I am not really all that interested in the movie rentals feature of the new AppleTV update, I would however like to know if they added further sorting options for Movies and TV shows already in your library. Basically the stuff they have had for the music for so long (directors, genre, actors, ect...)and strangely left out of the video side of things? I saw that is available on the movie rental side...anyone know if they put it in the My Movies section?
I think they are refining the niche that AppleTV fits into nicely. It's not all things to all people, but it's getting much more attractive.
Building a product for niche market is not smart business. You limit returns. This market may continue to grow but historically has been slow to grow. I see the added value they are adding but the fact remains that they are not doing what they should do to capture more consumers to grow the space. They are business to make money. For pennies they can add functionality and grow the user base by leaps and bounds. Apple TV is a product way ahead of its time and does some things really well but if it wants to bring "video to the living room" they they need to help the average consumer transition into what it wants to do.
I am not really all that interested in the movie rentals feature of the new AppleTV update, I would however like to know if they added further sorting options for Movies and TV shows already in your library. Basically the stuff they have had for the music for so long (directors, genre, actors, ect...)and strangely left out of the video side of things? I saw that is available on the movie rental side...anyone know if they put it in the My Movies section?
-p
And what about the scrolling and searching mode- that was in drastic need of improvement. Has this been fixed? It's currently worse than an iPod.
Also do videos play sequentialy as music does or still stop after only one is played- a real bother.
Thanks, This makes it very attractive to me, as I'm an early adopter--I bought a floor model of a 30" Tube Samsung before HDMI came out.
How big is your TV and what is the diff in visual quality to you between 720p and 1080i ?
I have a 50" Pioneer Plasma. The main problem with HD out of ATV was the lack of content. The only source of HD content was some podcasts (Cocktails On the Fly for example). To be honest with you, I personally cannot see an improvement between 720p and 1080i. On Videophile boards, people rip on ANY interlaced content (be it SD or HD) because of the horizontal lines that can become visible during fast motion or with hard lines running diagonally across the screen.
I rip a lot of DVDs with handbrake. If the source material was shot digitally (For example: Battlestar Galactica, 300) the picture is almost always progressive rather than interlaced. Using the AppleTV preset (H.264/AAC@2500kbps/720X358 anamorphic)in Handbrake yields a DVD quality picture with a soundtrack downmixed from 5.1 to prologic II. Total file size for a typical 120 minute movie is about 2-2.5GB. For source material that is interlaced (Scrubs, Family Guy), the interlacing can sometimes be very noticeable, even if the de-interlace option is selected in Handbrake.
Photos taken with my 6 Megapix digital camera truly look stunning. The photo viewer option on ATV is one of its best features, in my opinion.
YouTube quality is very dependent on the source and ranges in quality from pretty good to piss poor.
I have not purchased video content from iTunes Store, but I have downloaded some free videos that were released after the resolution bump to 640X480. These look pretty good, but the compression artifacts are definitely noticeable during fast motion or if there are large swaths of a similar color across the screen.
I am not ready to ditch my DVD player just yet. Nor have I dropped plans to buy the Pioneer Elite BluRay player. I am thrilled to see that Apple will make the software update available to previous ATV owners. With the combination of 5.1 and HD from iTunes, I may soon be thinking about getting rid of my DVD player in favor of an ATV + BluRay player home theater.
am I the only one to get that Steve Jobs said there was a software update for existing Apple TV owners and NEW hardware in 2 weeks from the Apple store? Everyone here seems to be saying this update is software only.
Hmmm... I didn't get that at all.
Sounded to me like it was the software update that would be available in 2 weeks... no hardware changes.
Seems Apple is intent on ripping of UK consumers though. £199 when it is now only $229? I think someone at Apple needs to check the currency calculator - they haven't lowered the price at all here.
It was announced after 5pm Uk time so the price here probably wont be updated until tomorrow.
I hope when they introduce movies here, they also try and do a rental deal with the BBC for comedy programmes, then I'd definately buy one.
Seems Apple is intent on ripping of UK consumers though. £199 when it is now only $229? I think someone at Apple needs to check the currency calculator - they haven't lowered the price at all here.
Yes i noticed that.
Does anybody know if the US version works over here in the UK?
