“Let’s pause for a moment amid the worshipful buzz before the launch of Apple’s iPhone in June to consider the heretical notion that Steve Jobs might be promising more than he can deliver,” Brent Schlender writes for Fortune.
“Take Apple TV, the $300 set-top box that Jobs unveiled last October and that finally started shipping in at the end of February, several weeks late. You don’t see many ads for it on TV, even though Apple is blitzing the airwaves with iPod and iMac spots, and after living with one for the past few weeks, I think I see why. It’s just not very good. It’s about as uninspired as another prominent dud, the Zune, the MP3 player Microsoft launched last year. In fact, the Apple TV is so Zune-like, you’d think Jobs was so busy with the iPhone that he outsourced the Apple TV project to the folks up in Redmond,” Schlender writes.
To wit:
• Apple TV’s most highly touted feature is its weakest one: It requires an HDTV, but the video you download is so low-res that it looks as fuzzy as plain old broadcast TV.
MacDailyNews Take: Schlender is misplacing his criticism. Criticize the TV and film studios and/or Apple for not selling HD content for the Apple TV which is perfectly capable of delivering crisp, high-definition 720p output. Related: How Apple’s iTunes Store could deliver High Definition for Apple TV – May 01, 2007
• Apple TV’s coolest feature is one that wasn’t even intended: the screensaver, which plays an ethereal slide show of your digital photos.
MacDailyNews Take: Why is this in Schlender’s list of reasons why Apple TV is “Zune-like?”
• There’s no way to order a movie directly from the iTunes store via your TV, even though Apple TV has its own connection to the Internet.
• Apple TV lets you show photos only from a single computer.
MacDailyNews Take: Valid criticisms – currently. Patience, Padawan. Related: Apple reinvents consumer electronics; iPhone and Apple TV to get better over time with free updates – April 26, 2007, Apple to continually develop new software features for Apple TV, iPhone; offer free updates– April 26, 2007
Schlender writes, “So it really makes you wonder whether the iPhone, when it finally arrives next month, will be clunky and misguided despite its gorgeousness and slick user interface. Apple could turn off customers if the pricey device can’t really do what it promises because of little gotchas like insufficient bandwidth or short battery life or an unusable virtual keyboard.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Charles” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: It’s quite a leap to look at Apple TV in its current form and think it presages how iPhone will perform. Apple TV is much better than Schlender makes it out to be. Furthermore, someone who has actually tried the iPhone, Andy Ihnatko, for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote back in January, “I think the iPhone’s virtual keyboard is a huge improvement over the mechanical thumbpads found on the Treo and any other smart phones of its size.”
So, dude says, “Apple could turn off customers if the pricey device can’t really do what it promises because of little gotchas like insufficient bandwidth or short battery life or an unusable virtual keyboard.”
Um, duh?
How the HELL is it that analysts can essentially write, “…if the product does not live up to expectations, it could disappoint customers…” and get FREAKIN PAID FOR IT??!?! Could that statement not be any more self evident? I wish to God that my job was that easy.
I agree with the criticism’s but not the conclusions. I love my AppleTV and see two features as needed to make it live up to it’s potential:
1. Movie rentals (preferably a subscription) – I rent more movies than I buy, but Apple has the perfect setup to kill Blockbuster and netflicks and become the media rental king.
2. DVD ripping capability. This is a legal issue not a technical one, you can use handbrake to RIP your DVD’s but then you find yourself in the grey area between DMCA and fair use. I like most people buy DVD’s because I can carry them anywhere – and I feel more comfortable they will last forever (I don’t have to back them up).
MDN THE APPLETV SUCKS BECAUSE…
The “Studios” won’t sell HD content because, DUH!! the ACSS has been throughly CRACKED!!
And DRM of the Future will be installed in EFI on Intel based Mac’s.
People ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THAT.
EFI IS A POWERFUL OS LIKE FIRMWARE THAT CAN DO WHAT IT WANTS REGARDLESS OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM AND WITHOUT IT!!!
Apple is placing hardware in the marketplace because certain domino’s are going to fall and everything will fall.
ATV is not a runway hit nor is the boom brick ( our name for the hifi). I work at an AppleStore and we can’t move them like the rest of the products. Daily we get questions such as the ones listed here and there is really no answer, nobody knows if it will be upgraded, it is wishful thinking. the product is very handicaped in performance with no Apple solution in sigth, it might not be similar to Zune but we can safely call it a dud when comparing it to other apple products
AppleTV rocks. For those of us that have a ton of home movie content, listen to our music through our home theatre stereos, etc. get great value. The fact that more features and items will be continually added to it, makes it an investment that will keep on giving. It’s the price of an iPod for pete’s sake.
