September 2, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Watching television in the living room has now become the heated topic of debate, courtesy Apple TV.

Apple’s co founder and chief executive, Steve Jobs had in fact, been a little frivolous when he mentioned t the Apple TV as a ‘hobby’. He went on to make light of the issue at the San Francisco Autumn event of Apple. The product has been elevated since then with the price fixed at $99 which is very competitive to be sure. Apple TV has also geared up for streaming shows at 99 cents and offers a collection of HD films in exchange for $4.99.

Michael Gartenberg, the partner of a research firm called Altimeter Group said that Apple is now eyeing the living room completely and is not willing to cede its control to others.

Jobs admitted that Apple had not been much of a hit before but said that it has learnt its lesson. The current scenario shows that people want Hollywood movies and TV shows as well as content that is professional. He went on to add that the majority of the people were not looking for ‘Amateur Hour’ thus taking a swipe at Google and YouTube.

Amazon announced its new subscription based service which will offer TV shows via the Internet on the same day as Apple’s launch. Sony followed suit at the Berlin IFA technology fair by announcing its new offering.

With ABC and Fox Studios signing up with Apple, Jobs is certain that others would follow soon. Mike McGuire of Gartner, a research firm feels that this might indeed be the cases if you go by Apple’s past performances. His colleague Van Baker is less convinced by the argument but agrees that the price tag would prove to be compelling for the consumer.

However, some of the media companies like NBC Universal, Time Warner Inc. and CBS Corp are not likely to sign up for TV show rentals in the near future.