Apple TV is working on a new set-top box. Still no word about an actual Apple television set. We know how complicated it is working on new TV technologies, TV services, or combined technology/service -- all in the hopes of offering easier/ revolutionary ways to access all kind of media via the big screen. Apple was able to be a bit more revolutionary when it came to the iPod and iTunes Music Store, because the music business was in disarray then. TV businesses are in no such dire straits. Even then Steve Jobs, just before his death, said he believed Apple had “figured out” TV, but henever got around to revealing the secret. Now comes a new set-top box, with a possible powerful ally, Time Warner Cable, which would look to add much more video content -- though the just-announced merger would seem to complicate matters. One would think Apple might look to avoid such traditional TV providers -- cable operators, satellite TV distributors, and telco TV companies. Some believe older legacy systems can bog down newer media.Access to some programming on Apple TV would require customers to prove they pay for cable or satellite, where apps requires a login and password to be enter. Apple already had some problems with other TV providers in this regards -- Comcast and DirecTV. Apple has been trying to convince those two companies to let customers use Apple IDs instead of login/password info from Comcast and DirecTV. Aye, there’s the rub about future media control: It’s about one’s sign-in name and one’s password. If Apple gets TV providers to agree to that, consumers will be more attached to all its devices/services -- just as they do with other Apple-connected media content. Traditional TV providers don’t want to give Apple that much control. TV authentication can be a cumbersome affair -- and it doesn’t speak to the clean Apple brand and feel. But hey, small steps, right? Still, looking out over the horizon, can one even see a full-fledged television set?