I ditched my AppleTV (well, gave it to my Mom who doesn't use it) and replaced it with an old MacBook... I use it mostly for watching video podcasts and a few movies I ripped from DVD and to browse the web from the couch.
I find no reasonable method to a) reduce my dish bill or b) get rid of it. My fiancee and I watch much different programming and there are always movies on HBO to watch. I have about 6 or 7 shows that I watch regularly and she has 3 or 4 more and to rent all of the movies we have watched on HBO/Cinemax would end costing more than the dish bill.
Apple would really have to come out with something really compelling to get me to buy again but I doubt an AppleTV could do anything that a MacMini or the like could do. There is no one device that will get rid of them all.
At the same time, I have 4 devices attached to my TV [Xbox360, PS3, MacBook, and even the Wii] that duplicate certain functionalities (music, movies, and pictures) and I have never chosen a single device to use all of the time. It should be the MacBook, but it isn't. Most of the time, it ends up the PS3 (due to Blu-ray player) using the MediaLink software running on my iMac. Gives me access to all of my pics and music and then movies via the blu-ray drive.
Alpharetta! Went to high school in Rosewel! Cheers
Almost nuclear! I wonder why it gets so hot? It uses flash memory, not a tiny disk drive, so, I don't understand where all the heat is coming from. I guess the processor chips?
Really? The HD movies I've bought and play thru my ATV look pretty damn good to me.
I have never bought or rented a movie using my AppleTV, just ripped a few DVD's. I have played the HD trailers. Yes it does look pretty good, but not as good as OTA HD or Blu-ray.
So I guess I really meant to say for AppleTV to improve the HD picture quality, the current AppleTV may be left behind. Or Apple could leave no one behind and keep the quality between DVD and Blu-ray.
With the selection that Apple has I find that amazing. Even my crappy corner store that doubled as a video rental store (pre DVD) had more films on offer.
To all you who collect(ed) DVD's out there - do you really repeat view? I mean, be honest. I have repeat viewed many movies but only while I was a film student. And those were inevitably the classics. Now, to even get around to watching half the movies I'd like to watch is like a crazy fantasy. To repeat view... you gotta be kidding. Which is to say, owning movies? What's the point? Which is to say - Apple - get with the program!
Are you saying the selection is bad?
I've found enough selection to keep me entertained. Quite nice to be able to download video when sick or snowed in. I can do quite a bit of damage under these circumstances.
Well thank you. Life is good- and the 3Gs iPhone has a lot to do with it.
I always enjoy discussing things with flexible folk like yourself with a sense of humor. I try to look at things from all angles and be unbiased and am especially appreciative when someone on here shows me something new or from a different perpective. Cheers!
I think the future of the Apple TV lies in Apps. THink of it, Apple can position it as anything you want it to be. All you have to do is customize it with apps. I think Apple tv will be repositioned as a gaming and media hub for your living room. Get itunes media content and games etc from the app store.
Oh, and there will never be a DVR in an Apple TV. That wouldn't make sense. If you have cable then you probably get a DVR through your provider.
I think the future of the Apple TV lies in Apps. THink of it, Apple can position it as anything you want it to be. All you have to do is customize it with apps. I think Apple tv will be repositioned as a gaming and media hub for your living room. Get itunes media content and games etc from the app store.
Oh, and there will never be a DVR in an Apple TV. That wouldn't make sense. If you have cable then you probably get a DVR through your provider.
Well then, will there be an App called Safari which I've wanted for over 2 years now?
Apple would really have to come out with something really compelling to get me to buy again but I doubt an AppleTV could do anything that a MacMini or the like could do. There is no one device that will get rid of them all.
At the same time, I have 4 devices attached to my TV [Xbox360, PS3, MacBook, and even the Wii] that duplicate certain functionalities (music, movies, and pictures) and I have never chosen a single device to use all of the time. It should be the MacBook, but it isn't. Most of the time, it ends up the PS3 (due to Blu-ray player) using the MediaLink software running on my iMac. Gives me access to all of my pics and music and then movies via the blu-ray drive.
I have to agree. Burn me once- that's enough. Next time it's a Mini for me. It would need a Blu-ray to get me to buy it again.
And Apple needs to really get behind it now and stop with the "Hobby" BS. Blu-ray has won the format war (1 1/2 years ago) and Apple is no longer just a computer company as it was 3 years ago.
I have to agree. Burn me once- that's enough. Next time it's a Mini for me. It would need a Blu-ray to get me to buy it again.
