There is no Apple bashing on this item- agreed. AppleTV is a FRK'N LEMON! I should know -I bought one. If ever there was a class action suit in the making - it's for this product. It doesn't do anything but draw enough heat to make a cheese melt sandwich. We still don't know what the USB port is for on the back! Come on Apple- what is it for???? It has a completely useless hard drive that you can't even use in disk mode- WHY? It could have been used for Time Machine-Apple's version of an external hard drive at least- hello?? What a waste. And Apple is the loser with the NBC pullout too- 100%. The television film moguls were getting sucked into a prixfix deal like the dumb music industry and they called Steve Job's bluff. Apple used the music industry to help drive the iPod to where it is today yet keep calling the music industry greedy in the process- LOL. The film/TV industry showed them they weren't going to do it twice. And who lost. The consumers who bought the Apple TV. I want a rebate - you can take it back, thank you.
Ummm..... there is a reason that those who are posting "how bad it is" don't own one. Cause-and-effect sort of thing......
Yeah I understand, thus my "Paper Spec Queen" comment
edit: What I mean by that is because all the complaints are based on trying to shoehorn the AppleTV into something it's not. Kind of like buying a houseboat and expecting to set the world's record for speed on water. Some of us just want a house boat
Movie rentals are definitely needed. Some rumors say Apple has been at work on that, and I hope so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud
There is no Apple bashing on this item- agreed. AppleTV is a FRK'N LEMON! I should know -I bought one. If ever there was a class action suit in the making - it's for this product.
What exactly did Apple tell you it would do, that it did not do? It sounds like you bought it for the USB port (?) which Apple clearly stated was only for diagnostic use. Or maybe you bought it on rumors that never came true?
As for Apple's iPod success being from the music industry, well.. obviously. But not through iTunes Music Store: most of the music on iPods is from CD, not downloads. Are CD player makers also picking on the poor, defenseless music industry who only wants to jack up prices to benefit the world?
1) Use the basis of the ipod/touch platform (cpu and os) to create a new version of the Apple TV which pretty much the same as the ipod touch hardware wise except for a better H.264 decoding to cope with 720p. Don't have much storage space and rely on streaming. This should reduce the cost of the unit.
2)Sell this for $150 (as it's basically an ipod touch without the screen or flash ram)
3)Start selling and renting HD movies/TV shows on itunes and allow the new apple TV to purchase these directly from the box and stored on a connected computer
4)Allow the iphone/ipod touch to become the same device via a more advanced dock that sells for $75
5)Sell a NAS device that can act as a wireless itunes server that users of ipods/apple tvs can wirelessly sync their data from/to
Well, I've seen, what, about 6 of you posting about how bad it is, and none of you own one.
I do own an AppleTV, the small 40GB one. I don't store anything on it, as I stream everything from a Mac Mini to it.
I've ripped about 200 movies from DVD's using 720x4xx settings and it's absolutely amazing on my 46" LCD TV. (Not to mention about 7 HD Podcasts, all my other video and audio podcasts) It's so good in fact that 3 others in my family have purchased one, as well as 6 or 7 friends of mine.
It's the non-owning, paper spec queens, that keep saying it's a failure.
Couldn't agree more. I held off buying one after seeing the demo in the Mac store. The demo movie they had playing (the Incredibles) looked pretty bad resolution-wise. Then after reading up on what others were doing (handbraking their movies etc.) I bought one. It has been awesome. I handbrake all my movies and the quality is excellent. I honestly don't see the difference between my aTV and my up-rezzing DVD player on my 46" 1080p philips.
My only super-pet-peev is the lack of discrete audio channels - that I can tell the difference in. Fortunately it's not as noticeable as a resolution problem is, but hopefully that will be something upgraded in the future. (don't mv4's hold discrete channels?)
Anyhow, I would definitely buy it again as I have successfully been able to retire my DVD player.
Well, I've seen, what, about 6 of you posting about how bad it is, and none of you own one.
I do own an AppleTV, the small 40GB one. I don't store anything on it, as I stream everything from a Mac Mini to it.
I've ripped about 200 movies from DVD's using 720x4xx settings and it's absolutely amazing on my 46" LCD TV. (Not to mention about 7 HD Podcasts, all my other video and audio podcasts) It's so good in fact that 3 others in my family have purchased one, as well as 6 or 7 friends of mine.
It's the non-owning, paper spec queens, that keep saying it's a failure.
