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314 Comments
- flag564, on 10/11/2007, -40/+220I don't know anyone who owns one.
(Am I allowed to say that about an Apple product? Or does that only allowed for Vista and Zune observations?) - brufleth, on 10/11/2007, -16/+144Isn't the Apple TV in its un-hacked form just an expensive replacement for a cable connecting your computer to your TV?
- NSMike, on 10/11/2007, -33/+133I don't know man, he seems to hit it on the head. There was a lot of hype surrounding the announcement, and a lot of news about it initially when it was hacked, but since then, this is the second blip I've seen about the AppleTV on the media radar, the first being the announcement of the 160 GB version.
Not everything Apple does is perfect or a success. I think it's ahead of its time, and thus without a market. Those of us interested in watching content we download on our televisions probably already have the technology to put in on our televisions. Everyone else, it hasn't occurred to even try. - enicholas, on 10/11/2007, -20/+115@n1pz: Why on earth would you want a volume control on each individual box? They all have line level outputs and you manage the volume in a central location (TV or receiver, as appropriate).
Boxes hooked up to my TV:
Apple TV
DVD player
DVR
Wii
XBox 360
PS3
Receiver
Boxes with their own volume control:
Receiver
The part I don't get is that nobody complains about, say, the Wii not having a volume control, but this is the fourth or fifth time I've seen this complaint about the Apple TV. What makes the Apple TV need an independent volume control more than any other box? - theMurdocVolta, on 10/11/2007, -25/+103the Apple TV will go great with my Newton...
- KicktheDonkey, on 10/11/2007, -6/+64@Endersgame "Forget the BSOD, I can't do anything when my Ipod freezes except wait for the power to drain out and restart it."
Perhaps you need to do some googleing: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61705
Hold the Menu and Center buttons down for 6-10 seconds, and your iPod will "reboot". You don't have to wait for the battery to run out. - fightingirish, on 10/11/2007, -27/+77As a mac user I was kind of tepid about Apple TV and posted similar concerns in a comment on digg about a 100 days ago - but got some flack for my heresy.
http://digg.com/apple/Apple_TV_Why_It_Matters
To those users (like hybrid8, scheming, and others) who dugg me down for saying it back then - I guess now I can say told you so? - igyigyigy, on 10/11/2007, -4/+47Basically, yes.
Actually, a cable plugged into my macbook lets me watch my DivX movies over the network using Front Row.
I don't think the apple TV supports that (Divx, streaming from non-iTunes sources) - Misanthrope, on 10/11/2007, -8/+51It's totally off topic and I know it, but does anyone else find it amusing that people feel the need to mention the specs of their TV when they talk about it on Digg? It's super cool that you have a 60" HDTV, it really is...I'm wicked jealous, congrats. But isn't just saying "I want to find a way to steam content to my TV" enough? Do you REALLY -- I mean HONESTLY -- HAVE to throw in "my 60" HDTV? It's just not really adding to the comment I guess...steaming content to your 32" HDTV is going to be the same process as streaming to your 120" super duper Toshiba HD-GIGA-HYPER-TV.
I guess I just wonder why you don't just put an overestimate of your penis size in the comment as well, isn't it really just as useful while providing you the same feeling of accomplishment? - Toast1185, on 10/11/2007, -7/+42you'd be surprised actually. The internets are very impersonal...and full of idiots
- Ajjah, on 10/11/2007, -35/+63Butbutbutbutbut!!! IT'S AMAZING! Get one, and You'll see! I can use it for soooo many things! Like, listening to music on my TV, and looking at pictures on my TV, and watching TV on my TV, and it's CRAZY!
/sarcasm - Greyarea, on 10/11/2007, -7/+35"The appletv needs to be more flexible. It needs to allow all the file formats a program like VLC offers for free. It needs to be less DRM-"enhanced" and more consumer-enhanced."
