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“Sound quality was also superb — standard stereo was rich and wide, while 5.1 was as crisp and encompassing as you’d expect (though also as you’d expect, not every piece of content you find will have a 5.1 soundtrack to accompany it),” Topolsky reports. “Obviously everyone’s setup will vary, but in our experience the audio being pumped out of the Apple TV went beyond sufficient. For a $99 box, it’s more than pulling its weight in the sound category.”
Topolsky reports, “None of the other options we’ve tested have felt as simple, solid, and easy to use as the new Apple TV. Putting content concerns aside (which admittedly is difficult to do), the Apple TV has a lot going for it. The video and audio quality of the Apple TV is to be lauded, the company is making a lot of high quality titles available right off the bat, sharing from your current computers is a snap, and if you’re a Netflix user, the inclusion here is perfectly seamless. The question is ultimately about ease versus options — right now it’s hard to whole-heartedly recommend the Apple TV even at its $99 price point given the thin list of partners Apple has courted. If you just want a dead simple movie rental box and you’re not that picky about content, the Apple TV is a no-brainer.”
Read the full review – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: More content will come sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. For now, much of the content not available straight from the Apple TV interface is available via iTunes Store (CBS, NBC, etc.), so you can get it there and stream it to Apple TV as usual.
Related articles:
Apple TV unboxing photos and video – September 29, 2010
TIME’s Techland reviews Apple TV: ‘Incredibly convenient’ – September 29, 2010
PC Magazine reviews new Apple TV: ‘Our new Editors’ Choice media hub’ – September 29, 2010
Apple TV’s 2-3 week shipping delay: Heavy demand or production hiccup? – September 29, 2010
Apple TV code hints at support for external storage, DVD players, iOS apps, FaceTime – September 28, 2010
Fox News hands-on with new $99 Apple TV – September 28, 2010
Apple TV’s digital revolution will kill these studios – if they don’t wise up in time – September 27, 2010
Apple begins process of shipping Apple TV units – September 23, 2010
With Apple TV, any H.264 Web content can be broadcast over AirPlay to your HDTV – September 17, 2010
Who ‘wins’ with Apple TV, the TV networks, Apple, consumers, or all of the above? – September 13, 2010
Gartenberg: Google overshoots for input 1 on your TV while Apple TV smartly targets input 2 – September 07, 2010
Apple’s new Apple TV’s low price may help hobby become a hit; entice more studios – September 05, 2010
New Apple TV may closely resemble iPod touch inside; downloadable apps may be possible – September 04, 2010
Can Apple’s new $99 Apple TV sell well enough to entice network holdouts? – September 02, 2010
Apple’s tiny new $99 Apple TV could pressure offerings from Amazon, Google – September 02, 2010
Analysts weigh in on Apple’s tiny new $99 Apple TV – September 02, 2010
Apple’s new Apple TV a first step for more ambitious plans? – September 02, 2010
Apple TV, iTunes 10 and Ping point to where Apple wants to go – September 02, 2010
Ars Technica hands-on with Apple’s new iPods, Apple TV – September 01, 2010
Wired hands-on with Apple’s new $99 Apple TV: It’s a cool device; snappy and fast – September 01, 2010
Apple gets aggressive with new tiny, low-priced Apple TV – September 01, 2010
MarketWatch: Apple TV priced to move – September 01, 2010
Apple premieres all-new Apple TV for just $99; commercial-free HD TV show rentals for only 99-cents – September 01, 2010
With 6.6 million Apple TV units sold by year end, whither Apple TV 3.0? – July 31, 2009
The holdouts are betting that they can impose their terms on Apple’s competitors without much resistance since they will accept anything in order to trump Apple…
Pretty stupid gamble, if you ask me…
The holdouts are betting that they can impose their terms on Apple’s competitors without much resistance since they will accept anything in order to trump Apple…
Pretty stupid gamble, if you ask me…
If the quality is equal or better than my old AppleTV, it will be great!
Now, how about a iOS Recorder to store my media in to AirPlay it to the AppleTV’s around the house, or my iPads, iPhones or iPod touch devices. WHERE is the simple as an old school VCR iOS Recorder device? Maybe an Apple input device for the Mac mini?
If the quality is equal or better than my old AppleTV, it will be great!
Now, how about a iOS Recorder to store my media in to AirPlay it to the AppleTV’s around the house, or my iPads, iPhones or iPod touch devices. WHERE is the simple as an old school VCR iOS Recorder device? Maybe an Apple input device for the Mac mini?
What the crazy money grabbing cats at the studios NOT on-board don’t realise:
• AirPlay will fa-cuck them from behind when people experience how it works with H.264 videos online and video in apps
• Studios must make much less money on Netflix than they would on Apple TV
Apple’s actually got them by the balls.
Also, Apple will be able to stream content much much faster than competitors: Amazon, Hulu, Netflix etc.
Oh and Apple will get raving reviews for the audio and video quality on the Apple TV from AV review mags.
Just my 2 pence…
What the crazy money grabbing cats at the studios NOT on-board don’t realise:
• AirPlay will fa-cuck them from behind when people experience how it works with H.264 videos online and video in apps
• Studios must make much less money on Netflix than they would on Apple TV
Apple’s actually got them by the balls.
