Apple TV sales up 300% over year-ago quarter

[AppleInsider]

Purportedly left for dead and mocked by pundits, Apple TV has actually turned into a productive hobby for Apple that will see continued development in the future, with sales rising threefold over the past year, according to acting chief executive Tim Cook.

Speaking in the company's financial results conference call, Cook said, "there was a tremendous tickup year over year [for Apple TV]. In fact unit sales were up over 3 times vs the year-ago quarter. *However let me be clear, we still consider this a hobby."

Cook explained, "It Is clear the movie rental business is working and there are more customers who want to try it. *We will continue to invest there, because we believe there is something there for us in the future."

When asked about the "digital living room opportunity and how it relates to Apple TV" during the last quarterly conference call in October, Steve Jobs replied, "well again I think the whole category is still a hobby right now. I don't think anybody has succeeded at it. And actually the experimentation has slowed down. A lot of the early companies that were trying things have faded away."

"So I have to say that given the economic conditions, given the venture capital outlook and stuff, I continue to believe that it will be a hobby in 2009."

Apple released its Take Two software update for Apple TV a year ago, and has since released additional three free updates for users.

Additional coverage of Apple's Q109 release

Apple profits edge higher on sales of 2.52m Macs, 22.7m iPods
Notes of interest for Apple's Q1 2009 financial results call
Apple rules out "iPhone nano," not keen on Mac netbook

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Postulant]

I love the convenience of my AppleTV:

Call my gf over
Order up a pizza
Hop in the shower
Cuddle up
Rent

[eAi]

Frankly, it'll continue to be a hobby till they improve the software and take on board what their customers (and more importantly, potential customers) want. For example, I want to be able to watch things I download from the internet (not via iTunes). I also want to be able to watch the BBC iPlayer (a UK specific hulu-like service from the BBC). Neither of those two things are possible with Apple TV, but both are possible with a number of competitors (e.g. Boxee). So, I'll probably buy a Mac Mini instead, and do it that way (if they ever update it)...

They're really missing so many opportunities here.

Originally Posted by Postulant

I love the convenience of my AppleTV:

Call my gf over
Order up a pizza
Hop in the shower
Cuddle up
Rent

At what point does your gf join you in this?

[webfrasse]

Originally Posted by eAi

Frankly, it'll continue to be a hobby till they improve the software and take on board what their customers (and more importantly, potential customers) want. For example, I want to be able to watch things I download from the internet (not via iTunes). I also want to be able to watch the BBC iPlayer (a UK specific hulu-like service from the BBC). Neither of those two things are possible with Apple TV, but both are possible with a number of competitors (e.g. Boxee). So, I'll probably buy a Mac Mini instead, and do it that way (if they ever update it)...

They're really missing so many opportunities here.

Super easy to hack your ATV and get Boxee and XMBC installed and do what you want. Take a look at ATV Flash. It doesn't break anything on your ATV.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Purportedly left for dead and mocked by pundits, Apple TV has actually turned into a productive hobby for Apple, with sales up 300% over the year ago quarter according to company COO Tim Cook.

Speaking in the company's financial results conference call, Cook said, "there was a tremendous tickup year over year [for Apple TV]. In fact unit sales were up over 3 times vs the year-ago quarter. *However let me be clear, we still consider this a hobby.

Could you maybe fix the faulty math in this article? If sales were over 3 times that means sales increased by something over 200% not 300%, otherwise sales would have been 4 times higher.

Also, I'm guessing there weren't any real numbers mentioned. I mean if they only sold 100 last year, tripling that isn't really anything to be proud of. I'm guessing they were higher, but without any solid numbers (and it still being referred to as a hobby) I'm also going to guess sales were still pretty piss poor.

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by eAi

At what point does your gf join you in this?

When the chick flick starts to play.

[hmurchison]

I expect that if Apple can hit a $149 pricepoint with the Apple TV they will see sales improve by %1000.

At each price band ($99/149/199 etc) sales will stratify with the majority of sales likely
coming from the entry level.

