I have both. I love both. I would probably be more apt to rent movies via the Apple TV but having the choice is nice and the the PS3 might have a movie that is not available on Apple TV.
.
If you had neither now, would you buy both a PS3 and ATV? If so why?
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
Not a chance.. As Apple has proven time and time again, It's not just features, it's the software. The iTunes integration alone offers something those other devices will never be able to offer. Add to that the portability with the content via iPods, iPhones, Macs and PCs.. You certainly can't take a tv show you bought on your XBox 360 with you on your Blackberry, but you CAN take a tv show you bought on iTunes/Apple Tv with you on your iPod/iPhone.. That is a huge benefit only available within the Apple ecosystem..
You CAN take a standard def TV show or movie bought or rented from the PS Store and put it on your PSP (HD content cannot be moved for either Sony or Apple). So portability is ALSO available within the Sony ecosystem. Plus you can stream audio and video content from the PS3 to the PSP over wi-fi connections.
I no longer use the ATV at all. My preference is PS3, followed by XBox, followed by ATV.
Reasons:
1) Formats - Most of my collection is in formats that ATV refuses to recognize. Lots of AVI DIVX. Since the TV in the Family room only has so many inputs the ATV was banished off to a secondary TV
2) Noise - After abandoning the ATV, I choose PS3 mostly because it is much quieter than the XBox. The XBox fan really interrupts the quiet parts of a movie.
3) PS3 Errors - There are about 10% of my collection that for some reason the PS3 says are unsupported but they play fine on the XBox. So when all else fails, I go to the XBOX. Since the XBOX plays all sometimes I'm tempted to forget the noise and start there.
For me, if the ATV won't play all formats it will one day go off to Ebay. Once you devote your TV's input to other devices the ATV interface doesn't matter at all; it's gone.
[QUOTE=CG81;1279384 My friend has a mac mini in his living room and it is much better than an apple tv. (granted thats expensive) The point is what everyone wants (if you just think about it) is a computer hooked up to your tv. Well what if the computer IS the tv. Just make it so you can upgrade the normal stuff like HD and ram and everyone will be happy. Why hasn't apple done this already. Thats the way to get into the living room. With their design and integration it would surely sell.[/QUOTE]
No. The vast majority of people not on this message board do not want to deal with a full desktop OS when trying to simply watch a movie. Regarding Mac Mini vs. AppleTV, I chose ATV because Mac Mini has no Hi Def output (HDMI or component), so that would be a waste for all of these nice new shiny 50" TVs.
Yes, you need a DVI to HDMI cable and a seperate audio cable, audio is not run through the DVI connection. I have a MacBook hooked up to a samsung like that, I think apple sells the DVI to HDMI cable, yuou then just need an HDMI cable.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the passthru is NOT hi def with this connection. certainly the audio will not be.
That's not a problem, that's the reason it is the market leader..
What is the AppleTV the market leader in? The media extender market? If you're going to narrow it down to that, well, then being the leader isn't exactly an impressive feat. As the saying goes, that's like being the tallest person at a midget convention.
Since the XBox 360 and the PS3 can both do nearly everything the AppleTV does (just missing YouTube but you can watch that in the PS3's browser) plus other features the AppleTV lacks, wouldn't that potentially put them in the same market? And so both have roundly outsold the AppleTV, wouldn't really make one of them the market leader? Heck, even my TiVo can do pretty much everything an AppleTV can do (plus the obvious addition of DVR features) and the HD version is getting YouTube in the fall so it will be even more on par with the AppleTV. And it has likewise outsold the AppleTV.
AppleTV the market leader? Only when you define the market so narrowly that the AppleTV is practically the only product in the category.
No. The vast majority of people not on this message board do not want to deal with a full desktop OS when trying to simply watch a movie.
There's this thing called "Front Row" that plays movies rather nicely. Plus, other media center software options that don't come with the OS.
Quote:
Regarding Mac Mini vs. AppleTV, I chose ATV because Mac Mini has no Hi Def output (HDMI or component), so that would be a waste for all of these nice new shiny 50" TVs.
?!?!? DVI digital video output is identical to HDMI. You can buy a cheap adapter.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the passthru is NOT hi def with this connection. certainly the audio will not be.
