I cant see much advantage in having an apple tv

[rickeym]

I just got an TV this X-mas-- few days ago and I'm loving it more than a fat kid loves cake. There are some issues to be sure but let me describe why it rocks to me:

1. Cable--I'm not a hater of it..I actually love news channels, BBC and so on but honestly--in this economy, having cable and losing just under a grand a year for content that you either can get for free (local sports, nationally broadcast sports) or online (ala--most shows nowaways--be it Hulu, bit-torrent or far more bootlegged means) is just CRAZY or wealthy if u got it. Bottom line, there is nothing with my TV I can't do without cable. Likewise, I find the quality of the video (with HDTV and HDMI) to be superior to my local cable provider--frequent outages, old PVR box which would act up around 85% of capacity, missed recordings, you name it.

2. TV is for the living room. I can respect you watching TV in your room or study on your computer set-up. I do the same occassionally thanks to my study/ zen room and it even has a couch for long-form movies that I had wanted to enjoy. But, at the end of the day--girlfriends, family visits or just buddies coming over for a drink--they will not be in my office huddled around a computer screen--they will want to sit in a living room like normal people on two couches, love seat not stepping over research materials and books and watching a big screen experience. There's no comparison. If you live with a roommate and simply do not or cannot enjoy a living room then I understand--but if you have a house or live alone--then your watching tv on the computer and thinking it replaces an TV is mistaken.

3. Feature-set is actually very impressive on the TV and I find myself USING my TV more and watching stupid programs less.
*So, with Youtube--I can show friends Jizz in MY Pants--without having to go into my study, load up my Mac Mini or fire up my Macbook--I can just pull it up and have it stream.
*I can cook in the kitchen while watching a hi-def chef podcast or catch a good news program (like To the Point) to get an in-depth view of issues while folding clothes, putting together some furniture or doing something constructive as opposed to the Al Bundy sit and gawk at a cable channel that you regret watching almost immediately but can't find anything else on and get sucked into wasting time with. Trust me--most podcasts are childish but with content from HBO CNN, CBS, MSNBC and more--it's becoming far more engaging than anything on regular TV ('cept sports)
*The pictures feature in hi-def is amazing. It sounds stupid and for the last year I harped on how trivial it sounded and how little it would matter to me should I get an TV--well, simply put, it's my favorite feature on the damn thing. For kicks, try pulling some high def wallpaper of cities, plants, forests, mountain views, anime, whatever and load it onto the TV--whenever you turn on the TV it's there--flying around in hi-def splendor and should you want to watch a slideshow with your pics, those pics or any pics--your music plays and the ken burn effect kicks in and it really is just an amazingly fun experience.

4. The bad---well, there are a few minor ones--nothing to make me regret my gift but nonetheless, silly things that Apple should and could fix (I refuse to believe a major electronics company selling hardware for $200+ has the nerve to call something just a 'hobby'.)
*The podcasts do not update nearly as quickly as they should. I do not want to load my Mac Mini's iTunes with all of the Podcasts I listen or watch daily (many being videos) just so the damn thing syncs with my TV--it's 10:55pm and the latest Rachel Maddow (which aired at 9pm) is not on my ATV's Podcast page yet. WHY??? Apple needs to fix this--the TV should be having podcasts, new movies, new music and everything new refreshed and 'pushed' like the mobileme to the system on an every 15 minute or atleast hr basis.

*There should really be a purchase of Boxee--TV is free--period. Apple's desire to corner the digital purchase space is well and good but certain programs should be made to TV as a one-time Podcast watch with commercials and if you want to own it..you can buy it.

*Prices for rentals and movies are beyond ridiculous. I should never pay $14.99 for a movie that on the DVD has featurettes, commentary, trailers and so on. I could see $9.99 for new release and $6.99 for catalog titles (1Yr or more) likewise--rentals for films that I have to watch in one day--is $.99 (think Red Box) for everyday I choose to own it without deleting it and HD $1.49 ($2 again--just seems like a gouge--quality should be damn near blu-ray and it's not--I love my TV but it's not Blu_ray).

Likewise, given how cool and efficient the lil box is--howabout some light apps? I'd love to get weather apps like from my iPhone and/or the UNO game or Pool Adrenaline could easily be handled on a TV with multiple people (apple could sell extra remotes) for a quick and fun casual game.

All in all--don't diss the TV--it's awesome.

Wow, nice summary.