Plus, it works slick with my Slingbox. Wait to see if Miglia is either bought by Apple or comes out with a killer add-on.
Plus, until Leopard is launched, we won’t even know from the WWDC what the final apps are going to be. I expect some exciting stuff in the areas of AppleTV and the iPhone.
Once live streaming is available via iTunes for news and sportsm the broadcast TV network days will begin the inevitable decline.
@TV fan:
1 million Zunes sold is the editing error heard around the world. I guess that makes it an internet urban legend. Mentioned here and blogged about extensively, should you really care about facts.
To others: No apple should not have held off. Selling movies to ipods and computer screens only was silly. It’s almost like the lore of the ipod has apple making perfect products. Nooo… what Apple does is make technology accessible without pain.
And I can’t think of a product that launched with more limitations than the Apple product that changed computing completely: The mac. (If you’ve never operated an original macintosh, you would be shocked. It had the look and feel and idea, but it was so underpowered it was just barely usable.) But Apple got something out of the lab and into the marketplace and made history. If only MS had copied it a little bit better…. ::sigh::
I work at Cupertino and the previously ‘claimed’ Apple Worker is really a Redmond employee who is working on the Zune Squirt 2 (also known affectionately around the world as the brown poop brick).
No Apple solution in sight? Are you on drugs? Haha. Your FUD is pathetic.
Embrace the future. MSFT will lose (and are losing) the hearts and souls of consumers and as a result, business users will start to convert faster.
BustingTheSkullsOfIdiots
Tip: Never criticize anyone´s grammar when you can´t figure out where to put a space between words.
And what facts did you give to back up your blah, blah, blah? Just more blah, blah, blah.
You own an AppleTV?
It is a flop, dud, non-starter. It is a solution looking for a problem.
AppleTV? Don´t own it, doubt I ever will.
Thank you covering the AppleTV, but it does not require a high definition set as you wrote. Rather it requires component, DVI or HDMI input. My 6 year old 14″ Toshiba sitting in my bedroom has component inputs and works great with AppleTV and is not high definition. AppleTV could use improvement, but so could your journalism.
*** “Zune-like dud” ***
this is Microsoft’s TRUE legacy with the Zune – the addition of a phrase to the English language that everyone immediately understands
I’m sure there’s a similar phrase that’s been coined in other languages too
last time I checked the appleTV was like the second most sold device at the apple store… where do these dipshits get there data??
at least he knows that a big failure is “zune like”
I too love my AppleTV. It’s a lot more flexible then most reviews suggest. Here’s my favorite tips:
1. Movies: Rented a new movie but don’t have time to watch it before returning it? Use Handbrake to rip it to mp4, drag it into iTunes movie folder where you can add album art & actor/director info that shows up on the AppleTV. At a bitrate of 1325 kbps movies take up around 1GB and are virtually indistinguishable at 720p from the DVD itself. Don’t forget to delete the file when you’ve watched it!
2. Photos: Go through your iPhoto library and assign ratings to your pictures. Then create a smart folder that just includes pictures over 3 stars. Sync this smart folder to your Apple TV. As long as you rate new pictures as you import them, all your favorite photos just automatically show up on your AppleTV. Great for slide shows or the screen saver.
3. Streaming music: Want access to more music then the internal 40GB HD allows? You can connect up to 5 Macs or PCs to the AppleTV for streaming media. Even over 802.11g the AppleTV can easily stream & play your entire music colelction, with great looking album art etc.
As others have said though, downloading movies / music etc has to be the future. I don’t even mind if I had to do this from iTunes instead of the AppleTV. Personally I’d want to pay $20 a month and be able to rent whatever music/movies/games I want – kinda like Netflix or Blockbuster. In the past I’ve bought & own at least 600 DVD movies and 1/3 of them completely suck! I never want to accidentally own “The Hunted” ever again ;-D
Coops-
“Don’t forget to delete the file when you’ve watched it!”
Funny. Good one. I’m sure you did that.
I dunno. I still find it hard to muster any excitement for the AppleTV. It’s certainly affordable, but every time I find myself drawn to purchasing one, the same two thoughts go through my head:
— I don’t want to buy videos from the iTunes store.
— Converting other video formats for the AppleTV is too much work.