??? what do you mean by "hi def", in particular with respect to audio, where I think that term was last used in the 1970's? Unless you have a G4 mini, just run an optical cable from the audio out.
What is the AppleTV the market leader in? The media extender market? If you're going to narrow it down to that, well, then being the leader isn't exactly an impressive feat. As the saying goes, that's like being the tallest person at a midget convention.
Since the XBox 360 and the PS3 can both do nearly everything the AppleTV does (just missing YouTube but you can watch that in the PS3's browser) plus other features the AppleTV lacks, wouldn't that potentially put them in the same market? And so both have roundly outsold the AppleTV, wouldn't really make one of them the market leader? Heck, even my TiVo can do pretty much everything an AppleTV can do (plus the obvious addition of DVR features) and the HD version is getting YouTube in the fall so it will be even more on par with the AppleTV. And it has likewise outsold the AppleTV.
AppleTV the market leader? Only when you define the market so narrowly that the AppleTV is practically the only product in the category.
Didn't you know it's the market leader in iTunes media transfers?
1. I don't see XBox nor PS3 to be a competitors to Apple TV. Maybe its just me or not, but I see Apple TV targeted towards Family Audience and XBOX and PS3 towards younger generation and teenagers.
I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.\
2. To fight back, Apple just have to make Apple TV compatible with Games and other Apps and make Apple Remote into a Wii like pointer with Accelerometer.
Both systems, especially the PS3, can act a full-fledged enteratinment systems...not just a "kids game machine". My wife an I have an PS3 which acts as a Blue-Ray player, Music Hub, Game Machine, Back-up Storage, and now Video Rental Machine (the lineup needs improvement).
I am sorry, but the Apple TV will never be capable of playing games at even half the level of the PS3 and Xbox ...it is weaker than a standard Mac Mini
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
I purchased it when they first released it, I had some trouble initially, but the updates fixes those quite fast. I user the uPNP server on my ReadyNAS more, but the MediaLink one works well when I use it, plus you get the tumbnails on videos
I bought a PS3 mainly for Blu-Ray and games. I was thinking about getting an AppleTV, but then I realized that the PS3 plays DivX movies. You can put your movie files on a simple thumb drive pop it in, and start playing them straight from the thumb drive.
I have no use for the AppleTV now. It doesn't have enough features to make it worth it... and the fact that you have to hack it to get it to play DivX files is nothing but a pain and it's main flaw in my opinion. And yes I know you can convert the DivX movies to mp4, but that is a complete waste of time.
Unless it gets a DV-R and the ability to play files other than mp4, I would say AppleTV is dead in the water after these features from Sony and Microsoft.
Most DivX movies are pirated downloads - are people who do this suddenly going to start buying/renting via iTunes? I also notice that you never actually used the AppleTV, instead basing your purchase on 'features' so you'd have missed the key advantage of AppleTV i.e. HOW it works.
I don't think you were ever destined to become an AppleTV owner.
Being able to play material from my iTunes on my TV is not worth $229 to me. And it's not going to be worth it to a lot of people considering how the economy is going. Apple has already scaled back it's push of AppleTV. The writing is on the wall. It might stick around, but the promise it had has died out because Apple was slow to add features and get rid of their love of proprietary formats.
The only people who will buy this are apple fanatics or people who are computer illiterate and can only deal with something when it's beyond easy. AppleTV has lost almost all of it's sex appeal in the consumer media player market over the past year.
I have to confess AppleTV will make more sense if you have a Mac. The flow of home movies to iTunes, photo & music mangement is smoothly integrated and that's before renting anything.
There are two key things that I think will help & hinder AppleTV:-
Help
Consumer broadband capacity caps will deter all but the hardiest bit-torrenters and the swarms will dry up much quicker. This will effectively kill the DivX/AVI content source and eliminate the format argument (which could be remedied with a right-click/convert to iPod anyway - so was always nonsense). It will also steer people to legit downloads to reduce impact on their allowance
Hinder
The media giants have learned their lesson with Apple and they will try to hamstring Apple by content restiction. With it's primary function hampered consumers will be tempted by other trinkets and both XBox/PS3 have more
First of all the xbox 360's media market place isnt new it has been around as long as the 360 and it is huge! Its allready bigger then the Apple Tvs user base, and it always will be.
as far as Apple goes i am a fan But just because i like apple doesnt mean i cant see though their crap And the apple tv in my opinon a bad product. Im not a fan of it i think its a stupid device.