I have to say I am a little disappointed with this update. It dosen't make a lot of sense for me to rent from iTunes as Blockbuster and Netflix are far cheaper when you get 10 movies a month. I was hoping for a subscription based rental I suppose.
Seconded. I'm also waiting for an internal DVD (Superdrive). I'm looking to replace components in my media center, not add another. No way I'm burning all 200+ of my existing DVDs just to play them on aTV.
Is it still possible to type in any valid USA address (I'm in Canada but lived in the US for years) and a valid (Canadian) credit card and they still don't cross-reference the two so we here in Canada can start renting too?
It was announced after 5pm Uk time so the price here probably wont be updated until tomorrow.
No it won't be that. Apple is huge multinational company, the uk and all other major apple web stores and sites always close and get updated during the keynote. Occasionally it takes longer for the stores to come back, but they always do it as a full shut down ala us.
It is however perfectly possible that its just an error/oversight.... lets see what happens.
Whats happend in other markets?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluedalmatian
I hope when they introduce movies here, they also try and do a rental deal with the BBC for comedy programmes, then I'd definately buy one.
As for BBC tv programmes, remember apple have been selling some US shows on the UK itunes for a while now. They must have been trying for ages to get UK content. While I'm sure BBC Worldwide or 2entertain ltd content will eventually be on itunes, it won't be anytime soon.
With the BBC on just launching iplayer, the BBC govenors would stop Worldwie/2ent doing anything major/public online right now to avoid controversy and confusion. Also there will probably be clauses in all comossioned content where the bbc does not acquire a control on distribution they will certainly aquire a time limit control on each platform.
Channel 4 comissioned programmes direct from production companies is much more likely.
BBC content on itunes outside the uk will probably happen more quickly, but BBC (i.e. not-worldwide) would want to avoid high profile launching right now due to iplayer confusion and issues.
The update, rentals, and price drop does make it more tempting; but I don't think it's quite there yet. Why? Because of this...would you have bought an iPod if you couldn't listen to your existing CD collection? If you had to buy/rent everything you wanted to listen to? I'm guessing not.
So unless they've added the ability to play VIDEO_TS files from ripped DVDs, have a seemless solution for converting my DVDs with full surround sound (Handbrake is close to that, but will the new ATV software support discrete surround from there?), or add a [minimum] DVD drive, I'm afraid it's a no-go. Like one other poster said, I'm looking to replace an AV component, not add yet another to the rats nest already connected to my TV. I wan't Apple to simplify things for me, not make them more complicated!
That being said, all the articles I've read (no chance to watch the keynote yet) said the software update would be release when the "new Apple TV" was released in Feb. I'm really, really hoping the "new" part of that includes some additional hardware options.
The update, rentals, and price drop does make it more tempting; but I don't think it's quite there yet. Why? Because of this...would you have bought an iPod if you couldn't listen to your existing CD collection? If you had to buy/rent everything you wanted to listen to? I'm guessing not.
So unless they've added the ability to play VIDEO_TS files from ripped DVDs, have a seemless solution for converting my DVDs with full surround sound (Handbrake is close to that, but will the new ATV software support discrete surround from there?), or add a [minimum] DVD drive, I'm afraid it's a no-go. Like one other poster said, I'm looking to replace an AV component, not add yet another to the rats nest already connected to my TV. I wan't Apple to simplify things for me, not make them more complicated!
There are some burnt effigies of me around here somewhere from when I suggested that in another thread. It was quite the soiree...
People, the Apple TV is not a home media server, and it never will be. It's a bridge between your television and the iTunes Store, personal media on your computer, and online services otherwise trapped in the computer like YouTube, Flickr. etc. ? these are the only three capabilities there isn't already a better device available to do.
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
People, the Apple TV is not a home media server, and it never will be. It's a bridge between your television and the iTunes Store, personal media on your computer, and online services otherwise trapped in the computer like YouTube, Flickr. etc. ? these are the only three capabilities there isn't already a better device available to do.
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
Yeah, we hear you. It's basically a POS (point of sale not the other definition) terminal for content.
So you pay money (but hey! it's less money since production costs have come down on what's essentially the same hardware we tried to wow you with last year) just for the luxury of paying too much to rent videos.
To be honest, they should just charge a subscription fee and throw the aTV in for free.
I'm disappointed. This really seems like a very single dimensional product.
