As we told you recently, the addition of DVR abilities for the next revision of the Apple TV seems all but certain. Still, Apple has released an online survey asking users more about how they use their Apple TV and what kind of equipment configuration they have.

The questions run the gamut of everything from renting movies to viewing content from other sources such as DVR, DVD, and Blu-ray. We can only suspect that the company is trying to gain more insight as to what people are doing on their TVs and how Apple could leverage their technology to do it better.

The expansion of Apple TV into other areas seems to be something that Apple could take a hard look at before it decides if it wishes to enter deeper into the home of this information as an exercise in whether the company should consider taking a crack at an Apple version of the TV business.

We have to agree with many who have said that much of the iPod’s success is driven in part because it could work with content that users already had. The addition of DVR abilities would give users the ability to capture content that could then be transferred to iPods or computers, for example. We do think that this could be the key to making the shift necessary for making Apple TV more successful.

Some have also suggested that the company consider opening the platform up and allowing the development of additional applications for the Apple TV platform; which would, of course, be able to be sold through the Apps Store. The combination of unique content developed for the box by third party developers could yield the kind of experience that is paying off for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms so well that it could really drive Apple TV’s growth, as well.