Take THAT AppleTV!

SpamSandwichSpamSandwich
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Cata...eo_Player.aspx



Not a bad way to get your video content to a TV is it? Just plug the little player into your TV. Could be a good solution for iPods also... if Apple takes this idea and runs with it.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Not necessarily a good way either. It's basically sneakernet. Wireless setups aren't all that confusing and it's a single trick pony. I'm actually interested in using the music and photo capabilities of the tv.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Nano plus universal dock (which comes with remote) plus AV cables means Apple already does this, although for more money.



    OTOH, you get iTunes store compatibility, a screen, and an iPod thrown in when you do it Apple's way. Plus, you can use component cables (the Sandisk tops out at S video).



    I'm not saying the Sandisk isn't perfectly nice, for the money, just that Apple really does offer pretty much the same functionality, right now.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Just bringing this to everyone's attention here, since most Apple fans tend to get extremely myopic about what is available in the marketplace.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    nevenneven Posts: 54member
    That looks like a nice cheapo device, but your thread title implies more than a simple education of the Mac community. What is AppleTV supposed to "take" from this?



    - Instead of automatic syncing, drag'n'drop'n'plug. Welcome to 1998.

    - 8 GB for $150. Gig per gig, AppleTV is a better deal.

    - No music, photos, or podcasts.

    - No streaming.



    I fail to see how this competes with AppleTV at all. MP3 players of this "just drag" philosophy have been around much longer than the iPod, and I don't see anyone going "take THAT, iPod!"
  • Reply 5 of 6
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,323moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by neven View Post


    - Instead of automatic syncing, drag'n'drop'n'plug. Welcome to 1998.

    - 8 GB for $150. Gig per gig, AppleTV is a better deal.

    - No music, photos, or podcasts.

    - No streaming.



    I fail to see how this competes with AppleTV at all. MP3 players of this "just drag" philosophy have been around much longer than the iPod, and I don't see anyone going "take THAT, iPod!"



    I think movies and music are a little different though. People tend to have thousands of songs that are better sorted using metadata and the itunes software is very good at this. People would rarely have over 100 movies so alphabetical sorting is fine, plus people would maybe watch one show a night.



    Knowing my own personal movie watching habits, I'd take the flash player over apple tv any day.



    I really don't understand why they made a separate product. Couldn't they have simply made an ipod dock that connects to the TV? For the amount of money they charge for the product, I would rather buy something that's also a music player.



    40GB apple tv = £199

    80GB ipod classic = £159



    I could easily keep 40GB of movies on the ipod and get the full functionality of the apple tv.



    Sure the wireless transparent synching is a plus but it would take far less time to transfer directly to an ipod plugged into the computer and I can easily take that wherever I go. It's not as if I'd ever transfer 40GB at once and a single movie would only take a couple of minutes to transfer.



    If they'd added PVR to the setup so that you could do direct to ipod recording, that would have been amazing. Team up with Elgato to make the ipod dock into a hardware compressor that stores data directly on the ipod. It might get a bit hot but they could possibly have a 100-200MB buffer in the dock and then only write to the ipod every 20 minutes or so.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,323moderator
    Another thing concerning PVR is Apple could probably come up with a way to offer a TV guide through itunes that gets updated on the ipod. This way people can choose their favorite TV shows on a lunch break or during a commute, drop their ipod onto the dock when they get home and it will record all their shows for them.



    Then when they get up in the morning, they can take their ipod onto say the train to work and watch the previous night's shows. Maybe even show people at work a clip.



    This tighter link with TV would surely encourage better relations with TV studios who may be encouraged to offer more content via itunes.



    The one downside to this system is of course how do you record shows when you are out and need your ipod? Well, it's still better than the Apple TV as it doesn't record but people can always get a cheap nano and a classic for occasions like this.
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