Bite of the Apple: Apple to launch HDTV next year?

Reports are filtering out the Apple is preparing to possibly launch an HDTV model next year sometime, based on rumors dripping from various offices around the world. It could be a huge lightning rod for Apple users and non-users alike to become Apple-disciples.

The maker of the iPhone and the iPod are readying their manufacturing partners to prepare for the equipment demand, and once its announced, ripples could quickly follow. Here’s a quick note from TVPredictions.com regarding this news:

The New York Post writes today that investment firm Piper Jaffray has alerted clients that Apple has invested $3.9 billion in companies involved in LCD panel manufacturing. Piper Jaffray says Apple is likely gearing up to introduce its own branded TV.

Apple has targeted the living room with its $99 Apple TV set-top box which streams movies and TV shows over the Net to the television. However, the company has yet to make a substantial investment in TV-related projects. At least, until now.

Now we haven’t seen any solid reports regarding this, but the chum is in the water, so to speak.

Cheaper is Good: Apple adding HD movies for $10

Buying HD movies from iTunes has always been considered an expensive, trendy choice, if not popular because of its $20 price tag.  Now Apple is trying to change that with their recent addition of a ‘bargain’ area of HD movies now available for $9.99. See the details here:

Apple has added a $10 or less HD movie section for older titles that were previously sold for the new-film premium of $20. The sub-$10 library only consists of 30 titles at the moment (though we assume that’ll grow with time), including 3:10 to Yuma, American Psycho, and The Doors, as well as more appropriate bargain bin specimens like Midgets vs. Mascots, The Midnight Meat Train, and Witless Protection.

We like price drops, but we’d like it even more if 99 cent show rentals, etc. made all of this not even matter. With Apple’s track record, we aren’t too sure about that happening.

Price Slash: Apple to cut cost of SD/HD TV shows on iTunes to a dollar each?

Yes, the Apple rumor mill, always flowing right before a big announcement (and then the iPad was announced, of course) had another rumor begin to churn up: prices of SD (and possibly HD) TV shows on iTunes may be cut to as low as $1 very soon. HD shows on iTunes have been a nice boon for the portable TV market, but their rather high prices have kept many on the sidelines in this case. I’d love to watch these episodes on this monster TV though.

SD versions are rumored to be cut first, with HD versions next to follow should that work well. All of this is per the Financial Times that Apple has been wanting to do this for awhile now. For digital distribution to really work, it has be as close to cost and convenience as DVD box sets are now, and this moves closer to that goal, for certain.

We’d love to see HD versions of shows be a buck or slightly more, that would get us to follow the big white Apple much more closely.

Rumor Mill: Next iTunes version to offer direct Blu-Ray support?

Yes, the disc format wars are pretty much history at this point, and it appears Apple feels the same way, with rumors dropping of direct Blu-Ray disc support coming with the next iTunes version 9 release.

Boy Genius Report (a popular tech blog) claims a “pretty reliable source” has stated to them that Blu-ray support will be included with the next release, making it official that its the winner of the format wars.

Of course, we know Apple won’t confirm all of this until their news conference soon, so all this is really is rumor at this point, but if true, we as HD fans welcome the inclusion into iTunes.

Opinion: Is the lack of Blu-Ray support keeping you from bothering with a Mac?

Steve Jobs already gave his opinion about Blu-Ray (calling it a ‘bag of hurt’), but rumors were announced about built in Blu-Ray players and support in Apple Macs soon, but none of that has come to pass. PC users (at least some of them) seem to think this is an important feature, so we were curious: What do you, our readers, think?

Blu-Ray is currently gaining momentum in the marketplace as far as premium home theater options, so is the lack of built-in support keeping you from consider a Mac for your system options? Jobs doesn’t seem to think the format is “mature” enough yet, pointing to iTunes as a source of HD material.

Feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

An Apple HDTV with integrated iTunes on the horizon?

In an telling and interesting interview with CNet UK, Jason Calacanis, who is the founder of several tech sites/blogs, revealed that Apple is planning to release an Apple LCD HDTV very soon with lots of Apple-themed integrated goodies included. Since LG-Philips provides LCD panels/internals for the company’s current mammoth 30″ monitor, it could mean that the new HDTV product will use larger size LG-Philips LCD panels, which could be a huge boon for the electronics company.

According to Calacanis, the HDTVs will come integrated with Apple TV functionality built-in. The iTunes store will be a integrated part of the Apple HDTV, offering services such as HD movie rentals and other iTunes related services, built right into the set. It’ll be a mover retail wise, for sure, if and when it does happen. An iPod touch or iPhone will be used to control the HDTV via Apple’s Remote, of course.

Apple is making some bold moves in the market right now, and asserting itself as a strong force in the media world.