The Apple TV needs to stop masquarading around as a computer imitating a CE device.
Apple should slap an ARM proc, better video decode and open it up to Hulu and Netflix amongst others.

I know this sounds crazy. Why would you let your competitors hitch a ride? Because once you get people comfortable with the idea of streaming content it means they become hungry and iTunes would still be the premiere service.

iTunes didn't popularize music downloads it popularized "legal" music downloads. It proved that people would pay for downloaded tracks if the ease of use and quality exceeded expectation.

Video files are no different. Netflix, Hulu and other services are ok but Apple needs to make iTunes content shine above all else and they have nothing to fear about competition.

[eAi]

Originally Posted by webfrasse

Super easy to hack your ATV and get Boxee and XMBC installed and do what you want. Take a look at ATV Flash. It doesn't break anything on your ATV.

I've heard it doesn't work terribly well with some video (too slow?)... I'm also not sure I want to invest in such a 'closed' system... I'll investigate some more. Either way, I might wait for the Mac Mini update and see what happens. If we've not seen one by the end of March, I might just get whatever available now...

[teckstud]

What? Did they sell 10 last year and 30 this year?
What a piece of crap.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by caliminius

Could you maybe fix the faulty math in this article? If sales were over 3 times that means sales increased by something over 200% not 300%, otherwise sales would have been 4 times higher.

Also, I'm guessing there weren't any real numbers mentioned. I mean if they only sold 100 last year, tripling that isn't really anything to be proud of. I'm guessing they were higher, but without any solid numbers (and it still being referred to as a hobby) I'm also going to guess sales were still pretty piss poor.

You got it. If that's not bogus statistics- what is?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Postulant

I love the convenience of my AppleTV:

Call my gf over
Order up a pizza
Hop in the shower
Cuddle up
Rent

You forgot to mention that it keeps the pizza hot while you shower.

[Fast Fred 1]

Originally Posted by Postulant

I love the convenience of my AppleTV:

Call my gf over
Order up a pizza
Hop in the shower
Cuddle up
Rent

Rent what your GF?

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by eAi

Frankly, it'll continue to be a hobby till they improve the software and take on board what their customers (and more importantly, potential customers) want. For example, I want to be able to watch things I download from the internet (not via iTunes). I also want to be able to watch the BBC iPlayer (a UK specific hulu-like service from the BBC). Neither of those two things are possible with Apple TV, but both are possible with a number of competitors (e.g. Boxee). So, I'll probably buy a Mac Mini instead, and do it that way (if they ever update it)...

This is pretty much my position. I really have to wonder why Mini is so limited with respect to what it can do media wise. Now Apple doesn't need to make it into a desktop computer but even a lowly ARm based system could offer up a more diverse selection of features than Apple TV.

Frankly I'd also redo it in the mold of an iPod Touch. That is a semi closed platform that is easily extended by downloadable software and is a good gaming device. Frankly Touch does more useful things than Apple TV right now.

They're really missing so many opportunities here.

Totally agree here. Apple could be doing so much more here with this device and still keep in separate from the computer line up. They really need to adopt some of the iPod teams mentality.

At what point does your gf join you in this?

Hopefully she pays for the pizza wearing just a smile! Works for me.

Dave

[macFanDave]

Originally Posted by Fast Fred 1

Rent what your GF?

Renting a GF is not a new idea -- it's the world's oldest

I like my AppleTV just fine. It's nice, but it could be awesome! If they could make it work with a wireless keyboard/mouse, it could be what WebTV should have been. WebTV is the coolest idea that has had the most disappointing execution -- no wonder Microsoft bought it.

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

Renting a GF is not a new idea -- it's the world's oldest

I like my AppleTV just fine. It's nice, but it could be awesome! If they could make it work with a wireless keyboard/mouse.

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2007/03/...ard-and-mouse/

[monstrosity]

My guess is it morphs into a full out gaming platform by CES 2010, as well as continuing down its current path.

