Hot on the heels of Apple’s latest announcement introducing the iPad 3 to the world people quickly forgot all about the new Apple HDTV hype. Prior to the announcement, if you’ll recall, there was great speculation as to what Apple would be announcing regarding its Apple TV line. It had been speculated that what Steve Jobs once mentioned as a hobby of Apple’s would soon become one of its next “big things”. Needless to say, we were all more than a little disappointed to learn that they not only weren’t releasing a new HDTV, but they were merely rolling out a “newish” Apple TV 3 packed into the same little black box.

It seemed all hope was lost until we discovered one of the latest patents filings from our favorite Cupertino giant. Patently Apple has released the specs and images from Apples filings for an Advanced TV Remote. One of the more noteworthy features of this remote is its ability to use a camera, iCloud, and Apples Servers to learn your current remote. Buried in the filing is an explanation on how Apple’s new remote will let you:

Simply take a photo of your current TV remote and it sends it up to iCloud for analysis. It then sends a “virtual copy” of your remote, functionality and all, to your iPhone. You’re now able to control your current TV with Apple’s advanced universal remote and enjoy all of Apple’s TV remote features and likely tie-in products and services.

If this is a sign of things to come… we may be satisfied yet. After all Tim Cook did claim that we should keep on the lookout for the things to come in 2012!

Read the detailed description of the new Apple patent on Patantly Apple.

umOuch (Andrew Brasher)

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Have you missed Gene Munster and his Apple TV-related “predictions” yet? Piper Jaffray analyst wrote a new note to clients claiming he has heard from “a major TV component supplier” that they had been contacted by Apple regarding “various capabilities of their television display components.” Munster sees this as “continued evidence that Apple is exploring production of a television.” Munster added that Apple had a series of meetings in January 2011 in Asia because the company “was investing in manufacturing facilities for LCD displays ranging from 3.5″ mobile displays to 50″ television displays.”

“In Sept-11 we met with a contact close to an Asian supplier who indicated that prototypes of an Apple Television are in the works,” Munster wrote.

Munster believes the hardware part could be ready for late 2012 lunch, but the content part – getting Hollywood on board – seems to still be a major problem. “The timeline and scope of a revamped content solution is more uncertain,” Piper Jaffray analyst wrote. “Without a revamped TV content solution, we do not think Apple enters the TV market,” he concluded.

Munster offers three scenarios on how might a revamped TV content solution look like (quotation from Munster’s note):

1. Apple could simply enable its television to manage a consumer’s live TV service from within a unified interface much like TiVo does, partnering with MSOs [i.e. the cable companies]. As Apple was developing the iPhone many investors expected the company to become an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). Instead, the company partnered with AT&T (then Cingular) to bring the iPhone to market in the U.S. Similarly, Apple could choose to avoid the cost and effort of entering the live TV services business and simply partner with MSOs to deliver live, cable TV to the Apple Television. While this would be the easiest and most likely option, it would also be the least revolutionary. Technically, this option would function much like TiVo does today: partnering with MSOs and offering a unified DVR/guidance software interface to make search and discovery easier for the viewer. In some ways, a connected TV’s software is the biggest differentiator that Apple can bring to the table, so this option could still result in a new and fresh product for the television market. Apple could also supplement this with its iTunes Movie rental and purchase service directly on the television.

    2. Apple could offer access to live TV from network channels in combination with other web-based video services. One middle-of-the-road option could be for Apple to deliver live TV from network channels (either over the internet or over the air) to the Apple Television. Apple could then leverage a new App Store for the Apple Television to supplement the basic live TV features with Netflix, Hulu Plus, or any content provider that chooses to build an app for the television. In this instance, Apple would also likely continue to offer its iTunes movie and TV content through the iTunes store to the Apple Television.

    3. Apple could offer monthly subscriptions, on an a-la-carte basis, for live TV packages with content from content providers. Clearly the most challenging option, if Apple truly wanted to control the entire television experience – which, again, the company chose not to do when entering the smartphone market – it would have to become a virtual MSO (Multiple Services Provider) and offer monthly subscriptions for live TV services. Such an offering would be unlikely given existing licensing arrangements between content providers and service providers as well as the fact that it lies outside of Apple’s core competencies, even in media. That said, it would enable the company to control the entire experience and possibly deliver new features that are currently unavailable through existing television service providers and CE device makers.

[via Fortune; image by Guilherme M. Schasiepen]

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English Premier League official app on Apple TV? Wouldn’t it be great to be just two clicks away from fantastic games like yesterday’s City’s impressive victory against Liverpool? Daily Mail reports that Apple is considering bidding for the TV rights to show live Premier League football. The Mail claims that “the Premier League is seen as the type of premium content that will help establish Apple TV in the UK and boost iPad sales.” According to DM, the three certain bidders will be Sky (who paid £1.6billion for their current packages), ESPN and Al Jezeera. The Mail also suggests that Google could be interested in the EPL rights for its Google TV, which is due to launch in the UK and Europe this year.

Apple TV users are currently offered subscription services to NBA, NHL and MLB content (live and in HD) through dedicated apps. Available are live and on-demand games with an NBA League Pass Broadband, NHL GameCenter and MLB.TV subscriptions. If you don’t have a subscription you can still get team schedules and real-time scores, standings, and stats — both in-game and full-season — all free.

At the moment, you can watch Premier League matches live via XBMC plugin called LiveOnlineFooty. It’s a paid subscription service (3£ per month) but, unfortunately, they are not currently accepting any new registrations.

UPDATE: According to The Guardian, Apple has not even discussed bidding for the rights to show live Premier League football and is unlikely to do so. “Its model relies on taking a cut of the revenue from existing content producers by retailing its content through its App Store or iTunes service. Sky already shows its live matches on Apple devices through its SkyGo application, and the Premier League has a deal to sell packages of archive content through iTunes,” reports the newspaper. The Guardian said Google, which owns YouTube, “is considered a more likely bidder.”

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