“I got my first look at the Apple TV device the other day, and I have to say I liked what I saw. But it’s unlikely I’ll buy one anytime soon,” Arik Hesseldahl writes for BusinessWeek.
“I’ve argued with myself about whether I want to buy one, and right now I’m leaning toward holding off, for a variety of reasons. To begin with, there’s the inconvenient fact of my TV habits. I’m loyal to one, maybe two shows at a time. I loved The West Wing on NBC, and have in the last few years gone mad for Battlestar Galactica on the Sci Fi channel, and just recently lamented the end of Rome on HBO,” Hesseldahl writes.
“Of those, the only one I have any experience watching in a downloaded format is Battlestar… I can’t imagine going to the trouble to buy and set up an Apple TV, especially for just one show. Purchasing the device makes much more sense if you buy lots of video content from iTunes,” Hesseldahl writes.
“Many people apparently do. Last month Apple disclosed that it has sold some 50 million downloads of TV shows and 1.3 million movies,” Hesseldahl writes.
Apple TV “needs to do more than it does now—which Apple has already admitted. Its plans for accounting for Apple TV revenue over two years indicates that Apple has some big plans for updating the device with more capabilities through software updates over time,” Hesseldahl writes.
Full article here.
if they can get video podcasts to be as big as audio – wham all of a sudden who cares about tv shows – would buy Apple TV in an instnt!
EyeTV has already embraced Apple TV and made it into the DVR system every one wants without the monthly payment of a Tivo and all the convenience. Elgato Hybrid connect to NTSC and ATSC broadcast as well all the different digital and analog cable systems across the country. Eye TV software allow you to port stored programs over to Apple Itunes so you can create some pretty cool libraries of cooking shows barbecues, documentaries and port them to your Ipod for live recipe application , barbecues or spending over 9 hours on a plane going nowhere. The Apple remote now controls all of the EyeTV functions as well. The only reason I don’t have one is there is no DVD playback function to replace the Mac mini that I have currently doing the job of the much cheaper Apple TV.
I mainly picked up an Apple TV for the music and photos. Now my entire music library is easily available in another room via my flat screen and surround sound system… I love it! Of course, now I’ve been sucked into Lost, My Name Is Earl and several FREE podcasts (Jigsaw’s great fun)…. and… I love it even more! It’s simple to use, has a fantastic interface and ‘m sure Apple will continue to expand it.
For those complaining about the 40gb hard drive… you can stream from another machine just as easily as you can synch. So the need for a large HD is not a necessity.
When Apple decides to add the capability to compete against TiVo, then they will fly off the shelfs. For now, they are just doing what the TV and movie executives want, not what the public wants.
Yes, there are some that want what it does right now, but Apple is missing the big boat.
I will purchase an apple TV the day they offer <H2>movie rentals,H2> and <H2>HD content.<H2> Until then, the poor quality of the video is a complete turn off. The other features are outstanding, but not enough to warrant the price tag.
Glad I got that off my chest. Can I have my HD content now?
It would be enough to open the platform to third party plug-ins, so you could view internet TV channels, use it with skype, rss feeds, etc, etc…
I think HD content will arrive for sure (june? september?)
I purchased one for my work showroom (interior design) and have it setup with a large library of photos and music and have a running slide on a large plasma tv. The setup works absolutely perfect. Unfortunatley, I do not have need of one at home as my iMac at home is next to the tv and use as a second monitor.
“@ rolleyes: it does everything the AppleTV does and at 30 more decibles. You can do the same with the Wii and additional software, get the gaming features of the Wii, stream content from your Macs and without having to drown out the whirring of fans with louder volume. I have people at home that go to bed early while I’m veging on shows.”
There ain’t no HALO 3 on the Wii.
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P.S. My 360 is very quiet. The noise argument is a total non-issue. If you owned one, you would already know that.
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