Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Apple TV
Apple TV gains hard disk capacity, loses weighty price
Less than a week after the Apple TV was studiously ignored by Steve & Phil at the music event, a tipster has pointed us in the direction of the Apple online store where the device has suddenly gained some capacity and become less expensive.The original 40GB model has been dropped altogether, and the 160GB model is now available for US$229, down from the previous price of US$329. Is Apple doing this to move inventory in anticipation of a new device, or to clear things out before dropping the Apple TV line?
Regardless of what direction Cupertino is taking, the existing Apple TV needs a software update stat! AppleInsider has speculated that the iTunes LP format and iTunes Extras released last Wednesday are specifically designed to deliver content to Apple TV. They've noted that the content is designed for 1280 x 720 resolution, fitting the native resolution of the Apple TV. There are even html meta tags in the new content -- "hdtv-fullscreen" and "hdtv-cursoroff" -- that seem to indicate that these new formats were designed for the Apple TV.
If Apple is planning on doing something with their "hobby" device, it would behoove them to announce it before the Christmas buying season. Does anyone want to take bets on whether or not there will be an Apple TV event before the beginning of November?
Thanks to twofedoras for the tip!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Christian A. Stroemmen said 11:11AM on 9-14-2009
They really need to open up an App Store for the Apple TV. It's such a no-brainer I have no idea why they haven't done it yet.
An App Store and a gamepad and the AppleTV would quickly become soooo much better.
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Bwbach said 11:23AM on 9-14-2009
The 40GB is still available in the UK store.
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FeedMeAStrayCat said 11:24AM on 9-14-2009
Please, instead give me a Mac Mini with BluRay. Please. Pretty please.
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Scotty said 12:48PM on 9-15-2009
I understand the "world of hurt" Apple spoke of but dear lord I totally agree with you!!!!!!
Karsten said 11:26AM on 9-14-2009
in germany the price is still as high as 400€!! that's $582,12... more than twice the price...
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Scotty said 12:43PM on 9-15-2009
That is a lot but always confused why EU Westies blame Apple for the high prices there.
You have to look at your import taxes and VAT type taxes to find the reason really. National healthcare and social infrastructure isn't cheap. Plus, don't you have a government required 2 year warranty or something for all electronics?
Larry said 11:30AM on 9-14-2009
I'd almost buy one at that price. Just to have to stream purchased content from iTunes to my TV.
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derekknighttx said 11:30AM on 9-14-2009
Still the same underpowered hardware (1ghz with 256MB ram) and locked interface (Apple approved stuff, only).
Sure, you can hack it for Boxee, but the speed is pretty bad for feeds like Hulu and CBS.
I was an original owner of a 40GB ATV. After years of hoping Apple would do it justice, I finally sold it on craigs and bought a PS3 Slim for $299. I would install Boxee, and along comes an Apple TV Update to squash it. Repeat a few times and I have had enough.
On the PS3 Slim, the raw performance gain playing and navigating HD movies on my external hard drive is dramatic.
Apple needs to kill this thing or put some serious work into. By 2009 standards, this thing is junk. Sorry.
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bioadam said 11:41AM on 9-14-2009
The PS3 slim isn't the only Blu-Ray player that can trump the Apple TV. Like many Mac users, I picked up the LG BD390. It can stream Netflix and H.264 movies from my mac. Coming soon is VUDU HDX, full 1080p from the net. Apple TVs 720p made sense a few years ago when 720p TVs were the sweet spot. Now most TVs are 1080p. Even my noisy Xbox 360 can do more than an Apple TV. Apple TV's price drop is its only competitive feature.
jwfnla said 11:31AM on 9-14-2009
Though undoubtedly a bit buggy, my Apple TV has become THE way I rent movies. I certainly hope they don't give up on it.
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Joanna D said 11:35AM on 9-14-2009
My PS3 does everything that Apple TV does, but also manages to cram live TV recording, free music videos, Blu Ray, DVD, Hulu, iPlayer and of course great gaming into $299.
Well worth the extra $70 I say.
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Larry said 11:39AM on 9-14-2009
Hulu doesn't work through the PS3 browser anymore. They killed that over the Summer. I suspect you'd know that if, if you actually owned one.
Joanna D said 11:41AM on 9-14-2009
Actually, I don't use Hulu because it's not available in my country. I use the PS3 browser regularly for BBC iPlayer though, which works amazingly well thanks to a new update that adds hardware acceleration to Flash video.
I remembered reading that Hulu worked, thanks for putting me right. It is a shame, I hope whatever is stopping it from happening gets sorted out soon.
Jorn said 11:51AM on 9-14-2009
I need a media-extender device much like the AppleTV and I need it now. Thing is, the ATV is overpriced, underpowered and too lacking in file support for me to really consider it. I want to like it, I really do.
So, if I should hold my breath for a refresh this holiday season, I'll do it.
(Oh, and Apple? You may want to adjust the $280 price on a refurb of this same unit. Just a thought. ;) )
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Colin S. said 11:43AM on 9-14-2009
Wonder if this may signify that a refresh is coming?
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bward74 said 11:44AM on 9-14-2009
"the existing Apple TV needs a software update stat!"
Here here!!
I would love for the menu's to be updated for starters. Then, as the article states, allow the new LP's and Extra's to be compatible. Then, fix bugs such as the one at the moment whereby "All" of each movie genre only shows about 200 titles (so "All Comedy" only goes up to titles beginning with the letter 'C'). How about having a nice Visualizer for music, instead of just photo's? Come on Apple- get it together!
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Greenie said 11:47AM on 9-14-2009
I remember Steve Jobs committing to development of the Apple TV for quite a while, so I don't think it's going anywhere.
We bought the Apple TV when it was first announced. We've never had a problem with it and we've loved it. It's so nice for the kids to use the remote to start their movies when they'd like.
And a friday night at home is so much easier when we can rent the movie on Apple TV.
We've been happy owners.
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HDS said 12:38PM on 9-14-2009
Agreeing with Greenie.....Our family loves our Apple TV also! That said, it would be amazing to see this product evolve further, even if just in baby steps. Apple could at least throw us a bone and show us something new.
Without some signs of this product evolving soon, I'm afraid it will die and I really don't want that.
moo083 said 11:50AM on 9-14-2009
Another problem is that you can't sync movies from iPhoto into your Apple TV. So if you have an iPhone 3GS and you take some videos, you can sync it to your computer into iPhoto, but not to your Apple TV. Kinda strange. Please fix it Apple?
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bward74 said 11:52AM on 9-14-2009
Yep- you can't even watch videos uploaded to your MobileMe albums!