Also, Apple will be able to stream content much much faster than competitors: Amazon, Hulu, Netflix etc.
Oh and Apple will get raving reviews for the audio and video quality on the Apple TV from AV review mags.
Just my 2 pence…
Someone please make some software which allows your mac (or PC if you must), to record TV, then make an app for iOS which lets you program your computer to record stuff (from anywhere in the world), then later use the iOS app to stream recorded stuff back to Apple TV via AirPlay…
I’m sure for companies already making TV cards for OS X this must be a no-bainer which would push the pussies at the studios into the game.
I have no interest in such a thing to be honest, but the studios really annoy me…
Someone please make some software which allows your mac (or PC if you must), to record TV, then make an app for iOS which lets you program your computer to record stuff (from anywhere in the world), then later use the iOS app to stream recorded stuff back to Apple TV via AirPlay…
I’m sure for companies already making TV cards for OS X this must be a no-bainer which would push the pussies at the studios into the game.
I have no interest in such a thing to be honest, but the studios really annoy me…
What the studios don’t realize is many of the current Apple TV owners will probably upgrade and will not be purchasing episodes anymore. So now they’re not getting money. I know I don’t want to purchase TV episodes.
What the studios don’t realize is many of the current Apple TV owners will probably upgrade and will not be purchasing episodes anymore. So now they’re not getting money. I know I don’t want to purchase TV episodes.
Apple is holding their cards close to their vest about the ATV. According to Macrumors, Apple is using a board identical to what the iPad has. It has 256 of ram and 8 GB of NAND Flash along with the A 4 SOC. You can almost bet that this system will either be hacked by some one or Apple will release it to developers like it did with the iPhone. IF they do open it up, apps can be made for ATV. Another way is AirPlay. An app can be made for an iOS device that can stream web content or anything else to the ATV.
Apple is holding their cards close to their vest about the ATV. According to Macrumors, Apple is using a board identical to what the iPad has. It has 256 of ram and 8 GB of NAND Flash along with the A 4 SOC. You can almost bet that this system will either be hacked by some one or Apple will release it to developers like it did with the iPhone. IF they do open it up, apps can be made for ATV. Another way is AirPlay. An app can be made for an iOS device that can stream web content or anything else to the ATV.
Why hasn’t Apple provided all TV shows with their close-captions (cc) ? Only a few select films are captioned and available on iTunes, this really blows for us deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.
Why hasn’t Apple provided all TV shows with their close-captions (cc) ? Only a few select films are captioned and available on iTunes, this really blows for us deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.
@YØRK
A company already makes a pretty good tv recorder, Elegato. Thier new HD recorder is great, it will even record things from cable boxes. I use it and you can export it from their native format to over 50 other formats. It is good stuff, I use it to store tv shows and movies all the time… I place it on my 6 terabyte server, and serve it up to my tv and air video app all the time.
@YØRK
A company already makes a pretty good tv recorder, Elegato. Thier new HD recorder is great, it will even record things from cable boxes. I use it and you can export it from their native format to over 50 other formats. It is good stuff, I use it to store tv shows and movies all the time… I place it on my 6 terabyte server, and serve it up to my tv and air video app all the time.
@KMC Ditto…. I can’t understand when the same content (TV or movies) are CC’d on other broadcast/distribution. I was about to order three Apple TVs but not without CC.
@KMC Ditto…. I can’t understand when the same content (TV or movies) are CC’d on other broadcast/distribution. I was about to order three Apple TVs but not without CC.
NBC just got bought by a cable company… don’t hold your breath on content.
But… I think AirPlay is going to be HUGE.
And then if the networks don’t get with the program, the Torrents types will change the price to free and the terms from rental to pwnage.
NBC just got bought by a cable company… don’t hold your breath on content.
But… I think AirPlay is going to be HUGE.
And then if the networks don’t get with the program, the Torrents types will change the price to free and the terms from rental to pwnage.
I am perfectly happy with my original 160GB Apple TV. Although the shiny and new version is nice, I really wish Apple would make rentals available on the older version. How difficult can it be? Please don’t leave us early adopters in the dust, Apple.
I am perfectly happy with my original 160GB Apple TV. Although the shiny and new version is nice, I really wish Apple would make rentals available on the older version. How difficult can it be? Please don’t leave us early adopters in the dust, Apple.
@KMC… This would be a bad surprise. It bothers me that they aren’t available on the smaller Apple screens, even though they would have to be able to be enlarged to read them. I expect my ATV to arrive tomorrow and I will be very unhappy if Apple is refusing to support captions on all content.
@KMC… This would be a bad surprise. It bothers me that they aren’t available on the smaller Apple screens, even though they would have to be able to be enlarged to read them. I expect my ATV to arrive tomorrow and I will be very unhappy if Apple is refusing to support captions on all content.
Bruce Springsteen said it best: “57 channels and Nothin On….57 Channels and Nothin On!”
Why the hell have we been paying the cable companies $50 a month to have a “integrated package” of channels when we don’t watch 90% of them EVER, and when we do want to watch a show, there is just the old 57 channels and nothing on.