I disagree. At least the patchstick.ca solution is very easy to use and understand and can also be used by non-technical users.
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Apple TV - "Worst Gadgets of the Decade"
- Thread starter strike1555
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I disagree. At least the patchstick.ca solution is very easy to use and understand and can also be used by non-technical users.
So 10 boxes. Wouldn't you like to slim that down to just the games consoles and an Apple TV?
Or just the PS3. The PS3 does everything the AppleTV does and more.
I'm with Steve here.. this product is meant to fit into the "iTunes 'ecosystem'"
For the price, I've got no issues with my ATV; the kids watch their iTunes purchases on the big screen with it and I listen to CD-quality playlists.
I prefer playing music through the ATV than gaming consoles .. as the ATV is noiseless.
I really feel the future is downloads so I can't see the need for an optical drive.
I have not watched any HD content as yet (720p) so I can't comment on that.
Although from the TV programs I have watched, the quality of the sound and video can vary widely.. I would say this has more to do with the master that the studio encoded from.
If they 're going to improve the resolution (ie 1080p) capabilities .. they will probably have to look at better compression codecs to maintain d/load speeds as well.??
It should be reasonably possible.
Just needs a physical DVD/BluRay drive and a menu option - maybe on the "my media" screen - and to auto-start when you insert a DVD.
Just needs a menu option.
This was kinda a joke as they can't do this in the US without breaking the DMCA.
Just needs a default installation of Perian.
Just needs one extra output port on the back (or the removal of component and adding this instead).
Just needs a bigger Hard Drive as standard.
Just needs a menu option for Internet TV or something - maybe they could stick Youtube in this category.
And I did say that they didn't have to do all of the things I wanted for it to sell better
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You could do that, but how easy is the PS3 to setup like that. Does it "just work"?
That looks good actually.
And what region would the drive be? The main reason I rarely if ever use the DVD drive in my computer is because of the region locking. I have too many discs from all over the world that play fine in my dedicated BD/DVD player but not my computer. You can bet that any drive that gets fitted to a computer will be much more locked down than a standalone player. So no, drop the DVD drive.
TV standards throughout the world are different and getting TV guide data is sometimes tricky. For a computer, the EyeTV does a decent job although I still can't get guide data without some nasty workarounds. Nope, drop that.
Indeed, and since the DVD drive would be region locked it wouldn't work as well as a computer where you can at least plug in an external full size DVD drive which can be brute forced into ripping a disc. The laptop drives that come in Macs for example won't rip any disc outside their region. So, that isn't going to work in all cases and will be complicated. Drop it.
It would be nice to have more supported codecs but the ATV plays what iTunes provides and it is easy to rip your own material to play.
S-video and composite video are dead. Component isn't. Why go backwards?
Better still, the ability to add external drives in a supported way.
iPlayer only works in the UK, Hulu only works in the US. The rest of us can get stuffed I guess.
Sell better or sell to you?And I did say that they didn't have to do all of the things I wanted for it to sell better
not that bad guys!
Well, now the apple tv is great! some of the features that it is missing are available with 3rd party materials!
currently got mine streaming from my Mac divx avi and such, and it can connect to iplayer and hulu services!
got mine from a raffle (won it, didnt really pay for it) and after spending about 60$ on some stuff (*THAT DID NOT VOID ANY WARRANTY*) i can do almost anything.
Nativly, yeah its a bit of a bust, but it can be fiddled with and unlocked very easily!
Well, now the apple tv is great! some of the features that it is missing are available with 3rd party materials!
currently got mine streaming from my Mac divx avi and such, and it can connect to iplayer and hulu services!
got mine from a raffle (won it, didnt really pay for it) and after spending about 60$ on some stuff (*THAT DID NOT VOID ANY WARRANTY*) i can do almost anything.
Nativly, yeah its a bit of a bust, but it can be fiddled with and unlocked very easily!
tbh i dont use the applications just test drove them a while back, worked back then, maybe i should revisit and find out ha
Region unlocked.
