Why purchase Apple TV?

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ejsjrnc

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I got my AppleTV as a christmas gift last year and I use it just about every day. I'm contemplating just cancelling my normal cable service altogether since I can find just about anything I'd like to watch either streaming online to my pc or as a dl for my appleTV anyway.

Plus if you hack your unit to enable ssh and add an external drive, you can watch just about any kind of media that you want. I use mine to watch the rather extensive collection of divx/avi tv shows that i've collected over the years.

I see no reason why Apple would discontinue the unit. It helps them to sell TV shows and movies from the itunes store at the very least. I'm also sure that they aren't exactly losing money on selling the hardware either.
 

capitaljayme

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dhoward said:
I am or at least was planning on buying an Apple TV as a Christmas gift. Then I read the article, Part 1 View on the Iphone or ITouch, on the home page of ILounge. To my surprise in Part 1, page 44, of this article I read the following:

"Having been downplayed by Apple, yet not replaced in time for the
2008 holiday season, Apple TV seems at high risk of replacement or
discontinuation in 2009. We wouldn’t shed a tear, but for hard-core
iTunes video fans, the current model is a fun toy to connect to an HDTV."

I posted a question regarding this in the Apple web forum. To my surprise the Apple moderator deleted it as based on speculation. The above quote worries me as I do not want to gift this to someone and then see it become one of Apple's orphans. I feel the moderator was within his rights based on the Terms of Service but if it is alright for Apple to hide a product that might be on its last legs then it is in my right as a purchaser to be aware of the possibility. Anyway since the article is part of this site I would welcome any thoughts regarding the discontinuation. Should I buy it or not? Is this article right or just speculation? If it is replaced by another model that would not bother me as that is a normal process. I am just worried that it will go away and no more updates or support will provided.
Even if they to stop selling them you still should be able to get movies etc via itunes.
 

dhoward

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I want to thank all of you for your responses. I decided to purchase Apple TV, as a Christmas gift, for my daughter. I think she will get a lot of use from it. I agree with the premise that even if Apple discontinues it it will still serve its purpose for my daughter. Thank you again.
 

hamz9561

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As far as playing DIVx or AVI type video on my ATV, I use Videora to convert it to h.264 MP$ video and away we go. I only wish that there were easier ways to hack it for PC users....
 

Dr.Gonzo

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Are ALL The TV Shows in HD? If not what percentage?

Right now I pay about $100 for Dish Network and that's only for a few shows I watch mainly:

Discovery:
Deadliest Catch
Dirty Jobs
Mythbusters

CBS:
NCIS
CSI (all 3)

FOX/FX:
Rescue Me
House M.D.

USA:
Burn Notice
Monk


And that's about it. I have all the premium channels through DISH, but could save money on just renting the movies I want to see. And I don't watch sports at all. Plus being able to use your iPhone/iPod touch as a remote is a nice bonus. :D
 

Sparkee

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I wish I could buy TV Shows from the US networks here in Canada. I would also let my satellite dish go and get season passes to my shows.
 
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Dr.Gonzo said:
Are ALL The TV Shows in HD? If not what percentage?
No, right now there are only about 40-50 shows available in HD. Note that these also sell for a premium price of $2.99 per episode, rather than the usual $1.99 per episode.

You can find a listing of all HD TV shows on the iTunes Store here (link opens iTunes).

Right now it's mostly major-network programming, so you're not likely to see things like Discovery Channel shows, but shows like CSI, House and Monk are available in HD versions, at least for the current seasons.
 

Germansuplex

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I just got an Apple TV today... ended up getting it for about $100 less too thanks to some holiday cheer that came back around on my end, so it couldn't have worked out better. I opted for the 40gb model because I simply don't need to actually store that much content on the Apple TV itself. I can easily sync a season of Television to the device if I want to, though I don't find it necessary to do so. But that's really all the space I need, is for a spare movie or two and a season of television.

