Filed under: Hardware, Apple, Apple TV
Wired offers up 5 reasons Apple TV rules, and sucks
Now that the Apple TV is shipping lots of people have opinions about it (imagine the amount of opinions we'll hear once people get to use it!). Wired's Rob Beschizza has compiled 5 reasons why he thinks the Apple TV will rule, and 5 reasons it'll suck.This list of 10 things nicely sums up the current zeitgeist about the Apple TV. Most tech types think it'll fail because it doesn't do enough (OMG! NO DVR!), while most analysts seem to think it'll do OK (thanks to that iTunes lock in we all know and love).
It is an interesting product, no doubt, but I'm waiting for Apple TV 2.0. How about you? Have you ordered an Apple TV? If not, why not? Sound off in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
NutMac said 5:19PM on 3-20-2007
Why it sucks: it neither pleases home theater enthusiasts (lack of 1080p and Dolby Digital AC-3 and/or DTS) nor Joe-six-packs (lack of 480i and video rental model).
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George said 7:02PM on 3-20-2007
It occurs to me that though Apple may not be able to include DVR functionality with the AppleTV for political reasons. Will the major networks sell their television shows on iTunes if, at the same time, Apple provides a way for would-be purchasers to collect the same shows free? I bet not. Or at least, Apple doesn't want to risk rocking an already-shaky boat.
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Mr Lizard said 7:07PM on 3-20-2007
I'll be interested to see how Apple goes with the whole Hi Def thing.
I've not used it so I can't comment confidently on it, but is the quality of an iTunes purchased movie *actually* visibly different to say, a DVD or a tv channel?
If the answer is no, then I don't think it matters that it doesn't support the highest hi def standard.
Maybe the hi def connectors are there for some future plan- maybe we'll see true HD content on the iTunes store soon. That said, a 40GB hard drive isn't going to go far when stocked with a few HD movies...
Here in the UK I'm not sure why anyone would purchase just yet. No movie content on iTunes at all, just some video podcasts and overpriced music videos (£1.89 a pop- much, much higher than the cost in the US)
I'll watch this one with interest. I'm confident that if anyone can pull off the 'streaming set-top box', it'll be Apple.
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Albert Martin said 7:21PM on 3-20-2007
Couple main reasons I haven't bought:
1. No 1080p or true surround sound. While I don't have a 1080p capable set yet and I only have cheapo surround speakers, I don't want to cripple myself when this is the way things are going.
2. No Blu-Ray. lol ... this may probably never happen ... but why have a bunch of set-top boxes (Blu-Ray, Tivo, AppleTV etc) when you can have one. Apple is probably waiting for the HD format war to settle before they start putting Blu-Ray ... I think (or hope) they will eventually incorporate some kind of feature.
3. No money. Sorry, already spent my Apple quota on a Mac Pro :)
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Dave said 7:24PM on 3-20-2007
No DVR is a no go for many, including someone who was seriously going to pick this up but when he found out it had no DVR? No thanks.
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Aron Trimble said 7:56PM on 3-20-2007
I have not (and probably will not) made a purchase.
Why?
Because for a svelte ~$300 more I could rig up a Mac Mini to do a MUCH better job at the same task.
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George said 8:23PM on 3-20-2007
On that renting-argument, I agree with Apple on the music front, I want to own my music (which their DRM doesn't quite let me do, but never mind). I disagree on the movie front. I very rarely want to own a movie. There are only a few I want to watch repeatedly. I would rent movies more often from iTunes than I will buy them. Instead I'll download from bittorrent (tough beans). I would rent at a reasonable price though, just as I really do purchase the music I like instead of downloading it illegally.
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Chris Coleman said 8:26PM on 3-20-2007
Considering that it only supports HDTVs, most people aren't going to be buying it. From the Tech Specs page:
Enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable of 1080i 60/50Hz, 720p 60/50Hz, 576p 50Hz (PAL format), or 480p 60Hz
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James said 9:01PM on 3-20-2007
While I like the Mac Mini approach, I think it's a bit silly to throw it out as a true alternative to Apple TV when it costs TWICE as much. That's not insignificant.
For the same price as the mini, you could have 2 Apple TVs in 2 separate rooms (livingroom/bedroom), all accessing the same content.
And the hard drive is largely irrelevant on the AppleTV: it's a streaming device with a hard drive "buffer". Your storage content is theoretically unlimited on the AppleTV (as it is with a Mac Mini).
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Watts said 9:18PM on 3-20-2007
I'm not quite sure what people are on about with "the specs are too low for snobs" (to paraphrase rudely); it's capable of 720p HDTV display and has digital audio output, which means it certainly is capable of true surround sound. (AAC is capable of multichannel audio, and I'd be surprised if we don't see that starting to be used.)
Is the lack of DVR capability a bigger strike? Maybe, maybe not. I'm betting that much of the audience for the AppleTV already own DVRs, and AppleTV is being deliberately positioned as a different kind of product. And frankly, I think that's the right approach. So far, I haven't seen anyone make a case for an Apple DVR other than "Apple is doing lots of media stuff so it seems to fit." Well, kinda, but unless they can make "AppleDVR" be as much a leap over TiVo as (they're hoping) iPhone is over normal smart phones, they're not going to try.
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Gene Cowan said 9:30PM on 3-20-2007
One more reason it might suck: no DVD playback capability.
This is only a big deal because those nice new flat panel HDTVs only come a limited number of HDMI inputs. Mine has two, which are being used by 1) the HD cable DVR and 2) my DVD player. Where would I plug in the AppleTV?
I expect that many, many HDTV owners are in the same boat. I assume that many of them are using one set of connections for HDTV and one for DVD...
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NutMac said 9:35PM on 3-20-2007
#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.
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D. Verde said 9:50PM on 3-20-2007
Apple TV doesn't have to be anymore than what it is.
It's not about the hardware...
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G said 10:56PM on 3-20-2007
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.
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Gerald Buckley said 11:41PM on 3-20-2007
I have one on order and will be using it to show our own encoded movies at an industry trade show.
We'll be the only ones with such a novel interface on the whole show floor. THAT alone will be worth the purchase price and will likely be just what the good Dr. ordered to get people drawn into our booth as opposed to others.
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Jason said 12:26AM on 3-21-2007
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.
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IdiotBoy said 1:15AM on 3-21-2007
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.
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Sietepestes said 8:40AM on 3-21-2007
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.
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tacticus said 9:06AM on 3-21-2007
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
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navstar said 1:11PM on 3-21-2007
Keep in mind that this is an Apple v1.0 Product™.
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.
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