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renting movies on Apple TV. what a joke

C

CultHero

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 20, 2007
281
1
my wife and I sat down to watch an HD movie on Apple TV and I was eager to show her that this new box I bought would bring countless wonders and memories to our living room.

Well, first most of the trailers wouldn't work. Chalk that up to my fickle Internet connection. Doesn't bode well for dl'ing an entire movie though.

Then one of the movies we decided on (Michael Clayton) is no longer available on iTunes. Great!

Then when we finally choose something we can both like and I got to purchase it I have to put my password in using the stupid remote and it keeps freezing on every letter. I have to back out and start over like three times.

Then when it finally takes my username, and password it asks if I want Apple TV to remember my username and password. I eagerly click yes and have been in a black screen for about 8 minutes now.

The wife gave up about 15 minutes ago and disappeared upstairs.

This blows goats
 
archesdevil said:
So, when you get a divorce, you can blame Apple.
Click to expand...

He should be so lucky! In my experience, the loving wife will speak no more of this eventful day, until the moment arises that he wishes to procure yet another shiny, expensive, life-altering object. Then she shall reach deep into that vault, and pull up this gem, thus halting any further plans of acquiring said device.

She owns you, man. It's just the way of the world. At this point you may as well relinquish yourself to woodworking. That way she can always say "at least he's good with his hands".
 
ha, I just read this all to her and had her laughing out loud. What was concerning though, was how accurate you were. :confused::eek::rolleyes:
 
Make sure you are fully up to date with the ATV software. If you are try restarting the AppleTV. If that doesnt work maybe your "fickle" internet connection is causing problems. I believe you need a certain connection speed for ATV to work correctly.

If your computer and connection meet the requirement and you still have problems take your ATV to an Apple store to get it checked out.
 
Seems strange the Apple TV would hang when remembering your iTunes account details. As others have said, you need a good internet connection (by today's standards). Especially for an HD movie, an 8MB connection would be ideal.
 
CultHero said:
my wife and I sat down to watch an HD movie on Apple TV and I was eager to show her that this new box I bought would bring countless wonders and memories to our living room.

Well, first most of the trailers wouldn't work. Chalk that up to my fickle Internet connection. Doesn't bode well for dl'ing an entire movie though.

Then one of the movies we decided on (Michael Clayton) is no longer available on iTunes. Great!

Then when we finally choose something we can both like and I got to purchase it I have to put my password in using the stupid remote and it keeps freezing on every letter. I have to back out and start over like three times.

Then when it finally takes my username, and password it asks if I want Apple TV to remember my username and password. I eagerly click yes and have been in a black screen for about 8 minutes now.

The wife gave up about 15 minutes ago and disappeared upstairs.

This blows goats
Click to expand...

Ummm, I'm afraid my experience is exactly the opposite. I have been eating large slices of nag pie on a regular basis from my other half over the amount we pay Lovefilm per month. As a result, I cancelled Lovefilm and set up a US iTunes account with details put into the Apple TV. Now the entire family can browse through film lists, put stuff onto wishlists and order when we want to watch films. Even HD downloads don't take too long on our broadband connection. All of this is really easy and any member of the family can rent movies. It works smoothly every time. Trailers are a good way to see if we really want to watch something and they download really quickly. As for iTunes account, once entered, it seems to have saved the settings so that's no hassle either.

The downside of all this is the number of Adam Sandler/Jennifer [Lopez/Anniston] dreck-fests I have had to endure at the hands of a teenage daughter but that's just a quality control issue :cool:

I *do* agree with the comment about lack of films though - too often stuff we want to watch isn't available on iTunes and I think Apple need to work hard at getting better content.
 
same Here!

Jungle said:
I *do* agree with the comment about lack of films though - too often stuff we want to watch isn't available on iTunes and I think Apple need to work hard at getting better content.
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Downloaded several HD films from iTunes and zero issues for me, worked perfectly everytime (have an 8meg connection that is very reliable and the newest ATV software, 2.1)

HD movies are ready in about an hour to an hour and a half, SD takes about 10-30 seconds before I can watch them!

Not had any of the freezes/delays/issues you mentioned.
 
I'll agree with others here: if your internet connection is lacking its going to have a bad effect on your :apple:TV experience. You should also make sure the :apple:TV's software is up to date, etc. My experience with the :apple:TV has been fantastic; no problem with any of the features, similar to what Jungle reports.

Sorry to hear it hasn't been going well for you. I also feel your pain on 'wife loses confidence in expensive gadget because it doesn't work as advertised at critical moment'. If you get it working properly it'll be a hit eventually. That's how it's worked out at my house.
 
Me too, 6Meg connection, no issues with 2.1 loaded. I watch nothing but HD content. Sorry man your internet connection is the issue I bet not the ATV. I bet you are someone who has the "cheapest" internet package from your provider.
 
SMDrew said:
He should be so lucky! In my experience, the loving wife will speak no more of this eventful day, until the moment arises that he wishes to procure yet another shiny, expensive, life-altering object. Then she shall reach deep into that vault, and pull up this gem, thus halting any further plans of acquiring said device.

She owns you, man. It's just the way of the world. At this point you may as well relinquish yourself to woodworking. That way she can always say "at least he's good with his hands".
Click to expand...

lmao
How true a statement. :eek:
 
well, I have about a 10mbps connection but I discovered upon posting this that my iTunes was trying sync my apple tv so I think that may have had something to do with it. It is up to date. I will try tonight maybe.
 
