Apple who is set to take on the likes of Foxtel, Fetch TV and Telstra’s T Box in Australia has launched a new low cost $99 Apple TV device that gives users access to IPTV content.
The Apple TV device gives users access to streaming movies and television shows and delivers first-run high-definition movies the day they come out on DVD. This is a service that Telstra has been trying to secure for Australia via Hollywood studio’s.
The catch for Australian consumers is that in the past Apple has done a lousy job of delivering content for Australian users of their device.
At this stage Apple is claiming that users will pay US$4.99 for high-definition content while TV show rentals will be US $99 cents. (Prices will differ in Australia). Users will not be able to record the content for later use.
Apple TV has been around since 2007, but it hasn’t caught on with the mainstream. It doesn’t record shows the way TiVo and other digital video recorders do.
“We’ve sold a lot of them, but it’s never been a huge hit,” Jobs told hundreds of journalists, bloggers and analysts in San Francisco.
He said the previous Apple TV setup is too complicated for average consumers.
Apple has not said which movie studios have agreed to include their titles for streaming. Television episodes also be available, including such hits as “The Simpsons” and “Glee.”
Jobs said only News Corp’s Fox and The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC have been willing to license their shows for streaming so far, but he said he hoped others would join once the service gains popularity.
Some media companies have raised concerns that the 99-cent television rentals will undercut higher-priced offerings for permanent download, which sell for $1.99 and $2.99.