I love the Xboxs Media market place and use it often. PS3's home is a cheap rip off of that and thats all Sony's PS3 is a Blu-ray Player With Rip offs. Sony wont be able to catch up with Microsofts Market share in the Console home media.
And as far as Xboxs new avitars i dont like them. but hey what can i do about it
That is just my opinion, I dont hate apple infact im waiting on the update to get a Macbook.
So dont call me a hater or fanboy because im not i love apple and microsoft equilly
The media giants have learned their lesson with Apple and they will try to hamstring Apple by content restiction. With it's primary function hampered consumers will be tempted by other trinkets and both XBox/PS3 have more
McD
Or Apple could invite the media giants into the AppleTV by opening it up to their streaming clients. Netflix and the BBC would both love to put their own players on the AppleTV. And it would take away the studio gripes about Apple trying to dictate their prices if they had their own client and dealt directly with the consumers. They could stand or fall on their own mistakes. Maybe an AppleTV App store?
My biggest complaint with AppleTV Take 2 is how iTunes Store centric it is. i bought the AppleTV last year as a simple way to get video from my iMac to my TV. But with Take 2 my personal store is secondary, almost hidden in the iTunes Store front end that the AppleTV has become. (And don't say I should have used a Mini. I tried and didn't like the result. I was suck using component video and the screen was to damn small to be usable.)
Connect360 and medialink haven't worked so well for me. One of them would work for 10 minutes then sponaneously corrupt itself, and support is useless, there's no troubleshooting help. I don't think the other one worked for me at all.
I had high hopes for them as I had a PS3 but no ATV, but they just didn't work for me. I still hope to get an ATV, but I need to get or replace other equipment to accommodate it, making it a $450 upgrade for me.
Are you trying to use it wirelessly? I have found that it works only when my mac is connected to my router via ethernet cable.
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
Comments
I have both. I love both. I would probably be more apt to rent movies via the Apple TV but having the choice is nice and the the PS3 might have a movie that is not available on Apple TV.
.
If you had neither now, would you buy both a PS3 and ATV? If so why?
I use it, it works fine
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
Not a chance.. As Apple has proven time and time again, It's not just features, it's the software. The iTunes integration alone offers something those other devices will never be able to offer. Add to that the portability with the content via iPods, iPhones, Macs and PCs.. You certainly can't take a tv show you bought on your XBox 360 with you on your Blackberry, but you CAN take a tv show you bought on iTunes/Apple Tv with you on your iPod/iPhone.. That is a huge benefit only available within the Apple ecosystem..
You CAN take a standard def TV show or movie bought or rented from the PS Store and put it on your PSP (HD content cannot be moved for either Sony or Apple). So portability is ALSO available within the Sony ecosystem. Plus you can stream audio and video content from the PS3 to the PSP over wi-fi connections.
Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
BTW-What's the USB connector in the back for?
It's for servicing, but agreed it should be opened up.
I no longer use the ATV at all. My preference is PS3, followed by XBox, followed by ATV.
Reasons:
1) Formats - Most of my collection is in formats that ATV refuses to recognize. Lots of AVI DIVX. Since the TV in the Family room only has so many inputs the ATV was banished off to a secondary TV
2) Noise - After abandoning the ATV, I choose PS3 mostly because it is much quieter than the XBox. The XBox fan really interrupts the quiet parts of a movie.
3) PS3 Errors - There are about 10% of my collection that for some reason the PS3 says are unsupported but they play fine on the XBox. So when all else fails, I go to the XBOX. Since the XBOX plays all sometimes I'm tempted to forget the noise and start there.
For me, if the ATV won't play all formats it will one day go off to Ebay. Once you devote your TV's input to other devices the ATV interface doesn't matter at all; it's gone.
