Wired offers up 5 reasons Apple TV rules, and sucks

Why haven't I bought one and why won't I?

Well, let's see. Hmmm. Tell me. What does it do?

It downloads poor-quality content from iTunes? Wow. Wait -- I can already do that.

But, it allows you to play that content on a TV or widescreen monitor? Hmm. You mean like the one I have my Mac plugged up to already? Yup, I can already do that, too.

Am I missing something?

Cheers,
FL

No movies/ tv shows on itunes store in europe. No interest for apple tv therefore.

Keep in mind that this is an Apple v1.0 Productâ„¢.

You really think this is the only Apple TV they will release? I'm sure Apple TV2 will have 1080p, surround sound, DVR and all that crap.

considering the specs and the fact it is limited to playing what the ipod can
bugger it seriously not worth it especially if it has to have itunes running somewhere for it to get the media (love my macbook hate itunes)

but if it was modded to just play effectivly * (like the original xbox) then it becomes attractive still expensive but at least apple take into account the exchange rate when selling stuff in other countries

If I had the money i dont know if i would buy one. but i I did have it in excess I would buy it and somehow get it to work on my car. Because it has wifi I could send a stream of movies from my computer to it, and it be the perfect radio for the car.

I pre-ordered one and am looking forward to hooking it up. All I want is a no-brainer way to watch and listen to my iTunes content on a big-screen TV, and for the device that allows me to do so to look good next to the centerpiece of my family room (the 50-inch plasma). That's it. If I'm given the ability to rent movies months from now-- something I think is inevitable given the ability to rent movies through Amazon Unbox / Tivo, which is really the only truly competitive product in the market-- that's really just gravy. Moreover, I'm confident that Apple will ultimately end up offering me a far richer choice of content than my local cable monopoly, so I look at this as a way of expanding my entertainment options. The endgame, for me, is to substantially reduce my monthly cable expenses and replace them with purchases and rentals from iTunes. But as with any hardware, it will be the content that makes or breaks this sucker in the market.

Your comments: I can see why this product would be useful if you have a desktop and
have purchased a lot of content on the iTunes store that you want to
have access to on your TV. If your like me though, you can buy the
appropriate cables and adapters (mini DVI to DVI adapter and DVI to
HDMI adapter) and then play your media off your MacBook on your TV or
listen to yours songs through your home stereo. It even works with
Front Row software and you can use the included Apple remote with the
computer. Of course if you don't own a MacBook or Mac Mini, then this
doesn't help you. Oh, and if you have music on multiple macs you can
turn sharing on the desktop, and then stream music to the MacBook or
Mac Mini to play through your stereo system. You can also buy an old
iBook or MacBook to use as a music or video server.

I'm not interested in Apple TV. I don't buy video from the iTunes Store, and for other video I have higher quality AV gear in my home already.

It's the same with the iPhone. I've wanted a new phone for over a year, and my Cingular contract is past the 2-year point, going month to month, so I'm ready. But the iPhone is too much. I don't need all of that and don't want to spend all of that. I'll probably pick up a Sony Ericsson W810i now (for free) and just wait for a widescreen iPod, with decent storage to boot.

I want to be interested in these "groundbreaking" new Apple products, I really do, but.. I'm just not. And it feels weird.

Apple TV doesn't have to be anymore than what it is.

It's not about the hardware...

#10: While Apple TV has digital audio output, it will be limited to stereo PCM output. Apple TV does not support AC-3 nor DTS -- it must support at least AC-3. AAC can support multi-channel audio, but Apple TV does not support it and even if it did, there aren't any receivers that can decode multi-channel AAC (let alone stereo AAC). Some may still argue Apple TV can potentially transcode multi-channel AAC to AC-3. Well, AC-3 encoding license is not cheap.