The third Apple TV should remain a digital media receiver

No matter how you look at it, the TV industry is a race to the bottom. Every manufacturer tries to outdo the other by improving capabilities while lowering the price. Just five years ago, I bought a 32-inch 720p LCD TV that I thought was generously priced at $1100. Two years after that, I bought a 46-inch 1080p LCD TV for $50 less than the first. Looking at the current market prices, I could buy a better quality 46-inch 1080p LED TV for $600. That’s a slap in the face. Honestly, I’m willing to bet that most people think 46 inches is the perfect size for a television. Unless you have an unusually large room and sit 25 feet from your TV, there’s no need for something larger. In fact, if you think about bumping to 50, 60 or 70 inches, you’re not getting a better picture… you’re getting the same 1920 by 1080 resolution on a larger screen. That leads to pixelated images and a poorer viewing experience. So let’s assume that 46 inches is the optimal size for a TV. What features are absolutely necessary? I’d start with LED backlighting because it produces a much brighter, cleaner image. [...]

You’ll probably have to pay for mobile Hulu

We reported earlier last week that Hulu will be making it’s way to the iPad (iPhone and iPod touch will likely follow suit). Since that possibility was leaked, more information has come through the grapevine… and it’s not going to make you happy. It appears that the three owning studios — ABC, NBC, and FOX — have been trying to figure out a way to make more money from Hulu besides the already annoying ads. This will probably result in a premium model that will give us access to more content. Currently, shows available on Hulu contain the latest three episodes (on average). That’s always been our biggest issue with Hulu: we can’t watch anything older than a few weeks. Even the networks’ online players tend to limit shows to the current season. Anyone else want to watch old seasons of Big Bang Theory? So what does this premium model look like? It’s been suggested that paid users will have access to content on three devices: a computer, a TV and a mobile device. That seems like a pretty big step backwards to us. Just this last year, Apple gave us a great music sharing tool with iTunes Home Sharing. [...]