Apple bringing video streaming to AirPlay standard?
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Wed March 23, 2011
Move could marginalize Apple TV
Apple is reportedly considering changes to its AirPlay standard, which may be updated with support for video streaming. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg the company would continue to expand licensing agreements with hardware manufacturers, who would be able to take advantage of streaming movies, TV shows or other videos.
It remains unclear if such a move would eventually marginalize the company's Apple TV set-top box, which serves as a hardware solution linking video- and audio-based content to hardware via HDMI and other physical connections. Although the device has been updated with new features, the second-generation model moved away from integrated storage and relies more heavily on streaming content.
If the reports are accurate, the strategy shift is expected to help bolster video sales through Apple's own iTunes store. Company's also pay $4 per AirPlay-supported device sold, though it remains unclear if the video expansion will equate to a jump in licensing fees.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2010
The Apple of the future
Content delivery, infrastructure, and services. Apple makes most of their money through their hardware margins now. But hardware costs always drop, and in the next 10 years or so, consumer-level computing power will be more or less free.
By integrating AirPlay and other Apple technologies into consumer electronics, Apple will be able to make money through 3rd party consumer electronics. That's an example of the hardware fork of the infrastructure of the Apple of the future. They're just about to open their massive North Carolina data center, which could be used for services (free MobileMe?) and content delivery (iTunes streaming.)
Meanwhile, Microsoft is still struggling to mimic iPod. From 2001. And Google tried and failed to resurrect the WebTV concept with Google TV. Fail.