People, the Apple TV is not a home media server, and it never will be. It's a bridge between your television and the iTunes Store, personal media on your computer, and online services otherwise trapped in the computer like YouTube, Flickr. etc. ? these are the only three capabilities there isn't already a better device available to do.
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
Bingo! I think people are so used to the "all-in-one" concept of the Apple products that they what the Apple TV to be the same. Problem is you get that Apple price on there too. Think about how MUCH it would be if it was, like some people seem to want a
-40"(at least) 1080p LCDTV
-Digital Cable descrambler
-DVR
-Blu-Ray Player
-Meda Hub with 40 gig harddrive.
Lets see...my new 40" 1080p set (a Samsung LN-T4071) put me back $1600 on sale but is regular price $2600. An HD Tivo is $399. Lets assume a Blu-Ray player is the same. A descrambler can go for $100 but I don't know if that would let you use, for example, Comcast digital cable or a satelite. Finally, a 40 gig harddrive media hub goes for $229 now.
Bingo! I think people are so used to the "all-in-one" concept of the Apple products that they what the Apple TV to be the same. Problem is you get that Apple price on there too. Think about how MUCH it would be if it was, like some people seem to want a
-40"(at least) 1080p LCDTV
-Digital Cable descrambler
-DVR
-Blu-Ray Player
-Meda Hub with 40 gig harddrive.
Lets see...my new 40" 1080p set (a Samsung LN-T4071) put me back $1600 on sale but is regular price $2600. An HD Tivo is $399. Lets assume a Blu-Ray player is the same. A descrambler can go for $100 but I don't know if that would let you use, for example, Comcast digital cable or a satelite. Finally, a 40 gig harddrive media hub goes for $229 now.
Would anyone REALLY want to pay $3729 for that?
I won't even pay $229 for the media hub portion. My sole desire was for it to have an optical drive (plain vanilla DVD would've been fine). I want less devices, not more. This thing is too limited in what it has to offer.
I hope they see fit to update the mini. I'm willing to pay to get the features I want but I'm not making a huge compromise and even considering this device. It's just a re-release of a flopped gadget from last year with extra stuff you can pay even more money to see temporarily.
Comments
-p
I think they are refining the niche that AppleTV fits into nicely. It's not all things to all people, but it's getting much more attractive.
Building a product for niche market is not smart business. You limit returns. This market may continue to grow but historically has been slow to grow. I see the added value they are adding but the fact remains that they are not doing what they should do to capture more consumers to grow the space. They are business to make money. For pennies they can add functionality and grow the user base by leaps and bounds. Apple TV is a product way ahead of its time and does some things really well but if it wants to bring "video to the living room" they they need to help the average consumer transition into what it wants to do.
I am not really all that interested in the movie rentals feature of the new AppleTV update, I would however like to know if they added further sorting options for Movies and TV shows already in your library. Basically the stuff they have had for the music for so long (directors, genre, actors, ect...)and strangely left out of the video side of things? I saw that is available on the movie rental side...anyone know if they put it in the My Movies section?
-p
And what about the scrolling and searching mode- that was in drastic need of improvement. Has this been fixed? It's currently worse than an iPod.
Also do videos play sequentialy as music does or still stop after only one is played- a real bother.
Thanks, This makes it very attractive to me, as I'm an early adopter--I bought a floor model of a 30" Tube Samsung before HDMI came out.
How big is your TV and what is the diff in visual quality to you between 720p and 1080i ?
I have a 50" Pioneer Plasma. The main problem with HD out of ATV was the lack of content. The only source of HD content was some podcasts (Cocktails On the Fly for example). To be honest with you, I personally cannot see an improvement between 720p and 1080i. On Videophile boards, people rip on ANY interlaced content (be it SD or HD) because of the horizontal lines that can become visible during fast motion or with hard lines running diagonally across the screen.
I rip a lot of DVDs with handbrake. If the source material was shot digitally (For example: Battlestar Galactica, 300) the picture is almost always progressive rather than interlaced. Using the AppleTV preset (H.264/AAC@2500kbps/720X358 anamorphic)in Handbrake yields a DVD quality picture with a soundtrack downmixed from 5.1 to prologic II. Total file size for a typical 120 minute movie is about 2-2.5GB. For source material that is interlaced (Scrubs, Family Guy), the interlacing can sometimes be very noticeable, even if the de-interlace option is selected in Handbrake.