You can have different standards for each country you try and sell the product in. And there aren't that many different standards. TV makers manage to make TV's which work with all of them.
Because some of us don't have brand new TV's, and why should you need to have an HD TV to use an Apple TV?
I was presuming they could add equivalent features for every country they sell it in.
That's why I said "some of the following" it doesn't need all those features, but it needs enough to get more of an audience. The current device in its current state has failed. Even though a lot of the features that people might want can be added with third party software.
I just love my Apple TV. But these reviewer people on these sites typically are looking for boxes that do everything and play every file type, and that's not the Apple TV.
But the Apple TV is perfect if your library is all within iTunes, like mine is, and you purchase most of your content from iTunes. In fact I planned my entire new setup back in 2006 for the release of the Apple TV. I purchased a new flatscreen TV and stand, and already had an iMac to sync with it. And now I have an iPhone to control it. I can't really imagine going to one of the other boxes now, and I've stopped watching DVD's. And I have 2, 1 tb drives attached to the iMac to be the library and the backup library that sync automatically every night. It's all effortless as long as you stick with iTunes (but I realize not everybody wants to).
I just think it's not advertised enough, and people don't know all that it does. Every time I show somebody, they're like "wow, I think I need to get one of those".
But the Apple TV is perfect if your library is all within iTunes, like mine is, and you purchase most of your content from iTunes. In fact I planned my entire new setup back in 2006 for the release of the Apple TV. I purchased a new flatscreen TV and stand, and already had an iMac to sync with it. And now I have an iPhone to control it. I can't really imagine going to one of the other boxes now, and I've stopped watching DVD's. And I have 2, 1 tb drives attached to the iMac to be the library and the backup library that sync automatically every night. It's all effortless as long as you stick with iTunes (but I realize not everybody wants to).
I just think it's not advertised enough, and people don't know all that it does. Every time I show somebody, they're like "wow, I think I need to get one of those".
You are absolutely right. When I was first looking to buy one, I was getting all worked up over the "missing" things, but someone very wise (on one of these forums) advised me to just let the Apple TV be an Apple TV. It works great with iTunes to rent or buy content. Keeps everything organized and easy to find and play. Interface is good. Sure I have to jump through some hoops to add transcoded versions of my physical DVDs, but it's easy enough to do.
I have had mine for a year, first gen. Works perfectly.
The only gripe with the appletv is the size of the hard disk that is in there. Needs to be bigger and have a sata interface. Apple should allow the playing of other video formats as well. Was there a copy right issue which prevented this?
What?
I have a whole bunch of iTunes 720p vids and stream all my stuff and have had absolutely NO PROBLEMS playing any of the content...
I've even played back HD rented movies - no problems there either...
And it's been over (until recently) an old g wireless access point.
What on earth are people even talking about?
Lots of advanced h.264 encoding settings cause AppleTV (and iPhone/iPods) to barf and die. Its becoming really easy to make a sharp, great looking small file -- that wont play on anything but your main computer.
Thanks Apple. When will QuickTime actually adhere to the full h.264 standard?
Lots of advanced h.264 encoding settings cause AppleTV (and iPhone/iPods) to barf and die. Its becoming really easy to make a sharp, great looking small file -- that wont play on anything but your main computer.
Are you talking iTunes purchased media or stuff people encode themselves (like using Handbrake)?
I was talking about iTunes purchased HD TV Shows specifically. They're hit or miss whether or not they play properly. Many times I have to stop the file, back out to the main menu and restart the file to get it quit stuttering/skipping/hiccuping. This happens on both my Apple TVs (one 40 and one 160) streaming or syncing (it doesn't matter).
Mine also can sometimes stutter when trying to load the cover art screensaver, do simple fast forward and rewind and more advanced stuff like iTunes LP.
There's been some discussion that the reason this happens has nothing to do with the actual video file, but the size of your iTunes library. Some reports have said the Apple TV actually keeps the iTunes library file in RAM (which we all know it has a limited amount of).