 

[paduck]

Has anyone tried over-the-air HDTV? I get 17 channels on HD from my house. I haven't had cable for years, but I just got a small indoor antenna and it gave me all the local channels, plus some extras. The quality of over-the-air broadcast is far superior to what you can get over cable and (I think) satellite. You should try it. It's free.

Then you have your Apple TV for purchased content and your DVDs. My kids are trained to use the Apple TV remote and stay away from the DVDs. That has worked out really well.

I am seriously thinking of how to run ethernet between my router, computer and Apple TV because the connection to the Apple TV in the basement over wifi is a little tenuous and slow (802.11g). If possible, I would recommend that configuration. You get speed, security and stability and have to sacrifice some wiring.

 

[cubby03]

I have been looking into TV. Just received a $100  card for Christmas and not sure what to use it on, so was thinking about the TV. Cable is expensive and I am intrigued by eliminating it, but I love and watch lots of sports. Not sure how I could get around that.

If I have sports packages purchased for use on my iMac, can they be streamed to TV? Sorry if that is a silly question, don't know the basics of it.

 

[Roy Hobbs]

You still have to hard wire the apple tv to the computer. It can stream via wireless if that is what you are asking. But you still need cables to the tv.

What are you talking about? You don't have to hard wire the AppleTv to a computer

 

[Roy Hobbs]

I have been looking into TV. Just received a $100  card for Christmas and not sure what to use it on, so was thinking about the TV. Cable is expensive and I am intrigued by eliminating it, but I love and watch lots of sports. Not sure how I could get around that.

If I have sports packages purchased for use on my iMac, can they be streamed to TV? Sorry if that is a silly question, don't know the basics of it.

No

 

[dmm219]

I have been looking into TV. Just received a $100  card for Christmas and not sure what to use it on, so was thinking about the TV. Cable is expensive and I am intrigued by eliminating it, but I love and watch lots of sports. Not sure how I could get around that.

If I have sports packages purchased for use on my iMac, can they be streamed to TV? Sorry if that is a silly question, don't know the basics of it.

Yea, this is the one area where ATV really suffers. There is no way (that I know of yet) to get live sports on the box. I am hoping Boxee may add some capability this year (MLB.tv/ESPN360), but I'm not holding my breath. You will still need cable, or OTA, to get live sports is the bottom line.

ATV does have MLB.COM content on itunes, but it can't stream live games.

I still have to drag my macbook into the living room and hook it up to the TV to what live games on MLB.com.

Its a shame..

 

[cubby03]

No

Yea, this is the one area where ATV really suffers. There is no way (that I know of yet) to get live sports on the box. I am hoping Boxee may add some capability this year (MLB.tv/ESPN360), but I'm not holding my breath. You will still need cable, or OTA, to get live sports is the bottom line.

ATV does have MLB.COM content on itunes, but it can't stream live games.

I still have to drag my macbook into the living room and hook it up to the TV to what live games on MLB.com.

Its a shame..

Thanks for the information. Hopefully one day that improves in TV.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

What is the quality of the movies streamed to your TV using appleTV as opposed to watching via an actual DVD?
Also what are the quality of Movies and TV shows brought via the iTunes music store compared to either a DVD or the broadcast?

I'm not really interested in apple TV BTW as I like my collection of DVD's in the rack, which I then scroll through, and pick up, and physically touch, before I decide one one to stick in the player. I don't really like the idea of all my stuff just sitting on a computer as a list. Same reason I still buy CD's (also because of the vast quality difference between downloaded MP3's and CD's, although I'm getting way off track now)

 

[hhlee]

for those that rent movies on itunes, atv allows you to get hd movies straight to your tv.

as of now i rent on my macbook pro and then have to connect it up to the hdtv and that's still not "hd" although the quality is quite good.

 

[Lebowski]

I have two appleTV's in the house. One for my 61" 1080p sammy LED DLP (with 7.1) in the family room, and another for the 47" Vizio 1080p LCD in the bedroom (with 5.1).

I could not be happier with them. I have thousands of DVDs (hundreds ripped onto my main mac in the office), tens of thousands of CDs (probably 400 gigs or so ripped so far) and tons of photos and video ( I am a photographer / FCP editor ).

Its is SO nice being able to share my content easily anywhere in the house. I have COX HD service for a few shows, but honestly dont watch much broadcast stuff (news mainly). 90% of my content is purchased shows, ripped dvds and HD rentals from iTMS.

