Apple TV box market share trails rivals Roku, Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV, according to research firm EMarketer.įollow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews, also keep up with us The late Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, once described the TV set-top box as a hobby, a label it has struggled to shed in recent years. Potential partners described Apple's efforts with the TV app as the company's latest experimentation. Instead of the live TV service, Apple launched the TV app in 2016, pulling together content from existing apps. It also tried to create a package of premium channels like HBO, Starz and Showtime for a discounted price. The company flirted with creating an online package of live TV channels before recent efforts by YouTube, Hulu and Dish Network Corp. Netflix and YouTube, owned by rival Alphabet Inc., operate the two largest online video services in the world outside of China.Īpple's leadership has explored different ways of getting into the online video business over the past few years without committing to any one direction. HBO, Starz and others have credited Amazon with helping them boost new online services by marketing them to its base of more than 100 million Prime customers.Īpple is also one of the biggest sellers of movies and TV shows thanks to iTunes, but it has largely missed out on the wave of on-demand services now replacing the online sale of individual titles. Customers who pay an annual subscription fee for Prime also get access to video and music streaming, and they can pay extra for a more robust content library. Sales from services climbed 31 percent in the most recent quarter, reaching a record $9.2 billion.Īpple declined to comment on the project.Īpple is positioning the TV app much like Amazon does with its Channels program, which allows customers to add subscriptions for HBO, Starz and Showtime to Amazon Prime Video. With growth in iPhone sales slowing, Apple is now looking to services such as Apple Music and iCloud storage and content subscriptions to boost its financial results. For that, you'll need a hub-based Harmony like the Home Control.Cupertino, California-based Apple plans to roll out this feature in the next year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing plans that aren't public. I recommend Harmony, although IR-only models like the Harmony 650 can't control the streaming sticks. Incorporating a streaming device into your system adds some complexity and another remote, so investing in a good universal model can be worth it for the convenience. A good alternative is to use wired Ethernet, as long as your streaming device supports it. Many streamers need a good Wi-Fi connection as well, and since they connect directly to your TV, you need to have plenty of bars in the living room. Most entry-level broadband packages will suffice, but streaming video quality may suffer especially during prime-time hours in the evening. You'll also need a decent Internet connection. If the TV you're connecting to lacks HDMI, your only resort is an older streamer like the Roku 1. Nearly every streamer sold today requires an HDMI input, which excludes older TVs. Sarah Tew/CNET You need HDMI, broadband Internet and good Wi-Fi.
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