And Apple needs to really get behind it now and stop with the "Hobby" BS. Blu-ray has won the format war (1 1/2 years ago) and Apple is no longer just a computer company as it was 3 years ago.
I own @TV, and I like it - got what I paid for - but I have to agree with you. It is a product with such incredible potential to transform your family room, and yet, Apple has barely tried.
I was willing to wait a year or so when I first got it, but now I am getting a tad impatient. It's time for Apple to call it quits, or take it to the next level. If the latter, I hope they'll upgrade/update in a way that we early adopters get thrown a bone - after all, what is the point of that stupid USB socket they've had in the darn thing for all this while!?
Blu-Ray is still pie in the sky, imho. Cable pipes don't have the bandwidth to support it, discs are ridiculously expensive (and few). And, even if Blu-Ray was technologically feasible (at a decent price), perhaps it's an age thing, but my eyes can't really tell the difference......
I love AppleTV for movie viewing, and my only issue is that if studios want the system to take off [and they might not], the digital rentals need to be available the same day as store rentals- none of this one month "buy only" crap. If someone wants to watch something, they're not going to wait a month and they're not going to just "buy it" instead of waiting. Rentals need to be day and date the same as DVD counterparts. The only other thing that burns my britches is all the catalogue titles that have become available in the US but 6 months later STILL aren't available here in Canada. Unless there are rights issues involved, these rollouts should be able to happen near simultaneously.
1080p will ultimately come, but may actually work best as a HD+ feature. If you have the time, internet connection and screen size to merit downloading 1080p, you can do so for no extra charge, but for most people [though most would deny it] there might not be any extra benefit depending on screen size and how far you are away from it.
The killer feature for me would be TV show rentals, or a tiered subscription service that would allow me to dump my basic cable package. I rewatch TV shows even less than I do movies, so the last thing I need is seasons of shows eating up space on my hard drive. $.99 SD and $1.99 HD TV rentals would suit me just fine.
And I'm still holding out hope that Apple can leverage their ProRes codecs at the AppleTV level- to get an even better [or 1080p] HD picture out of the same or marginally more bandwidth.
Comments
I ditched my AppleTV (well, gave it to my Mom who doesn't use it) and replaced it with an old MacBook... I use it mostly for watching video podcasts and a few movies I ripped from DVD and to browse the web from the couch.
I find no reasonable method to a) reduce my dish bill or b) get rid of it. My fiancee and I watch much different programming and there are always movies on HBO to watch. I have about 6 or 7 shows that I watch regularly and she has 3 or 4 more and to rent all of the movies we have watched on HBO/Cinemax would end costing more than the dish bill.
Apple would really have to come out with something really compelling to get me to buy again but I doubt an AppleTV could do anything that a MacMini or the like could do. There is no one device that will get rid of them all.
At the same time, I have 4 devices attached to my TV [Xbox360, PS3, MacBook, and even the Wii] that duplicate certain functionalities (music, movies, and pictures) and I have never chosen a single device to use all of the time. It should be the MacBook, but it isn't. Most of the time, it ends up the PS3 (due to Blu-ray player) using the MediaLink software running on my iMac. Gives me access to all of my pics and music and then movies via the blu-ray drive.
Alpharetta! Went to high school in Rosewel! Cheers
Almost nuclear! I wonder why it gets so hot? It uses flash memory, not a tiny disk drive, so, I don't understand where all the heat is coming from. I guess the processor chips?
AppleTV does use IDE laptop HDD.
Really? The HD movies I've bought and play thru my ATV look pretty damn good to me.
I have never bought or rented a movie using my AppleTV, just ripped a few DVD's. I have played the HD trailers. Yes it does look pretty good, but not as good as OTA HD or Blu-ray.
So I guess I really meant to say for AppleTV to improve the HD picture quality, the current AppleTV may be left behind. Or Apple could leave no one behind and keep the quality between DVD and Blu-ray.
Until the real HDTV standard is used, Apple TV remains a "hobby" device. I don't buy toys.
With the selection that Apple has I find that amazing. Even my crappy corner store that doubled as a video rental store (pre DVD) had more films on offer.
To all you who collect(ed) DVD's out there - do you really repeat view? I mean, be honest. I have repeat viewed many movies but only while I was a film student. And those were inevitably the classics. Now, to even get around to watching half the movies I'd like to watch is like a crazy fantasy. To repeat view... you gotta be kidding. Which is to say, owning movies? What's the point? Which is to say - Apple - get with the program!
Are you saying the selection is bad?
I've found enough selection to keep me entertained. Quite nice to be able to download video when sick or snowed in. I can do quite a bit of damage under these circumstances.