Airtunes is a great feature, I can stream a single playlist to my entire house from my office mac (my 7.1 reciever has 2nd zone outs the run to a stereo reciever hidden in a closet that feeds to a speaker selector that runs patio, bathrooms, garage etc...). This is great for parties, or just when I am listening to a new album and doing stuff around the house.

The big draw is the ease and beauty the sharing is with the appleTV. Sure, I can do similar things with the PS3, but its no where near as clean and simple to navigate and browse content. Rental quality is great, and its nice to have previews immediately before renting (something the PS3 service lacks for the most part).

HD podcasts look great, and there is a ton of stuff to choose from.

If you are serious about computer based content (or ease of purchasing digital content for that matter) the appleTV is a perfect device. If you still buy alot of CDs, flip channels alot and watch lots of random stuff, then maybe not so much. I have a few shows I watch on a regular (LOST, The OFfice, Family Guy...) all of which are on iTMS so I just get the season pass and new eps download automatically. No more DVR BS which fills up quickly, and you still have commercials (south park is unedited on iTMS, no bleeps!)

I was running several airport express stations just for the streaming factor which worked well, but as my video content increased, I wanted an easier way to get it to my television. I have dual 23" cinema displays in the office and a nice high end audio setup, but just have ZERO desire to sit in there to watch anything. I would much rather sit on a comfy couch, and watch a huge tv instead.

Sure, there are some things that could be done better, but im VERY happy with it, and recommend it to anyone that would rather sit in the family or bedroom to watch content rather than in an office.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

I have a few shows I watch on a regular (LOST, The OFfice, Family Guy...) all of which are on iTMS

Ugh, I wouldn't advertise I watch Family Guy if I were you, it's a shame that should be hidden. But then again if I were you I just wouldn't watch Family Guy at all.

 

[taytho]

harsh

Ugh, I wouldn't advertise I watch Family Guy if I were you, it's a shame that should be hidden. But then again if I were you I just wouldn't watch Family Guy at all.

Lebowski.... i think you have great taste in tv shows that you enjoy... those are some of my favorites as well. i am not ashamed to watch family guy whatsoever.

 

[therealdt]

I'm thinking about getting rid of cable, it's such a waste of money. I did see Apple Tv in the refurb shop and considered buying it. Just need to do some research on TV

 

[petermcphee]

Yea, this is the one area where ATV really suffers. There is no way (that I know of yet) to get live sports on the box. I am hoping Boxee may add some capability this year (MLB.tv/ESPN360), but I'm not holding my breath. You will still need cable, or OTA, to get live sports is the bottom line.

ATV does have MLB.COM content on itunes, but it can't stream live games.

I still have to drag my macbook into the living room and hook it up to the TV to what live games on MLB.com.

Its a shame..

Wow, that is a real negative selling point.

 

[Cave Man]

Apple TV + Eye TV Hybrid OTA antenna on Mac = Heaven.

It's too bad that the Eye TV software can't live-stream to the ATV. If a future revision of the ATV software would permit such, I'm sure Elgato would implement it. HD signals would have to be transcoded on the fly to MPEG-4/H.264, which would be processor-intensive.

 

[eleven59]

Has anyone tried over-the-air HDTV? I get 17 channels on HD from my house. I haven't had cable for years, but I just got a small indoor antenna and it gave me all the local channels, plus some extras. The quality of over-the-air broadcast is far superior to what you can get over cable and (I think) satellite. You should try it. It's free.

yes thats what im using and the HD channels look great!! and especially the sports games!!

i also have eye tv lite. just wish i could find a program to convert those into atv readable files

 

[juanster]

what format does eyetv lite record in?

 

[Cave Man]

what format does eyetv lite record in?

The Eye TV software simply records whatever the broadcast is. In the US, the OTA signals are almost always MPEG-2 with Dolby (Surround or Digital 5.1). It does no transcoding unless you tell it to. Mine is set up to automatically transcode recordings to MPEG-4/H.264 and then add to my iTunes XML database so it shows up on our Apple TV and other Macs in the house. It does not keep Dolby Digital - it reduces it to AAC analog audio, which kind of sucks. Something Elgato should fix.

 

[eleven59]

The Eye TV software simply records whatever the broadcast is. In the US, the OTA signals are almost always MPEG-2 with Dolby (Surround or Digital 5.1). It does no transcoding unless you tell it to. Mine is set up to automatically transcode recordings to MPEG-4/H.264 and then add to my iTunes XML database so it shows up on our Apple TV and other Macs in the house. It does not keep Dolby Digital - it reduces it to AAC analog audio, which kind of sucks. Something Elgato should fix.

and with the lite version, i dont think it can transcode. the upgrade supposedly has a atv preset to do it, but i havnt upgraded.