No. The vast majority of people not on this message board do not want to deal with a full desktop OS when trying to simply watch a movie. Regarding Mac Mini vs. AppleTV, I chose ATV because Mac Mini has no Hi Def output (HDMI or component), so that would be a waste for all of these nice new shiny 50" TVs.
Yes, you need a DVI to HDMI cable and a seperate audio cable, audio is not run through the DVI connection. I have a MacBook hooked up to a samsung like that, I think apple sells the DVI to HDMI cable, yuou then just need an HDMI cable.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the passthru is NOT hi def with this connection. certainly the audio will not be.
That's not a problem, that's the reason it is the market leader..
What is the AppleTV the market leader in? The media extender market? If you're going to narrow it down to that, well, then being the leader isn't exactly an impressive feat. As the saying goes, that's like being the tallest person at a midget convention.
Since the XBox 360 and the PS3 can both do nearly everything the AppleTV does (just missing YouTube but you can watch that in the PS3's browser) plus other features the AppleTV lacks, wouldn't that potentially put them in the same market? And so both have roundly outsold the AppleTV, wouldn't really make one of them the market leader? Heck, even my TiVo can do pretty much everything an AppleTV can do (plus the obvious addition of DVR features) and the HD version is getting YouTube in the fall so it will be even more on par with the AppleTV. And it has likewise outsold the AppleTV.
AppleTV the market leader? Only when you define the market so narrowly that the AppleTV is practically the only product in the category.
No. The vast majority of people not on this message board do not want to deal with a full desktop OS when trying to simply watch a movie.
There's this thing called "Front Row" that plays movies rather nicely. Plus, other media center software options that don't come with the OS.
Regarding Mac Mini vs. AppleTV, I chose ATV because Mac Mini has no Hi Def output (HDMI or component), so that would be a waste for all of these nice new shiny 50" TVs.
?!?!? DVI digital video output is identical to HDMI. You can buy a cheap adapter.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the passthru is NOT hi def with this connection. certainly the audio will not be.
??? what do you mean by "hi def", in particular with respect to audio, where I think that term was last used in the 1970's? Unless you have a G4 mini, just run an optical cable from the audio out.
What is the AppleTV the market leader in? The media extender market? If you're going to narrow it down to that, well, then being the leader isn't exactly an impressive feat. As the saying goes, that's like being the tallest person at a midget convention.
Since the XBox 360 and the PS3 can both do nearly everything the AppleTV does (just missing YouTube but you can watch that in the PS3's browser) plus other features the AppleTV lacks, wouldn't that potentially put them in the same market? And so both have roundly outsold the AppleTV, wouldn't really make one of them the market leader? Heck, even my TiVo can do pretty much everything an AppleTV can do (plus the obvious addition of DVR features) and the HD version is getting YouTube in the fall so it will be even more on par with the AppleTV. And it has likewise outsold the AppleTV.
AppleTV the market leader? Only when you define the market so narrowly that the AppleTV is practically the only product in the category.
Didn't you know it's the market leader in iTunes media transfers?
1. I don't see XBox nor PS3 to be a competitors to Apple TV. Maybe its just me or not, but I see Apple TV targeted towards Family Audience and XBOX and PS3 towards younger generation and teenagers.
I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.
2. To fight back, Apple just have to make Apple TV compatible with Games and other Apps and make Apple Remote into a Wii like pointer with Accelerometer.
Both systems, especially the PS3, can act a full-fledged enteratinment systems...not just a "kids game machine". My wife an I have an PS3 which acts as a Blue-Ray player, Music Hub, Game Machine, Back-up Storage, and now Video Rental Machine (the lineup needs improvement).
I am sorry, but the Apple TV will never be capable of playing games at even half the level of the PS3 and Xbox ...it is weaker than a standard Mac Mini
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
I purchased it when they first released it, I had some trouble initially, but the updates fixes those quite fast. I user the uPNP server on my ReadyNAS more, but the MediaLink one works well when I use it, plus you get the tumbnails on videos
I bought a PS3 mainly for Blu-Ray and games. I was thinking about getting an AppleTV, but then I realized that the PS3 plays DivX movies. You can put your movie files on a simple thumb drive pop it in, and start playing them straight from the thumb drive.