We never had in issue either....Works great, getting more and more movies all the time...No complaints...(Using FIOS, 20MEG D/L Speed)
 
The remote does suck...entering anything takes forever.

The answer is the iphone! The iphone remote app is awesome...I love it...typing anything on my iphone and see it happening on the :apple:TV is incredible.
If you have an :apple:TV and an iphone, it is a must.
 
On my connection (standard 1.5 DSL) HD downloads are completely impractical. About 8 hours to download a regular HD film if I remember correctly (I only ventured forth once... that was enough).

I'd say this is the biggest thing holding back widespread adoption. I think something like 50% of Americans still use dial-up since high-speed (other than satellite) isn't available in their area. Apple has no control over this... but I'[m just saying, this is why the AppleTV won't be nearly as successful as the iPod any time soon. (among others)
 
fivepoint said:
I'd say this is the biggest thing holding back widespread adoption. I think something like 50% of Americans still use dial-up since high-speed (other than satellite) isn't available in their area. Apple has no control over this... but I'[m just saying, this is why the AppleTV won't be nearly as successful as the iPod any time soon. (among others)
Click to expand...

Apple TV is available with Movie Rentals in other places of the world other than America ;)

Reason it isn't being successful yet is because there is a lack of availability - as soon as they start matching the local Blockbuster's selection and offer rentals at an even cheaper price, rentals aren't going to take off.

I've rented two movies on my Apple TV. I just use it as a media device.
 
I was surprised to read one of the posters comments above that an HD movie is ready in an hour or so (paraphrasing). I'd have to guess that it is a purchase and not a rental he is talking about here.

I use the Apple TV primarily for renting HD movies. I have a standard cable connection (not sure if the speed is 5 or 8 MB), use the Apple wireless N network and my queue before being able to play and watch an HD movie on 720P is less than a minute.

The original poster also doesn't seem to have his Apple TV set up correctly. There is no need to re-enter any account or password information. When selecting a movie I get a popup saying something like "are you sure you want to rent this movie" - after hitting yes it authorizes and starts playing.

It's a breeze.
 
okay, so I tried again this morning and it worked. Worked fine in fact. Still took about 20 minutes before the movie was ready to view, but that is fine. I think it must have had something to do with Apple Tv trying to sync. I had swapped around my albums in iPhoto and it was trying to catch up with that, but was done a few hours earlier, or so I thought.

It just failed the wife test, thats all.
 
Incidentally, you might try watching a movie or two in SD, rather than HD. In my opinion the loss in picture quality isn't that much, and the movies will be ready view much faster (and due to the lower bandwidth required, will be less sensitive to temporary bottlenecks in data streaming).
 
sandman42 said:
Incidentally, you might try watching a movie or two in SD, rather than HD. In my opinion the loss in picture quality isn't that much, and the movies will be ready view much faster (and due to the lower bandwidth required, will be less sensitive to temporary bottlenecks in data streaming).
Click to expand...

I think this is quite dependent upon TV quality, videophile tendencies, and screen size. To me the SD movies are simply unwatchable and the HD are quite nice. Of course Blu-Ray reigns supreme, but I do not feel exceedingly compromised when I watch an AppleTV HD rental. I am watching on a relatively high end front projector run through an external video processor in a dedicated home theater with a 135" screen. I believe, however, that even for the average viewer, the difference would have to be perceived as significant when watching a tv that is between 32" to 42", huge from 42" to 65", and night and day above that.

I did find something interesting when I had this same conversation with someone. They were saying that there wasn't much difference, however they were basing it on the preview quality for an HD rental. Of course, the previews are in SD. They look horrible. Even the HD trailers do not come close to the quality of the HD rentals. I think they are even more compressed.

I also have heard, from time to time, people say that they cannot tell the difference between Blu-Ray and DVD. After I pick my jaw off the ground, I try to find out if they are watching on a very small screen or old TV. Otherwise I strongly encourage them to check the cables and settings as it is likely that they are like an amazing number of people who don't actually watch HD sources in HD but think they are.

Also, I have found I can start watching an HD download within 2 to 5 minutes from when the download starts.
 
Wondering if anyone else can chime in regarding how long it takes until an HD rental is ready to start viewing? My ATV is plugged directly into the router of a DSL connection that routinely gets 4Mbps speeds or better when I run speed tests.

I've yet to rent a movie, but could I realistically expect to be able to start watching an HD movie in less than 5-10 minutes? I don't want to chance it when I have company over if it'll take longer than that.

Thanks!
 
CultHero said:
okay, so I tried again this morning and it worked. Worked fine in fact. Still took about 20 minutes before the movie was ready to view, but that is fine. I think it must have had something to do with Apple Tv trying to sync. I had swapped around my albums in iPhoto and it was trying to catch up with that, but was done a few hours earlier, or so I thought.

It just failed the wife test, thats all.
Click to expand...

Excellent - well, the Apple TV bit rather than failing the wife test, obviously. I should have thought to mention that the device does slow down when it's doing a full sync. Once that's done, as you mention, everything works far more smoothly.

Now you just have to convince the wife to give it another go....
 
jkozlow3 said:
I've yet to rent a movie, but could I realistically expect to be able to start watching an HD movie in less than 5-10 minutes? I don't want to chance it when I have company over if it'll take longer than that.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

At that speed, should only be about 3 minutes max before you can watch the movie straight through. Might be less. Why don't you invest in a trial rental prior to company arriving. Might be worth it for the first time to make sure all is well.
 
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