Apple’s iTV: More Than Just Video Streaming?

• November 29th, 2006 | Streaming Video

Ok, this is cool.  I’ve been waiting with so much anticipation since Apple announced the iTV.  Put it this way, I’ll be getting one of these no matter what.

We’ve known for a while now that it will be capable of streaming music and photos as well as it’s core competence of streaming video from iTunes.  But now rumor has it that it might have more functionality than previously thought due to comments made by Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff and obtained by AppleInsider.

“Though details remain sketchy, Apple emphasized [the] focus of iTV [is] to improve user experience by leveraging its software expertise and implied that there may be features beyond the mere streaming of video content,” said Neff in a report on his meeting with Apple.

So could the rumors of Apple releasing a fully fledged set-top box actually be coming to fruition?  Perhaps the deals Apple are reportedly working on with networks and studios are for more than just downloads?  What I’m getting at here is it may be that the iTV may actually be an IPTV set-top box where you can tune into various TV channels broadcast over the internet.  It might sound a bit crazy, but Apple have a reputation for the unknown.