I can sort of understand why they limited the formats - H.264 is, on paper at least, a better codec than DivX. That doesn't change the fact that DivX is to video what mp3 is to audio. The iPod plays mp3 just fine. The AppleTV should play DivX. - Greyarea, on 10/11/2007, -8/+34The lack of DivX support makes it a bit of a non-starter for me. I know I can add it, but removing the harddrive somehow doesn't appeal.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -14/+38$20 S-Video cable > $300 Apple TV
- Blizaine, on 10/11/2007, -28/+51I have an AppleTV and it is truly amazing.
I've been looking for a good way to get Video to my 60" HDTV for years. I've done the XBMC, XBox360, dedicated PC, AVel Linkplayer2 HD Divx player, and it all comes down to user interface. I've ripped most of my movies to an external Drive, using H.264 Main Profile (not compatible with the iPod) and the quality is indistinguishable form the original DVD at about 1.5GB each. It is so great being able to scroll through my DVD collection and see cover art, plot synopsis, actors, year, etc... - Greyarea, on 10/11/2007, -3/+26"So i guess the failing here is that they didn't add support for format that is almost exclusively known for its transportability across the interwebs for pirated video? :)"
You could argue the same for mp3, yet the iPod plays it.
Another reason I can't justify getting one is that it's a pull device, not a push device, so I can't use Airfoil to stream non-iTunes content to it. It also (if I understand correctly) can't be used as a WiFi network extender, so I can't just replace my Airport Express. That sucks a bit. - EmileVictor, on 10/11/2007, -5/+26The appletv needs to be more flexible. It needs to allow all the file formats a program like VLC offers for free. It needs to be less DRM-"enhanced" and more consumer-enhanced.
- tnoy, on 10/11/2007, -5/+25There is something a lof of people seem to be missing about the comment on the volume control. It is not a bad thing that the appletv itself is missing a volume control itself, but rather that the remote doesnt offer this kind of functionaility.
A large part of apple's design is simplicity and ease of use; however, I'll still have to have my universal remote handy to make changes to the volume. I'd just program the functionality into my universal remote and tuck Apple's remote away somewhere to get back to one remote.
That, at least, was my interperatation of it. - Greyarea, on 10/11/2007, -18/+38It's one of those odd devices that manages to combine being ahead of its time with being a bit _too_ Version 1.0
Bigger harddrives are coming soon, so let's hope for a non-invasive way of adding additional codecs as well. - saralk, on 10/11/2007, -25/+43I don't understand the complaint about the volume control, surely the smart person changes the volume on their TV?
- mastaphoo, on 10/11/2007, -33/+47SHhhh..... don't tell the fanboys.
- EnderTheThird, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13The main problem I see is that we're at somewhat of a crossroads with all of these new and emerging technologies and no one knows how to combine them: HDTVs, DVRs, HD content (TV and on disc), Internet TV, home networks with multiple computers, etc. There isn't a solution that allows you to do everything yet. To get protected HDTV broadcasts, you need a cablecard or set-top box, both of which are proprietary and don't allow you to use freely with a DVR or home network. The Apple TV gives you access to your audio/video files, but not HD content and not all of the codecs it should (MS pissed me off when they did this with the Xbox 360, let alone the lack of 1080p HDMI unless I buy another system). I'm sure you can think of more examples.
The closest I've come to getting it all to work together is to hook up my 2nd computer to my TV and run MythTV. I have total control over my TV recordings, media files, codecs, Internet, etc. from either computer with no trouble whatsoever. However, I still can't view some DRM'd content: namely premium HD channels (which I can't receive via my HDHomeRun digital tuner) and HD DVD/Blu-Ray (through my computer). The lack of access to the former just saves me $10/month that I'd spend on channels that I watch for less than 2 hours every month. The latter isn't as big of a deal either because I'd rather use a stand-alone player for that. I have the HD DVD add-on for my Xbox 360, but I plan on getting a combo HDD/BR player within the next year or so if I don't buy a PS3 before then.
Simply put, all of these companies are so concerned with DRM and not getting a lawsuit slapped on them that they won't work together to provide a unified solution. Instead each company puts out their own solution that only solves half of the problems at best. Homebrew apps and hacks can sometimes help out (as with the AppleTV), but they really shouldn't have to when you're already dropping a few hundred dollars for something that is touted as the solution to begin with! In the end, it's the consumers that suffer and the educated ones will stay the hell away from such garbage solutions until these companies get their acts together. - nixfu, on 10/11/2007, -7/+20Umm.. you record on your computer.
