Apple in talks to bring Epix films to Apple TV set

According to more murmurings about the much-rumoured forthcoming Apple TV set, the Cupertino company is in talks to stream films owned by Epix on its Apple TV as well as numerous devices including a standalone TV set, Reuters reports.

Epix is a US TV channel that's a joint venture between Viacom (Paramount Pictures), MGM and Lionsgate, offering movies from all three. So if the deal comes off, expect plenty of films to choose from on your brand spanking new Apple TV set. The only downside? It still looks likes it could be a way off.

Talks started earlier this year, and are still in the preliminary stages, with no agreement in sight. One complication is that the channel made a deal with Netflix in 2010, giving it exclusive rights to stream its films until September this year, so don't expect any announcement of the Apple TV set before then. Then again, we weren't expecting any news until the very end of the year at the earliest, so things could still be on track.

The Internet went into a rumour frenzy ever since Steve Jobs mentioned to his biographer Walter Isaacson that he was working on a TV set -- but there have been no concrete details as yet. Jobs did say it'd have the "simplest user interface you could imagine."

We're expecting AirPlay for streaming films, TV shows and music, and a FaceTime camera for video calls. And this "simplest user interface you could imagine"? I'm thinking motion controls like on the Kinect, or maybe even Siri for speaking to switch channel and volume. Though the fact Apple left Siri off the new iPad hints maybe things aren't all rosy with its voice-controlled assistant.

What do you expect from the Apple TV set? And how can everyone else compete? Let me know in the comments below, or over on our Facebook page.