CEO of Internet video provider Brightcove Jeremy Allaire expects that Apple will release a thin black bar that will add FaceTime video chat and motion control to existing, non-Apple televisions, reports AppleInsider.
The new product would ditch the current "puck" design used by the Apple TV set-top box, Brightcove Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire speculated in the reports by AllThingsD. He envisions an accessory about 1-inch tall and 3-inch wide that could be easily mounted to the top of any brand of HDTV.
"Like the existing Apple TV, it will have HDMI and power jacks on the back, but it will also include a high definition camera, as well as an embedded iOS environment that provides motion-sensing and speech processing," Allaire was noted in the report.
This theoretical accessory is based on Allaire's prediction that Apple's focus in the living room would not be selling a full-fledged television set. Instead, he believes Apple will continue to advance its iOS platform and find ways to easily integrate it into user's living rooms.
In addition to a black bar compatible with any HDTV, Allaire believes Apple also plans on "dipping their toe into the actual TV monitor business." He expects that a full-fledged television set from Apple would offer capabilities identical to the hypothetical black bar accessory, but the full TV would also feature Apple's own design and form factor.
Based in Cambridge, Brightcove is an online video platform that serves major clients like The New York Times and Time. Its products offer HTTP Live Streaming for iOS devices, and can also allow content providers to convert video available in Adobe Flash to iOS-compatible HTML5.
Rumors of an Apple television continue to persist, and recently got rife following Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's appearance at the D10 conference. According to few reports, Cook said that although the Apple TV set-top box remains a "hobby," a refresh of the product to deliver 1080p video content helped sales reach 2.7 million so far in 2012.
"We're going to keep pulling the string and see where it takes us," Cook said of the Apple TV's role in the living room.
Last Friday, analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray said he believed that Apple would unveil the product later this year and launch it in the first half of 2013, with a price between $1,500 and $2,000 for screen sizes between 42 and 55 inches.
