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Apple Store Says Apple TV Shipping End of the Month

gizmodo.com — "Well, it ships on Feb. 27th." "So I can buy one here that morning?" "Yeah, if we get it then."

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 11, 2007

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  • mindbender9, on 10/12/2007, -11/+31@freshjive, it's NOT a tv. It's even worse, if you can believe this.

    Apple sites say that it's a way to download and play your iTunes videos straight to your TV. That's it.

    Here: www.apple.com/appletv/

    It's not a DVR, it doesn't play DivX and it's not 1080p.

    $299 for that? I can't think of a bigger turd that Apple expects clueless people to buy. And that's coming from a Mac user (me)! If it can't record SD/HDTV or store stuff, what's the use? I have never bought a video from iTunes and probably never will.

    Oh... there's some remote streaming capability, but it really is to use with iTunes.
  • Aleks, on 10/12/2007, -10/+19Apple marketed this as an iTunes extender, no more! This is to watch your iTunes purchases not recorded TV shows via your Cablecard.

    You might like to push a button everytime there's an ad break to skip through them but I prefer to lay back and not do anything throughout each TV Show.
  • edzieba, on 10/12/2007, -13/+18It's like a Media Centre Extender, but with even LESS format support.
  • JohnClay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5How the hell did you get hired as a Mac Genius if you don't keep current on new product...
  • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -11/+15> I can't think of a bigger turd that Apple expects clueless people to buy

    That iPod Hi-Fi thing all the Mac fanboys said would put Bose and so many companies out of business ? Yeah.. they're going to leap on this and call it a Media Centre killer or something, I'm sure Microsoft and others (All those companies who build Extenders which are better / cheaper) are shaking in their boots.
  • phisquare, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7You speaka tha Anglais?
  • wedges, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4hooray, i can watch the movies and shows i download from itunes on my high definition TV!

    wait.... i don't have any movies or tv shows downloaded from itunes.... nor are those movies and shows hi-def to begin with.
  • nixfu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Personally I think the AppleTV will end up being an awesome MythTV HD Frontent device..... and at $299 its the same price as the HD Slingbox FrontEnd thingy.

    http://www.mythpvr.com/mythtv/AppleTV/linux.html


    According to those familiar with the component makeup of Apple TV, it utilizes a 1.0GHz Pentium M-based chip (code-named "Crofton"), which has been under-clocked to run on a 350MHz bus. The chip is based on Intel's pre-Core Duo "Dothan" core and includes 2MB of L2 cache.

    Aiding the Pentium M in video decoding are a nVidia G72M with 64MB DDR2 video memory (essentially the GeForce Go 7400) and 256MB of 400MHz DDR2 main system memory, the latter of which is reportedly soldered to the logic board.

    Linux runs just fine on other recent Apple hardware. We already know the AppleTV is based on an Intel chip. Right now, only Apple knows how standard this equipment is, and how easily another OS such as Linux could be loaded onto it.

    Once someone gets Linux to boot on this, a whole new breed of Linux box will have been born. Even if support for the multi-media components is not immediate, such a small form factor server that only uses 48-watts of power still has plenty of uses. For $299, it packs a punch in a very nice package.

    Building (or buying) a dedicated MythTV Frontend is the way to go to extend your system to other TV's in your house. Currently for $299, I can't build a MythTV Frontend system with these hardware specs that's silent and looks nice. An AppleTV running as a MythTV Frontend would be perfect for me and many other MythTV users.

  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I'm a huge Apple fanboy, but I have to agree somewhat about the appleTV and the iPod HiFi. The appleTV is OK, but it's not great. It's not what I would expect from Apple. And the HiFi is just too damned expensive. It should be literally half the price it is.
  • Psalms, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9Quiet! Everytime you say "I don't believe in useless Mac Devices," a Steve Jobs-Farie dies! You bastards!
  • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"That iPod Hi-Fi thing all the Mac fanboys said would put Bose and so many companies out of business ?" - estvir

    Nice try, estvir, but your anti-Apple spin on this one is a flop. Apple fans gave a big "WTF?" or a hearty "We don't care" to the iPod hi-fi when it was announced, and continue to do so as far as I know. You are manufacturing fanboy glee where there was none. Which is par for your course.

