Apple has been treating Apple TV as a hobby since it failed to take off after launch. But that could all be about the change, with rumors that Apple is about to reboot the product in a big way.

If true, this is setting up an almighty battle with Google TV. Which should be fun to watch.

Apple TV

Steve Jobs first announced Apple TV back in September 2006, and at that point in time the company supposed it was going to have another huge hit on its hands. But it hasn’t turned out that way, with Apple’s success in computing and mobile devices not seeping through to the living room.

By 2008 Apple was publicly referring to Apple TV as nothing more than a hobby, and the device has remained that way ever since.

However, the last month or so has seen new rumors surfacing that Apple is about the reboot the project, and with so much speculation, and from so many sources, floating around, this would seem to have some weight.

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More people than ever may be using the Internet as a means of watching television and video, but is there yet a need, or indeed a demand, for a set-top box? Steve Jobs doesn’t think so, and as head of Apple, he should know.

The Internet Option

The Internet as a destination for viewing video content, be it a short, user-generated clip on YouTube, a full-length television episode on Hulu, or a movie purchased from Netflix, has never been more popular.

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To make it easier to watch movies on the AppleTV, Apple today announced a new software update for the devices which will add support for the new iTunes Movie Rental store.

In addition, pricing on the AppleTV has been lowered, with systems set to be released in two weeks with the new software available for $229 (40GB) and $329 (160GB).

The Apple TV set-top box was originally intended to make it easier for anyone to transfer media files from their PC to their television.

This is an idea that seems to have been wholly accepted by consumers, although some users still experience problems due to the interface.

Current owners of an Apple TV need not worry about purchasing new hardware, as the company has mentioned that it will provide the new software free of charge to existing owners. 

A slip up by Apple in the latest version of iTunes indicates a movie rental service on the horizon. Mac developer David Watanabe was quick to notice this Freudian Slip and uploaded a screenshot of an iTunes System Error which requests a refund for non-delivery of rental movies.

Other errors which point out to an Apple Movie Rental service include; accidental purchase, poor content quality, duplicate purchase, wrong version and bad metadata. As expected Apple for now is staying mum on the whole issue.

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Jaman is a P2P video client enabling users to purchase inexpensive downloads and rentals of films over the web. It focuses on the independent film circuit with International audiences.

Jaman launched a few months ago, so let’s take a look at what has changed, if anything, since then.

As it turns out, its creators have done quite a bit. Some alterations, some enhancements, some more polish. It’s moved along.

With the new Jaman, users can commence with a film soon after a download begins (granted that the broadband connection is fast enough to ensure the data comes down more quickly than video is played back.

Plus with an improved layout to the website and a new community page (one of those more interesting features of the Jaman project), the whole package looks a good amount more attractive.

I recently rambled on about how the StreamCast Player was the most elegant flash player I had ever seen. The guy behind this fluid browser based video player, Micro Pasqualini, also hinted to me he had another project in the works called WiTV, but that this was “top secret”.

Yesterday I managed to have a chat with Pasqualini, who shed a bit of light on what this whole WiTV thing is…

I have to say I am very intrigued by the talk of a browser based Joost and Apple TV compatibility.

Looking at the Joost interface it will be obvious to many that this is something that you could imagine on your TV screen. In fact, the first moment I saw Joost I thought that’s exactly where the company wants to take it.

Mike Volpi, the new CEO of Joost arriving from Cisco. told The New York Times that:

Joost is a piece of software and it can reside on a variety of platforms… It could be on a television set-top box. Or potentially it could be imbedded in a TV set with an Ethernet connection, or on a mobile phone, or in some alternative device that might come out in the future. The flexibility is really high.”

Possible Set Top Box Partners

But who will this STB partner be? Joost could theoretically just go out there and strike a deal with any STB manufacturer to create a Joost IPTV box that will bring Joost to the TV set.

However, I’ll put my money on the fact that they are also waiting for a deal with a popular brand with a large consumer base.

Let's look at the options: