Surprise ad for Apple TV begins airing on networks

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  • Reply 41 of 121
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chrism70@mac.com View Post


    The house in this commercial looks like the same house from the very FIRST iPod commercial!



    Take a look and compare...



    http://youtube.com/watch?v=EQUOcfLkaJk



    I don't think its the same either, although I agree it does look similar. And the basic idea of it was similar as well. The music is playing, then he puts it in the iBook and it adds an instrument, and now its in the iPod and another instrument is added, very similar. Maybe it's just karma, but I think aTV will be a hit. Eventually. (and iPhone? Yes.)



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ecking View Post


    That family needs therapy. Everyone in the same house watching the same thing but refuses to watch it together. Tisk, tisk.



    The commercial would have worked better if it showed different locations throughout the day.



    It was the same guy, they're showing how he can watch it in multiple places.
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  • Reply 42 of 121
    buckbuck Posts: 293member
    I wonder if Windows users are left behind with photos on ATV? The ad could be so much more persuasive if it showed some *other* functionality, not just that it "can play a movie!1!1!!".
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  • Reply 43 of 121
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BRussell View Post


    Huh??



    The point was that the encoding isn't that great and is the biggest weak point of iTunes videos. Resolution isn't a major problem if the video is encoded well, and presumably prefiltered well. For example, some DVDs look fantastic on a 30" ACD, so it's not just the resolution that counts, a little extra care with the encoding and it can go a long way.
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  • Reply 44 of 121
    porchlandporchland Posts: 478member
    [QUOTE=solipsism;1067090]

    iTunes video content is the only culprit here. AppleTV picture quality can look as good as any cable or satellite HD channel.



    Seriously! The fact that Apple TV has only been out a couple of weeks is getting lost in the conversation! Apple is advertising that HDTV is a hardware requirement for Apple TV; I don't think they're going to wait around too long before providing some HD content.



    That said, if we get through WWDC and into early fall without some HD content from iTS, Apple TV will start piling up on the store shelves.



    I say we'll get HD content at or before WWDC.
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  • Reply 45 of 121
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    So you have DVI on your TV then? Well, all you need is a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. I found the cheapest place was on Amazon. It was $6 for the adapter and few more dollars for shipping; about $10 altogether.



    In case you don't know...

    DVI and HDMI use the same exact digital video signal, the difference are that they use different plugs and that HDMI also sends 5.1 audio information.



    No, I have a DVI to RCA and S-Video converter, the one Apple sells. Is there a DVI (female) to HDMI converter? Cause then all I'd have to do is plug my Apple converter (DVI male) into *that* and then take the RCA video to my TV \



    Edit: Ah ha! This would work http://www.svideo.com/dvihdmiadapt.html But it's 39 bucks!!!
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  • Reply 46 of 121
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    There's also this apple tv to TV converter



    http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html



    pre-order for just 99 bucks!
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  • Reply 47 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay View Post


    No, I have a DVI to RCA and S-Video converter, the one Apple sells. Is there a DVI (female) to HDMI converter? Cause then all I'd have to do is plug my Apple converter (DVI male) into *that* and then take the RCA video to my TV \



    Edit: Ah ha! This would work http://www.svideo.com/dvihdmiadapt.html But it's 39 bucks!!!





    Google is your friend ..... So is Amazon





    Walmart, Radio Shale, Best Buy, Circuit City all carry these adapters but you will pay more money.
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  • Reply 48 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    The point was that the encoding isn't that great and is the biggest weak point of iTunes videos. Resolution isn't a major problem if the video is encoded well, and presumably prefiltered well. For example, some DVDs look fantastic on a 30" ACD, so it's not just the resolution that counts, a little extra care with the encoding and it can go a long way.



    Unfortunately, content providers don't seem to care about iTunes quality, and neither does Apple.



    I have a music video where they used "nearest neighbor" filtering to resize prior to encoding. No matter how good iTunes' filtering may or may not be, that's always going to be unwatchably pixelated, even at 100% resolution.



    Even Disney failed to de-interlace Ugly Betty before putting it up—even though it's filmed on actual film. There's no need to go to a crappy film transfer when they could have gone from the HDTV version. It's also not even the right aspect ratio.



    There's absolutely no excuse for these kinds of mistakes—it would get people fired on any TV station. Yet apparently it's fine for iTunes. Apple needs to raise their quality control standards.
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  • Reply 49 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay View Post


    There's also this apple tv to TV converter



    http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html



    pre-order for just 99 bucks!



    "Our Video Converter for AppleTV allows you to connect the AppleTV to regular square televisions"



    Not exactly catering to the tech savvy, are they?
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  • Reply 50 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gregmightdothat View Post


    Even Disney failed to de-interlace Ugly Betty before putting it up....It's also not even the right aspect ratio.



    There's absolutely no excuse for these kinds of mistakes?it would get people fired on any TV station. Yet apparently it's fine for iTunes. Apple needs to raise their quality control standards.