    Microsoft fanboys are just as irritating as Apple fanboys, BTW.
  • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok since so many people are quick to bash the appleTV, please name some alternatives that work with my music, movies, and photos. I wanted a video version of the AirPort Express since I bought the damn thing, now one is here and people are crying that it's a POS. Please clue us clueless people in.

    (oh and btw, I don't have an HDTV, nor do I have cable. I don't want a DVR and I don't care about HD! Though playing video_ts folders and divxs are useful features to me)
  • longterm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is news??

    All you have to do is go on Apple's site; it's been saying February 27th ever since they started taking orders at MacWorld Expo.

  • zilch321, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I think one of the real deal breakers here is the media format support. Right now it doesn't look flexible enough for a 300 dollar unit. While this might be an interesting bit of kit to watch over the news few months I'm not convinced its something to buy yet.
  • diggimator, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3You need 802.11g, 802.11n, or ethernet (or b if you don't mind losing video streaming). No additional Apple hardware necessary.
  • idigital, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Nevermind, the guy seems to have enabled an infinite lives cheat some time ago.
  • Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Ultimately, I will just buy an Xbox360 for a few hundred more then AppleTV. Offers all the bells and whistles of a MCE AND plays games and DVD Even if the rumours that AppleTV will play games, they will probably be the same games found on an iPod, or at least the same quality.

    Also, there are suggestions that Microsoft coming out with IPTV this year using the Xbox360 and it already supports downloading/streaming HD content. Getting high quality HD content streaming off the net and bypassing my regular cable is another great reason to buy the Xbox360 over the AppleTV.

    The point is that lots of other companies will be adding on multimedia streaming to their A/V components (i.e. televisions this year will offer media streaming support built in, whether its photo, music, and even video) and so far both Microsoft and Sony have this as a feature on their game consoles. Also, rumours suggest that Nintendo might end up that way too, or at least there are people able to stream multimedia to the Wii through their web browser. The fact is that the $250 Wii can connect directly to the Internet and could potentially do everything AppleTV could do whether Nintendo supports is officially, or it gets hacked. Also Griffin came out with an iPod dock that has on-screen menuing AND works as an internet radio player. Its for $129 with WiFi built in. I mean, they are building these features into an iPod dock.

    Apple came out with a single purpose device at a time when this kind of functionality is being included as an added value feature on something that does so much more.

    Maybe in 5 years, Apple might innovate the ATV to a point where its competitive, but right now I think its a weak entry into this market and will only do well because of fanboys, once every TV and game console offers these same features, what point is there for Apple's single purpose device.

    The AppleTV is really a glorified iPod with built in dock. In all honesty, it works like an iPod (sync content from the PC), has the same storage as an iPod (40gb) and uses a TV instead of a built in screen with a fancier UI. If you already have an iPod, just get a good multimedia dock like from Griffin Technology.
  • albertross, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2In a nutshell, doesn't it basically turn your TV into a 40GiB video iPod?

    Okay, it's maybe less portable, but most TVs will usually make up for this in other ways.
  • kimbermatic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Last week I tried to figure out the advantages to Apple TV. I just can't see the advantages yet. I think like the Iphone I will wait to see this play out. For now my Mac Mini will continue to run my entertainment system. My Treo 700p with 3G and 3rd party apps will meet my phone needs.
  • Pelapp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1LOL, and which games excactly play on your HDTV with a 1,0 GHz Pentium M, with 256 MB DDR2 Ram ?

    Seriously, who is going to pay $299 for a device, that's so crippled on features, and you'll have to hope, pray and wait for Apple to add features in the future ?