I'm very pleased with the product, much more than I really thought I would (just a couple months ago, I thought I would settle with my PS3, TVersity and some Windows plugins). I read iLounge's review and think that it pretty much hits the nail right on the head on all accounts: it's a very good product, it does what it advertises, but it does have some roughness around the edges as well as a few features that need to be added before becoming a serious living room necessity.

I have a fairly slow computer: a cheapo budget desktop with 1gb memory and my library on an external drive. Connected to ethernet (haven't tried wireless yet), the Apple TV runs smooth as silk. Videos and music load up and play fast, and stuttering in video is minimal, almost none (much less frequent than trying to transcode files for play on the PS3).

My main gripe is with the layout of the store. Searching for stuff is easy, but the design is bare-bones.

I rented "88 Minutes" in high-def with Al Pacino and waited until the video was 5% downloaded, then began watching. It played back seamlessly until the end.

Videos look very good on the Apple TV. Files transcoded to maximum resolution for the iPod classic look almost as good as their DVD counterpart.

I've tried lots of options to stream or otherwise watch my iTunes content on my HDTV and overall, Apple TV is by far the easiest solution. I am definitely satisfied and would recommend it.
 

bobb-mini

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Isn't AppleTV, Apple's version of Home Theater PC? Anybody got a link to explain this?

I won't be purchasing/renting contents online. All I want is a media center controller hooked up to my HDTV/stereo. My contents will come from a media server. What I am interested is, controlling the playback box (AppleTV?) seamlessly, even via the iPhone with IR remote optional.
 

Sparkee

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I would describe the ATV as an iPod connected to my big screen TV and stereo. It has the ability to sync content to it using iTunes which does not require a computer to be on for playback. Or it can also stream compatible content in your iTunes Library when the computer is on with iTunes running or a combination of syncing and streaming. Streaming does requires the computer with iTunes running and can not use a network drive alone.

I leave my computer on pretty much all the time when I'm at home so I can stream my 1TB video collection from a Drobo connected to the computer to two different ATVs (I need to add another drive soon). One is connected to my TV and stereo in the livingroom which I sync my music and stream video to. The second ATV is in the bedroom with 3 un-watched TV episodes synced to it just in case the computer is turned off.

Most of my collection is older TV Show collections ripped from DVDs and does contain many movies also ripped from DVD some with 5.1 dolby digital audio sound tracks. The ATV/iTunes/iPod set up allows me to keep track of and sync or stream the next un-watched episode to which ever device I wish to. At home I can browse and control my iTunes Library with the Remote app on the touch.

Remote is a typical innovative Apple product for the iPhone and touch that can control iTunes as well as any ATV connected to the network as well as browse the content available in the libraries. The Remote app is quite handy to even start up a playlist of music on the computer in iTunes or any ATV and send the audio off to an Airport Express and or any combination of ATV with AirTunes to spread the music around the house.

The ATV is also handy to watch video podcasts on and there seems to be a growing number of HD quality podcast which are quite nice on the TV, Revision3 has a few good ones. It can also play content from YouTube which I find I use more and more all the time.

Another feature I really enjoy is viewing my growing digital picture collection from iPhoto on my 40" LCD TV.

I guess it is best described as and extender to iTunes with a few additional features. Renting movies is also a handy feature you may start to use even if you don't intend on it.

I don't find the 160Gb units necessary for my setup since the 40GB ones will hold enough content for me and I do stream most content over my wireless network with out a hitch. I like them so much if any of my ATVs died tomorrow or I add another TV to my house I will get another unit. I highly recommend an ATV if you have a large iTunes video library you want to view on your TV.
 

rockmyplimsoul

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ATV2 rocks, best $99 I've spent in a long time! Really digging the ability to get Netflix streamed upstairs, and the Netflix interface on ATV2 is miles ahead of the Netflix interface on my Sony Bravia downstairs.
 

Jelly

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If it was me, I won't buy.

Not worth the money.