I use an Elegato Hybrid to record HDTV programs myself, and it automatically organizes them and puts them in playlists in iTunes. http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetvhybridna
I have a TIVO and DirectTV and this has nearly replaced it totally.
What people don't get is that the AppleTV is a FRONT END BOX to a back end system. Much like the MythTV model with a backend server doing all the work, and then you connect a front end system to each PC to playback the content stored on the backend. This model scales MUCH BETTER with multiple TV's, no cases of "that program being recorded on this one etc" that you have with Tivo.
For $300, its actually a decent price, and really a little cheaper than you can build a HDTV capable front end today for MythTV. - raid517, on 10/11/2007, -6/+18The reason this will fail?
Because it's not yet a compelling enough product to have the same mass market appeal as the iPod.
Moreover whatever it may be, a TiVo it ain't.
Apple are already competing with several similar services - and some of these are better placed in the market to take advantage of it than Apple is.
Again TiVo is one - but so also is Microsoft. (And no not because I am some anti-Apple, pro Microsoft fanboy - I couldn't give a crap about either of them to be honest) but because Microsoft have already carved out a useful piece of consumer space for themselves in their Xbox Live Marketplace. I guess it's about added value. Microsoft can offer a games console AND an IPTV service. TiVo can offer an excellent TV recording/scheduling service AND possibly bolt some IPTV functionality on to this at some point in the future in order to exploit an already very large user base.
Apple just don't seem to have that much to offer or to add to this.
The Apple fanboys will probably have a fit. But mark my words - in a year's time Apple TV will be an all but forgotten (and certainly neglected) project. - scruffles, on 10/11/2007, -11/+22Ok, so far the complaints against the AppleTV are:
- not enough buttons on the remote
- video from the music store is over-compressed
- the hard drive is too small
If those are your biggest complaints, then it should do just fine. I use my AppleTv daily, and the biggest complaint I have against it, is the need for folders to organize my movies. Having to scroll through 150 titles to get to the one I want, is a slight nuisance, but it's something I can live with. I've bought a couple TV shows from the store, and the quality was crap. I've never bought a movie from them, but I probably wouldn't even if they were DVD quality... I can get DVD quality movies by ripping a DVD.
I don't know what all the fuss is about. It does exactly what they said it would do. - huxrules, on 10/11/2007, -12/+22I like my apple tv. If you use handbrake you can rip your dvd's and get mp4 files that will play on it. And handbrake is easy pleasy. Just keep the bitrate to 2500. Plays fine. So I've been working to get my dvd collection backed up- and I can watch them all om my apple tv. Also all the stuff I have downloaded from itunes is there too. Yes one day it would be nice to get HD content on it. The real killer for that is storage space.
All these haters have:
Never used it
Never used handbrake
Only have bittorented junk tv shows
And they are whiny - salmonmoose, on 10/11/2007, -6/+16The AWESOME thing?
It's HD only, but you can only buy SD content. - bannonto, on 10/11/2007, -4/+14First, I have to admit that I felt the same way about the apple TV-for awhile. I plugged (and unplugged) my computer from my tv so many times that it became a real pain in the ass. Yes a $300 pain in the ass. I broke down at but one, and absolutely love it. So simple my 7 year old can use it.
I hear people bitching about the quality of the picture. This is nonsense. Some of the pocasts look like crap, but that is no fault of the apple TV. Most of the content I watch from it looks way better than anything from my cable company. Movies ripped with handbrake are dvd quality. HD content from iTunes looks great. - 1nhuman, on 10/11/2007, -8/+18@brufleth
It is and it isn't. I have one and I'm happy with it. My family uses it to watch my xvids (I "hacked" it) from my 500 gig network disk. My wife uses it to show of her iPhoto photo's.
But another functionality people miss is that it connects to your stereo. Which is a great way to play songs from your iTunes library. I used to hook up my iPod to the stereo, but the iPod is simply not always in the house (in my car, my wife took it, I took it for work etc.).
