[DVDwizard]

> And you won't get those digital cable stations...at least not using the tuner adapter as the actual tuner. Digital cable (and satellite) signals are scrambled/encrypted.
[/quote]
That's not correct. Most cable systems have some digital channels that are not encrypted (known as Clear QAM). These can be tuned with current EyeTV devices, and others. It will typically include all the digital channels that you'd be able to pick up with an antenna, plus local access channels, CSPAN, shopping channels, and so on. No premium channels though, as those will all be encrypted. I'm on Comcast in Minnesota, and get about a dozen digital channels with my EyeTV tuner (in addition to 20 or so analog channels.)

[montgomery_burns]

gugy said:

Apple needs to allow external drives to be connect to the USB port in order to increase storage.

The USB port should also support keyboards like those Logitech wireless ones to make entering text easier.

[smax013]

DVDwizard said:

That's not correct. Most cable systems have some digital channels that are not encrypted (known as Clear QAM). These can be tuned with current EyeTV devices, and others. It will typically include all the digital channels that you'd be able to pick up with an antenna, plus local access channels, CSPAN, shopping channels, and so on. No premium channels though, as those will all be encrypted. I'm on Comcast in Minnesota, and get about a dozen digital channels with my EyeTV tuner (in addition to 20 or so analog channels.)

You are correct. In my haste, I was less precise in my wording that I should have been. In my experience, you will find it tough to get many true cable stations on digital cable without a cable box. If your carrier offers local digital stations (those bozos as Comcast still don't offer HD in my area, thus they don't offer any digital local stations or otherwise), then you should be able to get them without a cable box. My cousin in Seattle can get the local stations on her HDTV in digital (HiDef in fact) without a cable box. But I believe you will NOT get any cable stations that generally are considered part of "expanded basic" cable (i.e. TNT, TBS, USA, SciFi, ESPN, CNN, FoxNews, etc). I could see local/public access and "goberment" channels such as CSPAN. But, I suspect that the original post that I was responding to was NOT talking about such channels, but rather the likes of TNT, TBS, ESPN, etc. While I am sure that some people finding the likes of CSPAN enteraining and a good watch, I am betting the majority of people are more after the other stuff.



Regardless, thanks for pointing out my oversight.



On a side note, there are signs that this might be ready to change. The cable industry is finally starting to work in serious ways to let non-cable company devices (TVs, set top boxes, DVRs, etc) work with digital cable WITHOUT the need for a cable box.

[smax013]

trip1ex said:

I would add the capability to turn on your TV&Stereo and change the input.
.

While I don't personally mind picking up another remote for that task (I have about 10 remotes laying around for the TV, cable box, various DVD/CD players, two VCRs, receiver, seperate powered set of speakers, projector, and AppleTV...so I am used to picking up remotes), I could see where it would be nice for someone who does not like using multiple remotes. I fully realize that not everyone can live/work like me.

trip1ex said:

A scroll wheel would help. A Tivo-like 30 second skip & 8 seconds backwards would be nice. Wii-like pointing/motion functionality would be sweet too. The Wii has some nice interfaces on its weather and news channels and it's winning kudos for not being that complex.

The scroll wheel I could see.



I don't see a driving need for 30 second skip and 8 seconds backwards. I agree that they ar EXTREMELY use for a DVR where you have commercials that you might want to skip over in a recorded show or a quick repeat/replay of a sporting event in live TV. But, neither of those situations comes up too often on an AppleTV by default. Yes, you can create the former if you record TV shows with the likes of an EyeTV to then put on the AppleTV. But, that is kind of outside of Apple's "design paradigm" and even assuming Apple would accomidate your type of useage, it would take them some time to realize what things they might want do to satisfy the most people (i.e. learn how people are using it and what changes they might like).



In the end, I see each of those things as "they would be nice", not as "the remote is deficient due to a minimalist design". Basically, the remote seems to do what it NEEDS to do just fine...beyond that you are into things that are "fluff" and not needed to one person, but would be rather useful to another person.

[Frost7]

Here's an answer: use a PS3 for its streaming capabilities and other multimedia. It can't do as much as an AppleTV, but it ALWAYS works and will play a CRAPLOAD more formats than AppleTV ever will. Having a blu-ray player and game console in the mix doesn't exactly hurt, either.

I stream stuff off of my G4 via Nullriver's MediaLink software to the PS3 for viewing on my 50" Bravia, and it works great, every time, all the time. Couldn't be happier with it. MUCH nicer than the AppleTV's lackluster performance.

[jughead]

For what I paid for my ATV I can't complain about it. I do wish they would allow it to stream from something other than a Mac. Then I wouldn't need more hard drive space.

[jughead]

Ignore.

[mosley]

Can someone explain why the thing gets so damned HOT?!! I am sure it is something to do with the proximity of other metal objects. My Apple TV sits on top of a big Sony AV receiver (and I suspect others have it in a similar position in their homes) and gets far too hot for comfort. After all, where does the heat come from? The only place must be from the electricity supply which means that even when "off" the thing is using up energy. The temperature is directly proportional to the electricity consumed so if it's that hot it must be using up loads of electricity! Not good!