I have the 160 gig version and the Airport Extreme as well. This thing is amazing. I love that I can copy all my iTunes Music, Videos and sync iPhoto albums onto it, but also stream from content on any of my computers. The quality is "good" about equal to VHS or better.
The main feature missing is the ability to purchase movies direct from iTunes- like you can purchase music using iPhone and the Wi-Fi iTunes store. Rentals would be a tremendous plus as well. This is a really cool device that is here a little before its time I am afraid. I think Steve Jobs had planned to roll out video iTunes rentals at least six months ago. Let's see what happens in January.
I still wish the Apple TV was more like an enhanced mini, why not have the media hub be the main server of the media instead of having to keep you main computer on and able to stream when you want to watch your content. Add EyeTV (&/or cable card slot) and you have your DVR setup. Adding a BlueRay drive too is even better.
I didn't buy my video iPod with the notion that I would be filling it with media I bought from iTunes. 99% of the video I have loaded on my iPod is either ripped from DVDs that I own, or shows I recorded off EyeTV. TV episode prices will need to come down substantially for me to buy online, when recording it is so easy. Even if I miss an episode, it'll be rerun before too long. Online movie prices will need to come down substantially less than that of a dvd before I go there. I can't think of a single movie where I couldn't wait to make a trip to the store. Video iPods will sell even without the iTunes video store. The iTunes music store is a different story. That fills a need I've been looking for, for a very long time.
The lack of success of the AppleTV has nothing to do with its hardware, it has to do with the iTunes store videos. The selection is relatively poor, there are no rentals, and the resolution isn't good enough for big-screen TV viewing. Change those things, but don't change the AppleTV hardware or functionality, and you've got a hit with AppleTV.
The lack of success of the AppleTV has nothing to do with its hardware, it has to do with the iTunes store videos. The selection is relatively poor, there are no rentals, and the resolution isn't good enough for big-screen TV viewing. Change those things, but don't change the AppleTV hardware or functionality, and you've got a hit with AppleTV.
Exactly. AppleTV is an accessory for a video venture that is still in its infancy (and wouldn't even be THAT far without Apple). Should Apple have waited until after the revolution is complete and THEN offer a way to get video to TV? Of course not. They have to offer it first. And that means, at first, that very few people will need it. The story is not over in 12 months, and was never intended to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud
Not what it would do but in what it would have- and that is content to purchase and play as in NBC shows- comprendez?
Your believed Apple was making a promise to you about future NBC shows? Sounds like you made a misguided purchase--there was no such promise, nor could there ever have been. The promise that WAS made was that NBC shows you bought would keep playing. And they will.
More content will come. Nothing Apple can do would make that happen overnight. Not at a price anyone would want. You'd still be calling for class action suits if Apple let the TV industry price their content unreasonably. Remember: the TV and music industries are stuck in the past. They don't want future sales as much as they want present power and a lack of change. They want things to stay the same. They are not the good guys and Apple is not the bad guys.
The lack of success of the AppleTV has nothing to do with its hardware, it has to do with the iTunes store videos. The selection is relatively poor, there are no rentals, and the resolution isn't good enough for big-screen TV viewing. Change those things, but don't change the AppleTV hardware or functionality, and you've got a hit with AppleTV.
How should we define successful? Forrester guestimates 400K (up to 800K) units sold in a year. Is that a failure? Even if all 400K units were the 40GB units, that's $120 Million USD in sales.
I am guessing that Forrester is off by more than 50%, my guess is as good as theirs
Movie rentals are definitely needed. Some rumors say Apple has been at work on that, and I hope so.
As for Apple's iPod success being from the music industry, well.. obviously. But not through iTunes Music Store
Sorry- Wrong! If you buy a song from iTunes you are locked into buying iPods unless you convert it into another format and then rip it again to your hard drive.
As soon as iTunes gets HD content, I wouldn't be surprised if it kills Bluray and HD-DVD. Or severely hurts them anyway.
Different markets, making them not very direct competition. The way it's shaping up, it looks like the HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats are about getting the best A/V quality possible, basically LD part II.
I don't really think a hypothetical iTunes HD offering would compete against that, nor can they right now or in the next few years. iTunes HD would be competing against cable/FIOS/DSL video on demand services as well as HD satellite. All those services compromise the A/V quality, sometimes quite a bit, which is fine for their market anyway. iTunes HD would probably be just 720p at a bitrate that's a fifth that of HD DVD and Blu-Ray.
