Reasons you don't need Apple TV

[edtorious]

I have a PS3 wouldn't want to miss 1080p videos or blurays. TV shows, I'm always updated to the TV shows that I record that I like and don't miss them, if I do miss them, my cable offers on demand TV shows nowadays that I can watch any TV shows that I miss again. What's your reason? I would have considered the new Apple TV if only they kept internal hd and be able to connect external HD.

 

[8CoreWhore]

For now, ATV's strength is getting content that sits on your computer (or mounted external drive) easily on your TV.

The only 1080P content out there sits on bluray discs....

There may be reasons for you to not need it, but plenty of reasons for others to need/want it.

 

[ovrlrd]

To me the strongest point of the Apple TV is AirPlay. Yes, there is Netflix support which is cool, and the TV rentals might be nice I guess, but being able to easily stream content from your iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch is a really huge plus.

I just hope it can do more than just music and videos, which I speculate about in the AirPlay thread I started.

 

[EricNau]

Or you already have the old Apple TV.

 

[ovrlrd]

Or you already have the old Apple TV.

Old Apple TV won't do AirPlay, and it probably won't do TV rentals (Apple probably won't allow it), and you don't get Netflix or future support for any new updates.

You know damn well they are going to completely stop supporting the old Apple TV, no reason to do all that work to keep the software up to date when it's a completely different platform (the new one is likely based on iOS).

 

[brayhite]

If you have cable/satellite, an XBox 360/PS3, and some sort of software or cable that you already plug your computer into the TV with to share the screen on, then you have no real purpose for the Apple TV except for convenience.

Coming from somebody who has all of the above though, the Apple TV DOES still appeal to me (at that price, anyway) because I would rather not put my MBP on my TV counter to watch The Room, listen to Brand New, or view PhatGayKid on YouTube, and nor would I want to rely on Rivet to stream my movies/music/pictures wirelessly via the XBox 360. I don't watch too much cable aside from various sports shows, so I have no real purpose for renting tv shows or movies (considering I have Netflix).

$99 is a lot to pay for convenience, but assuming everything just works like 99.9% of Apple products do, it'd be worth the less amount of hassle to deal with, with no movement of machines required.

Unless I wish to watch and listen to everything on a different TV. Which I'd gladly unhook two wires and carry a cereal-bowl sized box to do.

 

[canyonblue737]

Everyone is hyping up "AirPlay" to stream from an iPad (and an iPhone 4 I believe) to the Apple TV. While "neat" how does it realistically help you most of the time? Don't the vast majority of folks with an iPad/iPhone have a computer that is syncing with it in the same home, and likely supplying iTunes content to it? Wouldn't that computer simply supply the same movie to the Apple TV instead of the iPad? I know all the movies on my iPad come from my computer which of course supply my current and any future Apple TV's.

 

[paduck]

Old Apple TV won't do AirPlay, and it probably won't do TV rentals (Apple probably won't allow it), and you don't get Netflix or future support for any new updates.

You know damn well they are going to completely stop supporting the old Apple TV, no reason to do all that work to keep the software up to date when it's a completely different platform (the new one is likely based on iOS).

I think Apple probably will allow you to do both with the original AppleTV. Certainly the rental thing - that's just a small software upgrade and it locks in revenue opportunities for them. I don't see why they don't - AppleTV already lets you rent movies, so the concept of rental is already there. Of course movie rental on an AppleTV isn't about streaming, it is about downloading and storing for 24 hours.

Airplay might be a little more complicated, but probably not too much so. The AppleTV already streams from a computer running iTunes - both audio and video. I imagine the technology to do so from any iDevice is the same foundation since the new AppleTV will also stream from iTunes.

I don't think you are going to see a huge enhancement of the old AppleTV software - for instance, no Netflix, etc. But tweaks to the purchasing of TV shows and streaming? Why not? To force you to pay $99 for a new AppleTV? Doesn't seem worth it.

 

[newagemac]

Everyone is hyping up "AirPlay" to stream from an iPad (and an iPhone 4 I believe) to the Apple TV. While "neat" how does it realistically help you most of the time? Don't the vast majority of folks with an iPad/iPhone have a computer that is syncing with it in the same home, and likely supplying iTunes content to it? Wouldn't that computer simply supply the same movie to the Apple TV instead of the iPad? I know all the movies on my iPad come from my computer which of course supply my current and any future Apple TV's.

