Can we please start a fresh topic on the AppleTV's future?

[nuckinfutz]

I looked into the Apple TV a few months ago and quickly dismissed the idea of purchasing one. I think it has so much potential, but due to the stubborn, closed nature of apple products, that potential with never be realized. The ATV should have been developed into a full media center by now, but its remained nothing more than a very limited streaming device. Maybe that's all it was meant to be, I dunno, but I think that it will need to be much more than what it currently is if hopes to survive.

Depends on how you consume your media.

For right now the quality is with optical technology like Blu-ray but 720p content has a place as well and it will look
better than DVD which is the standard everyone must have.

I'm not much enthused about giving comcast a grand a year and the only reason why I have a basic account is because my gf
likes the crap on TV. I'm a movie buyer/renter and so I'd rather take my budget and get Netflix.

I'm a fan of screwing around with iLife and the Apple TV makes for the perfect playback device. It certainly beats the need to have to
encode to DVD and then walk over and shove the disc in a player and hope everything works.

In 5 years we'll have the successor to h.264 and it'll halve the required bandwidth. So today's 5GB movie will be 2.5GB and we may see
1080p movies hit iTunes. Broadband will also be faster as well.

The Apple TV simply has to wait and let the infrastructure catch up.

 

[BaldiMac]

I looked into the Apple TV a few months ago and quickly dismissed the idea of purchasing one. I think it has so much potential, but due to the stubborn, closed nature of apple products, that potential with never be realized. The ATV should have been developed into a full media center by now, but its remained nothing more than a very limited streaming device. Maybe that's all it was meant to be, I dunno, but I think that it will need to be much more than what it currently is if hopes to survive.

You are definitely missing something... an AppleTV!

You say it needs to be much more. What do you think it needs?

 

[profets]

Of course I would want better hardware, but I don't think Apple is behind the times in video quality on the AppleTV. Until the 1080p content is more feasible, 1080p support is more of a "nice to have" feature.

Is there even a source of 1080p commercial content without the legal issues of ripping a blu-ray movie?

how about video recorded from an HD camcorder?

honestly, unless i watch tv shows or movies purchased/rented from itunes, is there really a point to appleTV? if not then i really dont understand why it is such an expensive device...

 

[profets]

You say it needs to be much more. What do you think it needs?

support for more codecs & containers, ability to stream content at higher than 5mbps bitrate to name a few

honestly, look at the specs of the HDX1000 . It costs less than an appleTV, yet has an incredible amount of codec support, network connectivity options and powerful hardware.

If I am in the market to purchase a network streamer, i really dont know why i should choose an appleTV over the HDX1000.. honestly, which would you choose if you were looking?

 

[BaldiMac]

how about video recorded from an HD camcorder?

You missed the word "commercial" in my question.

honestly, unless i watch tv shows or movies purchased/rented from itunes, is there really a point to appleTV? if not then i really dont understand why it is such an expensive device...

Like all Apple products, it is a much worse value towards the end of it's product cycle, since they do not decrease the price as the components become cheaper.

Is there a point to an AppleTV if you don't use any of its features? Probably not.

But if you want a device that integrates with iTunes, syncs and/or streams your music, video, and photo libraries to your home theater system, allows you to access YouTube, Flicker, and MobileMe, view podcasts, watch ripped DVDs, rent HD movies, watch trailers, and whatever else it does, then there is a point to it.

 

[BaldiMac]

honestly, look at the specs of the HDX1000 . It costs less than an appleTV, yet has an incredible amount of codec support, network connectivity options and powerful hardware.

It costs $10 less than an AppleTV. That would not affect my purchasing decision.

In looking over the description, I noticed a distinct absence of any screenshots of the UI. If it's going to be in my living room, that is important!

Additional codec support isn't important to me. Any DVD or CD rips I do are to a compatible format. Music acquired from the internet is almost always AAC or MP3. Podcasts are almost universally compatible with iTunes. Video rentals from the AppleTV, YouTube, home video, and DVDs are the only video sources I use.

If I am in the market to purchase a network streamer, i really dont know why i should choose an appleTV over the HDX1000.. honestly, which would you choose if you were looking?

If I was ONLY interested in network streaming, I would consider an HDX1000. But the other features of an AppleTV are more important to me.

 

[Shuttleworth]

We just got an AppleTV from the refurb store for £130. We also bought new living room furniture. If we'd had to buy DVD cabinets to match the furniture it'd cost more than £130. As it is all my DVD's are in a box in the attic, and still available to watch on the AppleTV thanks to Handbrake.