There is one solution: Apple TV and Mac mini become one machine.
Boom.
I assume by that you mean that the aTV gains DVD and DVR capability... and that the Mac Mini loses its "sentience." This would be fine if and only if they replace the Mini with a mid-range tower.
Sorry- Wrong! If you buy a song from iTunes you are locked into buying iPods unless you convert it into another format and then rip it again to your hard drive.
You deleted my statement about CDs. So you're commenting on something I never said? You're talking about iTunes sales and I'm talking about CDs. Which are the vast majority of legal content on iPods.
The iPod was a success BEFORE the iTunes Music Store. People forget that. The reason was ease-of-use, which applies to the store AND the player, but you can--and most people do--use one without the other all the time.
Your believed Apple was making a promise to you about future NBC shows? Sounds like you made a misguided purchase--there was no such promise, nor could there ever have been. The promise that WAS made was that NBC shows you bought would keep playing. And they will.
Sorry- poor content available was not was was promised but what is actually being delivered and that is being kind to the content available. It is not the product of the future as Jobs said. And there is no high def content available yet and it's 2008 in 3 1/2 weeks!!
Apple TV is is an incomplete idea. It needs dvr functionality, cable card slot/s, and 1080P to make it a product that consumers will truly understand.
DVR, yes.
Cable Card slot, yes. (Does hi-def Tivo have use cable card?
1080P, absolutely not necessary. To the vast majority of viewers, the diff between 1080i and 1080p is virtually indistinguishable, and there's no 1080p content. Its a cool videophile feature, but meaningless for the forseeable future, especially for the mass market.
Kind of like people saying they want high def on the iPhone, when on that small of a screen, its indistinguishable from 480P.
I can easily show my photos on my big screen (60" HD Sony Wega LCD) with my MBP (for that matter, I can stuff a MemoryStick right into the set). I've got Airport Express to stream music, and frankly I'm finding that I'm more interested in listening to new music I don't have than repeats of music I own. Internet Radio sometimes handles this, but I'm considering a portable XM receiver.
My cable company gives me enough on-demand HD content and shows to record on the HD-DVR cable box that I don't find myself wanting to view low-rez recorded content from my computers. And the whole downloading thing is tedious to me -- broadband internet needs to be a whole lot broader; maybe it would be if everyone in my neighborhood wasn't gobbling up on-demand TV content from the cable company and sucking up all the bandwidth.
If Apple could hit $149 for a 40gb AppleTV with todays features, I'd probably buy it. Till then, I'm just not sold on the value. I keep hoping it will get a lot better, or else a lot cheaper. It's a gadget I can easily live without -- rather have another iPod Touch (the wife got the 1st one).
Comments
Well, I've seen, what, about 6 of you posting about how bad it is, and none of you own one.
Ummm..... there is a reason that those who are posting "how bad it is" don't own one. Cause-and-effect sort of thing......
Boom.
Ummm..... there is a reason that those who are posting "how bad it is" don't own one. Cause-and-effect sort of thing......
Yeah I understand, thus my "Paper Spec Queen" comment
edit: What I mean by that is because all the complaints are based on trying to shoehorn the AppleTV into something it's not. Kind of like buying a houseboat and expecting to set the world's record for speed on water. Some of us just want a house boat
There is no Apple bashing on this item- agreed. AppleTV is a FRK'N LEMON! I should know -I bought one. If ever there was a class action suit in the making - it's for this product.
What exactly did Apple tell you it would do, that it did not do? It sounds like you bought it for the USB port (?) which Apple clearly stated was only for diagnostic use. Or maybe you bought it on rumors that never came true?
As for Apple's iPod success being from the music industry, well.. obviously. But not through iTunes Music Store: most of the music on iPods is from CD, not downloads. Are CD player makers also picking on the poor, defenseless music industry who only wants to jack up prices to benefit the world?
1) Use the basis of the ipod/touch platform (cpu and os) to create a new version of the Apple TV which pretty much the same as the ipod touch hardware wise except for a better H.264 decoding to cope with 720p. Don't have much storage space and rely on streaming. This should reduce the cost of the unit.