[mjtomlin]

Originally Posted by caliminius

Also, I'm guessing there weren't any real numbers mentioned. I mean if they only sold 100 last year, tripling that isn't really anything to be proud of. I'm guessing they were higher, but without any solid numbers (and it still being referred to as a hobby) I'm also going to guess sales were still pretty piss poor.

Piss poor compared to what? R&D for the product? A cheap little box with a slimmed down version of OS X that accesses the iTunes servers. Sounds to me like any money they make from the product and rentals is pretty much all profit. This is a product that basically helps maximize the use of their other more important assets with minimal development costs to them, which is probably why they still refer to it as a hobby of sorts.

And I mean really, you come up with a number like 100!? IF they sold 10 or 10,000, tripling those numbers wouldn't make the product worth the time. I believe the G4 Cube sold around 80,000 units in its first year and was scrapped, so the AppleTV must be doing much better than it did. And Apple surely knows when to throw in the towel, as they showed when they decided that iPod speaker thing wasn't worth the time.

[hypermark]

While I am personally thrilled to hear that Apple will continue investment in ATV, there is the obvious question of segmentation and road map. As a Boxee user, the data is hardly clear whether best served getting a Mini and Boxee enabling it or getting ATV and Boxee enabling it. One clear fork is for the Netflix crowd, where ATV does not have the horsepower to run Netflix, whereas Mini does.

Btw, if interested, here is a post I wrote that analyzes the Apple-centered media center universe:

What it Means to be a Social Media Center: Boxee, Apple TV and Square Connect
http://thenetworkgarden.com/weblog/2...-connect-.html

Check it out if interested.

Mark

[NasserAE]

I don't know why some people are obsessed in considering AppleTV a failure! It is the best product in its class. The problem is not AppleTV, the problem is with ISP limitations in regard to bandwidth, speeds, and availability. Until this problem is solved we will never see AppleTV or any other similar product takes off no matter how good or cheap it is.

[wobegon]

Originally Posted by eAi

Frankly, it'll continue to be a hobby till they improve the software and take on board what their customers (and more importantly, potential customers) want. For example, I want to be able to watch things I download from the internet (not via iTunes).

What exactly do you mean? Are you saying 1) you want to download things off the internet through the Apple TV itself (but not iTunes Store stuff), or are you saying 2) you want to watch non-iTunes Store videos you've downloaded on your computer via the internet and play that through the Apple TV?

Originally Posted by eAi

I also want to be able to watch the BBC iPlayer (a UK specific hulu-like service from the BBC).

What other digital set-top-boxes allow this? Who says BBC or here in the U.S., Hulu, would allow Apple to stream their content? It'd be one thing if Apple introduced an Apple TV-optimized version of Safari, but I strongly doubt even if they did introduce such a thing (which seems possible) that they'd include Flash support.

Originally Posted by eAi

Neither of those two things are possible with Apple TV, but both are possible with a number of competitors (e.g. Boxee). So, I'll probably buy a Mac Mini instead, and do it that way (if they ever update it)...

They're really missing so many opportunities here.

Boxee is hardly a competitor to Apple TV, it's an Apple TV hack.

[Marvin]

Simple steps for the future: Use Nvidia Ion + Atom (cooler, more energy efficient), drop the price by 50%, offer more content, offer a subscription model. Then it becomes competitive.

It may have gone up 300% but 300% of something very small is still a failure (sorry 'hobby').

For what the box does, it's severely overpriced.

For £9 per month, you get unlimited DVD rentals from the online rental stores. Going by postage times, you can get about 10 DVDs. This means that in 1 year, you get 120 films for £108.

The ATV box is £195 and each rental is £2.49 so those same 120 films cost you:

£493

I cancelled my DVD subscription partly because I couldn't be bothered doing the whole postal thing but ATV without a subscription isn't winning me over with those prices.

It doesn't even have to be unlimited. Just do a 10 films + 30 TV episodes per month deal for £10. Some people won't watch all that so the cost is spread out. They could also set it up so you can watch maybe 10 minutes of a TV show without it counting as a watch and 30 minutes of a film.