[NW_Mike]

The Apple TV can get very hot when placed on other components. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this gets the Apple TV very hot. Consider this, the outer case of the Apple TV is metal and it has no fan. So while it may be adequate to disperse its own heat it is simply absorbing the heat from the component under it. Mine kept locking up until I moved it off of my Sony AV receiver. Because of space limitations I had to put mine on it's side. Not elegant, but I rather it worked then look totally cool.

[AntiGrave]

I love my Apple TV. But it functions too much like a computer and not a part of my AV set-up that anyone can use. The delays with synching and having to wait for it to "wake up" when I want to use it, not to mention the overly simple remote, makes it incredibly annoying for my wife and family. Above all, I have a lot of tv shows and a couple of movies for my 3 year old daughter on there, and whenever she is being watched by a babysitter or my Mom, all of that content can't be used because of the learning curve of the Apple TV (and try telling a 3 year old she can't watch Monsters Inc... it gets ugly). Basically, I won't buy movies from iTunes because I need a hard copy that anyone can use.

Unfortunately the learning curve is not in using the Apple TV (the interface is perfect in my opinion, and simple to use). The problem is teaching someone how to troubleshoot all of the potential glitches. And while they're all easy to fix, there should be none to begin with.

A list of my issues:
* synching is incredibly annoying and slows everything down for me. Streaming is great and works well, but I have to keep copies of daughters movies on the AppleTV in case there is a problem with streaming from my G5 and I'm not around to fix them. I would rather not have to sync anything but I have to because of glitches that can't be fixed when I'm not around.
* lack of buttons on the remote. Again, I've figured it out and can work with it well, but the rest of my family gets frustrated. Also, I want a better on/off button that anyone can figure out and not just holding down the play/pause button. I don't like leaving the thing on (not very energy friendly) and I'm the only one in the house that has the patience to turn it off properly.
* also, with the few movies I've purchased, I've noticed that they freeze or skip. This is incredibly bizarre to me. Rentals don't seem to be a problem, but purchased movies occasionally skip.
* And can I get a favorites list for my music store movies? I hate scrolling through every movie when I want to watch something, not to mention, when I find a few movies I want to watch at the same time, it would be nice to put them in a "save for later" area just to make it easier to come back to them.
AppleTV is perfect for me and any competent Mac user, but it's not flawless enough for the casual user.

[tallscot]

This is called battered wife syndrome. You keep viewing your husband as kind and loving even though you have black and blue bruises over your body.
My over-$4,000 Mac Pro with the upgraded GeForce 8800 video card is slower than a stock iMac in iMovie and Motion, but it's still loving and caring. I still love it. Ouch! I still love you, Mac. Ouch! Don't hit me! I love you. Ouch!
Hey, did that Leopard update that fixed over 70 bugs fix that issue where a child's account can't connect to the WiFi when you wake up from sleep, forcing you to switch to the admin's account and then back to the child's account just to use the browser?
The iPhone works as advertised, right? I might get one this year. You don't have to restart the phone to get it to work, do you? ;)

[daneb]

[quote name='MacTechAspen']
>

Macworld said:

>fermented potato products.

Only a very few vodkas are made from potatoes. Almost all are made from grain.

As long as I am passing on arcane spirits knowledge, whisky, vodka, aquavit and eau de vie all mean the same thing: Water of life.

Well now my Apple TV woes have been cured! Good thing you mentioned this, because I'm not sure I could have gone on without it.

[Chris Breen]

whyibother said:

Your kidding me right?
You give it 4 out of 5. (Pretty good score in anyones book). Then say it sucks. Then justify all this with saying we should basically make our own mind up.
Sorry Chris but obviously you thought it was good but after living with it for a while are getting frustrated by it. If you are wrong simply say your wrong and don't make excuses.

At the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses, sometimes my iPhone sucks. Sometimes my MacBook Pro sucks. Sometimes my Mac Pro sucks. Sometimes a vodka martini sucks.

Suckage is part of life, which is why you try to step back from those sucky moments and take the long view. On the one-to-five suckage meter, my Apple TV sucks to the tune of about one because it works nearly all the time and I'm impressed by what it does. When it misbehaves ? as my iPhone occasionally does ? I get frustrated with it and wish that its quirks were cured. Sometimes I find such frustration rich fodder for comment.

[mosley]

I can understand the Apple TV absorbing heat from the Sony receiver below it but this happens even when the receiver is OFF! In addition there is plenty of space around all the components on the open shelf. No, I believe that it is something to do with the signal the Apple TV is broadcasting and receiving interfering with the metal surrounding the receiver below it. When both are off the Apple TV is warm, when the Apple TV is on (and the receiver off) it gets really hot so I am pretty sure it's got nothing to do with heat from the receiver.