Macworld: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets ...

Up to Discussions in Story Discussion

20 Replies Last post: Apr 11, 2007 11:16 PM by bugmuncher 1 2 Previous Next

Macworld.com

1,900 posts since
Feb 6, 2004

Apr 10, 2007 3:30 PM

Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

Apple has come out with a 30-second TV spot for Apple TV. Philip Michaels looks at whether it does a good job of convincing people that $299 is money well spent. more

Grapho

1,389 posts since
Aug 30, 2004

1. Apr 10, 2007 6:59 PM

in response to: Macworld.com

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

I believe the add you are referring to is THE NEW ATT commercial. They have two versions of it that I am aware of. One with the action movie the second with a football game.

Philip Michaels

802 posts since
Dec 14, 2000

2. Apr 10, 2007 7:08 PM

in response to: Grapho

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

Quote:<hr />
I believe the add you are referring to is THE NEW ATT commercial. They have two versions of it that I am aware of. One with the action movie the second with a football game.

<hr />

Indeed! AT&T is exactly what I'm thinking of.

zoff

7 posts since
Feb 18, 2001

3. Apr 10, 2007 7:47 PM

in response to: Macworld.com

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

What brand is the tv monitor in the add? Could this the rumored new Cinema Display?

hargreae

19 posts since
Feb 10, 2004

4. Apr 10, 2007 7:58 PM

in response to: Macworld.com

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

The message of the ad was pretty clear but I don't know if it's compelling. I mean, 'Wow, I can watch School of Rock on my widescreen TV?! If I pay Apple $300+?! And the quality will be worse than a DVD at the same price?! Gee, sign me up!'

shadownight

28 posts since
Jun 6, 2005

5. Apr 10, 2007 8:02 PM

in response to: hargreae

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

Quote:<hr />
The message of the ad was pretty clear but I don't know if it's compelling. I mean, 'Wow, I can watch School of Rock on my widescreen TV?! If I pay Apple $300+?! And the quality will be worse than a DVD at the same price?! Gee, sign me up!'

<hr />

Yeah, that's my impression too... also, I think they should've shown a tiny bit of the AppleTV interface, because that would've been a little bit of "wow!" for people. Better than Vista WOW.

Grapho

1,389 posts since
Aug 30, 2004

6. Apr 10, 2007 9:40 PM

in response to: hargreae

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

You don't get it. It's not the movie or the quality, it's the accessibility. The quality will undoubtedly get better, the movie, I agree, was a poor choice perhaps, but this contraption has the potential to kill DVD, HD-DVD, Blue-Ray, Pay-perview, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and any other form of movie rental/purchase. It already has the hardware to play 5-1 dolby surround + 720p, so the quality is with in the plans. If Apple sets up movie rentals, Apple TV will be setting a new standard for movie viewers consumption. It's not their yet, but all the parts are. I agree, as it's stands is not very compelling, but nether was the first iPod with only 5GB selling at $450 dollars, and we know how that turned out.

nmpike

362 posts since
Feb 13, 2004

7. Apr 10, 2007 10:10 PM

in response to: Grapho

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

Quote:<hr />
You don't get it. It's not the movie or the quality, it's the accessibility. The quality will undoubtedly get better, the movie, I agree, was a poor choice perhaps, but this contraption has the potential to kill DVD, HD-DVD, Blue-Ray, Pay-perview, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and any other form of movie rental/purchase. It already has the hardware to play 5-1 dolby surround + 720p, so the quality is with in the plans. If Apple sets up movie rentals, Apple TV will be setting a new standard for movie viewers consumption. It's not their yet, but all the parts are. I agree, as it's stands is not very compelling, but nether was the first iPod with only 5GB selling at $450 dollars, and we know how that turned out.

<hr />

the xbox 360 does all of this... and does it now.. plus plays games and is just as cheap.

Grapho

1,389 posts since
Aug 30, 2004

8. Apr 10, 2007 11:29 PM

in response to: nmpike

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

Can you rent movies from the xbox 360? Can you stream from one place to any TV? Or from any other computer. How about from an iPhone?, or a future iPod video with wi-fi? If the xbox 360 is that cool, then why is in being out sold by the Nintendo Wii?

Peter Cohen

4,220 posts since
Feb 5, 2003

9. Apr 10, 2007 11:34 PM

in response to: zoff

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

Quote:<hr />
What brand is the tv monitor in the add? Could this the rumored new Cinema Display?

<hr />

No, that's the "brand removed" brand to keep viewers from being distracted away from the brand that's being pushed in the ad: Apple.

Peter Cohen

4,220 posts since
Feb 5, 2003

10. Apr 10, 2007 11:37 PM

in response to: Grapho

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

Quote:<hr />
Can you rent movies from the xbox 360?

<hr />

You can buy them from Xbox Live, just like you can buy movies from the iTunes Store. And you can't "rent" them from either service.

Quote:<hr />
Can you stream from one place to any TV?

<hr />

No, and you can't do this with the Apple TV, either -- only the one it's connected to...

hillstones

398 posts since
Sep 18, 2004

11. Apr 10, 2007 11:39 PM

in response to: Macworld.com

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

The ad is nicely shown in true HD form, saw it on NBC-HD the other night. However, all the images are simulated, giving a false impression of the true picture quality, which is less than DVD quality.

I am not wasting $300+ (as you need to buy cables) to watch low quality content on an HDTV. Easier to drop in a DVD and get better picture and sound quality.

The TV shown in the ad appears to be a Sony model.

Grapho

1,389 posts since
Aug 30, 2004

12. Apr 11, 2007 12:02 AM

in response to: Peter Cohen

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

Quote:<hr />
No, and you can't do this with the Apple TV, either -- only the one it's connected to...

<hr />

I know this. I am was referring on having two or three Apple TV boxes around the house. Having one central hub with all the media and streaming it to any placed required in a home. With the xbox 360 you are stuck unless you copy everything to a different xbox hooked up on a deferent TV, right?
Also if you read my prior post, I clearly state that if Apple starts renting, the whole ball game changes.

ddd1301

35 posts since
Oct 5, 2005

13. Apr 11, 2007 12:17 AM

in response to: Grapho

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

It is also the WOW factor.
My 14 year old and I saw the commercial last night. He asked "What's that?" I explained the Apple TV and that it had the iTunes interface. He said "COOL! When can we get one?"
I like buying Movies on Media, but for the younger folks it is all about now!

Simplicity is the key. Most folks want easy and elegant. Apple does that well. And at a great price point.

Dan Frakes

3,347 posts since
Apr 14, 2003

14. Apr 11, 2007 4:02 AM

in response to: hillstones

Re: Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airt

Quote:<hr />
The ad is nicely shown in true HD form, saw it on NBC-HD the other night. However, all the images are simulated, giving a false impression of the true picture quality, which is less than DVD quality.

<hr />

Depends on the content you're watching. HD content is true HD-quality. Video ripped from DVDs can look as good as the original DVD. Videos purchased from the iTunes Store vary in quality, but the better ones are near-DVD-quality.

Dan Frakes | Senior Editor, Macworld

Go to original post 1 2 Previous Next

Go to original post

Apr 10, 2007 3:30 PM

Editors' Notes Weblog: Apple TV gets some airtime

Actions

More Like This