This way you can preview content to see if you like it. It would obviously track it so you couldn't just go in again and watch stuff in parts. This is the only model that would interest me about the ATV. I still wouldn't pay £195 for the box though. I'd maybe stretch to over £100 but £99 is a price point that looks good.

£99 for 40GB Nvidia Ion, Atom box + £10 per month and they could have a minimum of a 6 or 12 month contract.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I don't know why some people are obsessed in considering AppleTV a failure! It is the best product in its class. The problem is not AppleTV, the problem is with ISP limitations in regard to bandwidth, speeds, and availability. Until this problem is solved we will never see AppleTV or any other similar product takes off no matter how good or cheap it is.

Spot on. (Speaking for myself, I am really quite pleased with what @tv offers my household; other than for some rare foreign movie-watching, I have not been to a video store since my @tv purchase. What I use it for more than anything else is music/photo streaming).

[thrang]

Isn't it "uptick" and not "tickup"?

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

The problem is not AppleTV, the problem is with ISP limitations in regard to bandwidth, speeds, and availability. Until this problem is solved we will never see AppleTV or any other similar product takes off no matter how good or cheap it is.

Once I click purchase, my movie is ready for viewing within 15 - 20 seconds. With SuddenLink's 10 MB package, it's a breeze.

[djames42]

Originally Posted by eAi

I've heard it doesn't work terribly well with some video (too slow?)... I'm also not sure I want to invest in such a 'closed' system... I'll investigate some more. Either way, I might wait for the Mac Mini update and see what happens. If we've not seen one by the end of March, I might just get whatever available now...

Not sure where you heard that. Boxee is the best thing ever to invade my television, and makes the Apple TV just that much more useful. I almost never watch broadcast TV anymore (I find buying shows through iTunes cheaper than paying for cable).

Originally Posted by teckstud

You forgot to mention that it keeps the pizza hot while you shower.

No, what wasn't mentioned was that, with the right hack, you can order pizza through the Apple TV

Originally Posted by teckstud

What? Did they sell 10 last year and 30 this year?
What a piece of crap.

Says whom? Someone who doesn't own one? Oh wait, someone who's never used one? I absolutely love my Apple TV. For me, it's been a game changer. As I've said here before, compared to the cost of paying nearly $100/month for cable, I can purchase the shows I watch through iTunes for less, I get no commercials, and I can re-watch them whenever I want.

[oneaburns]

Originally Posted by teckstud

What? Did they sell 10 last year and 30 this year?
What a piece of crap.

Piece of crap??? I love it! Everyone who has seen mine immediately wants one. The only thing Apple has failed to do here is advertise it since the software update that made it so much better! Why in the world they develop a great product and insist upon treating it like a "hobby" is beyond me. Videos play really quickly on it and if you just wanted to use it to rent movies it would be great. But I also love the way it integrates my iTunes library onto my TV. Have some people over, give them the little remote and suddenly people are having a good time. And, if they create a really bad play list, I simply use the remote application on my iPhone and override it.

Apple is missing the boat on this product. I have bought so many more songs and videos since getting my ATV. I'm sure if Apple were to run the numbers they'd find I'm not the only customer who is doing that. I mean, I don't always want to explore and buy music from my laptop. I like to do it from my couch using my widescreen and my stereo. Advertise the thing already Apple!!!! And maybe for once don't do the stark white background treatment...show some people using and enjoying it.

[Murphster]

Originally Posted by wobegon

Boxee is hardly a competitor to Apple TV, it's an Apple TV hack.

To be straight, Boxee and XBMC are not really Apple TV hacks. They are a piece of software that is installed on the AppleTV from a USB stick.

They do not involve opening the box, they do not void your warranty and the AppleTV can be factory reset to get rid of them.


I think the likes of XBMC is the reason why Apple TV sales are up so much, people are more willing to buy them as soon as they realise they can actually make them useful.

Apple should acknowledge the work that 3rd parties have done to make the Apple TV a better platform, in fact I would go further in saying they make the AppleTV the best platform out there considering the low cost.

[rain]

Originally Posted by teckstud

What? Did they sell 10 last year and 30 this year?
What a piece of crap.