I don't buy toys.
It must have been such a sad childhood..........
to make me think about buying one, i want to see
blu-ray drive
1TB hard drive
ability to run iphone apps like Pandora and games. a lot of iphone games can double as party games
play Mac Games
otherwise it's just an extra box for a niche market
Well thank you. Life is good- and the 3Gs iPhone has a lot to do with it.
I always enjoy discussing things with flexible folk like yourself with a sense of humor. I try to look at things from all angles and be unbiased and am especially appreciative when someone on here shows me something new or from a different perpective. Cheers!
Eww.... what a love-fest!
Gag me with a spoon!
AppleTV does use IDE laptop HDD.
It uses a 1.8" HD, not a 2.5" laptop drive.
Eww.... what a love-fest!
Gag me with a spoon!
anantksundaram Did you used to play golf on the LPGA?
anantksundaram Did you used to play golf on the LPGA?
No, I don't play golf.
Vomiting is what happens when you wander into the Political Outsider cesspool...er, forum.
I like that post coming from "Trajetory"!
Eww.... what a love-fest!
Gag me with a spoon!
Sounds like you would prefer to watch Bill Gates on Charlie Rose tonight and really get hateful.
Oh, and there will never be a DVR in an Apple TV. That wouldn't make sense. If you have cable then you probably get a DVR through your provider.
I think the future of the Apple TV lies in Apps. THink of it, Apple can position it as anything you want it to be. All you have to do is customize it with apps. I think Apple tv will be repositioned as a gaming and media hub for your living room. Get itunes media content and games etc from the app store.
Oh, and there will never be a DVR in an Apple TV. That wouldn't make sense. If you have cable then you probably get a DVR through your provider.
Well then, will there be an App called Safari which I've wanted for over 2 years now?
Apple would really have to come out with something really compelling to get me to buy again but I doubt an AppleTV could do anything that a MacMini or the like could do. There is no one device that will get rid of them all.
At the same time, I have 4 devices attached to my TV [Xbox360, PS3, MacBook, and even the Wii] that duplicate certain functionalities (music, movies, and pictures) and I have never chosen a single device to use all of the time. It should be the MacBook, but it isn't. Most of the time, it ends up the PS3 (due to Blu-ray player) using the MediaLink software running on my iMac. Gives me access to all of my pics and music and then movies via the blu-ray drive.
I have to agree. Burn me once- that's enough. Next time it's a Mini for me. It would need a Blu-ray to get me to buy it again.
And Apple needs to really get behind it now and stop with the "Hobby" BS. Blu-ray has won the format war (1 1/2 years ago) and Apple is no longer just a computer company as it was 3 years ago.
It uses a 1.8" HD, not a 2.5" laptop drive.
No. It is 2.5" not 1.8" HDD.
I have to agree. Burn me once- that's enough. Next time it's a Mini for me. It would need a Blu-ray to get me to buy it again.
And Apple needs to really get behind it now and stop with the "Hobby" BS. Blu-ray has won the format war (1 1/2 years ago) and Apple is no longer just a computer company as it was 3 years ago.
I own @TV, and I like it - got what I paid for - but I have to agree with you. It is a product with such incredible potential to transform your family room, and yet, Apple has barely tried.
I was willing to wait a year or so when I first got it, but now I am getting a tad impatient. It's time for Apple to call it quits, or take it to the next level. If the latter, I hope they'll upgrade/update in a way that we early adopters get thrown a bone - after all, what is the point of that stupid USB socket they've had in the darn thing for all this while!?
Blu-Ray is still pie in the sky, imho. Cable pipes don't have the bandwidth to support it, discs are ridiculously expensive (and few). And, even if Blu-Ray was technologically feasible (at a decent price), perhaps it's an age thing, but my eyes can't really tell the difference......
1080p will ultimately come, but may actually work best as a HD+ feature. If you have the time, internet connection and screen size to merit downloading 1080p, you can do so for no extra charge, but for most people [though most would deny it] there might not be any extra benefit depending on screen size and how far you are away from it.
The killer feature for me would be TV show rentals, or a tiered subscription service that would allow me to dump my basic cable package. I rewatch TV shows even less than I do movies, so the last thing I need is seasons of shows eating up space on my hard drive. $.99 SD and $1.99 HD TV rentals would suit me just fine.
And I'm still holding out hope that Apple can leverage their ProRes codecs at the AppleTV level- to get an even better [or 1080p] HD picture out of the same or marginally more bandwidth.
Still, I don't regret my purchase for a minute.