online.wsj.com— "In our tests, it worked great, and we can easily recommend it for people who are yearning for a simple way to show on their big TVs all that stuff trapped on their computers."
Mar 21, 2007View in Crawl 4
I keep on here about people saying it will not play "their" DivX or XVid movies. Why don't we be honest with each other and instead complain that it will not play the movies you pirated from bittorrent? Well boo fricking hoo. Tough s**t.You can rip the DVD's you "own" in H264 format and play them on the Apple TV and encode your home movies as well.If you don't like it, don't buy one.
"When Apple TV will really shine is when Apple allows is to connect directly to the internet and they ad an iTunes TV Show subscription service"I'm not trying to be a jerk here but if you're looking for a device connected to your TV where you can subscribe to a TV show series then aren't you describing a DVR? I'm not sure if replacing Cable boxes with another box where you have to PAY for individual shows is the answer.Personally, I'm behind the idea that cable companies should be forced to let us pick channels a la carte because I pay $50 a month and I only watch about 4 or 5 stations. Give me those stations for $5/month ea then I'd be happy with Cable and a TiVo.
I don't get the Apple TV. I guess its okay as a media device, but why call it Apple TV if it can't do real TV like a PVR? If it was selling for much less it might be worth it, but even then I'm not sure. I guess it's just not for me.
@superkendall"And home movies and video podcasts. You don't have to rely only on ITMS for video content."That may be true, but many people can just watch home movies on the DVD player they already own. And, I and I would imagine most people have no great desire to watch video podcasts that are in crappy resolution on the HDTV that the Apple TV requires you to have."Yes but it's a game console first which limits who is going to buy it. Those are nice features to discover when you own one but are not going to draw a lot of people by themselves - when it's more expensive than the iTV."Yes, the Xbox 360 is more expensive now, but if the history of gaming consoles is any guide, there will be a significant drop in price of the Xbox very soon to the point where it will probably be on par with the Apple TV. Furthermore, people may not think of the Xbox 360 as anything more than a gaming rig now, but with the introduction later this year of Microsoft IPTV which will utilize something akin to an Xbox 360 as its set top device, I would imagine there will be more publicity for the other things an Xbox can do. And, Microsoft is aggressively trying to strike deals with Cable providers like AT&T to provide Xbox360 like IPTV devices which, if successful, will put them into millions more homes.Microsoft has been trying for many years to enter the living room (in addition to all the other areas they're trying to enter). Their first forays were with such aborted and stupid attempts as webtv, the media center, and the original Xbox. As I understand it, Microsoft had prototypes of a nature similar to the Apple TV, but abandoned them because they decided that they needed to piggy back onto something else in order to successfully enter the living room. Apple clearly thinks otherwise and is pursuing their own strategy. I'm not an Apple hater nor a Microsoft lover. I wish Apple the best of luck because the more choices we have, the better. I just happen to think that the Apple TV will, in its current form, not be that successful.I have neither the Apple TV nor an Xbox 360. But, as I look at things, if I were forced to choose right now, I would probably choose the Xbox 360. Not only can I play games on it and download HD and other content directly from Xbox live, but I can stream music and videos directly off my computer just like the Apple TV can. And, when I upgrade my computer in the future, it will be a Vista computer which already has a media center built in that can communicate more effectively with my Xbox and ultimately replace my Tivo.
aristotle0dudeMar 21, 2007
I keep on here about people saying it will not play "their" DivX or XVid movies. Why don't we be honest with each other and instead complain that it will not play the movies you pirated from bittorrent? Well boo fricking hoo. Tough s**t.You can rip the DVD's you "own" in H264 format and play them on the Apple TV and encode your home movies as well.If you don't like it, don't buy one.
minibossMar 21, 2007
"When Apple TV will really shine is when Apple allows is to connect directly to the internet and they ad an iTunes TV Show subscription service"I'm not trying to be a jerk here but if you're looking for a device connected to your TV where you can subscribe to a TV show series then aren't you describing a DVR? I'm not sure if replacing Cable boxes with another box where you have to PAY for individual shows is the answer.Personally, I'm behind the idea that cable companies should be forced to let us pick channels a la carte because I pay $50 a month and I only watch about 4 or 5 stations. Give me those stations for $5/month ea then I'd be happy with Cable and a TiVo.
lycolocoMar 21, 2007
Actually, my Xbox Media Center can control its own volume output. Why can't AppleTV? Your logic is fallacious.
cfaslaveMar 21, 2007
I don't get the Apple TV. I guess its okay as a media device, but why call it Apple TV if it can't do real TV like a PVR? If it was selling for much less it might be worth it, but even then I'm not sure. I guess it's just not for me.
generalloyMar 22, 2007
that's not XBMC, that's a Windows Media Center Extender. XBMC/Xbox Media Center is this: <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XBMC">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XBMC</a>
mwmwmwMar 22, 2007
@superkendall"And home movies and video podcasts. You don't have to rely only on ITMS for video content."That may be true, but many people can just watch home movies on the DVD player they already own. And, I and I would imagine most people have no great desire to watch video podcasts that are in crappy resolution on the HDTV that the Apple TV requires you to have."Yes but it's a game console first which limits who is going to buy it. Those are nice features to discover when you own one but are not going to draw a lot of people by themselves - when it's more expensive than the iTV."Yes, the Xbox 360 is more expensive now, but if the history of gaming consoles is any guide, there will be a significant drop in price of the Xbox very soon to the point where it will probably be on par with the Apple TV. Furthermore, people may not think of the Xbox 360 as anything more than a gaming rig now, but with the introduction later this year of Microsoft IPTV which will utilize something akin to an Xbox 360 as its set top device, I would imagine there will be more publicity for the other things an Xbox can do. And, Microsoft is aggressively trying to strike deals with Cable providers like AT&T to provide Xbox360 like IPTV devices which, if successful, will put them into millions more homes.Microsoft has been trying for many years to enter the living room (in addition to all the other areas they're trying to enter). Their first forays were with such aborted and stupid attempts as webtv, the media center, and the original Xbox. As I understand it, Microsoft had prototypes of a nature similar to the Apple TV, but abandoned them because they decided that they needed to piggy back onto something else in order to successfully enter the living room. Apple clearly thinks otherwise and is pursuing their own strategy. I'm not an Apple hater nor a Microsoft lover. I wish Apple the best of luck because the more choices we have, the better. I just happen to think that the Apple TV will, in its current form, not be that successful.I have neither the Apple TV nor an Xbox 360. But, as I look at things, if I were forced to choose right now, I would probably choose the Xbox 360. Not only can I play games on it and download HD and other content directly from Xbox live, but I can stream music and videos directly off my computer just like the Apple TV can. And, when I upgrade my computer in the future, it will be a Vista computer which already has a media center built in that can communicate more effectively with my Xbox and ultimately replace my Tivo.
Closed AccountMar 22, 2007
I can't confirm it but I really doubt it