When I first heard the term Apple TV, I thought it would be a 50" plasma/LCD with a built in decoder that you could wirelessly stream any video and music source to... order movies, tv shows. Maybe had a touch screen like a giant iPod Touch, you could walk up to it and flip through menu's, move objects around (kinda like the computer table in Quantum of Solace). Also, it would have a built in camera so you could do life-size iChat. Video conference on, make phone calls through VOIP. Built in 50w speakers by Paradigm.
You know... a dream product. Damn, I'd pay $6000 for a product like that.

Imagine my disappointment.

Piece of crap is is right. It's right up there with the 'puck' mouse.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by djames42

Says whom? Someone who doesn't own one? Oh wait, someone who's never used one? I absolutely love my Apple TV. For me, it's been a game changer. As I've said here before, compared to the cost of paying nearly $100/month for cable, I can purchase the shows I watch through iTunes for less, I get no commercials, and I can re-watch them whenever I want.

Says me- I own one and use one (on rare occasion). Piece of crap.

1.) You can't stream DVD playback from your computer through the ATV.
2.) You can't search your own music or video files direct -only iTunes mUsic to buy- IMAGINE? NO netflix or any other rental service - ONLY iTunes.
3.) You can't rip your own DVDs to it- only rent or buy- It's an iTunes DIgital Jukebox.
4.) NO disc drive- your DVDs are obsolete. AT least you can rip your CD's to iTunes.
5.) NO recording allowed. I know - blame the studios- never Apple.
6.) NO on or off switch on the machine itself-WTF?
7.) NO repeat or playlists for videos.
8.) N0 INTERNET
.
Anybody who is thinking of buying one- BUT A MAC MINI instead. It' does all of the above and surfs the internet.

THE APPLE TV, NOT BLU-RAY, IS A BAG OF HURT.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by rain

Damn, I'd pay $6000 for a product like that.

You'd be the only one.

Originally Posted by teckstud

Says me- I own one and use one (on rare occasion). Piece of crap.

1.) You can't stream DVD playback from your computer through the ATV.
2.) You can't search your own music or video files direct -only iTunes mUsic to buy- IMAGINE? NO netflix or any other rental service - ONLY iTunes.
3.) You can't rip your own DVDs to it- only rent or buy- It's an iTunes DIgital Jukebox.
4.) NO disc drive- your DVDs are obsolete. AT least you can rip your CD's to iTunes.
5.) NO recording allowed. I know - blame the studios- never Apple.
6.) NO on or off switch on the machine itself-WTF?
7.) NO repeat for playlist for videos.
8.) N0 INTERNET
.
Anybody who is thinking of buying one- BUT A MAC MINI instead. It' does all of the above and surfs the internet.

THE APPLE TV, NOT BLU-RAY, IS A BAG OF HURT.

There is no DVD streaming format. How many times does Apple get sued for some silly patent that they most likely aren't breaking. Allowing DVD streaming would mean that they've assisted in breaking DVD copy protection. Blast Apple for what they don't do that is within legal realm but asking them to invite a sure lawsuit is silly.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by oneaburns

I have bought so many more songs and videos since getting my ATV. I'm sure if Apple were to run the numbers they'd find I'm not the only customer who is doing that. I mean, I don't always want to explore and buy music from my laptop. I like to do it from my couch using my widescreen and my stereo. Advertise the thing already Apple!!!! And maybe for once don't do the stark white background treatment...show some people using and enjoying it.

From what you say it sounds like they need to rename it.
AppleTv is wrong- It should be called the iTunesBox.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by mjtomlin

Piss poor compared to what?

Compared to Apple's expectations of how well it should have sold. Thus the constant references to it as a hobby. Do you think if it had iPod or iPhone level sales, every mention of the AppleTV would include the reminder that it's still a hobby?

R&D for the product? A cheap little box with a slimmed down version of OS X that accesses the iTunes servers. Sounds to me like any money they make from the product and rentals is pretty much all profit. This is a product that basically helps maximize the use of their other more important assets with minimal development costs to them, which is probably why they still refer to it as a hobby of sorts.

