Unless your TV is really old, it doesnt turn off either. It goes into Stand-By which is a really low power mode. It is never truly off unless you physically unplug it or turn off a switched plug. The sleep mode is the same thing.
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Apple TV is a flop and should killed off.
- Thread starter sanford
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Unless your TV is really old, it doesnt turn off either. It goes into Stand-By which is a really low power mode. It is never truly off unless you physically unplug it or turn off a switched plug. The sleep mode is the same thing.
I am a real Mac adopter and one of the guys that buy virtually everything with the Apple Logo. And I really would like to get replacement for my HDD sat receiver with something superior that can talk to my mac. But...
here are my concern:
a) Limited codec support
b) No DVD drive
c) No digital TV tuner. Yes it makes sense, I would like to use EPG and record films and shows when I am at work, holiday etc. I am not sure about US tv, but here in Germany tv program with quality is rare to find so I tend to select "my program" and record it.
d) real HD1080i support. I don´t want to throw that thing away in 1-2 years.
Hope someone is listening to my wishlist
here are my concern:
a) Limited codec support
b) No DVD drive
c) No digital TV tuner. Yes it makes sense, I would like to use EPG and record films and shows when I am at work, holiday etc. I am not sure about US tv, but here in Germany tv program with quality is rare to find so I tend to select "my program" and record it.
d) real HD1080i support. I don´t want to throw that thing away in 1-2 years.
Hope someone is listening to my wishlist
Tv sizes are measured on the diagonal, so of course a 37" widescreen will have a smaller 4:3 footprint on it than a 32" pan and scan tv. If you're buying a 16:9 set to replace a 4:3 set, pull out your old geometry book to figure it out, or just multiply the diagonal screen size of your current set by 1.22. But most content these days is widescreen, so no real reason to go for the 4:3 screens these days.
Calculating the optimal seating distance using screen size
For standard televisions (4:3 aspect ratio, 480i signal)
Multiply the diagonal measurement (in inches) by 4.3.
For HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio, 1080i signal)
Multiply the screen diagonal measurement (again, in inches) by 1.57.
my guess is you'll have your definitive answer in the next 45 days. my hunch is that rentals are coming now that they are done with all the iphone release pr.
I'd love to have an AppleTV. There's just some nagging reason at the back of my head telling me not to get one just yet. I've got a lot of content on iTunes (90 films, waaay too much TV).
I just think it's something I'd have if I owned my own place, it'd be slapped down in the living room. Since now I just watch my content straight off my iMac or iPod.
Oh, and no SCART? wtf.
I just think it's something I'd have if I owned my own place, it'd be slapped down in the living room. Since now I just watch my content straight off my iMac or iPod.
Oh, and no SCART? wtf.
I would be ready to buy it, but I am wondering if a new model is coming... I would really like to be able to play .avi files with AC3 (surround 5.1) included. Have a look to this gear:
http://www.tvix.co.kr/Eng/Products/HDM5000U.aspx
what do you think? Why they can include complete .avi support and not AppleTV?
Any idea is very welcome.
Best,
http://www.tvix.co.kr/Eng/Products/HDM5000U.aspx
what do you think? Why they can include complete .avi support and not AppleTV?
Any idea is very welcome.
Best,
In my opinion all we are lacking is more Apple TV compatible HD content. This is the only place Apple is depriving people and I strongly believe we would see many more Apple TV's sold if iTunes had more HD content.
Good grief. This is a terrible argument.
Next you'll say 'If you want to look at pictures, get a photo album', 'If you want to watch movies, go to the theatre', 'If you want to play games, buy a console'. But these are features that are now packed into every single iPod except for the shuffle. An FM tuner is not an unreasonable thing to add to a portable music player... which I what I use my iPod for - not storing music, but listening to it. And then there's the iPod Touch 'if you want to surf the Internet, use a computer'...
Yep, these are major factors along with some of the others that have been mentioned such as no 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS output despite having optical out.
The reason I will not buy an Apple TV right now is because the iTunes store has no video content in my country - in fact they don't have video content in most countries. Perhaps I should rip, then encode and compress my entire DVD collection. But why would I go through all this effort just to play movies on a device with no surround sound, etc?
I am a real Mac adopter and one of the guys that buy virtually everything with the Apple Logo. And I really would like to get replacement for my HDD sat receiver with something superior that can talk to my mac. But...
here are my concern:
a) Limited codec support
b) No DVD drive
c) No digital TV tuner. Yes it makes sense, I would like to use EPG and record films and shows when I am at work, holiday etc. I am not sure about US tv, but here in Germany tv program with quality is rare to find so I tend to select "my program" and record it.
d) real HD1080i support. I don´t want to throw that thing away in 1-2 years.
