David Emery Online

Trouble on TV

7 November 2006

If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look at Engadget’s hands on with the Xbox Live Video Store.

Apple is in trouble. Big Time.

Out of all the things Microsoft have done, I think the Xbox is the best. Better then Windows. Better then Office. The original Xbox was easily the best console out of the last generation, and is the only one I still play. The Xbox 360 is on a lot shakier ground then its predecessor – while the PS3 has had it’s problems it’s shaping up to be a real winner, and the Wii is in a whole different race all together. If the 360 doesn’t get a real killer app soon, it may have some real problems ahead.

One of the things they really got right for the 360 though was the interface design – it’s simply one of the best interfaces from both a usability perspective and an aesthetics perspective I’ve ever used. There’s a huge amount that could be learnt by analysing the simplicity of the Xbox 360 interface, and game interfaces in general; the purity of purpose and the stripped down nature of the input devices lead to some brilliant interfaces that anybody can use. That, however, is a whole other article.

This interface is coupled with a very successful online store – the Xbox Marketplace – and this combination of factors spells real problems for Apple and it’s TV and Movie selling business. For a start, Microsoft have already solved the hardest problem – getting content off the internet onto your TV. A lot of people already have Xbox 360s connected to both the internet and their TV; Apple’s solution with the proposed iTV is already down at the first hurdle – the costs not much less then the Xbox, but does a whole heap less.

The problem is that not only have Microsoft solved this problem already, they’ve solved it well. Apple are normally very good at taking a pre-existing idea and making it brilliant, but there isn’t much scope for that here. For a start, as mentioned above the interface is good (Apple good). Secondly, they’re offering content in HD which while being fairly irrelevant on this side of the pond – where it hasn’t really taken off yet – is definitely important in the US.

Thirdly, and possibly most importantly, they’re doing movie rentals as opposed to to-keep purchases. With video files – HD especially – taking up so much disk space, and movies inherently being a one time event for most people, I think rentals are a much more compelling offering then what Apple offers currently. I’m not saying that movie downloads won’t be successful – DVD sales show that there’s a large market for permanent ownership of films – but for the mass market I think on-demand rentals will really capture the imagination if priced right.

While I still think that the iPod has little to worry about from the Zune, I’m sure the Xbox 360 Video Store is giving Apple sleepless nights.