When people visit they're impressed with its ease of use and the photo's are always conversation points, but when they ask about converting DVD's you can see the expressions glaze over as they realise they won't be able to do it. It pays to be geeky sometimes , but a 'one click conversion' version of Handbrake would make it a lot more appealing. If iTunes could convert DVD it'd be perfect, but that'll never happen . TV show rentals'd be great too.

Are normal people really bothered about HD at the moment? The shops sell very little choice of BD and it's still expensive. DVD's are now cheap and still popular, so does AppleTV need to got 1080p yet for the majority of people?

 

[profets]

You missed the word "commercial" in my question.

sorry about that. but regardless, that is content that people could have at home and i'm sure would love to stream

Like all Apple products, it is a much worse value towards the end of it's product cycle, since they do not decrease the price as the components become cheaper.

Is there a point to an AppleTV if you don't use any of its features? Probably not.

But if you want a device that integrates with iTunes, syncs and/or streams your music, video, and photo libraries to your home theater system, allows you to access YouTube, Flicker, and MobileMe, view podcasts, watch ripped DVDs, rent HD movies, watch trailers, and whatever else it does, then there is a point to it.

fair enough, and it does have several features, and a decent UI, but video options are horribly lacking, period.

 

[profets]

It costs $10 less than an AppleTV. That would not affect my purchasing decision.

In looking over the description, I noticed a distinct absence of any screenshots of the UI. If it's going to be in my living room, that is important!

Additional codec support isn't important to me. Any DVD or CD rips I do are to a compatible format. Music acquired from the internet is almost always AAC or MP3. Podcasts are almost universally compatible with iTunes. Video rentals from the AppleTV, YouTube, home video, and DVDs are the only video sources I use.

If I was ONLY interested in network streaming, I would consider an HDX1000. But the other features of an AppleTV are more important to me.

i'm sure the UI wont be as pretty as appleTV, but i'm using this to stream content, not stare at the UI. if i wanted to play with a beautiful UI, i'd be using a mac mini running windows 7 with Media Center.

also, even if its $10, it is cheaper, more powerful, and offers more options.

not only can i view my photos, or play music, or use youtube,flickr or whatever, i could play videos in any format. ripped DVDs like you mentioned? sure, why not. but since we're talking about HD, how about some AVCHD from my camcorder at 24mbps or ripped bluray discs? obviously not everyone has this need, but i got into the conversation because of how HD was initially brought up as something that we hoped apple would improve in the appleTV..

 

[MacBoobsPro]

My view of the ATV was the opposite. I wanted to bring my digital media to my TV. I bought an iMac and turned off sleep mode. I can plug in all the external hard drives I need. I ran an ethernet cable from my office to my main TV so I wouldn't have any connection issues with the ATV. Now I pick my content and within a few seconds it's playing. No fumbling through shelves (or boxes in my case) of DVD's looking for one to watch. It's all there, cued up, organized with artwork and ready to play at the touch of a button. Once I have another one, I'll have the same viewing freedom in my bedroom. For now I just unplug it, carry it upstairs and plug it in to my other TV and I've just made all my content available on that TV.

Everyone has a slightly different vision for their viewing habits. Some people talk about replacing cable with the ATV. When i did the math, I figured I could if I just watched my core shows. But my wife and babysitter channel surf and watch a lot of shows that I would not buy through the iTunes store. So I still have value for my Dish.

My point is if you have more than 10 movies in your library you need to stream because anything more and you struggle to fit it on the tiny HD of the ATV. Streaming involves having a computer running itunes to be turned on which means to watch the ATV you need a computer. i.e. It doesnt free you from your computer, it ties you to it even more.

A 500GB would of been an acceptable minimum, a 1TB would of been what normal people would put in there but a 40GB HD is not even funny. It almost seems like they missed a 0 off in the specs by mistake and still produced it.

 

[profets]

My point is if you have more than 10 movies in your library you need to stream because anything more and you struggle to fit it on the tiny HD of the ATV. Streaming involves having a computer running itunes to be turned on which means to watch the ATV you need a computer. i.e. It doesnt free you from your computer, it ties you to it even more.

A 500GB would of been an acceptable minimum, a 1TB would of been what normal people would put in there but a 40GB HD is not even funny. It almost seems like they missed a 0 off in the specs by mistake and still produced it.

i'm unsure, but is the appleTV able to stream from a NAS? would be a nice setup to have NAS with loads of storage and all media kept there. that way an appleTV or any computer when in use could stream from that device

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

All it really boils down to is if people went out of the way to hack it and give other features then that means they're was a market for it.

Some people leave their computers on all day so streaming from a computer isn't the end of the world.

