[pcharles]

How does 1080p fit in to this picture? Some widescreens are now touting 1080, but a relative bought a Vizio 42 with 1080i and I am not sure about the benefit of one over the other, not that I will be buying either in the next year or so. I am aware there are no 1080p broadcasts.

[radnuf]

Do I need just one? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Do I even need/want one? This box doesn't seem to be for me.
Is this a one computer and one television connected by one apple tv setup or is it a media center? Where are the component connections to run the satellite and the stereo and the computer through the box? How do I connect a hard drive to save/record video?
How do I connect for my lazy brother-in-law sprawled on the couch in the living room, my buds in the den, my wife in the kitchen, and my son in his room? Does the apple tv box beam wirelessly through the house?
We're not a 1950's nuclear family watching our one television.

[wolfneuralnet]

I have ordered one, but now I am considering canceling the order because there is just not enough information about this device. Maybe I just can't find it, but I need to know if someone understands this device well enough to tell me two things:
1) Can I plug a hard drive into the USB port in order to expand its storage capabilities? 40Gb is not enough for photos and music plus whatever movie I want to add to the playlist for the night.
2) How am I supposed to watch ripped DVDs on this thing? I just don't get it... I have to now spend my time converting everything to H.264 before watching it? I realize you can't watch VIDEO_TS files without them being local, but what if I have them on an external hard drive?
Anyone who can shed some light on this for me (even educated guesses) would be doing me a favor...
Also, what is with the 100BaseT ethernet connection? How am I supposed to copy a 4-6Gig movie file over that connection? I hope this is a mistake, or maybe I just don't understand this device. Or am I supposed to buy the new Airport Extreme just so I have a wireless N connection that this thing can talk to?
At that point shouldn't I just buy a Mac mini? It has a GigE connection and can play VOB files.
Wow - I really don't get this device - now why did I order it you ask? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[pixelcruncher]

Well, I'm not here to defend Gates or MS. It seems that MS wants this to happen, wants the 360 to be the digital hub of the Windows based home.

[kashchei]

I had a sh#@%y day at work and didn't have even a second to peek in at the keynote. Do I understand correctly that the Apple TV will NOT stream anything other than files downloaded from the iTunes store (not even something ripped at home, either CD or DVD)? If so, this seems like a real deal-breaker for many, including me.

[Machound]

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I wonder what the technical reason might be for offering 720p but not 1080i? My Mac Mini does 1080i nicely, so AppleTV would be a step down. But for those who have a 720p TV, it's fine.

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720p is not really a step down. Progressive is much clearer than Interlaced. 720p media is hard to find, almost everyone broadcasts only 1080i. For fast moving action in particular, 720p is better.
The real question is: Where is the Dolby sound? Movies from the iTunes store do not have Dolby encoding (at least not yet). Picture is only part of the battle. I probably paid 3 times as much for my stereo than I did for my (46" HD) tv.

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Yes, I understand your point. The problem for me, which may be different than other people, is I have tons of recorded 1080i content from my EyeTV 500. Transcoding all that 1080i to 720p before scaling it back up to a 1080i display would represent two steps of video degradation... versus NO degradation playing it directly from my Mini. That's the step backward I was referring to.
I agree with your point about Dolby Digital audio. This product does not appeal to me except, maybe, as a way to stream video on an occasional basis to a future second HDTV (which I may or may not purchase in a couple years.) Another Mini will probably be the better option if I do end up with a second HDTV, though.

[Ronald_Schoedel]

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I'm puzzled by the excitement over Apple TV and probably just don't understand the product.
It would allow me to stream content from my computer to my television, right? Why do I want to do that? I'm a DirecTV satellite subscriber with a Tivo, and I watch a DVD movie from Net Flix maybe once or twice a week. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my tv watching experience.
I'm a big Apple fan, but I'm scratching my head over how to respond to my wife when she asks, "And why do we need an Apple TV, exactly?".

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The truth is, YOU probably don't need an appleTV.
BUT...there are reasons why you may be able to make quite a bit of use out of an Apple TV
....I envision an appleTv and an EyeTV, along with a recent Mac, making the perfect set up. Record your shows in EyeTV, let them be imported into iTunes H.264 format, then they can live happily with iTunes downloaded content, and be available a) on your Mac, b) on your laptop, c) on your iPod, and d) on the family big-screen TV.
ALSO: you could easily rip DVDs into an iTunes format (MPEG-4 or H.264), and then have all your DVDs stored on your Mac and an external HD, and available via apple TV.
ALSO: you could download shows from your TiVo that you want to archive, to your Mac, put them into iTunes, and then have them available anytime without taking up valuable space on your TiVo, that you need to record new movies and shows.
The possibilities unlocked by the Apple TV are not all immediately obvious...but they are there.
Ronald Schoedel

[wolfneuralnet]

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I'm puzzled by the excitement over Apple TV and probably just don't understand the product.
It would allow me to stream content from my computer to my television, right? Why do I want to do that? I'm a DirecTV satellite subscriber with a Tivo, and I watch a DVD movie from Net Flix maybe once or twice a week. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my tv watching experience.
I'm a big Apple fan, but I'm scratching my head over how to respond to my wife when she asks, "And why do we need an Apple TV, exactly?".

