Apple TV just gets better and better. Now I want more.
I like my Apple TV and the flaws have always been the kind where I thought, “Oh, this will get fixed in a patch.” Those patches have started happening. I downloaded my first HD movie and watched it today on the new TV. It looked really good, didn’t take too long to download (about an hour but it offered me the ability to start watching when it was at 3%. I chose to go on a Starbucks run instead.), and generally the whole experience was solid.
The problem is… I don’t want to pay $5 to rent an HD movie. This is why I have Netflix and have basically an all I can eat model. The convenience of downloading on the Apple TV or xbox is nice, the quality is equal to or better than standard DVD, and I get all the value these services bring me.
Here’s the rub… I also understand the value this brings the content producers. They know more about me when I purchase online, they have better cross-sell and up-sell options, they don’t have any of the packaging and much lower distribution costs but for some reason these content producers want me to keep paying the old prices. Why does it cost me the same to download a movie as it does to rent a physical DVD from a store? Their costs go way down, their control goes way up, and the value to the consumer doesn’t change accordingly.
I’d actually rather not watch than be squeezed into the old paradigm. I stopped going to the movies pretty close to when I got my big screen TV and now I have a 32″ 1080p TV in addition to the 55″ 1080i. I have multiple Tivo’s, an Apple TV, and xbox 360, pc’s, a slingbox and all kinds of other things that will let me get the content from the provider that does it right. The quality just keeps getting better with my home viewing experience so why would I spend $10 or more to have a social experience that I want to be a non-social experience? 
Again, the content producers need to embrace their consumers. I won’t pirate content but I just won’t consume. There are a hundred ways they could be getting more of my business. They could start by giving me what I want in the format I want it and by not treating me as their enemy.
Dare to dream.