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Price drop on 160GB AppleTV... 40GB model discontinued
- Thread starter VirtualRain
- Start date
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I would hope so, but the previous price drop (2 years ago) also was not reflected in Europe.
Unless somone has e.g. a Kuro M display which has no tuners, then surely people have a built in tuner. What would having a tuner in the ATV give you that a built in tuner would not?
A PVR is another matter, but that's just not going to happen.
I think a TV tuner would be a pointless addition which would just hike up the cost of the unit.
Apple need to step up their game with the AppleTV. Something like the Pioneer Project ET is looking much more attractive as a media hub. Once managed copy is available on Blu Ray, who the hell is going to pay over the odds for a lame HD version from Apple.
UPDATE: 40Gb model is still up on the UK website.
This feels to me like they're dropping ATV altogether.
Surely if there were some revisions, they'd have announced them last week? I can't believe a new ATV would just appear in the store without announcement.
And if it isn't announced as part of an event then it'll just be a memory bump which is pointless (unless it has a 1TB+ drive or (please) some sort of FW or USB interface for an external drive).
It would let you use it as a PVR which would be bloody fantastic. It could sync with iTunes, shows recorded on it could be transferred to one's iPhone etc.
Surely if there were some revisions, they'd have announced them last week? I can't believe a new ATV would just appear in the store without announcement.
And if it isn't announced as part of an event then it'll just be a memory bump which is pointless (unless it has a 1TB+ drive or (please) some sort of FW or USB interface for an external drive).
It would let you use it as a PVR which would be bloody fantastic. It could sync with iTunes, shows recorded on it could be transferred to one's iPhone etc.
The AppleTV won't be discontinued. I imagine it will be drastically improved some time soon.
At the moment, it isn't really worth getting. I recon they will improve the old AppleTV's a little, but save the best features for the new, more powerful versions. Perhaps an AppleTV inside an Apple TV?! That would be nice, but only if it also accepted Sat/Freeview input.
Does anyone think that the radio recording functionality of the iPod Nano is a precedent for live TV recording in the AppleTV?
At the moment, it isn't really worth getting. I recon they will improve the old AppleTV's a little, but save the best features for the new, more powerful versions. Perhaps an AppleTV inside an Apple TV?! That would be nice, but only if it also accepted Sat/Freeview input.
Does anyone think that the radio recording functionality of the iPod Nano is a precedent for live TV recording in the AppleTV?
It was so overpriced to begin with they would have to add all those features and keep the new price to people looking.
Until it can play blu-ray in the same device they can keep it. Also it needs to come in black, white, or silver.
the silly thing was more expensive than a PS3 and at least that thing let you play games.
And Bluray and DVDs.
For about $79 more than a PS3 you can get a LG BD390 and get a BluRay player that can stream Netflix, YouTube, and play many standard non-DRM encumbered video formats (including MKV).
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HD size does not matter for ATV
I currently own 2 40GB Apple TV's (one for the den and one for the media room). Since the ATV streams your content the size of the HD does not matter in the least. I would have preferred that they cut the 160GB version since all I sync to the local drive are pictures and the last 5 movies to my collection.
The XBox 360 with streaming Netflix is actually very enjoyable to use and can access the same library of files. Had I owned it back when I was looking to pick up the 2nd ATV I probably would have passed.
Apple needs to add Safari with flash support to enable Hulu or figure out some other trick to improve the ATV in my opinion. I can now watch Hulu on the Wii and 360 using the Playon Server but not on the ATV which could easily handle the task. Blu-Ray is slightly interesting but I prefer to avoid physical discs.
I currently own 2 40GB Apple TV's (one for the den and one for the media room). Since the ATV streams your content the size of the HD does not matter in the least. I would have preferred that they cut the 160GB version since all I sync to the local drive are pictures and the last 5 movies to my collection.
The XBox 360 with streaming Netflix is actually very enjoyable to use and can access the same library of files. Had I owned it back when I was looking to pick up the 2nd ATV I probably would have passed.
Apple needs to add Safari with flash support to enable Hulu or figure out some other trick to improve the ATV in my opinion. I can now watch Hulu on the Wii and 360 using the Playon Server but not on the ATV which could easily handle the task. Blu-Ray is slightly interesting but I prefer to avoid physical discs.
Yep no updates in the UK either on prices
You should be glad, the UK price is already 25 % lower than the Continental European price. Of course, the US price is now 55 % lower then the Continental European price (VAT adjusted). This is the most outrageous price gap I have ever seen from Apple. I've literally been waiting for 20 months now, wallet in hand, for the Apple TV price to drop here in Germany. What's the f*ing problem? We have the iTunes Movie and TV stores, we have broadband, we have HD TVs. The infrastructure is there. Why is Apple still marketing the Apple TV as a luxury item?
Wrong name?
Sometimes I think if they would've named it "iPod TV" it would describe its functionality and role within the product line a lot better, and help boost sales of the unit.
I also think having only one hard drive capacity helps avoid product confusion to a potential buyer.
I have an Apple TV and like it the way it is. A software upgrade to include iTunes LP would be nice, and make it more compelling to buy content from iTunes.
Sometimes I think if they would've named it "iPod TV" it would describe its functionality and role within the product line a lot better, and help boost sales of the unit.
I also think having only one hard drive capacity helps avoid product confusion to a potential buyer.
I have an Apple TV and like it the way it is. A software upgrade to include iTunes LP would be nice, and make it more compelling to buy content from iTunes.
