AppleTV + DVD possibility...
One of the more common criticisms of the AppleTV is that it doesn't include a DVD player.
Welllll... Apple just announced a sweet little $99 USB SuperDrive for the MacBook Air, did they not?
While it states on the webpage that it requires an MBA, I'm going to assume that this is a software issue, and not a hardware one. Which means that the AppleTV should be hackable to use it.
It bumps the price to $319, but it offers an option we hadn't had before.
Edit: It has been pointed out elsewhere that the apparent reason for MBA-only is that the SD pulls more power through the USB than most USB ports can supply. I've been looking for tech specs for the AppleTV and MBA-SD that give the max/needed power, but can't find that detail yet - any one else have better google fu?
Welllll... Apple just announced a sweet little $99 USB SuperDrive for the MacBook Air, did they not?
While it states on the webpage that it requires an MBA, I'm going to assume that this is a software issue, and not a hardware one. Which means that the AppleTV should be hackable to use it.
It bumps the price to $319, but it offers an option we hadn't had before.
Edit: It has been pointed out elsewhere that the apparent reason for MBA-only is that the SD pulls more power through the USB than most USB ports can supply. I've been looking for tech specs for the AppleTV and MBA-SD that give the max/needed power, but can't find that detail yet - any one else have better google fu?
Comments
Why not just plug a DVD player into your TV directly if you're going to do that?
Name one other DVD player that shares that form factor.
Had Apple integrated that one item I'd have a much different opinion of the aTV.
(it doesn't have to be anything except a playback device. A superdrive is overkill)
Not another "the Apple TV needs a DVD" thread...
It's not. This thread is about using the external drive option from the Macbook Air in conjunction with the aTV. You can relax now...
It's not. This thread is about using the external drive option from the Macbook Air in conjunction with the aTV. You can relax now...
It is another thread. An optional external DVD drive for the Apple TV has been discussed before. Its not going to happen.
DVD represents old technology in Apple's eyes. Apple doesn't care about old technology nor are they concerned with backwards compatibility (that's your problem).
I personally have always thought that Apple should figure a way to stream a DVD from a Mac to the Apple TV to solve the whole DVD mess.
Dave
Prevalent? Yes.
This isn't like when Apple forced people's hands with regard to floppy discs in the first iMacs. If my entertainment center has room for a single extra device beyond a cable box it's going to be a DVD player.
Apple's the one trying to intro the new tech. They need to make it appealing to get people interested enough to try it. That have failed *hard* so far and the jury's out on last years aTV with this years software upgrade.
Or Apple could just add the bloomin' thing themselves. I'd pay an extra amount to get it too, as would everyone who wants that feature.
Which, given that almost everyone already has a DVD player, is almost no one.
One less device? Hell, I dunno, but with so many people whining that it doesn't come with a DVD player, I figured this was a gimme.
But it's not one less device - it's just a matter of where you plug it in, the AppleTV or the TV itself.
Which, given that almost everyone already has a DVD player, is almost no one.
Having a computer doesn't mean you can't get a Mac.
But it's not one less device - it's just a matter of where you plug it in, the AppleTV or the TV itself.
It eliminates another used input, it eliminates another remote, it's small... I can totally see why folks would want it.
*I* don't particularly care, it's not a feature that I thought the AppleTV was particularly missing in the first place. Dave K, read that again. I'm not suggesting the AppleTV needs a DVD player. I was only pointing out the possibility that this is an option that Apple *may* utilize, and *may* point to for those who have been asking for it. It's obvious to me that Apple is ditching physical media as best they can, so I don't see them adding it to the main unit. However, they have to know that there are numerous folks out there who, in the same way they missed the significance of the iMac losing the floppy, will never consider the AppleTV a viable option until they can play a DVD through it *somehow*. Silly? Sure. But giving the users a way of adding it on as an afterthought of producing another major product? Eh, not so silly.
Twas just a thought.
I think Apple needs to find a way to introduce the remote disc feature on the Apple TV enabling people to watch their dvd on the Apple TV, this could eliminate the need for dvd players, if Apple can't do it maybe a 3rd party.
Unfortunately it is being reported that playing DVDs via Remote Disk does not even work with the Macbook Air. So don't get your hopes up about the AppleTV.