HD For Indies

UPDATED (YET AGAIN at bottom)

OK, if you haven't read the past several articles, this won't make any sense, so go read these:

Here's what started it all - why HD DVD and Blu Ray are at risk of becoming Laserdiscs 2.0

Here's where I first complied my Apple downloadable service conjecture (skip the Microsoft WM9 player part)

My guesstimate on release timetable and features and further thoughts on the thing

Here's where I realized iVideo+podcasts for sale=eBay for video content - not in the sense of auctions, but in the sense of something that can scale incredibly fast as a many-to-many architecture not relying on few vendors to populate it

...and I've added some other thoughts about features, market positioning, cable video recording and DRM towards the bottom as well.
end update - (except for bottom)

The Apple Home Theater Box or a New Mac

So here's yet another twist - what if the Home Theater Widget was the "secure" device in the chain that ANY computer would work from, but a new Intel based Mac (now with digital audio & video outputs in addition to VGA/DVI) would be the other option? Thus all output options would be secured.

Anybody could use the Airport Express style A/V brick to connect wirelessly to the next room from their broadband connected computer.

But the new Intel based Macs coming out next year (and the mini is expected to be one of the first) could have built in, or optionally installed, digital and analog audio/video connections so that it could live in the living room and plug straight into a TV.

The DVI spec is flexible enough (and HDMI is based on DVI plus audio anyway) that there could be a breakout cable thing to connect to a standard definition or high definition TV. The Hollywood studios look like they are going to require high definition video playback devices to ONLY play back high def content using HDMI (a digital connector) with HDCP (hardware device copy protection) in order to "plug the analog hole" to prevent copying. This could fulfill that requirement.

ATI already offers a DVI to analog component output adaptor for some of their graphics cards that support YUV functionality (component video). So why not have Apple support this functionality? One adaptor for analog (standard definition) connections, and another for digital (standard or high definition) connections.

This would solve the problem of how to have secured playback devices while still allowing any broadband connected computer to play back the movies.

So anyone would be able to buy a device to watch downloaded movies on their living room TV (or HDTV).

Option 1: You already own a broadband conneted computer

So you buy this under $500 box (under $300 if standard def only I'd bet) that lets you stream content from your computer to your TV or HDTV. Movies are secure, because purchased movies will ONLY play back through that ONE device (or other devices affiliated with that account - think about how iTunes works now with 3 computers). You mate/register/call it what you will your streaming playback device to a given account, or possibly a given computer. The DRM is satisfied that it's a secure path. Hollywood would then be more likely to sell their movies via this method.

There'd be some software to run on the Mac or PC in the next room (activated by pressing a button on the bluetooth based remote, natch) that controls the streaming, playback, UI, display etc on the screen.

Bonus round: when not streaming audio/video/pictures, it's a wireless range extender for your WiFi network, or a wireless access point, or a remote printer connector - all things the current Airport Express can do.

Option 2: You have no computer, or want a new/another one

The Mac mini is expected to be the one of the first Macs to go with an Intel processor. If true, it's a great platform for a home theater PC - already there are multiple websites dedicated to using it in this fashion, a faster computer with Intel's trusted computing platform DRM stuff would offer a secure, only-plays-on-this-box solution for the movie studios. Just plug it into your TV or HDTV and use it as a computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse, or just run the Apple media PC software so all you see are the movies/pictures/iTunes user interfaces optimized for TV usage. And use the Bluetooth based remote that rumors have been floating around about. There'd be a new application that was optimized for living room viewing distances to put a happy user experience on living room viewing range controls.

Now, roll this into the other 4 or 5 articles and that's why I think Apple's in a position to take off.


Conclusions:

Option 1 probably wouldn't offer as nice of a user interface as option 2 - since you'd be relying on the little streaming box for UI rather than a "for real" computer. If they shovelled more UI and smarts into the little streaming box, it's size and cost would go up - bad for sales. I thought about if the "host application" back on the broadband connected computer were generating a user interface and sending it as compressed video back through the little streaming box, that'd have some severe compromises, such as text quality, compression artifacts, etc., so I don't think Apple would go that route.

So while the streaming box would work, it'd probably have a more limited user interface than the computer plugged directly into the set.

The first generation standard def box would of course be supplemented by the second generation high def box, which would of course add more features, and probalby an upgraded user interface. Think iPod mini (SD) and iPod Photo (HD) in terms of features, cost, and capabilities.

Oh, and while we're at it? Having a cable input, or cable card slot and input, would be trivial to add, and if you streamed it back to the host computer (or recorded it directly if computer were plugged in), now you'd have a TiVO like device. But then Apple would be opening itself up to lawsuits based on the recent Grokster decision, in that Apple could be construed to be advocating piracy by putting the data on a computer....but maybe not if the content were locked to that computer.

Yeah, I'm gonna buy some more Apple stock.

-mike

UPDATE/POSTSCRIPT: Several hours after writing this, I'm thinking in the shower, as you do, and my mind wandered back to the iPod Video concept. And another possibility hit me: iPod Video could be just another iPod, but the dock for it could include the following:

-MPEG-2 (HDV is this also)/H.2664/DV decoder chips
-analog and digital audio and video outs (as described elsewhere recently)
-power
-FireWire
-docking connection for iPod

This way, the iPod merely becomes the medium of transit. You download movies to it, walk it into your living room/bedroom/friend's house with TV, dock it, and the UI appears on screen and lets you surf your choices. Whether the added brains for the user interface live in the iPod or the Dock is an engineering challenge, with pros and cons on each side.

As with iTunes, you could load your downloaded content (movies or music) to as many iPods as were paired to the account. Three or so computers per account, and away you go. This way, you could simply use your iPod as a carrier to move movies to a friend's house and watch them there, or watch in your bedroom/living room/kitchen wherever. So long as you're within the three machines paired to an open ended amount of iPods, you're good to go. Stronger anti-copying tech would probably be brought to bear since it's cake to pipe iTunes off an iPod with one of a zillion freebie apps, but it can be done.

This makes me rethink my "there will be no iPod Video" thing I said earlier. If it draws power from the dock, and the hard drive doesn't get overly stressed (throughput is fine even on current stuff, just thermal/lifespan issues I'm worried about here), this could work fine, while still keeping the iPod size & cost in line.

Actually, the only difference between this and the streaming thing is swapping out the streaming stuff and putting the iPod directly connected to it. You'd still be able to browse audio, vidoe and pictures.

But why not just put an iPod dock on the Airport Express Home Theater Gadget in the first place and have ALL this functionality?

Also, read the comments from the link below, Sasha maks some excellent points about wired vs. wireless connectivitiy, where Bluetooth really helps you (I'd been thinking of direct commands from remote to Mac in other room, remote to Gadget via Bluetooth and commands send over 802.11g makes tons more sense), and rental vs purchase sales models.

It also dawned on me that, like an iPod, the DRM scenario still works if you're going to be wired or wirelessly connected to a central computer to make it be fine and dandy to have as many Home Theater Widgets as you want affiliated with computers that are locked to an account, since you're not ripping off the studios. In the same way you can copy music to all the iPods you want that are married to your Mac, why not have as many A/V Gadgets as you need?

Oh, and what to call it?

iWatch.

-mike