    You can build a fully cabable HDTV streaming, Bittorent downloading, music playing, game playing front end with twice the power of Apple TV and no constraints such as DRM and codecs, for less than $299... Even though it doesn't ring well here on Digg, the only market for this is the fanboys. I don't believe that it's even easy enough too use yet for the average family.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This product has huge potential. I think it is a bonafide trojan horse.

    AppleTV can evolve in a heartbeat through a software update. It already has the horsepower and fastest available wireless bandwidth (802.11N), not to mention built-in storage.

    I think the future could bring...
    * Centralized storge (attach a USB2 hard drive)
    * Print server (attach a USB printer)
    * Play games on your HD TV
    * Control your OS X Tiger box from your TV
    * iTunes 8 with movie rentals on demand
    * Livingroom video iChat (attach a camera)
    * Additional codecs as they become licensed via Quicktime

    People tend to judge the success of a product right out of the gate. And for most companies that would be appropriate. With Apple, it is very obvious that AppleTV is part of a larger initiative. The good news is that in a year, when all these services come to fruition, the cost per unit could reach $199.
  • phantom_mullet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I'll probably get dugg down for saying this, but being a XP Media Center/OS X dual booter, I can honestly say that Media Center blows away any of the Mac stuff like Front Row or iTV. Microsoft's problem is that they did an atrocious job marketing Media Center, whereas Jobs basically introduces a newer, dumbed down version of Media Center and thousands of his faithful bow in humble submission. Don't get me wrong here, I'm definitely a fan of the Mac operating system, but with the way things are currently going, I'll stick with Media Center.
  • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1XBMC is awesome. I have an early Xbox (1.0 or 1.1) but I don't want to mess with it. Just yesterday I was talking to my friend about buying his Xbox he doesn't use for about $70 so that will probably be the best way to go. For $100 I can have a mod chip as well.
  • firepunk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I guess it seems to me that apple made a bigger more expensive hard drive driven version of their a/v cable for the iPod. whoop dee doo.
  • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah that mvix thing looks pretty good. Same price as the apple tv, but without the HD. It's a bit of an eyesore compared to the apple tv too. The plus is that it does divx and everything. I would like a bit more info about using it on a Mac, mostly if it uses your iLife content automatically.
  • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Now we are talking. Let's assume what you said comes to be and we see mythtv for the apple TV. That means I can have a beefy myth backend box hidden somewhere in my house, and use myth on an apple TV as the front-end? That sounds pretty cool too. If I ever get cable I will build a myth dvr, and I wanted an apple tv as well. If I could have all that working together I would be a happy man. If the apple tv could be dual-booted (so to speak, I doubt it "boots" in the traditional sense) that would be even better.
  • nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, an iPod that can stream content from any Mac or Windows box on your network. And that is most likely capable of handling HD content.
  • razorpit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm with you. And while I "think" I understand this product, I still wold have liked to see a DVD drive in it to help justify the cost.
  • LycoLoco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Ok since so many people are quick to bash the appleTV, please name some alternatives that work with my music, movies, and photos."

    XBox Media Center. The only thing it won't play is DRMed formats, but don't blame the XBMC creators on that one - blame the DRM. Best investment I've made in the media sector in a while. It's easy as pie to mod an xbox and install XBMC if you have any tech knowledge, and best of all it's only $100. Also, new updates are released weekly and I don't see the project dying any time soon.
  • wedges, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2nofxjunkee: http://www.mvixusa.com/
  • kotatsu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Have Apple actually bothered to put any TV or movie content in any other country than the US less? If they haven't, then this thing is even less useful.

    I think I'll stick with Vista media center and my 360 + HD DVD drive.
  • sarwolf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I'm very excited about the Apple TV, including the possibility that it will play games. I think they could become a real challenge to the 360 & PS3, especially at that price point. I hope they aren't delayed!
    http://www.applehdtv.net
  • bblades, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Apple Tv is not offering anything new, and in fact doesn't offer as much as solutions already on the market. It has been compared in earlier articles but you can get a used PPC Mac Mini for about the same price, which offers DVD playback and with the right software you get DVR support. The Mini has more horsepower but meanwhile has a smaller footprint. The downside of course is that it doesnt have hdmi support.

