[heyjp]

I absolutely love what the ATV is supposed to do. But, man, what a slug interface. It really feels underpowered. I hope Apple can do something about this.
The iPhone Remote program is excellent and makes the music side of ATV work like it should. I would be happy if they would extend Remote to handle the rest of the interface.
No question, if any other audio device in my system has the same interface lag, it would go back to the manufacturer.
Jim

[Felix001]

asvoren said:

So if you're having problems, you may have to dumb-down your connectivity to get everything working reliably.

An excellent post and I agree with you completely. That's why I asked Chris further up in the thread what (brand & model) TV he was using.

Also, no one has proffered an opinion one way or the other about the actual HDMI cable. You can spend ten bucks or a hundred bucks for the same length cable. Do the cheaper ones work just as well? Or is there a difference in the shielding and crosstalk isolation?

[asvoren]

Regarding HDMI cables, I used a variety. I bought, in my opinion, a very expensive $64 Monster HDMI cable, as well as a $20 HDMI cable (from the Apple store), and a $34 HDMI cable by Rocket Fish. I could not tell any difference between the three (besides the external appearance), and there was no difference in whether a cable worked or not; all three either did, or did not work, depending on the TV they were connected to. Perhaps as resolutions and dynamic ranges increase, the construction of the cables might play a part, but at this point, for the average 1080p TV home viewer, the resulting image delivered by these different cables was identical. Additionally, my cable lengths are relatively short (between 4 and 6 feet), which may be a factor for some people who need or want to run longer cable lengths. As always, your mileage will vary, and it's a jungle out there.

[dfs]

There are several reason the ATV has bombed: a.) in comparison to Netflix, a small and uncompelling library of available selections.) no HD; c.) doesn't replace TiVO-type devices, if you're going to have an add-on device, customers want a "full service" one rather than an extra box that is no more than a one-trick pony. Just tinkering with the hardware doesn't even begin to address any of these problems.

[Grapho]

I have had the locking issue once. But only once. Would the quality of the HDMI cable be an issue?

[UU_evangelist]

It's been almost a year since I bought a 160 GB AppleTV, but it has yet to become part of my daily life. I love to own movies and have about 120 DVDs, so I thought buying from iTunes and storing them on my ATV would be just perfect. However, it refuses to store movies. It currently holds all of my music and neither of the two movies I have purchased (one I downloaded to my computer and one I actually bought through the ATV). Every time I start iTunes on my computer, it connects with the ATV and begins streaming to it, presumably moving them to it. But the bar at the bottom shows photos and music but no video. This streaming to ATV happens every time I start iTunes, but the movies are never there. Needless to say, I haven't been encouraged to keep buying movies this way. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

[Steve_S]

I'm sure it's not as easy as it seems to create a device like this that "just works". That said, I've always considered the existing implementation of the AppleTV to be half-baked. It needs to be able to handle 1080p videos and clearly they have work to do with HDMI and related issues. The AppleTV shows a lot of promise, but it isn't there yet. Let's hope the third time is the charm for Apple's next release.

[ronjamin]

HDMI is a problem. I have found that problems dissapear when you do this:
1. Before you turn your TV on, press the menu button on the AppleTV Remote. This does something that helps the TV recognize the AppleTV. If my AppleTV and TV was off for a while, say over night, doing this prevents the massive delay problem.
2. When you turn the TV on, it recognize the AppleTV right away. I've had this problem with DVD players that use the HDMI interface.

[phatslacker]

For what it is worth I was having issues with my Apple TV refusing to come out of sleep. (I guess that was it - I would have the Apple logo on my screen and it would refuse to do anything) I would have to unplug and plug it back in to get it back. It lasted for about a week. Since then it has not happened again. About the only difference is that I switched from a Linksys 802.11g router to an Apple Airport Extreme base station. It is connected to my plasma tv via an ExtremeMac HDMI switch that hasn't changed and has been all along. I do only sync it with one of my Macs though.
I love my ATV. I pretty much only use it - my Blu-ray player doesn't get much use.
I have had my ATV since April.

[WarrenS]

I haven't bought a movie since i realized that what steve jogs said was true. "People watch a movie once or twice after purchasing it". So I only rent them.
I have a shelf full of saved TV shows on tape programs that i have never watched so i dont have a tivo. I just wait a week and watch it on a cable affiliate of the network (like law and order on usa or tnt). Most of the reruns i would watch are on the internet anyway, for free.
I get my books from the library cause if i buy them they are just landfill waiting to happen, (Fahrenheit 451 not withstanding). Cables, networking and all that other junk just clogs the craw-space and attic. That is why they invented WIFI. Simplify
wsh

[TheBum]

I use an HDMI connection and haven't had any lock-up problems since the last software update. I've had the white apple come up and stay there a few times, but I've been able to get it working again by simply pressing the menu button on my remote. That trick did not work in the previous software version. BTW, the HDMI connection doesn't go straight from the Apple TV to my Sony WEGA; it first goes through a Monoprice HDMI switcher.
One issue that always seemed to expedite the problem occurring was having my Harmony remote set up to turn off the Apple TV when going to another source. I have it set up now never to turn off the Apple TV, even when pressing OFF on the remote.

[Transporter2000]

I've personally never had a problem with my Apple TV, however, I have been using the component cables, not HDMI.
I would love for Apple to include an update for the ATV that would allow video streams from ABC.com or NBC.com, or Hulu.com for that matter. I know it's doable, as they have done it with youtube. Only problem is the Apple wouldn't make money form the content...

[yelocab]

I have had no problems with my ATV and HDMI cable (I bought a cheap cable). I do feel that the ATV is about 85% of what I want. External HD via USB would be great. Yes, DVR functionality would be nice, but I think my TiVo is close to perfect. I use EyeTV to record any HD (TiVo is SD, since I only get the local HD stations) and since my iMac is next to my TV, I use the video output on my Mac to make my TV another screen, or if I want semi-HD, I can export my EyeTV recordings for ATV. Improvements: Support for true HD (at least 720), support for (more) captions/subtitles.

[sepo01]

I too have been frustrated with ATV. About a month ago , I gave up on AppleCare resolving my problem and connected my ATV via component and digital audio i lieu of HDMI. I have not had a single lockup since.
My wireless streaming works ok , a few stutters here and there occasionally.
The heat of the ATV is an issue. Something needs to be done here.
In short, my ATV now behaves how it should , I am still appointed in th e HDMI shortfall but I enjoy streaming music, renting movies and purchases shows.
If Apple makes a V2 that fixes these shortfalls , I will buy another.