Photos taken with my 6 Megapix digital camera truly look stunning. The photo viewer option on ATV is one of its best features, in my opinion.
YouTube quality is very dependent on the source and ranges in quality from pretty good to piss poor.
I have not purchased video content from iTunes Store, but I have downloaded some free videos that were released after the resolution bump to 640X480. These look pretty good, but the compression artifacts are definitely noticeable during fast motion or if there are large swaths of a similar color across the screen.
I am not ready to ditch my DVD player just yet. Nor have I dropped plans to buy the Pioneer Elite BluRay player. I am thrilled to see that Apple will make the software update available to previous ATV owners. With the combination of 5.1 and HD from iTunes, I may soon be thinking about getting rid of my DVD player in favor of an ATV + BluRay player home theater.
am I the only one to get that Steve Jobs said there was a software update for existing Apple TV owners and NEW hardware in 2 weeks from the Apple store? Everyone here seems to be saying this update is software only.
Hmmm... I didn't get that at all.
Sounded to me like it was the software update that would be available in 2 weeks... no hardware changes.
Seems Apple is intent on ripping of UK consumers though. £199 when it is now only $229? I think someone at Apple needs to check the currency calculator - they haven't lowered the price at all here.
It was announced after 5pm Uk time so the price here probably wont be updated until tomorrow.
I hope when they introduce movies here, they also try and do a rental deal with the BBC for comedy programmes, then I'd definately buy one.
Seems Apple is intent on ripping of UK consumers though. £199 when it is now only $229? I think someone at Apple needs to check the currency calculator - they haven't lowered the price at all here.
Yes i noticed that.
Does anybody know if the US version works over here in the UK?
I have to say I am a little disappointed with this update. It dosen't make a lot of sense for me to rent from iTunes as Blockbuster and Netflix are far cheaper when you get 10 movies a month. I was hoping for a subscription based rental I suppose.
Seconded. I'm also waiting for an internal DVD (Superdrive). I'm looking to replace components in my media center, not add another. No way I'm burning all 200+ of my existing DVDs just to play them on aTV.
(where do you find that Apple symbol anyway?
It was announced after 5pm Uk time so the price here probably wont be updated until tomorrow.
No it won't be that. Apple is huge multinational company, the uk and all other major apple web stores and sites always close and get updated during the keynote. Occasionally it takes longer for the stores to come back, but they always do it as a full shut down ala us.
It is however perfectly possible that its just an error/oversight.... lets see what happens.
Whats happend in other markets?
I hope when they introduce movies here, they also try and do a rental deal with the BBC for comedy programmes, then I'd definately buy one.
As for BBC tv programmes, remember apple have been selling some US shows on the UK itunes for a while now. They must have been trying for ages to get UK content. While I'm sure BBC Worldwide or 2entertain ltd content will eventually be on itunes, it won't be anytime soon.
With the BBC on just launching iplayer, the BBC govenors would stop Worldwie/2ent doing anything major/public online right now to avoid controversy and confusion. Also there will probably be clauses in all comossioned content where the bbc does not acquire a control on distribution they will certainly aquire a time limit control on each platform.
Channel 4 comissioned programmes direct from production companies is much more likely.
BBC content on itunes outside the uk will probably happen more quickly, but BBC (i.e. not-worldwide) would want to avoid high profile launching right now due to iplayer confusion and issues.
So unless they've added the ability to play VIDEO_TS files from ripped DVDs, have a seemless solution for converting my DVDs with full surround sound (Handbrake is close to that, but will the new ATV software support discrete surround from there?), or add a [minimum] DVD drive, I'm afraid it's a no-go. Like one other poster said, I'm looking to replace an AV component, not add yet another to the rats nest already connected to my TV. I wan't Apple to simplify things for me, not make them more complicated!
That being said, all the articles I've read (no chance to watch the keynote yet) said the software update would be release when the "new Apple TV" was released in Feb. I'm really, really hoping the "new" part of that includes some additional hardware options.
The update, rentals, and price drop does make it more tempting; but I don't think it's quite there yet. Why? Because of this...would you have bought an iPod if you couldn't listen to your existing CD collection? If you had to buy/rent everything you wanted to listen to? I'm guessing not.