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The truth is, YOU probably don't need an appleTV.
BUT...there are reasons why you may be able to make quite a bit of use out of an Apple TV
....I envision an appleTv and an EyeTV, along with a recent Mac, making the perfect set up. Record your shows in EyeTV, let them be imported into iTunes H.264 format, then they can live happily with iTunes downloaded content, and be available a) on your Mac, b) on your laptop, c) on your iPod, and d) on the family big-screen TV.
ALSO: you could easily rip DVDs into an iTunes format (MPEG-4 or H.264), and then have all your DVDs stored on your Mac and an external HD, and available via apple TV.
ALSO: you could download shows from your TiVo that you want to archive, to your Mac, put them into iTunes, and then have them available anytime without taking up valuable space on your TiVo, that you need to record new movies and shows.
The possibilities unlocked by the Apple TV are not all immediately obvious...but they are there.
Ronald Schoedel

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Hmmm... Are you saying that you think the HD can be hooked up to the AppleTV so that that content can be played from there? Or are you expecting that the content is stored on another mac, and then "synced" over the wireless network to the iTV? Still doesn't make sense if you aren't sure what you want to watch in the morning so that it can sync all day...

[minderbinder]

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Yeah, the XBOX 360 does all of this, and it does more (plays games, ties into X-box Live, AT&T IP TV, and plays games for the same price...

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Does the $299 xbox have a hard drive and high speed wifi? If it does, what are the extras in the $399 xbox? (and IPTV isn't exactly included for $299, is it?)
tallscot:

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Open up my drawer full of DVDs.

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In that case I'm not sure what you're asking for in a video player that you don't already get from a cheapie DVD player. (and I don't see how that's "instant" access)

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Yes, but this has all been out for many years for Windows users. If you aren't using Fairplay files from Apple, there are other alternatives that I think are better for a Windows user. The Xbox 360 is one, for example. There are many others.
Check out Windows Media Center. It's been around for a while (no sarcasm intended).

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But isn't the 360 more expensive once you have a hard drive and high-speed wireless internet?
And can you build a media center box for $299? (and then you have a big noisy computer in your living room...or get a media center extender, do they have ones with the features of appletv for the same price?) If WMC is such a great solution, why hasn't it really caught on yet? I'd totally buy a media center, but every time I look at it, it's either more expensive or less appealing than the appletv.

[minderbinder]

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I would be sold if Apple gave Mac users a bonus and allowed streaming of movies from the Movies folder on my Mac like Front Row can.
Please Apple throw us a bone here.
With this feature I could put all my movies on a huge HD there and watch them on demand.

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I don't see why you just don't drag your movies into itunes? Why do you have to leave them in a specific folder? It seems like you can already do what your asking for.

[minderbinder]

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You have no ability to record anything, or play any existing media. What's it FOR?

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Um...playing existing media. It will play any movie in the right formats, not just stuff you buy from iTunes. You can rip dvd's, record on your computer, or download videos from other sources.

[minderbinder]

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I have ordered one, but now I am considering canceling the order because there is just not enough information about this device. Maybe I just can't find it, but I need to know if someone understands this device well enough to tell me two things:
1) Can I plug a hard drive into the USB port in order to expand its storage capabilities? 40Gb is not enough for photos and music plus whatever movie I want to add to the playlist for the night.

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Music and photos are streamed, they don't have to be on the hard drive at all. And I assume if your connection speed was good enough to keep up with your movie resolution, you can probably stream those as well.

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2) How am I supposed to watch ripped DVDs on this thing? I just don't get it... I have to now spend my time converting everything to H.264 before watching it? I realize you can't watch VIDEO_TS files without them being local, but what if I have them on an external hard drive?

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You convert. Just make a big batch and let it run overnight or while you're at work, it's a piece of cake and will use way less hard drive space. I don't get the big deal about playing VOB files, it seems like the equivalent of ripping all your CD's to wav for your ipod/itunes.

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Also, what is with the 100BaseT ethernet connection? How am I supposed to copy a 4-6Gig movie file over that connection? I hope this is a mistake, or maybe I just don't understand this device. Or am I supposed to buy the new Airport Extreme just so I have a wireless N connection that this thing can talk to?

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Why would you use it wired? If you were going to do that, might as well just run a video cable out of your computer to your TV and not bother with it. And the Core 2 duo macs all have N cards, people with one of those can transmit to it.

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At that point shouldn't I just buy a Mac mini? It has a GigE connection and can play VOB files.

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Sure, if you want to pay twice as much.

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[Machound]

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....I envision an appleTv and an EyeTV, along with a recent Mac, making the perfect set up. Record your shows in EyeTV, let them be imported into iTunes H.264 format, then they can live happily with iTunes downloaded content, and be available a) on your Mac, b) on your laptop, c) on your iPod, and d) on the family big-screen TV.

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It's a nice dream. But do you have any idea how much time you're going to spend transcoding EyeTV archives to H.264? I've done some of that for playback on my 80 GB iPod. I start my CoreDuo Mini to convert a couple hours of SD TV and it's still nowhere near done 24 hours later. And that's standard definition, not 1080i. The video quality is a significant drop from the original MPEG2. It's really not a practical solution for most people unless you want to dedicate a MacPro to full time TV transcoding.
The biggest disappointment with AppleTV is its lack of MPEG2 playback. That completely kills AppleTV for EyeTV playback. NO THANKS!