I've been debating whether or not it's worth the time to rebuild my iTunes library (since it's been getting updated with each version of iTunes since around 4.x) and possibly separate out my media. However, I only have around 300GB of data total.
It's not one of the worst gadgets; however, it is one of the most neglected...sadly.
Hopefully that will change in 2010. It needs new hardware badly as it can not perform basic functions anymore without crashing or stuttering.
Getting real tired of the "This format is not recognized" message (which isn't true as we know).
Hopefully that will change in 2010. It needs new hardware badly as it can not perform basic functions anymore without crashing or stuttering.
Getting real tired of the "This format is not recognized" message (which isn't true as we know).
I'm LOVIN' my ATV and the article is dead wrong. We bought it to rent movies online. Period. On that basis we have not been disappointed. We haven't been to the video store now in about 15 months and we typically rent a couple of movies every weekend from iTunes in HD. No more late fees, no starting up the car to head to the video store for pickup and returns, no waiting in line, Movies are NEVER SOLD OUT, etc, etc. ATV even lets us watch a trailer of every movie we're interested in to see if we want to watch it. Movie rental prices are consistent with our local video store as well. (In Canada, $5.99 for HD and $4.99 for SD. 30 days to play and 48 hours once you've authorized the movie)
It's only 720P?, couldn't care less. I'm running a new 52" LCD and the HD quality on our movie rentals is easily as good as the best HD TV signal I've seen. It's not Blu-Ray good but it's good enough and certainly better than DVD. Movie streaming speed is fast too with an HD rental typically ready to play in about 10 seconds on our high speed cable.
In Canada, we have no other alternatives to online movie rentals that I'm aware of, unlike the U.S. so ATV is it. The extra's like music and picture streaming, Youtube, Internet radio, etc. are just the icing on the cake. For $250 Cdn, it does exactly what we wanted and is a nice compliment to a home theatre system. I also have PS3 for Blu-Ray and DVD so that's covered as well but the vast majority (90%) of our movie watching is ATV.
The only issue I have with ATV is the typical 30 day delay in waiting for some movies to hit the rental section but that's a Studio issue, not an Apple one. Some movies show up quickly for rent but we figure that's usually a studio test to see how digital distribution is fitting into their marketing plans. I'm willing to bet the 30 day window is going to keep shortening up as the studios start to accommodate the public demand for digital distribution. Video stores are going to go the way of the dinosaur in pretty short order is my bet.
I can also say that EVERYONE that we have had over in the last year has ended up buying one of these things, once they understood what it was all about (a dozen plus people so far) and that just leads me to believe that the ATV has been poorly marketed by Apple in that most people just don't get what the ATV is all about. Once they play with it for a while then the perception changes almost instantly. My wife thought I was nuts when I bought it and now she would probably have me killed if I ever tried to take it away. That pretty much sums it up right there....
Cheers!
P.S. I should add that there is one other alternative in Canada for online rental of movies, the cable companies. Sorry, forgot about that one. However, I've found their prices to be ridiculously high (at least with Shaw) and the only HD movie we rented had noticeable lag when anything was moving fast on the screen. The selection is also very poor, the interface is slow and no trailers. Just sayin'...
James
It's only 720P?, couldn't care less. I'm running a new 52" LCD and the HD quality on our movie rentals is easily as good as the best HD TV signal I've seen. It's not Blu-Ray good but it's good enough and certainly better than DVD. Movie streaming speed is fast too with an HD rental typically ready to play in about 10 seconds on our high speed cable.
In Canada, we have no other alternatives to online movie rentals that I'm aware of, unlike the U.S. so ATV is it. The extra's like music and picture streaming, Youtube, Internet radio, etc. are just the icing on the cake. For $250 Cdn, it does exactly what we wanted and is a nice compliment to a home theatre system. I also have PS3 for Blu-Ray and DVD so that's covered as well but the vast majority (90%) of our movie watching is ATV.