So unless they've added the ability to play VIDEO_TS files from ripped DVDs, have a seemless solution for converting my DVDs with full surround sound (Handbrake is close to that, but will the new ATV software support discrete surround from there?), or add a [minimum] DVD drive, I'm afraid it's a no-go. Like one other poster said, I'm looking to replace an AV component, not add yet another to the rats nest already connected to my TV. I wan't Apple to simplify things for me, not make them more complicated!
There are some burnt effigies of me around here somewhere from when I suggested that in another thread. It was quite the soiree...
Customers have up to 30 days to start watching it, and once a movie has been started customers have 24 hours to finish it...
But, um... Yes, I have a question:
Erm, what if the... ahem. ...movie I want to watch is, um, 25 hours long?
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
Whats happend in other markets?
It seems that the price didn't change in Europe.
People, the Apple TV is not a home media server, and it never will be. It's a bridge between your television and the iTunes Store, personal media on your computer, and online services otherwise trapped in the computer like YouTube, Flickr. etc. ? these are the only three capabilities there isn't already a better device available to do.
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
Yeah, we hear you. It's basically a POS (point of sale not the other definition) terminal for content.
So you pay money (but hey! it's less money since production costs have come down on what's essentially the same hardware we tried to wow you with last year) just for the luxury of paying too much to rent videos.
To be honest, they should just charge a subscription fee and throw the aTV in for free.
I'm disappointed. This really seems like a very single dimensional product.
People, the Apple TV is not a home media server, and it never will be. It's a bridge between your television and the iTunes Store, personal media on your computer, and online services otherwise trapped in the computer like YouTube, Flickr. etc. ? these are the only three capabilities there isn't already a better device available to do.
It doesn't need a DVD player because people already have those. It doesn't need to rip DVDs because it's 1,000,000 times faster just to put the disc in the DVD player you already own. It doesn't need to store every movie you ever bought because that's what your DVD shelf is for. And it's not going to ever be a tv tuner because allowing you to record television doesn't help Apple make money or their annual negotiations with studios & networks.
Bingo! I think people are so used to the "all-in-one" concept of the Apple products that they what the Apple TV to be the same. Problem is you get that Apple price on there too. Think about how MUCH it would be if it was, like some people seem to want a
-40"(at least) 1080p LCDTV
-Digital Cable descrambler
-DVR
-Blu-Ray Player
-Meda Hub with 40 gig harddrive.
Lets see...my new 40" 1080p set (a Samsung LN-T4071) put me back $1600 on sale but is regular price $2600. An HD Tivo is $399. Lets assume a Blu-Ray player is the same. A descrambler can go for $100 but I don't know if that would let you use, for example, Comcast digital cable or a satelite. Finally, a 40 gig harddrive media hub goes for $229 now.
Would anyone REALLY want to pay $3729 for that?
Can someone please explain that to me??????
Add to that: No movies to buy or to rent. No TV shows. NADA.
And we are supposed to be excited?
Not acceptable Steve!
Bingo! I think people are so used to the "all-in-one" concept of the Apple products that they what the Apple TV to be the same. Problem is you get that Apple price on there too. Think about how MUCH it would be if it was, like some people seem to want a
-40"(at least) 1080p LCDTV
-Digital Cable descrambler
-DVR
-Blu-Ray Player
-Meda Hub with 40 gig harddrive.
Lets see...my new 40" 1080p set (a Samsung LN-T4071) put me back $1600 on sale but is regular price $2600. An HD Tivo is $399. Lets assume a Blu-Ray player is the same. A descrambler can go for $100 but I don't know if that would let you use, for example, Comcast digital cable or a satelite. Finally, a 40 gig harddrive media hub goes for $229 now.
Would anyone REALLY want to pay $3729 for that?
I won't even pay $229 for the media hub portion. My sole desire was for it to have an optical drive (plain vanilla DVD would've been fine). I want less devices, not more. This thing is too limited in what it has to offer.
I hope they see fit to update the mini. I'm willing to pay to get the features I want but I'm not making a huge compromise and even considering this device. It's just a re-release of a flopped gadget from last year with extra stuff you can pay even more money to see temporarily.
It's most certainly *not* their next iPod.