I think you've got at least one reason for Apple's continued sales. It's pretty much a minimal product to produce. And with the speed that enhancements have been rolled out (slightly faster than a dead snail), they're clearly not spending a lot of time or money on development.

And I'm sure P.T. Barnum gets a chuckle in Heaven every time someone plunks down the extra $100 for the 160GB AppleTV. Sure he's saying to himself, "A sucker really is born every minute. There goes another one." Looking at online stores, you can barely find a 40GB hard drive and when you do they cost the same as a 160GB hard drive (which cost nearly the same as a 250GB).

Maybe Apple just has pallets loaded down with unsold AppleTV's and is unwilling to take a hit by sending them to the landfill.

And I mean really, you come up with a number like 100!? IF they sold 10 or 10,000, tripling those numbers wouldn't make the product worth the time. I believe the G4 Cube sold around 80,000 units in its first year and was scrapped, so the AppleTV must be doing much better than it did. And Apple surely knows when to throw in the towel, as they showed when they decided that iPod speaker thing wasn't worth the time.

My choice of 100 was hyperbole. You do grasp that, right? It's pretty clear sales of the AppleTV aren't that great, whatever the real number (5K, 50K, 500K, whatever), so tripling that isn't really a particularly impressive.

[pt123]

Also,
New movies are released on DVD and cable before being available.
No live sports on AppleTV so I still have to keep cable.
I have 1.5 Mbps DSL so downloads will be slow and disruptive.
And with cable and netflix, do I really need another box that does video?

[bugsnw]

I like to rent movies with a few mouse clicks. I love the University podcasts. I often share particular iPhoto libraries with my parents and others. Watching Apple Keynotes on a 52" HD LCD TV is particularly fun.

With VisualHub, you can download funny videos (or any videos) from the web and convert/transfer them simultaneously. Then when company comes over, you can bust a gut while watching the big screen.

Areas they could improve:

Access the internet directly would be huge
Redo the interface. It's too 'chunky' if you have large libraries. Make it iTunes-y
Speed up the interface. You can't scroll through a list without it stuttering
Rework the YouTube interface as well... it's a disaster
Offer a small wireless keyboard with a big trackpad for data input
Keep pressing the studios to allow us more time to watch movies we legally purchase
Let me access the ports - FW would be nice (or even USB3) - so I can expand
Encourage 3rd party development, ala the iPod ecosystem. Open it up!

For those that value their time, it's an incredible value. Like MobileMe, it probably depends on how many features you actually use that will determine if it's a value or not. And you do need fat pipes for it to be an enjoyable experience. I have 15mbit DSL via ethernet and it flies.

For what it's worth, I also have DirecTV video on demand. Their interface is probably the worst I've seen. Apparently this is tricky stuff. Apple should tackle it and revamp ATVs. Even with a huge tv, it's difficult to visually scroll around looking for something to watch.

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by teckstud

3.) You can't rip your own DVDs to it- only rent or buy- It's an iTunes DIgital Jukebox.

That's odd because just Sunday I ripped Batman and Apocalypto to AppeTv format using dvdfab.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by pt123

And with cable and netflix, do I really need another box that does video?

No...but many of us don't want to pay some cable company $80 a month. Apple TV with a satellite or cable package is a bit redundant.

[djames42]

Originally Posted by Postulant

That's odd because just Sunday I ripped Batman and Apocalypto to AppeTv format using dvdfab.

Pretty sure he was referring to an integrated solution. Not that there really is one, unless you consider a full-fledged computer. What I thought was funny was reading all the things he said couldn't be done with an Apple TV -- and with very few exceptions, I do all of them (surfing, playing DVDs, searching my media [okay, so it's an add-on of sorts to use my iPhone], etc).

Originally Posted by hmurchison

No...but many of us don't want to pay some cable company $80 a month. Apple TV with a satellite or cable package is a bit redundant.