Should I pay 300 bucks for an Apple TV that plays movies on my TV when my iPod already does that, for the price of a $20 A/V cable you can buy anywhere? This is not a slam, I really wanna know. Cuz from what I am reading on the website, it doesn't do anything that mine doesn't do already. At least, nothing worth 300 bucks
 

Sparkee

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This original post is from 04-15-2007. A lot has changed since then including software updates, price reductions and the release of the second generation Apple TV 2 which is now $99us. I payed for the original version and for me it was worth the price to have a device on and ready connected to my TV. I liked it so much I got a second for my other TV. I only have 2 TVs but I would get the new ATV2 if I had another. Right now NetFlix is not a good enough reason for me to upgrade one of my old units.

This thread was made a sticky to weigh the pro's and con's to help other make a decision. May be you would like to expand on your comment as to why it is not worth the money to help others make there decision.

Not worth the money.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFNG
Should I pay 300 bucks for an Apple TV that plays movies on my TV when my iPod already does that, for the price of a $20 A/V cable you can buy anywhere? This is not a slam, I really wanna know. Cuz from what I am reading on the website, it doesn't do anything that mine doesn't do already. At least, nothing worth 300 bucks
 

kornchild2002

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I doubt they will expand on their comments as they appear to be just a random surfer who wanted to kill some time by registering to a set of forums and posting some shallow reply (it really happens all the time).

I actually ended up buying a 2G AppleTV the other day. I have my first generation model in my living room for the playback of HD iTunes Store content (among other things) but my bedroom only had an upscaling DVD player. I don't need a Blu-ray player in that room but I wanted something that would allow me to continue watching Netflix in there. I also didn't want to spend $150 for a decent Blu-ray player with those capabilities. I like the size of the 2G AppleTV and it is extremely fast. The only thing I don't like is that my desktop now always has to be on in order to serve it media whereas I would always copy videos to my 1G AppleTV and then shut my desktop down for the night. I have a power hog desktop and really hate leaving it there doing nothing for nights on end only so I can send media to my AppleTV in the other room.

I may end up syncing the content to my iPad, leaving that plugged in overnight, and wirelessly pushing it to the AppleTV instead. Of course, that won't happen until iOS 4.2 is released.
 

Cold Irons

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My AppleTV/2G should arrive tomorrow. Never had the first model, but this one was inexpensive enough to try out. In my case, pretty much any time the TV is on, the desktop is also on. I already have ethernet & a network switch in my audio cabinet to feed my Dish DVR & Onkyo HT system, so can bypass the wireless if I want.

I mainly want easy access to my iTunes from the TV/home audio system. The graphic interface & coverart will be a plus. For some unknown reason, no real (cable/dsl) broadband here; with a 5Gb/month limint Netflix will be out of the question for the near future. But just being able to browse & play music & video from the PC while on the couch/in front of the TV will be worth the price.
 

rockmyplimsoul

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I mainly want easy access to my iTunes from the TV/home audio system.
You may already know this, but the only audio out from ATV2 is via optical or HDMI (no RCA as in the first gen). Not a big deal unless your receiver has neither of these inputs available, in which case you'd have to route audio out of your TV's RCA output back to the receiver.

BTW, love the quote from "Highlands" in your sig!
 

Cold Irons

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Thanks for the info, but have plenty of HDMI on the HT system (+ one more unused optical digital input). I had to update this recently (8 yr old HT lost it's power supply), so made sure it was loaded with HDMI...

Love the "waitress interlude" in "Highlands"....gotta be some of the funniest lyrics I know.
 
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I now have three of the second-generation Apple TV units here, replacing the two first-gen units that I purchased when they first came out in 2007. I generally like the direction they've taken with the new units, and they've done a much better job of providing much better performance and a more seamless user experience with iTunes since there's no more syncing involved -- the Apple TV just reads the iTunes library in real-time. Further, rentals, wish lists, and favorites now sync via the iTunes Store account so everything is available on every Apple TV in your house. In fact, you could even keep an Apple TV at the cottage and access the same rentals.

The initial release had a whole slew of annoying bugs that I was living with, but I'm happy to report that this week's 4.1 update has fixed the majority of these.

Oh, and it's worth noting that Smart Playlists actually work on the Apple TV, unlike most of Apple's iOS devices. :rolleyes:
 
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