Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Persuade me to buy an Apple TV

michael.lauden

michael.lauden

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 25, 2008
2,326
1
what are some of the benefits of buying an Apple TV?

i mean... why spend 229$ to hook it up, and have to spend MORE money to have a use for it.

airtunes is pretty cool.. but if i reaaaaallly wanted it.. i'd just get another airport express.


right now i'd much rather get a used, low spec mac mini and hook it up to a TV


someone convince me otherwise!
 
if you dont want a apple tv and you want a mini we cant convince you to get what you dont want. i dont see the point of this thread:confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
i've canceled my cable <-- only ever watched a few shows

HD shows & movies <-- no signal (digital or otherwise) where I am

***no commercials*** <-- there are not enough smileys in the world...

these points can all be refuted or argued, but they are all reasons I consider my ATV to be an excellent investment and far more entertaining than OTA or cable tv
 
ironspider said:
this is the dumbest thread ever:mad:
Click to expand...

well thanks for your contributions then!

i was just seeing what some of the benefits are with :apple:TV

kind of like with the airport express... you get airtunes too if you want

just seeing what great things the ATV had to offer. MY BAD
 
michael.lauden said:
well thanks for your contributions then!

i was just seeing what some of the benefits are with :apple:TV

kind of like with the airport express... you get airtunes too if you want

just seeing what great things the ATV had to offer. MY BAD
Click to expand...

you pretty much said that you didnt want a apple tv. then give us the dumb challenge of changing your mind
 
you're right what was i thinking. trying to spark a conversation. if this was such a bad idea let it go - i always figured these forums were open for discussion.

jeeeez. just wanted to hear the benefits of both.
 
michael.lauden said:
you're right what was i thinking. trying to spark a conversation. if this was such a bad idea let it go - i always figured these forums were open for discussion.

jeeeez. just wanted to hear the benefits of both.
Click to expand...

im gonna go make a thread saying the following


I want a mac i refuse to buy a pc. Give me reasons why i should by a pc
 
I don't think this is a dumb thread at all. I think the OP is asking what the main BENEFIT is of ATV over say, a Mac mini or using a laptop and hooking it up to your TV. I'm also looking at buying an ATV and would also like to know. So far, this is what I've come up with:

-As of now, the ATV is the ONLY way to buy HD movies through iTunes. You can buy HD TV shows through a regular Mac, but not movies. This is by far the biggest reason to get an ATV.
-I'm guessing the interface and connection to other Macs in the house with lots of stuff on iTunes is much better, or at least it better be.

Here's one question I have: If you do buy HD movies (which can only be bought through the ATV), can these movies then be moved another, larger, hard drive in the house connected to another Mac? (ie can it be moved to the "main" iTunes library?). That 40GB HD on the ATV isn't going to hold many HD movies.
 
packgrad2000 said:
As of now, the ATV is the ONLY way to buy HD movies through iTunes. You can buy HD TV shows through a regular Mac, but not movies.

Here's one question I have: If you do buy HD movies (which can only be bought through the ATV), can these movies then be moved another, larger, hard drive in the house connected to another Mac? (ie can it be moved to the "main" iTunes library?). That 40GB HD on the ATV isn't going to hold many HD movies.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you can't buy HD movies through the Apple TV you can only rent them - and these can't be moved from the Apple TV back up to you main iTunes library for viewing elsewhere.
 
bucksaddle said:
Sorry, but you can't buy HD movies through the Apple TV you can only rent them - and these can't be moved from the Apple TV back up to you main iTunes library for viewing elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Oh, ok...Well, I guess if you can only rent HD movies there would be no need to move them to your iTunes library anyway.
 
I'm a fairly new Apple TV owner and can give you my reasons for buying, though i wouldn't try to convince you it's right for you. I had already ripped and encoded a bunch of our DVDs and loaded them to an iPod classic that we use hooked to the Kenwood NAV/DVD/Flip down screen in my wife's van. These were mostly kid shows. I mainly wanted the ATV to be able to play those same movie easily in the home without the kids handling the DVDs, scratching, losing, etc. Additionally, I thought it would be nice to show pictures and have access to my 12GB of music already in iTunes (some of which is DRMed). So, for me, I had already bought into and am happy with the "iTunes eco-system" and this was a natural extension.

Since owning it, I also find myself really enjoying many of the video podcasts (I think Scam School is great!)and even the occasional rental movie. I really didn't think I'd rent much because I can go to a RedBox location just down the street and get DVD's for a buck, but the convenience is worth it sometimes.

I know there are lot of competitors that will do everything I use it for and more. However, I'm already invested in the iTunes formats and just like the elegance of the ATV over some of the competitors.

Hope this helps inform your decision.

-Steve
 
Im considering getting a ATV also. I'm thinking I might hold out until they release a new model though. Hopefully soon?

I think I have a grasp on what the ATV can do and cant do. But the one thing that I seem to be missing is this..Can I stream home videos from my NAS to the ATV to my TV? Or do my home movies have to be loaded into iTunes? Also, I have a big collection of DVD's on my NAS. Can I stream those directly to the ATV? Or do I have to put them into iTunes as well?
 
packgrad2000 said:
I don't think this is a dumb thread at all. I think the OP is asking what the main BENEFIT is of ATV over say, a Mac mini or using a laptop and hooking it up to your TV. I'm also looking at buying an ATV and would also like to know. So far, this is what I've come up with:

-As of now, the ATV is the ONLY way to buy HD movies through iTunes. You can buy HD TV shows through a regular Mac, but not movies. This is by far the biggest reason to get an ATV.
-I'm guessing the interface and connection to other Macs in the house with lots of stuff on iTunes is much better, or at least it better be.

Here's one question I have: If you do buy HD movies (which can only be bought through the ATV), can these movies then be moved another, larger, hard drive in the house connected to another Mac? (ie can it be moved to the "main" iTunes library?). That 40GB HD on the ATV isn't going to hold many HD movies.
Click to expand...



jeez thank you!

yeah a lot of things are confusing to me about it. i'm sure it's all on apple but i just thought that there might be some cool features that make it a must have!
 
michael.lauden said:
jeez thank you!

yeah a lot of things are confusing to me about it. i'm sure it's all on apple but i just thought that there might be some cool features that make it a must have!
Click to expand...

Not a dumb thread, just a silly way to phrase the question.

The OP meant to say "Am I missing something, or does it make more sense to get mac mini?"

In response to that, I'd say two things: price and compatibility.

On price: the AppleTV is half the cost of a mac mini. It doesn't do as much as a full-blown computer, but it's cheaper. If you just need a bridge between iTunes and your home media set-up, then the AppleTV will do the job fantastically well. If you would benefit from some of the additional features of a full-blown mac mini (one that sways me is the ability to stream movies from Netflix for free if you have an account), then go for the mini.

On compatibility: the AppleTV is set up to connect to your TV. The Mac Mini is not. Without knowing for sure what a refresh will bring, it's likely that the only display port on the mac mini will remain a mini displayport, which presents some challenges for connecting to a TV for video and audio together. Not insurmountable, but slightly more complicated.

There's my $.02.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back