Apple/iTV versus hooking Mac to TV

[Metsfan7450]

I am not very familiar with the ins and outs of Apple TV or the newly rumored iTV. Can someone tell me how its different from me hooking up my Macbook Pro with iTunes to my TV? I'm assuming I could purchase and watch movies/tv shows the same way, right? I guess I'm trying to figure out the advantage of spending the money on the Apple TV/iTV hardware (box).

 

[tbayrgs]

Biggest advantage is probably convenience/ease of use. Call me lazy but I'd get tired of having to hook up my MBP every time I wanted to watch a video, etc. I have 2 TVs and the convenience of being able to watch anything in my library simply by switching my input source and a quick click or two of the remote is great, especially for my kids.

Also, if you plan on renting/buying, I believe the selection of HD content in the iTunes store is greater when do so through the TV.

If you don't mind hooking up your MBP each time you'd like to watch or if you have anything in your personal video library at 1080p, save your money. If convenience is important, TV works well.

 

[jaw04005]

Mainstream users aren’t going to hook their notebooks or desktops up to their televisions. If that’s what you want, you’re not the target market for the upcoming Apple TV revision.

You’re basically buying the Apple TV for two reasons:

Interface

There’s no 10 foot “home theater-style” interface in Mac OS X except the dilapidated Front Row UI (which happens to actually be version 1.0 of the Apple TV UI).

Easy of Use/Practicality/Convenience

It’s always available and connected to your HDTV. There’s no over/underscan issues and the colorspace is correct for TV viewing. If iTunes is running, it’s always synced with your latest iTunes content. You can control all of your iTunes media with your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

It’s possible that the forthcoming Apple TV revision will include an App Store. And of course there are a few other benefits that are thrown in the mix like a wider selection of iTunes HD rental content, component and SPDIF output jacks, easy access to your Flickr photos and MobileMe photos and videos, etc.

 

[Christian247]

One thing I have been curious about it the picture quality. I got into downloading music videos to play on my tv through the Aux hook up for the iPhone, but the quality of the videos is pretty bad, and I noticed that when you play them right out of iTunes through a direct hook up the video quality is great, so I was curious if I could do this through iTv, instead of having to directly hook up my computer to the tv.

And for that matter, does iTv work through wifi? I would assume so....

 

[newagemac]

The Apple TV works with wifi and I would assume the new one will as well. As for convenience, not all people have a notebook they can hook to their tv. Some have desktops. Even for people that have notebooks, it is not very convenient to have to hook it up all the time just to watch video content and the experience, UI, and ability to control it all is subpar.

Not to mention I like to browse around on the internet using my notebook while watching tv/video on my TV. I wouldn't be able to do that if my notebook has to be connected to the TV. And I'm not dropping another $500-$1500 on another small form factor just to make that happen. And definitely not spending that much money to make that happen for every important TV I own. On the other hand, I would buy a $99 device to accomplish the same in my home office, master bedroom, and the family room. A total of $300 to do all 3 rooms would still be less than adding a full fledged computer in 1 room just to be able to watch video and play music with a subpar interface and higher energy costs.

It's a no brainer in my book if the rumored $99 price is real.

 

[bonsaidetective]

One of the lesser talked about selling points of the Appletv for me is the safety. I have a computer and an Appletv hooked up to my television. It works great for me. But when someone else tries to use the computer part, they usually screw something up, and sometimes even erase things. It is impossible for someone to erase your media when using the Appletv. Moron-proof and child-proof. It's great.