Hope someone is listening to my wishlist
Glad to see your first 3 points are same as mine and point 4 is also very valid
To all the people who disagree with my original reply, Yes the MacMini doesn't have a digital tuner but guess what... you can easily add one if you wish and you can't do that with Apple TV
As for those who think the DVD drive is a bad idea, I like a lot of other people hate having half a dozen devices under your TV when it is possible to make 1 device that can do everything, Take the MacMini, It can be a DVR, a DVD Player, A Media Centre, A Freeview Box (UK Digital TV) and much more like browsing the internet, checking email and so forth.
I just think Apple TV's target is a very niche market where as a Apple TV / MacMini hybrid would be a fantastic device.
hmm, yes i would say all of that! and then i would ask what else do you want on your iPod? a CD player? it would be great, you just put in a CD and it plays! then it can even rip the CD directly do your iPod, you dont have to sync to your computer or even have the computer turned on!!! maybe we could even add a tape deck and a record player, just so it is compatible with all formats!
part of what made the original iPod catch on (and is still prevalent in the current lineup) is the simplicity of use. it does what it is supposed to do, play music, and it does that well. you dont have to get lost in some confusing navigation or search through 5 million features to find what you are looking for. i dont think the iPod (classic) does a good job as a photo viewer or movie playing device, it is a half-a$$ excuse for a photo view and movie player. sure, ive watched a movie or two on mine, but thats in a very desperate situation, like stuck on a plane on the tarmac for 3+ hours. right now you lose quality as you add extra features.
so applying this to the appleTV lets look at the intention for the apple tv. to play digital formated media on your tv (read content delivery). does it do this? yes, you can watch movies, and listen to music from your apple TV on your home TV and stereo system. does the appleTV do this well? not really, it lacks 5.1 surround, and it does not play HD content.
so, the main conclusion should be, SIMPLE CONTENT DELIVERY. not a 500-device-in-one-super-swiss-army-media-center-appleTV.
OK so with your argument why make a computer? surly its a 500-device-blah-blah... Why not keep it Simple and have AppleEmail, AppleWebBrowsing, ApplePhotoEditing... and so on, because people want a computer to be able to do all these things and more. Now for a device that sits under my TV is it unreasonable that like the computer it should be able to do Video Playback (All Formats), TV playback and record.... and so on. I don't know about you but I don't think it's a unreasonable request and until we see a device that can do this i will stick to a MacMini.
I want 5.1 surround, higher resolutions from the iTunes store. Partnerships with the TV networks and other sites so that it can support the shows streamed from their websites. And I'm waiting for it to get a bit cheaper.
It doesn't even stream internet radio like the cheaper airport does, right? That would be a step in the right direction.
I don't want a dvd player, already have one and if I got an aTV I'd be ripping much of that.
Right now I'm watching tons of content in my living room from an ipod over the cable. It wouldn't take much for me to get an aTV, but they're not there yet.
It doesn't even stream internet radio like the cheaper airport does, right? That would be a step in the right direction.
I don't want a dvd player, already have one and if I got an aTV I'd be ripping much of that.
Right now I'm watching tons of content in my living room from an ipod over the cable. It wouldn't take much for me to get an aTV, but they're not there yet.
For what it's worth, I would like Apple TV to have a built-in dvd drive. Then, only then, will I consider one.
Ripping your movies to your hard drive just to watch them is far more time consuming than it needs to be.
Ripping your movies to your hard drive just to watch them is far more time consuming than it needs to be.
I agree with this, to an extent.
I don't really care about the lack of 5.1 or true HD, until there's content that can take advantage of them.
The overall lack of content is really disappointing, IMHO. My AppleTV lives in the same entertainment center as my DirecTV DVR, so there's zero value in me paying $1.99 for TV shows, when I already have them recorded in full HD on my DVR.
In the same respect, ITMS seems pokey about getting new movies, and I don't see much value in spending $9.99+ for an ITMS movie, when I can buy a DVD for about the same price without being locked in to Apple's ecosystem.
Maybe I was naive, but I really expected there to be some sort of subscription-based or ad-supported ITMS content when I preordered my
TV. All I really use it for, is watching podcasts, and playing music that I've ripped to my computer.
I could have saved myself $250 and bought an iPod dock with AV-out.
The End is In Sight?
Beware the Ides of October...
Seems that in the newest release of Leopard, the latest rev. to Front Row makes it look and act a lot like.... Apple TV.
Can this be the end? Is this the big surprise The Steve has been promising?
Beware the Ides of October...
Seems that in the newest release of Leopard, the latest rev. to Front Row makes it look and act a lot like.... Apple TV.
Can this be the end? Is this the big surprise The Steve has been promising?
I've never read anything declaring it a flop, it's really too early in it's likfe cycle for that. I love it and am quite happy with the two I own. I have about 2TB of Movies and TV shows being served to it. On Demand TV at it's best.
5.1
My main problem with AppleTV is 5.1 sound. I don't mind ripping my movies to my iMac and use it as a sort of media server. However, as I can get surround sound on DVD and have a surround sound system, I would like to use it. I guess Apple's main reason why there is no 5.1 sound is because movies and TV shows in the iTunes Store don't have them, but is it that difficult to encode 5.1 into these files?
