Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.

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Pez

Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« on: 25 Mar 2011, 04:34 am »
Ok techies. The tech world has more or less written off the ATV as a failure, a non-starter a flop. And compared to Apples other successes it's hard to say it hols anything other than a mediocre position in Apples super hyped sales machine.

All that said, Apple TV is... Awesome. It really is. It certainly is not a videophile product or an end all be all media hub, but if you are a dedicated Machead then you will smile the first time you use your iPad as a remote control to wirelessly stream movies from your computer to your ATV. Or better yet, stream movies off of your iPad to the ATV while using the same iPad to surf the web for IMDB facts about the actors/actresses in the movie.

As with pretty much every other internet connected device these days ATV also allows you to stream Netflix and of course anything you purchase on iTunes.

The only downside right now IMO is the fact that there doesn't seem to be a way to stream video and photos that you took with your iPhone to the Apple TV yet, even though you can stream other movies etc to it no problem. I'm sure it will come in an update, but for now it's MIA.

Anyone else use one?

Watson

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #1 on: 25 Mar 2011, 04:48 am »
Any news about whether they've updated the firmware to support digital audio output at 44.1kHz? The original release of the new Apple TV (not the old one, or the Airport Express) resampled everything to 48kHz on the digital output. That was pretty disappointing for Redbook audio.

skunark

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #2 on: 25 Mar 2011, 04:49 am »
You can also stream photos and video that you've taken to the apple tv. it's something they call AirPlay, if you have an old Apple TV you are SOL, but the second gen works fine.  If you have an updated iphone/ipod touch/iTunes/iPhoto just look for the funny icon (square and triangle).

BTW, it's exceeded all of apple's sales expectation and they do still consider it a hobby.  We must be reading different tech sites...  Netflix owns 2/3rds of the internet streaming of video and the ATV is one of those (along with several others).   What's a flop is Cable VOD, online purchases and rentals.

JohnR

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #3 on: 25 Mar 2011, 08:45 am »
The original release of the new Apple TV (not the old one, or the Airport Express) resampled everything to 48kHz on the digital output.

How about that... so it does.

Crimson

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #4 on: 25 Mar 2011, 09:54 am »
I've got three of 'em, two new and one old. They are, IMO, absolutely essential components in media display environments.

And, yes, you can send pictures on your iPhone to the new ATV if both devices  have the latest versions of firmware installed. Just use the AirPlay function (top left icon in your photo library on your iPhone).

As to the audio side of it, I never really considered the ATV an audiophile-approved product but nothing beats it on the convenience side of things (kind of like an AEx with video out).

Stercom

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #5 on: 25 Mar 2011, 10:00 am »
We have over 14k digital photos and 4gb of digital music running through our home system. AppleTV, for $99, has brought all of that to our family TV/Audio system in a very easy way that the whole family uses on a daily basis. Have my kids or wife ever said it sounds or looks bad? No. Am I going to use it in MY audio system? No. Use it for what it was intended for and you will be very happy!

chrisby

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #6 on: 25 Mar 2011, 08:47 pm »
one more vote for the latest streamer version of this gadget

the "tech world" who write this off can kiss my hard drive - this has got to be one of the craziest bargains in the entire current Apple product line up

of course to reap full benefits of all its capabilities requires at least one other Mac or i-device and one can easily get addicted to downloading content from iTunes or other sources

think of it as an AEX with HDMI as well as Toslink audio   - with current wireless network printers, how long before the AEX might obsolete?
 
kinda like the old Gillette approach (the razor is cheap/free,  but the blades'll cost ya) 

jackman

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #7 on: 25 Mar 2011, 08:54 pm »
I have it and really enjoy the convenience (and the movies we get on Netflix streaming).  It's a great little gadget and a real steal for $99.  My 5 year old can work the remote (there are tons of kid's movies on Netflix). 

Stu Pitt

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #8 on: 25 Mar 2011, 10:17 pm »
I have the gen 1 ATV.  I love the thing.  I have all my music stored to the hard drive as Apple Lossless, and I can't see how people say it doesn't sound great.  My system sings.  I had netflix on my Wii, but cancelled the subscription.  Not enough stuff I liked on the streaming side of it.

Not sure about the current ATV's digital output though.

NekoAudio

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #9 on: 25 Mar 2011, 10:23 pm »
I've got one of the new ones. It's a very useful and convenient little box. :)

From what I've read, it looks like the $99 Apple TV has been selling fairly well, although not to iPhone/iPod/iPad levels.

Pez

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #10 on: 25 Mar 2011, 10:30 pm »
You can also stream photos and video that you've taken to the apple tv. it's something they call AirPlay, if you have an old Apple TV you are SOL, but the second gen works fine.  If you have an updated iphone/ipod touch/iTunes/iPhoto just look for the funny icon (square and triangle).

You're right! my iPhone needed a restart, it wasn't working properly for some reason. Now I'm able to stream photos and movies I shot! Thanks!

santacore

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #11 on: 25 Mar 2011, 11:15 pm »
I'm waiting for FedEx to drop one off right now, looking forward to trying it.

wilsynet

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #12 on: 26 Mar 2011, 06:38 pm »
I haven't heard it described as a flop recently.  The first generation Apple TV was a pretty small business, but (as of Dec 2010) the second generation Apple TV sold 1 million units in the first 4 months.  Not bad.

While Apple TV represents only a modest part of the overall Apple business, it seems an exaggeration to call it a flop.

Geardaddy

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #13 on: 27 Mar 2011, 01:13 am »
I have the latest generation TV as well and it absolutely rocks.  We use it with Netflix.... 8)

Pez

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #14 on: 27 Mar 2011, 01:19 am »
Netflix is great, the one complaint I have is that these TV shows they have available for instant watch have caught on to guys like me. They only make the 1st few season available to get you hooked, once you're done with that you have to either buy the newer episodes or get them some other unspeakable way.  :lol:

jtwrace

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #15 on: 27 Mar 2011, 01:20 am »
can I replace my Tivo with one? 

srb

Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #16 on: 27 Mar 2011, 02:27 am »
The Apple TV is a media playback device, it's not a TV tuner or recorder.
 
Steve

skunark

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #17 on: 27 Mar 2011, 03:30 am »
can I replace my Tivo with one?

If you do netflix streaming, and don't care about the latest season, then sure, but you are limited to what they offer.   I now only get the basic of the basic HD TV cable which is just the local channels in HD.   Probably will be replacing that with an antenna if the my cable provider removes the discount or I finally get tired of the video compression they do.    I will also purchase or rent movies and TV shows from the current season via iTunes.   Even with all of that, I still save about $50/month from premium cable and it's all been commercial free.  Even if it wasn't a savings, removing the commercials is reason enough to me.   

The quality of video when streaming netflix will vary from show to show and also based on your ISP bandwidth, so it's not perfect but rarely do I get annoyed when it's only $8ish per month for netlix streaming.    I get really upset when i'm watching an HD channel from my cable company when a moving that was a modified 4:3 aspect getting stretched to 16:9.


Tubo

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #18 on: 27 Mar 2011, 06:31 am »
I have the original Apple TV and I am wondering whether I should upgrade to the latest one. I know the original has a hard drive and the latest one does not. What are other key differences between the original ATV and the new one? TIA!

skunark

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Re: Apple TV time to have a serious discussion.
« Reply #19 on: 27 Mar 2011, 07:46 am »
only can rent shows through it, if you want to buy you have to use iTunes now..    you can get sports packages now (baseball and basketball i believe so far)..  Airplay, if you want to stream audio and video to it.     only hdmi and optical outputs.    Doesn't get extremely hot :)