Probably the best part about Airplay is the ability to view non Apple approved video formats on your Apple TV. For instance, you could use the Air Video or Plex app on the iphone or ipad to start up a .mkv or .avi video and Airplay it to your Apple TV. You don't have to worry about what format the video is in.

 

[paduck]

Probably the best part about Airplay is the ability to view non Apple approved video formats on your Apple TV. For instance, you could use the Air Video or Plex app on the iphone or ipad to start up a .mkv or .avi video and Airplay it to your Apple TV. You don't have to worry about what format the video is in.

I don't believe that is the case with AirPlay. I think you can probably stream content in the Apple-approved video formats. At least that is the way things are now. I don't see AppleTV or AirPlay supporting video AVI. AirPlay and streaming are all about moving standard format data from one place to another. It isn't about converting that format into something else on the fly - which is pretty processor intensive.

According to the tech specs, the new AppleTV supports H264, MPEG-4, and M-JPEG.

 

[canyonblue737]

Probably the best part about Airplay is the ability to view non Apple approved video formats on your Apple TV. For instance, you could use the Air Video or Plex app on the iphone or ipad to start up a .mkv or .avi video and Airplay it to your Apple TV. You don't have to worry about what format the video is in.

Oh I did not see that at all. I believe AirPlay will only work within the iTunes, Video, and Photos stock Apple apps on the iPad (and I believe iPhone 4 or new iPod touch although not emphasized.)

 

[tbayrgs]

Everyone is hyping up "AirPlay" to stream from an iPad (and an iPhone 4 I believe) to the Apple TV. While "neat" how does it realistically help you most of the time? Don't the vast majority of folks with an iPad/iPhone have a computer that is syncing with it in the same home, and likely supplying iTunes content to it? Wouldn't that computer simply supply the same movie to the Apple TV instead of the iPad? I know all the movies on my iPad come from my computer which of course supply my current and any future Apple TV's.

Exactly--to me, just seems like a gimmick. Per Steve's example, I could be watching a movie on my iPad and just continue it on the TV--why the he'll would I be watching a movie on my iPad in my house instead of on the TV? Only way I think I'd use it would be to show friend/family some pics I took on my iPhone before syncing to my computer.

Probably the best part about Airplay is the ability to view non Apple approved video formats on your Apple TV. For instance, you could use the Air Video or Plex app on the iphone or ipad to start up a .mkv or .avi video and Airplay it to your Apple TV. You don't have to worry about what format the video is in.

I'll beat this dead horse some more. I believe AirPlay is either directly or closely tied to iTunes and thus is limited my iTunes functionality--if it doesn't play in iTunes, won't play on the TV or iDevice (believe AirPlay will allow streaming of your iTunes media from computer to iDevice with update to iOS 4.2).

 

[ovrlrd]

Exactly--to me, just seems like a gimmick. Per Steve's example, I could be watching a movie on my iPad and just continue it on the TV--why the he'll would I be watching a movie on my iPad in my house instead of on the TV? Only way I think I'd use it would be to show friend/family some pics I took on my iPhone before syncing to my computer.

Because you could go over to your friends house with your iPad and play the movie/album/slideshow back on their Apple TV, or they come over to your house. It might be useless for your own personal stuff that you already have in your iTunes, but what about the stuff you don't? It's really not a gimmick since it solves a problem that currently exists (outside of DLNA devices maybe) in terms of streaming something from portable devices to your TV. It will get serious use, especially if a lot of people end buying them so it becomes very easy to share things with others.

I'll beat this dead horse some more. I believe AirPlay is either directly or closely tied to iTunes and thus is limited my iTunes functionality--if it doesn't play in iTunes, won't play on the TV or iDevice (believe AirPlay will allow streaming of your iTunes media from computer to iDevice with update to iOS 4.2).

You are probably right about this to some extent. I think the protocol is more capable than you are saying here though. If it can do photo slideshows, then it clearly has more to it than just telling the AppleTV to play X file on it. There is clearly a handshake and a stream initiated, and so there has to be some method of telling the AppleTV what it's receiving. No doubt it will be limited at first, but there is no reason Apple can't open it up more in the future.