I am not even an Apple fanboy and
I have been a relentless defender of Apple TV. Other than the fact that it gives off a ridiculous amount of heat (no, I mean really hot), I have thoroughly enjoyed having that white slab attached to
my home theater since it launched. In the years I have lived with it, Apple TV pretty much convinced me that connected devices posed a significant threat to traditional broadcast and cable TV. It ate
about a quarter of my daily TV habits. On most evenings I will tend to spend at least an hour of prime time zipping around the movies, TV and podcast content on the device. That is an hour when
Comcast and its content and ad partners do not get to me. That has to hurt in the long run.
The only thing that ever supplanted the Apple TV was Netflix streaming through my game boxes. I know
I am in a minority when it comes to embracing Apple TV. But I have to add that no one ever entered my living room and grabbed the tiny remote without poring over the content. And I never saw anyone
get confused by the interface. Well, maybe my Dad, but he still calls me from two states away when he can't figure out how to get beyond the DVD title menus.
With Netflix baked in and a $99
price point, Jobs has dialed my number with the Apple TV version he introduced yesterday. While there are a lot of reasons to doubt the wisdom of this move, the model offered yesterday seems to follow
the usage patterns I have developed on the Apple TV. You no longer will be able to buy content on the device, since everything is streamed, not stored. That is fine with me. Anything I really want to
keep for repeated viewings, like my sub to Season 4 of Mad Men, I can keep on my PC and stream through to Apple TV as I already do.
Five dollars for a day-and-date HD rental? Fine by me.
Blockbuster is charging as much now and in some cases I don't want to wait for the Netflix DVD to show up. Currently, I rely on Netflix for the "Watch Instantly" back catalog and the DVD delivery
service as a fall back when something isn't available for immediate digital rental or streaming. The new Apple TV integrates the two services that matter most to me already for my TV, and now I don't
have to fire up the Xbox to Netflix. I am buying it.
My plan is to keep my Netflix at the lowest rung ($12 or so for one DVD at a time with the Blu-ray option), which preserves my Watch
Instantly streaming and one DVD when I need it. It works for me. Maybe incrementally more expensive than a full-bore Netflix sub but only if I am renting first run movies all the time. And I don't
have to wait. My sense is that Netflix's streaming is going to undercut the Apple back catalog of rentals. I am guessing Jobs and co. already know this and are expecting the lion's share of revenue
to come from new film and TV rentals. I am not watching the newest DVD releases on most nights, so I will only occasionally be paying that $5 premium. Generally, I think the scheme will keep my costs
relatively the same as a full-bore 3-DVD-at-a-time Netflix sub.
The main problem is still with having a connected box at all. Most non tech dweebs don't want to screw around with attaching
another device to their TVs. All of these connected devices have limited appeal without being integrated for the consumer by the TV or the cable company. I think Jobs has said as much and knows that
he is aiming at a niche.
But it is my niche.