I do understand why people think the Apple TV is not for them, and it probably isn't. But in a Mac household combined with a library of xvid/divx movies it certainly can have it's place. - Greyarea, on 10/11/2007, -7/+16"- There's no DVD player"
Of course there isn't - that's the point. It's supposed to _replace_ a DVD player. - CaptMonkey, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13enicholas
No, most of those things don't have their own volume control, but many remotes allow you to reprogram their volume control to control the receiver's (or tv if you don't have a receiver) volume. My TiVo remote does it, my 360 remote does it, I imagine if I had a PS3 remote rather than using the game pad, it could be reprogrammed to do it. It's a handy feature to have, being able to just hold one remote in my hand and have the most basic function of volume control on it along with the controls to whatever I'm using at the moment. However, it does seem like a minor thing to slight the AppleTV for, it could be fixed just through selling a new remote for it.
I think the real reason that the AppleTV isn't going over that well, is it's just not that extraordinary when compared with the alternatives. When the iPod came out, there was no comparison between it and other products, it was the clear winner in storage size and ease of use. The AppleTV however, has to go against things like the Xbox 360 that can stream content (even in formats like divx with 3rd-party programs) and can be used to download and store HD-quality movies and TV shows without moving from your place on the couch. All for a price that's only slightly more than the AppleTV. Oh, and it plays games too. - Jagman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9My DVD player plays DVDs perfectly, without jumping through any hoops, running special software, or ripping discs at a specific bitrate.
Is using the AppleTV this way a real advantage? Is waltzing through the AppleTV menus really that superior to just putting a disc in the DVD player? Is the entire experience worth the price of the AppleTV, plus losing the HD space on a computer somewhere (and the obvious cost of that hard drive), plus going through the motions of ripping all your discs?
I really wanted to love this product, and was very excited about it when it was announced based solely on its potential, but I've been pretty disappointed with everything I've seen of the actual device. - chubbyfunk, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Wow, is it just me, or did this reporter really go out of his way to trash the Zune yet again? Talk about backhanded.. but why compare the Apple TV to the Zune at all? Why not compare it to TiVo + Amazon's Unbox? It's like reviewing a car and comparing it's pitfalls to a zeppelin. The article came across very childish because of it.
- thund3rstruck, on 10/11/2007, -34/+42"I've been looking for a good way to get Video to my 60" HDTV for years. I've done the XBMC, "
Well then you're a total douche because I still use XBMC to stream all my movies, music, pictures, tv shows, emulators, and everything else from my PC to my 60" HDTV as well as my 8 foot HDTV projector in my theatre room and nothing can touch the quality and ease of use. I download everything directly to my PC/server and every XBMC in my house automatically has access to everything on the PC/Server through wired and wireless connections. Anyone who would seriously say that Apple's iTV can even compare at all with XBMC either has no idea how to properly setup XBMC, is an apple fanboy, or is a complete liar. - 1010011010, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9I have an AppleTV and I'm pretty happy with it. I don't buy movies from the iTMS, I convert my DVDs using Handbrake. I end up with full DVD rez anamorphic MP4/h264 video files with no visible video artifacts. I can skip chapters, pause and resume later (even after navigating away from the movie for other stuff for a while), and fast forward/rewind with ease. The movies sync over fine and they stream fine. I also make use of the photos feature to show family members our photos on the big screen. I'm running mine at 720p, because my Samsung DLP is natively 720p. In the setup screens, I noticed that 1080 was an option -- I even tried it, as my HDTV will downsample to 720p, and it worked. No reason to go through TV downsampling, though, so I switched it back to 720p.
You don't have to like it, but it works just fine for how I use it. - philwalsh, on 10/11/2007, -9/+15i am a self-confessed apple whore but i have to agree with the article, i'd never buy an apple tv in its current state. there just aren't enough features that make it a worthwile investment.
the whole idea of advancing technology is to have less and less ***** stored around your room. i don't want to have an apple tv but still need a dvd/blue-ray/whatever player.
apple tv needs a whole lot of improvement before i would consider forking out my hard earned cash for one of those. - darkten, on 10/11/2007, -18/+24people keep talking about divx.
