“The Apple TV out-of-box-experience was just what I’ve come to expect from an Apple product — a real no-brainer,” Bob Levitus reports for The Houston Chronicle.
“In less than 15 minutes, Apple TV was up and running, and I was on the couch enjoying a movie. I watched feature films and TV shows I purchased from the iTunes store as well as feature films I converted from DVD with Handbrake,” Levitus reports.
Levitus reports, “Being able to choose iTunes songs, artists and playlists on the TV screen with the Apple TV remote control was a treat [and] using Apple TV to display slide shows from iPhoto was the icing on the cake. I loved being able to select background music and turn on the Ken Burns effect and gorgeous transitions without leaving the couch. And the photos looked spectacular.”
“I wish it supported true high-definition programming and surround sound. So for now when I want the most engrossing experience, I’ll still watch DVDs. But for most movies and TV shows and all of my music and photos, Apple TV is a delightful addition to my HDTV setup,” Levitus reports.
Levitus reports, “Bottom line: I like Apple TV. A lot.”
Full article here.
Everyone should just wait until AppleTV is high def. That has to be around the corner…
COWBELL!!!!
It TV is Hi-Def
Does anybody really think that Bob Levitus would ever dare say something bad about an Apple product? He’s practically on the Apple payroll at this point. Hey look, I love the majority of Apple’s products (but not all of them), and let’s face it: 99% of consumers do NOT want NOR need an AppleTV, and especially not at a $299 price point. Apple should be giving these things away for free. The ONLY thing it does is stream stuff from iTunes. That’s it! It won’t even stream a DVD from your Mac, so you still need to buy a DVD player on top of everything else! And forget about controlling your TV’s volume from the AppleTV remote — you still have to carry around 2 clunky remotes to do that. Oh, and by the way, you need a brand new television for the privilege of doing closing to nothing, too! Let’s face it — the Apple TV is a failure and it is hopefully going to go the way of the Cube so we can stop being embarrassed by this product.
It is so nice of MacBill to tell us what we want and need.
Oh boy, MacBill.
“The ONLY thing it does is stream stuff from iTunes.”
No, it also syncs with iTunes and iPhoto. It’s an iPod for your tv. No more, no less.
“It won’t even stream a DVD from your Mac, so you still need to buy a DVD player on top of everything else!”
People in the demo for this product obviously already have a DVD player in their home theater setup. Adding DVD capability to AppleTV would be applesauce in a blender.
“And forget about controlling your TV’s volume from the AppleTV remote — you still have to carry around 2 clunky remotes to do that. “
It is standard practice in home theater setups NOT to adjust the output volume of each device in the system. All devices should output at their maximum volume to the central speaker system. There are many reasons to do this – best sound fidelity, you won’t blow your speakers when you switch from AppleTV to, say, cable if their volumes are set differently at the device.
“Oh, and by the way, you need a brand new television for the privilege of doing closing to nothing, too!”
You don’t; it’s just (obviously) marketed to people with HDTVs. That’s where it shines. Would you make this same objection if we were discussing DVD players?
If you don’t see yourself using an AppleTV, hey, don’t buy it. But keep your “analysis” to yourself before you’ve asked an actual AppleTV user or been one yourself.
MacBill, you may have been told this before, but you spout absolute rubbish.
MacBill
Dude!
Methinks you doth protest too much!
This Rev.A product is giving an uncontrollable woody Eh?
Just drop the 299.00 you wont be sorry, just draw the curtains so the neighbors don’t have to be exposed to your nasty.
Bought it, love it, amazingly easy to set up. Could use a subscription service to iTunes for TV and Movies. I would pay for that. …
MDN MW: Step. A Step in the right direction.
Ellen D. gave it to everyone in her audience today
One would think that if the AppleTV is connected through HDMI, it would be aware of the brand and model of the tv, so it would it be hard for Apple to add the code to the remote to control the volume? The devices are paired up already. I guess it’s a one way situation. Perhaps that will be in Apple Remote 2.0
Gee. Mr. Levitus likes his free evaluation product. I’m shocked at his incredibly brave stance.
Now, if he could simply address why being “delightful” is a good enough reason to waste money on this turd. Owning a race car would be “delightful,” too. But that doesn’t make it any less a waste of money.
As pointed out by Roger Waters long ago, Americans are going to entertain themselves to death. This device is solution to a nonexistent problem. Send the money to Doctors Without Borders instead.