“Apple TV has landed. How does it stack up? In looks, it sits at the top of the heap. Apple TV is a gorgeous, one-inch-tall, round-cornered square slab, 7.7 inches on a side. It slips silently and almost invisibly into your entertainment setup,” David Pogue reports for The New York Times.
The heart-breaker for millions, however, is that Apple TV requires a wide-screen TV — preferably an HDTV. It doesn’t work with the squarish, traditional TVs that many people still have,” Pogue reports. “Apple defends its audience-limiting decision by saying that the future is HDTV; Apple is just “skating to where the puck is going to be,” as a product manager put it.”
Pogue reports, “Apple TV doesn’t come with any cables. You’re supposed to supply the one your TV requires (HDMI, component video or HDMI-to-DVI adapter). They cost $20 at Apple’s online store. So what is Apple TV? Basically, it’s an iPod for your TV.”
“The integration of iPod, iTunes and Apple TV offers frequent payoffs. For example, if you paused your iPod partway through a movie, TV show or song, Apple TV remembers your place when you resume playing it on your TV. Cool,” Pogue reports.
Pogue reports, “All of this works elegantly and effortlessly. But there are lots of unanswered questions that make onlookers wonder if Apple has bigger plans for the humble Apple TV. For example, it has an Internet connection and a hard drive; why can’t it record TV shows like a TiVo? Furthermore, it’s a little weird that menus and photos appear in spectacular high-definition, but not TV shows and movies. All iTunes videos are in standard definition, and don’t look so hot on an HDTV. And then there’s the mysterious, unused USB port.”
“Apple TV offers a gracious, delightful experience — but requires fidelity to Apple’s walled garden,” Pogue reports.
Full review here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “RadDoc” for the heads up.]
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“it’s a little weird that menus and photos appear in spectacular high-definition, but not TV shows and movies”
Wow, you think it might have anything to do with the difference in size between a photo and a feature-length movie? You think?
“For example, it has an Internet connection and a hard drive; why can’t it record TV shows like a TiVo?”
Record them from what, the Internet?
“but requires fidelity to Apple’s walled garden”
Which is exactly why I’m building a giant, wooden badger.
Apple has never been one to shy away from establishing the future course of technology, then waiting for the world to catch up. No difference here. I like the “skating to where the puck will be”. In two years HDTV will be main stream. Plenty of time to add more substance to this amazing device.
OS X Leopard may have some iTV surprises in store for us.
Until HD content is available from iTunes Store, this device makes no sense at all. Why would I want to watch sub dvd quality movies in dobly surround (not digital 5.1) on my HDTV? I have purchsed a movie just to try it out and it looks horrible on my HDTV.
I LOVE walled gardens
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I LOVE wooden badgers
“Skating to where the puck is going to be”‘
That’s a Gretzky line actually, it’s seems Apple managers have studied “the Greats”
I think they may still have to go back to school though, $350 bucks or there abouts for the delivery of content that will take forever to download when it finally gets to HD. By the time the do move to HD Congress the CRTC or someother Gvt agency will have put the breaks on high bandwidth use of the internet.
A bomb.
Too much for the average consumer.
Forget it.
We can´t understand why people don´t buy more Apple computers, how are they going to appreciate or grasp this thing?
Can you imagine a sales guy trying to explain the appleTV pizza box?
“It´s a $299 wireless thingy that beams Movies you bought for $11.99 via your iTunes on your computer to your HDTV except the quality is not HD. Yeah, sure you could go buy the DVD or rent it cheaper, but this is Apple cool.”
NO sale.
A teenty, tiny niche product for the few Apple that think they need it.
ooooooh….how many people are going to be pissed about the missing cable…..?????
Great things are afoot, earth man.
-s
MW: ‘united’ (plates of asparagus)
This box is not as simple as it seems.
re: missing cable
Ever bought an inkjet printer?
I’m cracking up at all the people who don’t think this thing will have a huge impact.
Just take a minute and think back to the launch of iTunes, and the original specs it had. It was an also ran, late to the game music service with ok bandwidth, and not a great selection to start with. Also, no iPod was available. Many of these same concerns were shared then.
Now look at where iTunes is today. Global dominance in the market it joined late.
This is an envioment building step. There will be lots more to come in the next year. It’s gonna be an Apple world in the digital age. Just wait and see.
MDN word is Faith, as in ya gotta have it!
I walled my garden once.
…….once.
Hey, Jim , tell Apple to quit with the “environment building steps” and bring out the real deal.
There are fewer and fewer buyers of version 0.9 of products…early adopters are a slowly dying breed.
Remember OSX was supposed to be the killer of Windows…what is it now 5+ years of “environment building steps” and Apple still has the same computer market share.
iPOd caught on because it was hip and cool and new and you could show it off…appleTV is not the iPod.
And who watches TV anymore????
“Ever bought an inkjet printer?”
