iMac G5: Missing a TV Tuner?


Should Apple have made Wi-Fi and a TV Tuner standard issue on the new iMac G5? Forrester Research analyst Paul Jackson, quoted in an Engadget story, says Apple "blew it" by leaving some popular consumer options off the spec list.

That's one opinion. But Engadget's take is that Apple left those items off the iMac because they're prepping their own 'media center' Mac.

The discussion over there largely discounts the TV tuner option. Who watches TV on their PC? Aren't you more likely to be watching TV (on a TV) while you work on your PC? (or, more likely, a notebook).

Analysis: It's true 'media center' PCs have become popular, but we seriously question how many people in fact watch TV on their computers or record programs on them.

Our take? If there were to be a TV-tuner equipped Mac, please (please) put an MPEG-2 hardware encoder on the mobo. Then, at least, the Mac could function as some kind of DVD recorder, with the video material encoded, ready to go straight to iDVD or DVDSP for editing and burning.