Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple TV
Apple TV analysis from Piper Jaffray
While you're waiting for the Apple TV to ship any day now, MacNN has some interesting snippets of analysis on the device from Piper Jaffray's senior analyst, Gene Munster. Of note, there are a surprising estimate of 118 million 'active' iTunes users compared to Windows Media Center's 12 million users. That's one heck of a lead Apple has, especially for technically being later to the 'media center' game. Still, while some may view the Apple TV as an expensive piece of the Apple entertainment pie, Munster's analysis brings an interesting perspective to the table that's certainly worth a read if you're still on the fence.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SjH said 8:19PM on 3-19-2007
By what logic can Apple be said have a lead when, by definition, Microsoft and their partners have actually shipped 12 million-plus Media Center/Media Center-capable PCs and Apple have, to date, shipped 0 Apple TVs?
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matthew said 9:45PM on 3-19-2007
I was actually pretty excited about AppleTV, but after looking into it very thoroughly I've decided that I'm going to pass on this one. I don't want to be locked in to one type of media, be it Apple's or Microsoft's.
Converting all my videos to work with AppleTV would be a huge pain, and it seems like a smarter idea to just spend an additional $300 and get a Mac Mini. Then you can play just about any media format, plus you have a full-blown computer instead of this very limited (and overpriced, IMO) device.
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Rolphus said 10:51PM on 3-19-2007
By the same comparing-apples-and-oranges sort of logic, McDonalds may win the Media Center PC race, as they have sold far more people Big Macs than there are either iTunes users or Windows Media Center users. Nice going. Piper Jaffray.
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CL said 9:33PM on 3-19-2007
On top of what SjH said, how about comparing iTunes to Windows Media Player instead? Comparing iTunes to Windows Media Center makes no sense, as Windows Media Center is an OS.
Discriminator: I am an Apple user, in fact I am posting this on a Mac, so you can skip the "You Micro$oft fanboi" comment.
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Jeff said 12:05AM on 3-20-2007
for the same money as an itv u can buy an xbox sure it has no storage but why do u need storage if u can stream just as easily. Also u can play games. Its just a much better setup
xbox 360 + connect360= crazy delicous
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jason said 3:35AM on 3-20-2007
cept the wma videos are too big (if you convert your own) a movie I can compress to under 800 megs is around 3 gigs wma, and the quality is tons better on apple tv (as its interlaced on the 360) least it was during my experience.
I already have xbox 360, and connect360, wouldn't want to live w/o it. But I prefer to be able to back up videos I buy, and not have them stored on my small harddrive.
Not to mention you need the 400 dollar 360 to be able to use xbox live marketplace to buy your shows. so your already 100 over. and if you needed wifi, throw in another 100 for the wi-fi adaptor, then your 200 over.
but on another note, anyone else's appleTV ship yet? Just got the email!
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/9083/tvoo2.jpg
w00t!
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jason said 3:38AM on 3-20-2007
Oh, and lets not forget the insatiable fan of the 360, hopefully the appleTV will be nice and quite (and I can't imagine it not being)
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Sandman619 said 4:10AM on 3-20-2007
Apple lead in the media race is their installed base of active iTunes users, which has a 10 fold jump over media center. Comaring the two is like apples & oranges, but both perform the same task of serving up audio & video for entertainment. By adding video support to iTunes, Apple has a media capable market greater than that of windows media center. Since most Apple computers have wireless built-in or capable, the cost of a $300 AppleTV is much more affordable than buying a new computer and windows operating system. Don't forget, you'll need to buy a separate upgrade package for that media device. Even though microsoft managed that insurmountable task of merging the media center into vista, microsoft's strict licensing won't allow one license on two PCs. In fact, it's not easy to reinstall vista onto the same PC.
microsoft may have hit the market first with their version of a media server, but with a fraction of Apple's market share, they have to sell consumers on buying that extra PC for the living room. A much tougher sell and they have 100 million users to yet to catch up to Apple.
Personally, if I were in the market for a media server, AppleTV seems the most robust & streamlined option. But then I'm biased. I've been enjoying my Apple DVR for several years (a PowerBook & EyeTV, complete with online programming guide & one-touch recording)
Cheers!
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Dave said 4:16AM on 3-20-2007
All I know is I had a Media center PC for a long time and I loved the idea of streaming my media...BUT I never used it! Media Center is such a piece of crap!! Seriously! It ALWAYS had issues. It ran/runs slow, klunky, hiccups, can't play a lot of files, stutters, farts and everything else you can imagine that is unpleasant!! Why is this even compared to front row? Why was it even released??
Front Row/AppleTV however works. It is very pretty. I wasn't that excited about it when I heard about it. But you know what? Right now I have a spot on top of my entertainment center where I hook my Macbook pro up to so I can enjoy some movies or listen to music. Hmmm... I wonder what may be up my alley soon... Apple has made a nice move...Microsoft put it out first. I guess. But Apple put it out at the right time. I don't think people were quite ready yet...I don't think people are ready now! But I think this is gonna be pretty big. And soon.
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