 

[tom1971]

Imagine having all of your movies, tvshows, music and pictures on demand at the touch of a button in your living room.

Agreed, no need to buy a digital picture frame when you have an ATV.

 

[FF_productions]

There are friends of mine I would and would NOT recommend Apple TV to.

It first depends on how technically savvy you are, and what the needs are.

I have a closet dedicated to DVDs, DVD's got lost/damaged. My plan back in the day (before Apple TV) was to have a bridge from my Mac to the Television. Apple TV answered those prayers (there were other devices, but not as slick).

In 2008, only 1 dvd was watched out of all the films watched in the living room where Apple TV resides. 2009 I plan to expand library, clean it up, tag it up, keep it easy to use, and thats it.

SO if you're a person with 10-15 DVD's, a small collection, no reason for Apple TV. If you have a collection of movies-tv-shows-etc, its a must have.

And if you want me to go farther in kissing this device's ass, you can watch youtube/listen to music/look at photostreams/watch movie trailers/hack and do 100x more.

After an entire 2008 with Apple TV, it gets an A+, simply from the convenience of it all.

 

[obey908]

i have an apple tv and love it. but with the new mac minis coming out, I am thinking of returning my apple tv to best buy and getting a mac mini. But the question I have is: can i stream all my movies,tv shows, music from my macbook pro to the mac mini?

The reason i want the mac mini is to have a second computer around, but I don't want to deal with having more external hard drives.

So can i wirelessly stream from my mbpro to the mac mini?

 

[FF_productions]

i have an apple tv and love it. but with the new mac minis coming out, I am thinking of returning my apple tv to best buy and getting a mac mini. But the question I have is: can i stream all my movies,tv shows, music from my macbook pro to the mac mini?

The reason i want the mac mini is to have a second computer around, but I don't want to deal with having more external hard drives.

So can i wirelessly stream from my mbpro to the mac mini?

Enable sharing in iTunes, and u can stream the library to macbook pro.

 

[Kusanagi6913]

Quick question--may have been answered by people but I've been having that dreaded HDCP content error message recently and now can only view my movies (rented or not) from composite cables. Yes, I have one of those 1st HDTV's where you had the HDMI to DVI.

My question is that obviously the box states nothing about this. Apple stores have never heard of the error (which means nothing since they are less informed than your average Best Buy employee and that's saying something) and it's not listed much on App TV support. Is this a TV brand specific thing? Is this due to update 2.2? Is there a workaround? Composite cables are BS on video quality and wonder why I'm being asked to use them instead of high quality DVI to HDMI cables?

HELP!

 

[Michael CM1]

You are way ahead of yourself. Right now, this is a BIG if. Even though BR won out against HDDVD, its fairing horribly against standard DVD. BR sales this season have been terrible compared to standard DVD's. As long as BR discs cost almost 3 times a standard DVD (while production costs are virtually the same=ripoff), people will not adopt BR for the marginal improvement in clarity on most sets (50in and below).

BR is still something only videophiles want, not the mainstream public.

That's probably the best analysis of the whole thing I've seen. I'm a huge fan of BDs, but the BD industry has to adjust quickly before other methods gain a lot of ground.

It's still early in the game, but the main thing is the media MUST get cheaper. People would pay $300, maybe $400 for a player if the discs were maybe $5 more expensive on average. But most stores seem set on selling most newer stuff at $30, while newer DVDs are $20. This is likely due to Sony's crazy licensing costs. They have got to drop those down to flood the market with more BDs and more players.

I would argue with you about how you define "marginal" clarity. I have a 32-inch 720p TV and can tell a great difference between SD and HD. It's too easy on TV shows (for some reason Dish Network doesn't have The CW in HD, so no Smallville in HD) and a little harder on DVDs. But I don't think the difference is quite what it was going from VHS to DVD. That was just night and day. But with BD, you have backward compatibility all the way to CDs, so DVDs aren't worthless.

I wouldn't put all my stock in the BD sales from this season. With the US economy the worst in a few decades, EVERYTHING except cheap crap at Walmart has been dismal. Therefore, if someone wants a movie, it's even harder to justify that price difference.

One way or another, HD content will have to be viewable in homes. Nobody even sells HD movies in a digital format yet, so BD is winning that war. But it has a way to go to become a little more of a standard.