would be the hardest to integrate into other systems.
TV is a fascinating market that has a few challenges.
I have a TV that is hooked up to a computer and a game console. I used to have a Blu-Ray player attached to the TV, but I hooked up a portable Blu-Ray writer to the computer, installed some software, and removed a bulky thing that had to be positioned awkwardly so it could see the remote control.
Blu-Ray disks aren't really "movies", they're really Java applications that have access to a really great multimedia API. It turns out a computer is much faster as disc loading and interactive features because cost constraints cause standalone players to be underpowered, even expensive players.
For 5.1 sound we have an HTIB. Add it all up and people who visit our house have a hard time figuring out what remotes to grab and what buttons to press to do simple things.
I'd like to see a TV that has a remote control similar to the Wiimote in that I could use it as a light wand, pointing at things on the screen.
The "multiple remote control" problem could be solved by using the back channel that's available in HDMI. Although the PHY is standardized, the messages aren't, so this only works if all the stuff connected to your TV comes from the same vendor. (Samsung or Sony could make a whole suite of products, but Apple is awfully dogmatic -- if they had any sense you could get a Blu-Ray drive in a mac mini and then have a pretty little package that flattens the alternatives.)
Another trouble is economic. A TV could have a ten year or more lifespan, but the electronic package in it will be becoming obsolete in five or so, particularly if they economize it.
The cable box is another barrier. The cable companies are going to resist anything that makes TVoIP easy. Yet, cable delivers a huge amount of entertainment, and a super TV will only be super if it delivers a super experience watching cable.
As disappointing as it is, Apple could be making a very reasonable choice to get into cable boxes, since that is the place that would be the hardest to integrate into other systems.