Which is exactly why I bought the Apple TV. I pay Comcast $14/month and get my local television (including HD). To upgrade to a package that gives me premium content in HD was going to cost me nearly $100. I'm sure there are some TV addicts here who think $1000/year is worth it, but I'd rather spend my money on events with the family instead of staying in and being anti-social in front of a box. For those shows that I do find entertaining or educational enough to watch, I pay about $100/year to subscribe to. I skip commercials and can re-watch the shows when I want.

As for sports, I'd prefer to put some of that $1000/year toward tickets to games, which is really the only way to watch events anyway, in my opinion.

[NasserAE]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Says me- I own one and use one (on rare occasion). Piece of crap.

1.) You can't stream DVD playback from your computer through the ATV.
2.) You can't search your own music or video files direct -only iTunes mUsic to buy- IMAGINE? NO netflix or any other rental service - ONLY iTunes.
3.) You can't rip your own DVDs to it- only rent or buy- It's an iTunes DIgital Jukebox.
4.) NO disc drive- your DVDs are obsolete. AT least you can rip your CD's to iTunes.
5.) NO recording allowed. I know - blame the studios- never Apple.
6.) NO on or off switch on the machine itself-WTF?
7.) NO repeat or playlists for videos.
8.) N0 INTERNET
.
Anybody who is thinking of buying one- BUT A MAC MINI instead. It' does all of the above and surfs the internet.

THE APPLE TV, NOT BLU-RAY, IS A BAG OF HURT.

From what I understand, AppleTV was never advertised to replace your DVD or BR player and you probably knew it cannot do any of these things "by itself" before you bought it.

You might as well complain that your Video iPod cannot directly play your CDs, search your music or movies by typing words, cannot be used to rip your CDs or DVDs, has no internet, and is almost useless without a computer!! I think you are missing the whole point behind AppleTV. It suppose to expand not replace.

I really don't have ApplTV yet because I am still thinking of either buying a PS3 or an AppleTV with PS2/XBoX/or Wii.

[Wiggin]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Says me- I own one and use one (on rare occasion). Piece of crap.

1.) You can't stream DVD playback from your computer through the ATV.
2.) You can't search your own music or video files direct -only iTunes mUsic to buy- IMAGINE? NO netflix or any other rental service - ONLY iTunes.
3.) You can't rip your own DVDs to it- only rent or buy- It's an iTunes DIgital Jukebox.
4.) NO disc drive- your DVDs are obsolete. AT least you can rip your CD's to iTunes.
5.) NO recording allowed. I know - blame the studios- never Apple.
6.) NO on or off switch on the machine itself-WTF?
7.) NO repeat or playlists for videos.
8.) N0 INTERNET
.
Anybody who is thinking of buying one- BUT A MAC MINI instead. It' does all of the above and surfs the internet.

THE APPLE TV, NOT BLU-RAY, IS A BAG OF HURT.

I'd be happy if they gave it the same play back options as FrontRow has. So basically, it should be able to play anything QuickTime can play. And preferably not have to have it in iTunes. Oh, and it needs to be able to play video_ts folders like FrontRow can...you know for all those unencrypted DVDs of home movies I created with iDVD.

With Leopard, it's very easy to set up a folder for sharing. So I should be able to share the Movies folder on my computer and let AppleTV access it and play back any content it finds there. I do pretty much that between my two Macs and use FrontRow on one to access both iTunes content and everything in the Movies folder on the other computer. Or they could do something similar to how photos are handled. You use iTunes to configure what movies you want to share, but you don't actually have the movies in iTunes.

As for "streaming" of commercial DVD movies, I don't know that that would be a violation for breaking the DRM on DVDs. If the encryption is still intact in the data stream and not decrypted until it arrives at the AppleTV to generate the video signal, just how different is that from how a normal DVD player works? You just have a really long cable between your optical drive and the video processor!

[djames42]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I really don't have ApplTV yet because I am still thinking of either buying a PS3 or an AppleTV with PS2/XBoX/or Wii.

That was my dilemma as well. It was the iTunes store that sold me on the Apple TV as a way to save money on my cable bill. I don't have much time for games these days anyway, so the PS/3 was less attractive.