2)Sell this for $150 (as it's basically an ipod touch without the screen or flash ram)
3)Start selling and renting HD movies/TV shows on itunes and allow the new apple TV to purchase these directly from the box and stored on a connected computer
4)Allow the iphone/ipod touch to become the same device via a more advanced dock that sells for $75
5)Sell a NAS device that can act as a wireless itunes server that users of ipods/apple tvs can wirelessly sync their data from/to
Well, I've seen, what, about 6 of you posting about how bad it is, and none of you own one.
I do own an AppleTV, the small 40GB one. I don't store anything on it, as I stream everything from a Mac Mini to it.
I've ripped about 200 movies from DVD's using 720x4xx settings and it's absolutely amazing on my 46" LCD TV. (Not to mention about 7 HD Podcasts, all my other video and audio podcasts) It's so good in fact that 3 others in my family have purchased one, as well as 6 or 7 friends of mine.
It's the non-owning, paper spec queens, that keep saying it's a failure.
Couldn't agree more. I held off buying one after seeing the demo in the Mac store. The demo movie they had playing (the Incredibles) looked pretty bad resolution-wise. Then after reading up on what others were doing (handbraking their movies etc.) I bought one. It has been awesome. I handbrake all my movies and the quality is excellent. I honestly don't see the difference between my aTV and my up-rezzing DVD player on my 46" 1080p philips.
My only super-pet-peev is the lack of discrete audio channels - that I can tell the difference in. Fortunately it's not as noticeable as a resolution problem is, but hopefully that will be something upgraded in the future. (don't mv4's hold discrete channels?)
Anyhow, I would definitely buy it again as I have successfully been able to retire my DVD player.
Well, I've seen, what, about 6 of you posting about how bad it is, and none of you own one.
I do own an AppleTV, the small 40GB one. I don't store anything on it, as I stream everything from a Mac Mini to it.
I've ripped about 200 movies from DVD's using 720x4xx settings and it's absolutely amazing on my 46" LCD TV. (Not to mention about 7 HD Podcasts, all my other video and audio podcasts) It's so good in fact that 3 others in my family have purchased one, as well as 6 or 7 friends of mine.
It's the non-owning, paper spec queens, that keep saying it's a failure.
I have the 160 gig version and the Airport Extreme as well. This thing is amazing. I love that I can copy all my iTunes Music, Videos and sync iPhoto albums onto it, but also stream from content on any of my computers. The quality is "good" about equal to VHS or better.
The main feature missing is the ability to purchase movies direct from iTunes- like you can purchase music using iPhone and the Wi-Fi iTunes store. Rentals would be a tremendous plus as well. This is a really cool device that is here a little before its time I am afraid. I think Steve Jobs had planned to roll out video iTunes rentals at least six months ago. Let's see what happens in January.
I didn't buy my video iPod with the notion that I would be filling it with media I bought from iTunes. 99% of the video I have loaded on my iPod is either ripped from DVDs that I own, or shows I recorded off EyeTV. TV episode prices will need to come down substantially for me to buy online, when recording it is so easy. Even if I miss an episode, it'll be rerun before too long. Online movie prices will need to come down substantially less than that of a dvd before I go there. I can't think of a single movie where I couldn't wait to make a trip to the store. Video iPods will sell even without the iTunes video store. The iTunes music store is a different story. That fills a need I've been looking for, for a very long time.
What exactly did Apple tell you it would do, that it did not do?
Not what it would do but in what it would have- and that is content to purchase and play as in NBC shows- comprendez?
The lack of success of the AppleTV has nothing to do with its hardware, it has to do with the iTunes store videos. The selection is relatively poor, there are no rentals, and the resolution isn't good enough for big-screen TV viewing. Change those things, but don't change the AppleTV hardware or functionality, and you've got a hit with AppleTV.
Exactly. AppleTV is an accessory for a video venture that is still in its infancy (and wouldn't even be THAT far without Apple). Should Apple have waited until after the revolution is complete and THEN offer a way to get video to TV? Of course not. They have to offer it first. And that means, at first, that very few people will need it. The story is not over in 12 months, and was never intended to be.
Not what it would do but in what it would have- and that is content to purchase and play as in NBC shows- comprendez?
Your believed Apple was making a promise to you about future NBC shows? Sounds like you made a misguided purchase--there was no such promise, nor could there ever have been. The promise that WAS made was that NBC shows you bought would keep playing. And they will.