So i guess the failing here is that they didn't add support for format that is almost exclusively known for its transportability across the interwebs for pirated video? :)
I'm not sayin' this is a good or bad thing...just trying to keep the debate honest here, guys :) - nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8because its 'cool' to bash microsoft
considering the zune is on target with its predictions, the reporter is an idiot and just jumping on a bandwagon in that respect.
what a lot of people seem to forget is the zune only competes with the top end models of the ipods, and in that respect its made some pretty decent ground. Sure it hasnt taken the world by storm, but its a decent product. If it was available in australia i would buy one over an ipod. Zune v2 should be interesting, and i predict will take even more ground from the 'higher' end of the mp3 player market. - totallyAMAZING, on 10/11/2007, -5/+11Yeah great, people can hack it. That's exactly why the iPod is so popular, because people love hacking stuff....
Wait, no. That's why it's doomed. If you have to hack it to add any real functionality, then it's a dud. If anyone thinks a hard drive and YouTube are going to save it, you're kidding yourself. Who really wants to watch grainy YouTube videos on a bigger screen? - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8in reply to blufreth: "Isn't the Apple TV in its un-hacked form just an expensive replacement for a cable connecting your computer to your TV?"
Yes - very expensive.
The two saddest things about this are a.) people are calling this "innovative" and b.) you still need to buy cables to connect this thing to your setup. - ttntyler, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8"Isn't the Apple TV in its un-hacked form just an expensive replacement for a cable connecting your computer to your TV?"
Basically. Except I don't have to:
- Set my laptop up every time I want to watch something
- Transfer content manually from my main machine to my laptop
- Get up every time I need to change the video
- Set the system up every time a family member wants to use it
The Apple TV allows me to sit down at the TV, and pull content directly from any computer in the house instantly with no setup times or hassles. It's a bit expensive, sure, but for me it's money well spent. I hate dealing with *****, and with the Apple TV there's none. - bannonto, on 10/11/2007, -8/+13@ somedugger5
Do you own one, or have you ever used one?
The simplicity of the appleTV is its beauty. No it doesn't have a dvd player. I rip all of my dvd's and then am able to play them any time without my dvd player. I know this is not the best option for a lot of people, but with a child is is awsome having all the kids movies in one place.
Also this is only software version 1. There are a lot of tricks that this little device will do in the future that we have not seen yet. Just yesterday they announced youtube access. (Really not excited about this, but....) I am sure that in the near future we will see many great updates. - Boondoggle, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9 by jagman 1 hour ago
My DVD player plays DVDs perfectly, without jumping through any hoops, running special software, or ripping discs at a specific bitrate.
----------------------------
Yeah, my CD player plays CDs like that too. But It sure is nice having all that music on a computer so that it is at my fingertips and I don't have to have a bunch of ***** CD cases cluttering up my shelves. Same goes for DVDs. - wageslaven, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10The Windows Home Server (or simply XP/Vista today) will be your home media repository. Stream the file over your network if you want it onto an Windows Media Center Extender. The Xbox 360 is a WMCE.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9Oh this is just the beginning. Apple isn't as golden as all the rabid fans say it is. I truly look forward to seeing how Apple performs in the handheld space. They are about to take a major ***** kicking.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8Anyone remember the iPod Hi-Fi...didn't think so (Also cost about $300)
- nreisan, on 10/11/2007, -7/+11as much as id like to agree with you about the haters
most of the reasons the people dont like it are pretty solid reasons. This is a completly different market and they fell short of the mark for this kind of product.
Apple TV v2 might be worth looking into. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7"Steve Jobs' latest is a dud - and that speaks volumes."
Steve jobs is scratching his balls right now. - wageslaven, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7Another 4: Core
- kronkite, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Internet radio!
I wish the AppleTV could stream directly from the Internet. Pandora and/or Last.fm would be even better. Kind of like the Squeezebox but with a TV interface. It's so obvious it hurts. -
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