I would want an Apple TV if it had:
1) DVD/Blu-ray
2) DVR functionality
3) Codec plugins
4) iPod dock
Price isn’t a factor in “wanting” one right now.
There’s a ton of broadcast content that’s not available on iTunes. I’d love to be able to DVR it, and then watch it on TV or dock my iPhone and transfer it directly. Even the stuff that is available on iTunes, I’d hate to have to buy it when I already get it for free via cable, but the Apple TV can’t DVR it…and my TiVo is a hassle to transfer to my iPhone. I’m sure the Apple interface would be better than the TiVo interface, and it would enable me to get rid of a box in my cabinet.
Blu-ray would be a welcome addition too. The Nintendo Wii analogy doesn’t fit. First, I know a ton of people bought Playstations in part because of the ability to play DVD/Blu-ray. It helped in the decision. Secondly, the Wii *is* for playing games as stated in the article, but the Apple TV *is* for play audio/video content. It will appeal to everyone who will know that this device can play anything on your TV whether it’s from cable, DVD, Blu-ray, or downloaded from iTunes.
The open codec architecture of course enables it to play pirated content, but also enables it to play any other format…like from various video recorders and things that are legally downloaded from other sources. More importantly, opening the platform up for development would go a really long way.
The way I see this is that Apple could continue to sell a low-end Apple TV which is the Apple TV 3.0 mentioned in this article, but then also sell a higher end Apple TV that was really a Mac mini with additional features.
They could strike a deal with Comcast that was similar to the deal with AT&T, and the device becomes *very* appealing at multiple price points and feature sets.
It’s also a great time to evangelize developers for the platform.
As it stands now, Apple is competing against DVD, Blu-ray, Cable, TiVo, Netflix, Amazon, piracy, and all of the set top boxes.
Imagine how the iPod would’ve done if Apple declared the CD was dead and only enabled the iPod to play DRM tracks downloaded from iTunes.