I would prefer a DVD player in the AppleTV just so I can get rid of my DVD player completely, but never mind.
I think AppleTV has a lot of potential, but Apple haven't continued with its development in ages. No details of any improvement in the future doesn't give the consumer much confidence. How many are sold nowadays? Doesn't seem like anyone is
My main problem with AppleTV is 5.1 sound. I don't mind ripping my movies to my iMac and use it as a sort of media server. However, as I can get surround sound on DVD and have a surround sound system, I would like to use it. I guess Apple's main reason why there is no 5.1 sound is because movies and TV shows in the iTunes Store don't have them, but is it that difficult to encode 5.1 into these files?
I would prefer a DVD player in the AppleTV just so I can get rid of my DVD player completely, but never mind.
I think AppleTV has a lot of potential, but Apple haven't continued with its development in ages. No details of any improvement in the future doesn't give the consumer much confidence. How many are sold nowadays? Doesn't seem like anyone is
I agree with this but say it did support 5.1... I still do see the point of wasting time ripping and converting a dvd when its so much easier to pop a disk in you dvd player. So is 200 quid worth it for having to convert you dvds to then only give you the convenience of not having to get off your arse ?
It just doesn't preform enough tasks for me to be much use, its like the TVs equivalent of useless kitchen gadgets imo.
Well I agree with this for Movies, I'd prefer watching them with 5.1 sound upconverted from my HD-DVD Player, plus how many times are you going to watch a movie. I use my Apple TV for TV shows, so the 5.1 sound or the lack of it does not bother me as much, I watch the episodes quite a few time, and given the nature of TV DVD Set packaging it is much more convienient to have them on demand
I guess a bunch of the points are valid, but are they realistic for a $299 device?
Go look at the feature list pointed out in this thread and price the PC's that can do all of those things. Once you start putting a tuner and a dvd drive as well as DVR capability and perhaps a cable card, your really not talking about a $299 device anymore.
I think of Apple TV as a Mac (iTunes)extension to your TV (iPod for your TV is the best expression I've heard for the ATV). I do think the codec support is too limited and it could use a minimum of 5.1 surround within the current framework. I would also like to see them open the USB port for access to an external hard drive.
I also believe that they should put a 1.3 compliant HDMI output on the Mac Mini as well as a blu ray drive and sell it as a higher end Multimedia PC. I think you'll see at a minimum Blu Ray support in the next version of the Mini, since the drive prices are starting to drop pretty fast.
Take a look at solutions like Sonos (expensive) and the nightmares of the Windows Media servers out there. Most of the solutions are either really expensive for what they do, or they are bulky and hard to use. The ATV is a nice little solution so far. It looks pretty good on an HDTV despite the fact that it can't do 1080i/p.
Go look at the feature list pointed out in this thread and price the PC's that can do all of those things. Once you start putting a tuner and a dvd drive as well as DVR capability and perhaps a cable card, your really not talking about a $299 device anymore.
I think of Apple TV as a Mac (iTunes)extension to your TV (iPod for your TV is the best expression I've heard for the ATV). I do think the codec support is too limited and it could use a minimum of 5.1 surround within the current framework. I would also like to see them open the USB port for access to an external hard drive.
I also believe that they should put a 1.3 compliant HDMI output on the Mac Mini as well as a blu ray drive and sell it as a higher end Multimedia PC. I think you'll see at a minimum Blu Ray support in the next version of the Mini, since the drive prices are starting to drop pretty fast.
Take a look at solutions like Sonos (expensive) and the nightmares of the Windows Media servers out there. Most of the solutions are either really expensive for what they do, or they are bulky and hard to use. The ATV is a nice little solution so far. It looks pretty good on an HDTV despite the fact that it can't do 1080i/p.
maybe we should look at design intent. MacMini is designed to run many apps and have many capabilities. It has a built in DVD drive and you can easily get an external device to allow TV recording capabilities. The appleTV is designed to deliver digital content to your television. if you add a DVD drive and your tv recording abilities, you have a MacMini, so why would apple sell 2 devices that do the same thing?
now, lets look at a DVD player, the stand alone version that plugs into your tv. the design intent of the DVD player is to play DVDs. would you expect it to come with a hard drive or a TV input? if you added all that, you would have a MacMini (or some windows media center equivalent).
Would an all in one device be cool? yes, and its called a home theater PC (which could be a MacMini or a windows media center PC or any such equivilent)
This seems to all circle back around to the original post of should the AppleTV be killed off? Is there a market for a stand alone digital media delivery system, or do consumers demand the all-in-one device?
My opinion, yes there is 'enough' of a market for the stand alone system. i think physical media (such as DVDs, HD-DVDs, and Blue-Ray) should be killed off by the ultimate digital content delivery device (the AppleTV). At this point the appleTV needs to tweak a few things (5.1 sound etc) before it can have a huge effect on the market and become the ultimate device.