The only issue I have with ATV is the typical 30 day delay in waiting for some movies to hit the rental section but that's a Studio issue, not an Apple one. Some movies show up quickly for rent but we figure that's usually a studio test to see how digital distribution is fitting into their marketing plans. I'm willing to bet the 30 day window is going to keep shortening up as the studios start to accommodate the public demand for digital distribution. Video stores are going to go the way of the dinosaur in pretty short order is my bet.
I can also say that EVERYONE that we have had over in the last year has ended up buying one of these things, once they understood what it was all about (a dozen plus people so far) and that just leads me to believe that the ATV has been poorly marketed by Apple in that most people just don't get what the ATV is all about. Once they play with it for a while then the perception changes almost instantly. My wife thought I was nuts when I bought it and now she would probably have me killed if I ever tried to take it away. That pretty much sums it up right there....
Cheers!
P.S. I should add that there is one other alternative in Canada for online rental of movies, the cable companies. Sorry, forgot about that one. However, I've found their prices to be ridiculously high (at least with Shaw) and the only HD movie we rented had noticeable lag when anything was moving fast on the screen. The selection is also very poor, the interface is slow and no trailers. Just sayin'...
James
I was going to say you were making an unfair comparison but then I thought about it and you're right.
ATV and Vista: Both launched to lukewarm reception.
ATV and Vista: Both received lack-luster support in their early days.
ATV and Vista: Both products were (and still are) generally misunderstood.
ATV and Vista: Both products have improved drastically over time.
ATV and Vista: Both products are still not received as well as they should be for their intended use even though they've improved drastically.
ATV and Vista: Both products now have a fairly significant installed user base that cannot be easily ignored by their respective manufacturers. Much as they both seem to have tried....
And last but not least... agreed, both products have made their respective manufacturers an awful lot of money whether they deserved it or not and my bets are on ATV being the one that continues to be a revenue generator!
Cheers!
James
I use mine every single day and find it works fine for its intended purpose as an extension of iTunes. I listen to podcasts almost every night when I get home from work, check to see what new movies are out each week, and purchase season passes for my favorite TV shows (I canceled my cable service a few months ago as well since iTunes/AppleTV has the few shows I actually care to watch).
The AppleTV is far from the worst gadget of the year, it is one of the most useful gadgets of the year for anyone with a large iTunes library that wants access to it from a living room.
I bought one shortly after they first came out, and really the only serious black-eye of the device is the lack of external storage support. Patch sticks have proven the device is fully capable of storing data on an external USB drive, Apple is just too pigheaded to do anything about it. This is a problem that only shows the success of the device, that the one true failing of it is lack of space to store everything I want to buy. In other words, Apple could be making even more money from the device than they do already.
Who in the world finds it enjoyable to use a 360 or PS3 for buying/managing digital media anyways? I've had both, and other than renting a few movies on the 360, they have horrible digital media interfaces.
The AppleTV is far from the worst gadget of the year, it is one of the most useful gadgets of the year for anyone with a large iTunes library that wants access to it from a living room.
I bought one shortly after they first came out, and really the only serious black-eye of the device is the lack of external storage support. Patch sticks have proven the device is fully capable of storing data on an external USB drive, Apple is just too pigheaded to do anything about it. This is a problem that only shows the success of the device, that the one true failing of it is lack of space to store everything I want to buy. In other words, Apple could be making even more money from the device than they do already.
Who in the world finds it enjoyable to use a 360 or PS3 for buying/managing digital media anyways? I've had both, and other than renting a few movies on the 360, they have horrible digital media interfaces.
Mac Mini with a Blu Ray player.
That would be the beginning of the end. It would
pwn. High capacity SSD or 7200 HDD, 4gb ddr3,
3ghz core2duo, Blu Ray. Apple Remote.
I would buy that Mini in a heartbeat.
Or Quad Core Mini!
That would be the beginning of the end. It would
pwn. High capacity SSD or 7200 HDD, 4gb ddr3,
3ghz core2duo, Blu Ray. Apple Remote.
I would buy that Mini in a heartbeat.
Or Quad Core Mini!