[deasys]

khurtwilliams said:

However the other options mentioned also do no allow me to move my purchased or other content around my devices ( PC, Mac and iPods ) at will. With Apple TV I get everything the TiVo has to offer except for broadcast recording.

...and that can be added by the use of Elgato hardware and EyeTV which integrates very well with iTunes and Apple TV. Then you really can have your cake and eat it too!

[K Pitman]

Sorry guys. Close enough isn't good enough. This is SUPPOSE TO BE AN APPLE, Think Different, product. No 1080I? and finally putting in 5.1 sound. I have been to the "Inner Sanctum" to gaze at this "marvel". It was half baked and now it doesn't offer all that is out there in the viewing realm. Maybe next year. HD is NOW.

[deasys]

K Pitman said:

No 1080I?...HD is NOW.

Huh? Yes, Apple TV supports 1080i. It also handles 1280 x 720p24 HD source video beautifully.

What's your point?

[jhillestad]

Will the Take 2 ATV be able to finally LOOP a video ???!???!??? If not I'm done with it....

[zahadum]

previous posters are correct about a glaring deficiency in most of apple's various media players:
CC, subs & dubs!
without full support ALL CORE CONTENT, i can not watch 90% of my dvd collection -- which is nearly 400 titles and growing at 20/month -- because they contain some or all of CC, subs & dubbed audio tracks!
grrrr.

[zahadum]

hmm, duplicate posting??
previous posters are correct about a glaring deficiency in most of apple's various media players:
CC, subs & dubs!
without full support ALL CORE CONTENT, i can not watch 90% of my dvd collection -- which is nearly 400 titles and growing at 20/month -- because they contain some or all of CC, subs & dubbed audio tracks!
grrrr.

[zahadum]

as for the poster who wished he could install safari ...
afaik there is a hack that allows full osx functionality for the atv, so yeah, web access would definitely be a deal coser for many people!

[deasys]

jhillestad said:

Will the Take 2 ATV be able to finally LOOP a video ???!???!??? If not I'm done with it....

Yeah, no kidding. If it can't loop a video what good is it??????????!!!!

Huh?

[khurtwilliams]

I have been thinking about the Apple TV thing some more. I think I know what I want. I think online music and video rentals and purchases are poised to become the number one way in which people get that content.

So get rid of the DVD player, the cable company's PVR and maybe the TiVo. Here's what I am thinking about what my future entertainment setup will be like. A TiVo HD or Mac mini with Elgato EyeTV for time shifting broadcast content. The TiVo box would be cheaper ( ignoring subscription costs ) than the Mac mini but the Mac mini would be able to stream and sync content to other iTunes enabled devices/computer and iPods. This would be hooked up to an 40 inch Sony Bravia and Bose Lifestyle V3 Home Theater System.Bose Lifestyle V30 Home Theater System40" BRAVIA? XBR? series LCD Flat Panel HDTV

If I add in Time Capsule I could have the Mac mini backup the content automatically each night. I wonder if Apple TV will support Time Capsule?

So who wants to help me pay for this?
Message was edited by: khurtwilliams

[santasadler]

Not there yet.

Soon after Steve Jobs returned to Apple he started expressing a vision for the digital hub which I thought was right on the mark! Every since, my digital content has been growing - photos, music, my own DVD projects, my sons' movie projects, etc., etc. What I need is access to my digital content from my viewing center which is now going digital. That means a way for me and my family, all of us together, to look at all of our stuff located at our own digital hub along with whatever Apple or anyone else can offer in the way of digital content.

So we need to have local access to our own content along with web based content. ATV is too restrictive and hasn't gone far enough to make it work for us. Right now it's a little like having satellite TV with a couple of channels besides no local channels. Once access to the local digital content problem is solved, I'd buy in a minute. And throw in a way to do web surfing from the viewing center too including on-line shopping.

In summary, we require access to our own desktop system (the digital hub) from a place where family and friends can view things together. And being able to rent a movie with the same equipment is good too. The vision of the digital hub is more valid now than ever. So lets go for it!

[Hobeaux]

santasadler said:

Not there yet.

...

In summary, we require access to our own desktop system (the digital hub) from a place where family and friends can view things together. And being able to rent a movie with the same equipment is good too. The vision of the digital hub is more valid now than ever. So lets go for it!

The Apple TV does in fact sync to your digital library and allows you to play any of your photo Albums as slideshows, any of your iMovie projects, YouTube content, as well as any of your iTunes content wether it be your music, podcasts, or any TV shows or movies that you've purchased (or ripped if you used the right codec).

Additionally, Apple TV will allow streaming of up to 5 wireless computers--Mac or PC--so if one of your friends came by with a laptop and their photos from a recent trip it will allow you to display them on your wide-screen TV.

So, what are you waiting for? Go and buy it already.

[Probe]

I'd love to download movies on demand from Apple vs the alternatives but I only have cellular broadband services available where I live (and satellite but its latency is too great to stomach) and my Verizon cellular broadband service senses the download and throttles back the throughput from upwards of 113KB to a mere trickle, to around 16KB, so an already long 5 hour download time over this transport skyrockets to something unworkable for me. Furthermore, Verizon's "unlimited" broadband service limits you to 5GB of data transfered per month--they abruptly cancel customers' services who violate this, and yes they've been sued and lost and now add this data limit in their very small print included with their "unlimited" service plan offering. Additionally, as movies are perhaps 1.3GB or so in size, one cannot download many even if you were patient with Verizon's abysmally slow download time. Oh well--perhaps we'll get a new crop of politicians who understand the importance of universal broadband Internet access as Verizon's arrogance is pretty consistent over time and so we won't likely to get relief from them, and other telcos don't see the business incentive to offer broadband services to regions with low population densities. Way to go Apple! I only wish I could take advantage of iTunes movie rentals.

[santasadler]

Are you sure? I've read the ATV product descriptions and specs looking for these features but I haven't found it. I see where you can upload stuff to .mac accounts and that sort of thing. But that's not what I'm looking for. I need access to computers for photos, music and my own DVD and iMovie projects on my local network. Web surfing would be really good too.

If its there and not in the specs, then they are missing advertising some very important features. Base on your comments I think I'll check at the local Mac stores and see what they say. Maybe I can take my powerbook with me and have them show me what your claiming.

[Galley99]

I deactivated my DirecTV service last week, and my 160GB Apple TV arrived this afternoon. I could no longer justify spending $75 per month just to get the handful of HD channels that I actually watched. Now I have tons of free HD podcasts to watch, and am planning on ripping dozens of TV Shows DVDs. Being able to listen to my 15,000 audio tracks on my home theater is going to be awesome.