An inkjet printer costs what $49, $69??? And it is not an expensive HDMI cable one needs.
So one is talking at least $320+ to get Apple TV going…
Sam..
Are you telling me that this is not Front Row?
Because Front Row seems to play.. all my music (not all legit) and movies (not all legit)…
I mean.. I’m about to watch a bittorrent 24 episode… in fullscreen, beautiful resolution .. in FrontRow.. (something you can’t even do in QT lol)
“For example, if you paused your iPod partway through a movie, TV show or song, Apple TV remembers your place when you resume playing it on your TV. Cool,” Pogue reports.”
That is just so freakin’ cool and Apple-like!
Gil,
It’s for early adopters. I’m waiting for rev. 3, at least.
Remember OSX was supposed to be the killer of Windows…what is it now 5+ years of “environment building steps” and Apple still has the same computer market share.
If you believe that Apple’s market share hasn’t grown, you’d believe that Bush is intelligent, and nobody would believe that! I don’t know who concocts these so-called “market share” figures, but the deck is obviously stacked. There is no way in the Universe that Apple’s market share hasn’t grown. No way. Do they think we’re idiots??? If you believe what the mainstream tells you, then you obviously are an idiot.
New apple technology? I’ve had my pc connected to my TV for over 10 years. It’s always been 1 simple cable. 40 gig drive – weeeeak. Can’t record live TV? TV tuner cards are cheap and nothing new. The apple DRM 128bit sound files turn my stomach, there video rips will be just as crappy. Apple fans must have money to blow.
e_dubL,
You have a 10 year old PC?
Win. 95 rules!
Ironic you mention Bush being an idiot, but then go onto say don’t believe the mainstream… Which is ironic, since it is the mainstream media outlets that say Bush is an idiot (oh, Jay, Dave, and every other comedian and talk show as well). Talk about the mainstream brainwashing, it’s everywhere, and lots of hate speech to accompany it.
So I guess you mean to not listen to the mainstream tech journalists regarding PC market share, but believe them in other aspects – whichever fits your convention at the moment…
Please.
Reality (getting out of the political game for a moment):
1. PeeCee’s are defined as cash registers, home and business desktops, servers (which could also be running Linux or UNIX), medical devices, you name it, it is declared a “PC.” which is rediculous. Since this is a definition many choose to use a PC market share, then they would technically – by their definition – be correct, Apple’s share of the “PC” market share world-wide has barely moved.
2. Apple’s market share has grown if your define what a PC is more specifically, and look at the markets Apple is conserned with.
Why measure a companies success of blender sales on a world-wide basis, if they only are choosing to compete in Australia? One wouldn’t. They would measure that company for how they are executing their strategy in the market of Australia.
Secondly, one would not measure the blender sales against waffle irons and coffee makers AND blenders as a combined market because they are all used in the kitchen and thus defined as blenders (in general). What faulty measurements, and misleading info on the companies true blender market share and success in Australia. But this is how Apple world-wide market share is measured by many analysts – many whom do not even understand how the WW PC market share is put together. Pathetic.
So let us measure Apple’s success as a company correctly (becuase when market share numbers are thrown out, the point is to see how well a company is doing in a particular market):
Apple attacks three primary markets:
– Consumer: Desktop and laptop
– Education: Desktop, laptop, server
– Creative Market: Graphics and Video
Low-hanging-fruit markets:
– Server, other
– Scientific
– Small business
Which WW markets does Apple currently engage in? China? No. Africa, not hardly. India, no. Russia and other eastern EU countries? Nope.
Apple competes in the following markets:
– US (toss in Canada)
– EU
– Japan
In each ww region Apple engages, within the markets pinpoint, they are growing steadily in each.
Consumer: Growing faster than the overall consumer PC market.
Education: Growing faster than the overall education PC market.
Creative: Growing faster than the overall market.
The only thing relevant for measuring Apple’s success or failure is whether they are winning in which the markets they are competing within.
Pretty smart for an idiot. I’m an idiot evidently because I’d rather have Bush as President over “Man is it hot in here Gore” or “I am so brilliant I voted for the war before I voted against it Kerry….”
But do not think I am a coolaid drinker, far from it. Outside of understanding Jihad, Bush has been weak. Weak on the boarder, weak on holding the line of massive government spending. Weak in continuing to fight on saving social security (meaning giving you your money back from a blathering suck-hole called Social Security), and lastly, weak regarding communication with the American people (uh, very weak which must mean since he isn’t slick like old Bill he’s an idiot…). Oh, lastly part II, weak as a party leader – very weak.
But that’s right, anyone who does not believe in your idology is an idiot. Nice world view.
Why are naysayers so gleeful about technology they can’t understand and think their pronouncements are words from God?
I agree with Gordy, I’d rather have Dashboard then Games… or even a Youtube integration.
http://www.appletvconverter.net