I have no use for the AppleTV now. It doesn't have enough features to make it worth it... and the fact that you have to hack it to get it to play DivX files is nothing but a pain and it's main flaw in my opinion. And yes I know you can convert the DivX movies to mp4, but that is a complete waste of time.
Unless it gets a DV-R and the ability to play files other than mp4, I would say AppleTV is dead in the water after these features from Sony and Microsoft.
Most DivX movies are pirated downloads - are people who do this suddenly going to start buying/renting via iTunes? I also notice that you never actually used the AppleTV, instead basing your purchase on 'features' so you'd have missed the key advantage of AppleTV i.e. HOW it works.
I don't think you were ever destined to become an AppleTV owner.
McD
Being able to play material from my iTunes on my TV is not worth $229 to me. And it's not going to be worth it to a lot of people considering how the economy is going. Apple has already scaled back it's push of AppleTV. The writing is on the wall. It might stick around, but the promise it had has died out because Apple was slow to add features and get rid of their love of proprietary formats.
The only people who will buy this are apple fanatics or people who are computer illiterate and can only deal with something when it's beyond easy. AppleTV has lost almost all of it's sex appeal in the consumer media player market over the past year.
I have to confess AppleTV will make more sense if you have a Mac. The flow of home movies to iTunes, photo & music mangement is smoothly integrated and that's before renting anything.
There are two key things that I think will help & hinder AppleTV:-
Help
Consumer broadband capacity caps will deter all but the hardiest bit-torrenters and the swarms will dry up much quicker. This will effectively kill the DivX/AVI content source and eliminate the format argument (which could be remedied with a right-click/convert to iPod anyway - so was always nonsense). It will also steer people to legit downloads to reduce impact on their allowance
Hinder
The media giants have learned their lesson with Apple and they will try to hamstring Apple by content restiction. With it's primary function hampered consumers will be tempted by other trinkets and both XBox/PS3 have more
McD
as far as Apple goes i am a fan But just because i like apple doesnt mean i cant see though their crap And the apple tv in my opinon a bad product. Im not a fan of it i think its a stupid device.
I love the Xboxs Media market place and use it often. PS3's home is a cheap rip off of that and thats all Sony's PS3 is a Blu-ray Player With Rip offs. Sony wont be able to catch up with Microsofts Market share in the Console home media.
And as far as Xboxs new avitars i dont like them. but hey what can i do about it
That is just my opinion, I dont hate apple infact im waiting on the update to get a Macbook.
So dont call me a hater or fanboy because im not i love apple and microsoft equilly
What do you all think of that?
The media giants have learned their lesson with Apple and they will try to hamstring Apple by content restiction. With it's primary function hampered consumers will be tempted by other trinkets and both XBox/PS3 have more
McD
Or Apple could invite the media giants into the AppleTV by opening it up to their streaming clients. Netflix and the BBC would both love to put their own players on the AppleTV. And it would take away the studio gripes about Apple trying to dictate their prices if they had their own client and dealt directly with the consumers. They could stand or fall on their own mistakes. Maybe an AppleTV App store?
My biggest complaint with AppleTV Take 2 is how iTunes Store centric it is. i bought the AppleTV last year as a simple way to get video from my iMac to my TV. But with Take 2 my personal store is secondary, almost hidden in the iTunes Store front end that the AppleTV has become. (And don't say I should have used a Mini. I tried and didn't like the result. I was suck using component video and the screen was to damn small to be usable.)
Connect360 and medialink haven't worked so well for me. One of them would work for 10 minutes then sponaneously corrupt itself, and support is useless, there's no troubleshooting help. I don't think the other one worked for me at all.
I had high hopes for them as I had a PS3 but no ATV, but they just didn't work for me. I still hope to get an ATV, but I need to get or replace other equipment to accommodate it, making it a $450 upgrade for me.
Are you trying to use it wirelessly? I have found that it works only when my mac is connected to my router via ethernet cable.
OK, that makes two people that I've heard use it, you and I. It didn't work very well for me, and there was no support or troubleshooting guides to help me.
Email them. They answer right away. (Nullriver)