If the Atv is/was able to connect to a usb raid server then you wouldn't need a computer on.

 

[munkees]

I didn't say you have to go to 20GB, I said "If you want 1080p at 25 mbbs..." which is what the poster I was responding to requested.



Of course I would want better hardware, but I don't think Apple is behind the times in video quality on the AppleTV. Until the 1080p content is more feasible, 1080p support is more of a "nice to have" feature.

Is there even a source of 1080p commercial content without the legal issues of ripping a blu-ray movie?

vodu does 1080p content, and is available.

 

[BaldiMac]

vodu does 1080p content, and is available.

At less than 4mbps. An AppleTV supports better quality.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

i'm unsure, but is the appleTV able to stream from a NAS? would be a nice setup to have NAS with loads of storage and all media kept there. that way an appleTV or any computer when in use could stream from that device

I believe it will only work with hacking but don't quote me on that.

All it really boils down to is if people went out of the way to hack it and give other features then that means they're was a market for it.

Some people leave their computers on all day so streaming from a computer isn't the end of the world.

If the Atv is/was able to connect to a usb raid server then you wouldn't need a computer on.

Leaving the computer on all day is great, but the energy prices these days are getting ridiculous and really aren't the answer when you want to casually sit down and watch a movie every other night. Thats 48 hours of 'uptime' for 2 hours worth of use.

Yes you can set the computer to come on at certain times but you are still tied to a computer and its all because of the small HDs. Just upping the HD size will make a massive positive impact on the ATV community and will also promote more sales via iTunes as people seek to utilise the space available.

 

[BaldiMac]

Yes you can set the computer to come on at certain times but you are still tied to a computer and its all because of the small HDs. Just upping the HD size will make a massive positive impact on the ATV community and will also promote more sales via iTunes as people seek to utilise the space available.

Obviously, JUST upping the HD size will not make a massive positive impact. They tried that. 160GB is enough for 60-80 movies. A relatively large library.

 

[BORIStheBLADE]

I believe it will only work with hacking but don't quote me on that.




Leaving the computer on all day is great, but the energy prices these days are getting ridiculous and really aren't the answer when you want to casually sit down and watch a movie every other night. Thats 48 hours of 'uptime' for 2 hours worth of use.

Yes you can set the computer to come on at certain times but you are still tied to a computer and its all because of the small HDs. Just upping the HD size will make a massive positive impact on the ATV community and will also promote more sales via iTunes as people seek to utilise the space available.

Well I don't think putting a larger HD in the Atv is the trick though. There are people out there with 1tb and up of media. Right now I have all my DVD's ripped and its 800gigs. Just the main movie with one audio file etc. They aren't converted to a smaller file, but I have them the .MKV container with no quality loss.

If someone came out with an app that converted X to whatever Atv file in a very reasonable time then things might be different. Spending 3+ hours converting movies is for the birds. Until then...

 

[no.1 Apple Fan]

I hope the TV gains Blu-ray (just as long as it can play normal DVDs too), a DVR, and an improved remote that is easier to type through.

 

[nutmac]

As much as we all want Blu-Ray, 1 TB storage, and other great things, the economies of scale suggest Apple is looking for less costly update.

Components such as slightly larger hard disk and processors won't add much (if any) over existing components.

More interesting, and perhaps more lucrative, are software updates. Apple has been rolling out many new features to existing Apple TV hardware, but let's face it. Its 1 GHz Pentium M processor isn't cutting it. A lowly Atom on Ion platform should give it a serious performance increase, enabling 1080p and more advanced applications and features (perhaps App Store for games and 3rd party video services).

My personal wish is DVR, at least for over-the-air ATSC broadcast (CableCARD is still a big mess). If not DVR, at least on-board ATSC tuner to allow cool features like Dashboard widgets (e.g., Twitter, weather) laid over video contents.

 

[bohbot16]

Leaving the computer on all day is great, but the energy prices these days are getting ridiculous and really aren't the answer when you want to casually sit down and watch a movie every other night. Thats 48 hours of 'uptime' for 2 hours worth of use.

Apple has a fix of sorts in store for Snow Leopard. From http://www.apple.com/macosx/refinements/

More efficient file sharing.
The Bonjour technology in every Mac makes file and media sharing virtually effortless. Now Bonjour in Snow Leopard makes sharing more energy efficient. If you have a computer in your home or office that shares files — like media files for your Apple TV — you have to leave the computer on all the time, which isn’t very energy efficient. With Snow Leopard and a compatible AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule base station, however, your computer can go to sleep yet continue to share its files with other computers and devices, waking when you need it and sleeping when you don’t.