    If appletv was a $100 device which would basically be a giveaway to apple customers for buying up all that DRM'ed content and making the shareholders happy, then I would say good for Apple making a neat little device. For $300 its an absolute ripoff and a real yawn of a device, its a fancy airport express with video support.
  • manicdvln, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I would wait for "DIVX Connected", its 100x better than this rip off, so called "AppleTV".

    http://www.divx.com/company/partner/connected.php
  • longterm, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I saw the demo of AppleTV and I disagree with most of what I'm reading here.

    I will agree that it ought to do 1080p, and I expect they'll add that before too long, once they can get it fast enough over wireless.

    However, for some applications, it's going to be incredible: in my case I have a Mac without a monitor in my stereo cabinet; to select songs I Timbuktu to it and make song selections, but it would be great to be able to see album covers on my plasma TV. With the AppleTV I'll be able to route the video output from the Mac Mini into my plasma TV using component video. For this single thing, it'll make my stereo much easier to use.

    I'll have to wait and see how it is for downloading movies, and how they look on my TV. I've ordered the new faster Airport Extreme that uses 802.11n; once the new MacBook Pros come out this year with 802.11n, this will get my speed to double what I'm getting now with 802.11n, so all in all I'm excited about getting the AppleTV.

    I think it's going to turn out to be much cooler than lots of people think, although I will say that, at MacWorld Expo, opinions among Mac fans like myself were mixed; some people like me were excited about it, others were lukewarm.
  • longterm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I have a Treo 700p; it's okay, but I don't like the chunky form factor, the fact that it freezes up all the time, and all the resets at the worst times.

  • P5ycHo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1All I need is a top-set box which will stream my .ts files @1080i. Also mirroring my apple desktop @ 1080p would be nice...
  • antijava, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I see it as an improvement of the Elgato EyeHome (now discontinued I think). It was a decent enough product but you couldn't easily fast-forward/rewind because there was not enough bandwidth. Having a local HD (even 40GB) to buffer solves that problem. I'm definitely considering buying one. Even if I have to transcode, it is still less pain than burning DVDs for my DVP642, which is my current solution.
  • lsutiger, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I expect hacks for the Apple TV to start coming out soon after launch. At least something like Airtunes that was for the Airport Express. Plus if the rumors that Leopard will allow you to do remote desktop to the Apple TV, I think I'll get one.

  • 405994, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Someday I look forward to using imoney to buy an itv from my iphone to improve the quality of my ilife. Th itv will be made in iChina and be shipped over in an itanker, and delivered to my ihouse by an iUPS guy. I just can't watch too much, or it will be bad for my ieyes.
  • idigital, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Aww, it does come in a version without Hello Kitty as well!
  • macedes, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6this means we will see an new itunes version :)
  • desistere, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5Ahh yes, now I remember. Just goes to show you how crazy this Ipod craze has become. Apple is becoming a fashion style like Emo. Now we have one more Ipod accessory, to add to our chiqueness. I think I'd rather have $300 worth of candy bars.
  • asif5th, on 10/12/2007, -19/+15Vista MCE>This
  • nevas, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3who the hell cares if AppleTV is shipping... o wait there r few apple fanatics.. they will buy any piece of crap branded apple
  • idigital, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Here's an Apple TV that is *actually* a TV!
    http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/apple_shaped_hello_kitty_lcd_tv.php
  • desistere, on 10/12/2007, -23/+17What is this thing? I'm pretty sure I read about it and thought, "Wow, I don't care about that and it doesn't do anything useful." But refresh my memory...
  • gmarks, on 10/12/2007, -17/+4I love Aple, and think tv is great, but not really. Apple needs to add more features and make it easier for customors. Hell, I am a Mac genius and I do not know if I have to buy a new airport extreme and card to get it to work. 
  • Freshjive787, on 10/12/2007, -24/+4its just a god damn tv, no need to cream your panties over it.

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