[opendtv] Re: Google pulls plug on YouTube for older iPads, iPhones, smart TVs

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2015 08:23:16 -0400

On Apr 26, 2015, at 8:04 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Really Craig? How many browsers can you run on AppleTV boxes? I don't have a
choice of browsers for our Roku, either.

None. Apple TV is not currently set up to browse the Internet. That is not what
it was designed to do, although this could change in the future if Apple
decides to create a version with enhanced functionality that supports web
browsing and third party apps.

The major reason for this reduced feature set has been the user interface.
Apple (and Roku) chose to keep the UI simple for several reasons:
1. Cost
2. Complexity - optimized for the lean back TV viewing experience with a simple
remote.
3. Better solutions via the related ecosystem.

The last is particularly important for Apple TV. Using an iOS device (phone or
tablet), I can run a web browser with an excellent user interface while sitting
in my recliner in front of the TV. If I want to share a web page or play a
video on the TV from a web page, I hit the AirPlay button, and it is on the big
screen.

An aside... We tried turning on the Air Conditioning yesterday and it did not
work. Turned out that it was the original programmable thermostat that went
bad. We bought a "slightly" upgraded version of the old Honeywell programmable
thermostat a for $129 it has WiFi capability versus the $79 non WiFi version.
So now, I can program the thermostat from a free app on my phone or tablet, and
if I register the thermostat on a Honeywell site, I can control it anywhere I
have Internet access.

Turns out that TV is but one small part of the "Internet of Things" that we
will be controlling via our device ecosystems.

And just about every OTT portal has apps to access their
content.

Really, Craig? Are you trying to compare the portals available globally to
PCs, vs you limited devices? Can you go to cbs.com, Craig?
Yes.

Can you go to wwitv.com, Craig?

Yes.

"Just about every portal" means the vast majority, Craig. Your devices depend
on the good graces of those portals, or of the TV source itself, in
graciously providing your "app."

You are misinformed.


Wrong. They were THE FIRST to get in bed with the content
owners.

Even that's false. The whole DRM thing was built up after the media streams
became available, and the older PCs did not stop working because of the new
DRM solutions. If older PCs quit working, it was because they couldn't handle
the streaming media computationally, not because of DRM.

Wrong. Microsoft agreed to both hardware and software features on new PCs to
support DRM, and to frustrate the ability to copy these bits. Without these
features older PCs could not access DRM protected content; the poor performance
was just another reality of being on the PC treadmill.


Apple TV is more limited, but with AirPlay I can access
stuff on my iPad then mirror to the TV.

Really Craig? And yet, in spite of Craig's claims, even two Apple boxes are
not adequate to send cb.com to his TV set. If he doesn't use his Mac, nothing
works.

I assume you mean CBS.com. I don't need to access it, as the CBS app duplicated
the functionality. And I can use my Mac and mirror CBS.com to Apple TV.

Craig thinks that the Internet only provides half a dozen TV portals. How
absurd.

Yes absurd. I use that many most days on my iOS devices. But typically not for
TV entertainment. How to videos, coverage of events I attend, promotional
videos for products I may buy, etc. FaceTime to see and talk to my daughter and
grand baby...


Bert gets overwhelmed with the relative unimportance of some things...

Regards
Craig

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