More content will come. Nothing Apple can do would make that happen overnight. Not at a price anyone would want. You'd still be calling for class action suits if Apple let the TV industry price their content unreasonably. Remember: the TV and music industries are stuck in the past. They don't want future sales as much as they want present power and a lack of change. They want things to stay the same. They are not the good guys and Apple is not the bad guys.
The lack of success of the AppleTV has nothing to do with its hardware, it has to do with the iTunes store videos. The selection is relatively poor, there are no rentals, and the resolution isn't good enough for big-screen TV viewing. Change those things, but don't change the AppleTV hardware or functionality, and you've got a hit with AppleTV.
How should we define successful? Forrester guestimates 400K (up to 800K) units sold in a year. Is that a failure? Even if all 400K units were the 40GB units, that's $120 Million USD in sales.
I am guessing that Forrester is off by more than 50%, my guess is as good as theirs
Movie rentals are definitely needed. Some rumors say Apple has been at work on that, and I hope so.
As for Apple's iPod success being from the music industry, well.. obviously. But not through iTunes Music Store
Sorry- Wrong! If you buy a song from iTunes you are locked into buying iPods unless you convert it into another format and then rip it again to your hard drive.
As soon as iTunes gets HD content, I wouldn't be surprised if it kills Bluray and HD-DVD. Or severely hurts them anyway.
Different markets, making them not very direct competition. The way it's shaping up, it looks like the HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats are about getting the best A/V quality possible, basically LD part II.
I don't really think a hypothetical iTunes HD offering would compete against that, nor can they right now or in the next few years. iTunes HD would be competing against cable/FIOS/DSL video on demand services as well as HD satellite. All those services compromise the A/V quality, sometimes quite a bit, which is fine for their market anyway. iTunes HD would probably be just 720p at a bitrate that's a fifth that of HD DVD and Blu-Ray.
There is one solution: Apple TV and Mac mini become one machine.
Boom.
I assume by that you mean that the aTV gains DVD and DVR capability... and that the Mac Mini loses its "sentience." This would be fine if and only if they replace the Mini with a mid-range tower.
-Clive
Sorry- Wrong! If you buy a song from iTunes you are locked into buying iPods unless you convert it into another format and then rip it again to your hard drive.
You deleted my statement about CDs. So you're commenting on something I never said? You're talking about iTunes sales and I'm talking about CDs. Which are the vast majority of legal content on iPods.
The iPod was a success BEFORE the iTunes Music Store. People forget that. The reason was ease-of-use, which applies to the store AND the player, but you can--and most people do--use one without the other all the time.
Your believed Apple was making a promise to you about future NBC shows? Sounds like you made a misguided purchase--there was no such promise, nor could there ever have been. The promise that WAS made was that NBC shows you bought would keep playing. And they will.
Sorry- poor content available was not was was promised but what is actually being delivered and that is being kind to the content available. It is not the product of the future as Jobs said. And there is no high def content available yet and it's 2008 in 3 1/2 weeks!!
Apple TV is is an incomplete idea. It needs dvr functionality, cable card slot/s, and 1080P to make it a product that consumers will truly understand.
DVR, yes.
Cable Card slot, yes. (Does hi-def Tivo have use cable card?
1080P, absolutely not necessary. To the vast majority of viewers, the diff between 1080i and 1080p is virtually indistinguishable, and there's no 1080p content. Its a cool videophile feature, but meaningless for the forseeable future, especially for the mass market.
Kind of like people saying they want high def on the iPhone, when on that small of a screen, its indistinguishable from 480P.
I can easily show my photos on my big screen (60" HD Sony Wega LCD) with my MBP (for that matter, I can stuff a MemoryStick right into the set). I've got Airport Express to stream music, and frankly I'm finding that I'm more interested in listening to new music I don't have than repeats of music I own. Internet Radio sometimes handles this, but I'm considering a portable XM receiver.
My cable company gives me enough on-demand HD content and shows to record on the HD-DVR cable box that I don't find myself wanting to view low-rez recorded content from my computers. And the whole downloading thing is tedious to me -- broadband internet needs to be a whole lot broader; maybe it would be if everyone in my neighborhood wasn't gobbling up on-demand TV content from the cable company and sucking up all the bandwidth.
If Apple could hit $149 for a 40gb AppleTV with todays features, I'd probably buy it. Till then, I'm just not sold on the value. I keep hoping it will get a lot better, or else a lot cheaper. It's a gadget I can easily live without -- rather have another iPod Touch (the wife got the 1st one).