I'm in the same boat. I've had my eye on the AppleTV for a year or so but it's just far too expensive for what it is. With the PS3 price drop it puts the 160GB £13 more expensive. Whilst I would quite like a PS3 for games and Blu Ray, I really like the idea of having all my iTunes media with all the playlists, podcasts and ripped DVDs presented in exactly the same format as I have already as is the case with AppleTV. I also don't want to faff about with extra MediaLink software. I will pay for this extra convenience but £263 is a little dear...
Agree that the HD size is somewhat irrelevant, esp at the current media storage arrangement (ie atv is not a media hub, which I think it should be). I sync most of my songs and all pics, videos to my 160gig atv, bt I think it should be more of a hub, storing all the media rather than drawing it from my MBP. it should stream to my MBP or at least give that option. And a wireless iTunes sync with iPhone/iPod touch. Plug in another iPod to your computer at it syncs with your media stored on atv. All my media wouldn't eat up so much space on an internal laptop HD, although I currently have my media on an external. It would be nice to sync "only the last 5 movies" and selected playlists to my MBP for travel, instead of the other way around. Take 3 anybody?!?!
Does anyone here use their Apple TV as airtunes speakers? Since I upgraded to iTunes 9 on Friday, I can't stream music to either of my ATVs. If I select them as speakers in the iTunes "Multiple Speakers" dialog, I get Unknown error -15000
It's extremely frustrating since it was fine before - but it has me wondering if ATV should've got a software update for iTunes 9 compatibility along with the update for the iPods and iPhones?
Maybe it wasn't quite ready in time, and we'll see it soon? Here's hoping. The Apple Insider reference to LP content being specifically formatted for ATV is intriguing. ATV definitely needs something "interesting" to display on the HDTV screen when streaming music (other than the current - and somewhat paltry - track playing display). LP content would fit the bill nicely.
It's extremely frustrating since it was fine before - but it has me wondering if ATV should've got a software update for iTunes 9 compatibility along with the update for the iPods and iPhones?
Maybe it wasn't quite ready in time, and we'll see it soon? Here's hoping. The Apple Insider reference to LP content being specifically formatted for ATV is intriguing. ATV definitely needs something "interesting" to display on the HDTV screen when streaming music (other than the current - and somewhat paltry - track playing display). LP content would fit the bill nicely.
TBH I really dont understand why Apple TV and Mac mini uses 2.5-inch HDDs in the first place..
Do we move them? No..
Do we need the 1-2 cm less thickness or the less weight? No..
Are 2.5-inch HDDs more expensive for less capacity? Yes..
Both Mac mini and Apple TV could be far more useful with regular, faster 3.5-inch harddrives with more capacity..
TBH I really dont understand why Apple TV and Mac mini uses 2.5-inch HDDs in the first place..
Do we move them? No..
Do we need the 1-2 cm less thickness or the less weight? No..
Are 2.5-inch HDDs more expensive for less capacity? Yes..
Both Mac mini and Apple TV could be far more useful with regular, faster 3.5-inch harddrives with more capacity..
well then have fun putting that in a atv then if its so easy, because you might not know this but sometimes it is about height and not just weight!
I have a Mini and an ATV in the living room. The Mini is just not as nice an experience as the ATV. I also like to sent the ATV to the second room on my amp and sit on the patio and listen using my phone as a remote. The HD is only important if you view alot of pictures since they can't be streamed (don't understand why). I also sometimes sync a TV series when we are watching a season that I have ripped to itunes.
It isn't that it has a "poor cpu" or something, it's only that they haven't upgraded it with new features in a ridiculously long time.
If it's just an iPod for your TV, why can't I play and games on it? Forget about touch games, I can play games on my nano, and I can't even play those games on my apple tv.
If apple doesn't want to add DVR or BluRay functions to the device, that's one thing. But you can't really treat this device as anything real until they start updating it on a regular basis. And no, dropping the price on outdated hardware doesn't count.
Whilst I agree with you that for what the AppleTV is designed for this is the case, I still think that offering a larger hard drive would be beneficial. Even if they just changed the PATA connection to SATA so DIYers could upgrade themselves.
I have a white iMac which connects to the network through wireless. My computer does not support wake-on-wireless which is now available in Snow Leopard and I don't particularly want to leave my computer running 24/7 just incase I want to listen to some music or watch a film because I'm a responsible person that doesn't like to waste energy.
An SATA hard drive would solve this problem for the vast majority of people.
I have two dreams...
1) That price of AppleTV would be lowered in Europe. When Apple dropped the price of AppleTV, they only dropped it in USA
2. That I could sync more than one library to AppleTV. Since Apple now allows you to sync content from other libraries to your library (as opposed to merely streaming), I could see them offering this on the AppleTV as well. It would solve just about all the problems I have with the current setup.
1) That price of AppleTV would be lowered in Europe. When Apple dropped the price of AppleTV, they only dropped it in USA
2. That I could sync more than one library to AppleTV. Since Apple now allows you to sync content from other libraries to your library (as opposed to merely streaming), I could see them offering this on the AppleTV as well. It would solve just about all the problems I have with the current setup.
I had that error before upgrading to iTunes 9. It can be solved by switching IPv6 on OR off in your router. Look for discussions on apple's forums, there are some. The solutions do not always work though (with the new MacBook Pro never got it to work with my LinkSys router, does work with my DLink, with the original MacBook Pro it worked on both - same software setup).
While streaming might be OK in some cases, sometimes it's not. Take my situation for example:
There are two iTunes-libraries in the household: me and my wifes. How do we play both of those in AppleTV? Streaming would be ideal, since the size of our libraries is bigger than 160GB. But that has the problem that we need to have iTunes up & running on our laptop all the time. We could try to build an iTunes-server that streams the library, but adding content to the server is a pain (Home Sharing ALMOST fixes that problem, but it only works with purchased content, so it wouldn't work).