    I wish the iTS had a Tech Specs button that included the basic, simple info for each item so those of us who are interested can have a detailed overview of the product before purchasing.
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  • Reply 51 of 121
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Just a note: "convert to Apple TV" export from QuickTime produces a file that *cannot* be played back on an iPod... unless I missed something. Just tried it.



    Anyway, no AppleTVs within, oh, 1000km from my city....
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  • Reply 52 of 121
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Just a note: "convert to Apple TV" export from QuickTime produces a file that *cannot* be played back on an iPod... unless I missed something. Just tried it.



    Anyway, no AppleTVs within, oh, 1000km from my city....



    that seems like something that Apple has *got* to address. Even if an AppleTV formatted movie played back on the iPOd, it's still pretty huge in size relative to the iPod. But having an iPod version AND an AppleTV version is horrible, and you're wasting precious hard drive space to have redundant copies of the same thing.



    What could they do to address this problem though?
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  • Reply 53 of 121
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    "Our Video Converter for AppleTV allows you to connect the AppleTV to regular square televisions"



    Not exactly catering to the tech savvy, are they?



    Probably not. That device is certainly not an option I am willing to entertain in making a recommendation. I really don't even have a conventional TV right now, so it's unnecessary for me. Also, I still have issues with needing a converter for a device that has built-in circuitry to output to composite and S-video. I don't know how they'd fit the connectors on there though if the device absolutely had to be square. Maybe a separate DVI connector, with options for component, composite & S-video adapters, graphics cards can output those signals through the DVI connector.
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  • Reply 54 of 121
    pmjoepmjoe Posts: 565member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    That nails it for me. Until AppleTV2 comes out, this is another 'Newton' for Apple... ahead of the curve, lacking in content, lacking in development.



    There is absolutely nothing "ahead of the curve" about Apple TV. The same crappy hardware specs were available from other vendors over a year ago.
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  • Reply 55 of 121
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay View Post


    No, I have a DVI to RCA and S-Video converter, the one Apple sells. Is there a DVI (female) to HDMI converter? Cause then all I'd have to do is plug my Apple converter (DVI male) into *that* and then take the RCA video to my TV \



    Edit: Ah ha! This would work http://www.svideo.com/dvihdmiadapt.html But it's 39 bucks!!!



    I don't think it works that way though. DVI offers analog video outputs if the maker choses to support it. I don't think HDMI has analog. If it's a simple adapter, then there's no way you are going to get analog video.
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  • Reply 56 of 121
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmjoe View Post


    There is absolutely nothing "ahead of the curve" about Apple TV. The same crappy hardware specs were available from other vendors over a year ago.



    I'm tired of everyone saying that. Show me please.
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  • Reply 57 of 121
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I don't think it works that way though. DVI offers analog video outputs if the maker choses to support it. I don't think HDMI has analog. If it's a simple adapter, then there's no way you are going to get analog video.



    Hmm \ We'll find out in a few days. Cause I just got this
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  • Reply 58 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay View Post


    that seems like something that Apple has *got* to address. Even if an AppleTV formatted movie played back on the iPOd, it's still pretty huge in size relative to the iPod. But having an iPod version AND an AppleTV version is horrible, and you're wasting precious hard drive space to have redundant copies of the same thing.



    What could they do to address this problem though?



    The "Export to AppleTV" option outputs to the AppleTV's max of 1280x720, while the iPod w/Video maxs out at 640x320, a quarter of the resolution.



    This can only be addressed by releasing a new iPod with higher resolution video capabilities. While I foresee full screen video iPod with higher resolution playback, It certainly won't support 720p. For reference, the iPhone will be 480x320. Apple can easily allow their portable video players to play 720p, but the problem lies with down converting to the display's resolution. it's a major tax on the processor, RAM, and battery. Possibly to the point of being unwatchable. I think it's better that Apple limits this in the SW.
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  • Reply 59 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeaPeaJay View Post


    Hmm \ We'll find out in a few days. Cause I just got this



    What made you chose the one over the one half the price?
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  • Reply 60 of 121
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmjoe View Post


    There is absolutely nothing "ahead of the curve" about Apple TV. The same crappy hardware specs were available from other vendors over a year ago.



    Three Words: Ease of Use.



    If you haven't tried using the other media extenders give Amazon's user comments a whirl. I will admit that the specs are nice. Such as, DivX, XviD and OGG support, as well as auto mapping of your shared network folders which the appliance independent of iTunes. However, typical reply relays a very poor experience. Many cost nearly as much or more as the AppleTV--though they'd lowered their prices since the AppleTV was announced--but offer slower processors with less RAM and only 802.11g wireless. The streaming abilities are just less than stellar even when not using 1080p.



    I think Apple has done well to make a product that will do what it claims (720p) despite the content not being available for purchase on the iTunes Store as of yet.
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