Sorry, but Apple’s reputation for ease-of-use has made me lazy. I want drag-and-drop. I want instant gratification. I don’t want to have to use Handbrake (whose interface I hate) or some other piece of software and jump through a bunch of hoops just so I can watch the Doctor Who episode I downloaded. I know me. I’d do the work a couple of times, and then the AppleTV would just sit there gathering dust.
Plus, the thing runs hot. Really hot. I touched one at an Apple store over the weekend. Ouch!! With that kind of thermal output, I don’t dare put this thing in the most convenient place, the entertainment center behind a closed glass door. I’d have to figure out somewhere else to stick it.
I don’t know. Everytime I see an AppleTV, I think “Maybe… maybe… naah.” It could be that something would change my mind. The ability to rent HD content from iTunes might help. Playing XviD natively would also be a big help.
I think a better comparison for the AppleTV would by Sony’s PSP–both are neat pieces of hardware which would have been much better off if the manufacturer didn’t intentionally hobble them.
The gap between what the AppleTV could do if permitted by Apple and what it can do as shipped by Apple is huge.
Hackers have addressed some of the problems, but only if you’re happy tearing open the AppleTV, pulling out the hard drive, etc. just to get started.
There’s no reason, other than Apple being a pain in the goddam ass, that you can’t–without busting open the device–install other codecs and attach a 1TB or whatever size drive full of media to the USB port and go to town. Or plug your iPod into the USB port and watch content off the iPod. Or, again without having to hack into the the thing, mount a server full of media. Or order iTunes stuff directly with the AppleTV.
I had planned to use the AppleTV to replace my Mac mini, since all I was using the Mac mini for was media stuff with it hooked up to my HDTV. No dice. The AppleTV should have the same functionality as a mini, but without the optical drive. It has the hardware to do it. The software to do it –Tiger–is already written and ready to go.
Except Apple was afraid people would use the AppleTV as a cheap mac, so Apple intentionally hobbled the device.
Sure, MDN, the AppleTV might be a lot better someday with functionality added to it. Or Apple might discontinue for poor sales. Or decide to shift to selling the AppleTV as a cup warmer (it is the right size, and hot enough.) Defending the thing over what it COULD do someday is idiotic.
Yep, the Apple TV sucks. Whatever.
That’s why I bought one for my living room, ripped out the 40GB drive and replaced it with a 160GB drive. Then I ripped my entire DVD collection using HandBrake and MacTheRipper. Apple TV works so good that I just ordered a second one for my bedroom and i’m going to buy a new HDTV for my bedroom this weekend.
The interface is fantastic. I’ve bought nearly $300 worth of TV Shows and music videos from iTMS and look just fine.
I think people are just looking for a product to bitch about this week, and their focus is clearly on the ATV.
Jeezus.
I’m not very impressed with Apple TV in it’s current configuration. Maybe the next gen will fair better.
I will admit that some of the demos I’ve seen at the Apple Stores I’ve visited isn’t the most flattering for the Apple TV. But from my own personal experience, the Apple TV has been great so far, and when more features and functionality come online, it can only get better!
butt monkeys like this that can only think of Apple TV in terms of downloaded content. These are the same semantic thinkers that think iPods only play downloaded content.
While I am a big Apple fan, at this time I have to agree with
Critic
“The MDN take is a bit defensive. Who cares if it can be be updated over time. The review is correct at this time. It can’t do much right now, and you can’t easily get HD content.
Apple should have held off on this product for another year or two until the other peices were in place.
I do agree, however, that making a connection between the Apple TV and the iPhone is retarded”.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />
Maybe not waiting another year, but atleast till all the parts where in place.
Owned one for a couple months. It now sits idle most of the time. It plays music fine, but it doesn’t synch photos well at all, and I agree with some of the above comments – this thing not having a DVR or the ability to easily play DVDs is criminal.
I didn’t think I’d care about that when I first got it, but the more I used it the more I wanted to record my own shows without the extra cost of iTunes, & the less I wanted the hassle of ripping DVDs. I have a huge DVD collection, and it’s getting bigger b/c DVDs cost less than stuff you buy from itunes, WITH extras (iTunes vids have no extras – just movie), and DVD even has a better picture. I’m considering an HD-DVD player, as they will have all the same advantages sooner or later and the picture is phenominal. So I’m left asking myself what the point of AppleTV & itunes actually is, when other/better/cheaper alternatives are so readily available? I really wish I had thought it through like that in the first place, but … I admit it … I got into the hype.
Second, DVR recording, at least of over the air free TV, would be a great addition. I have cable, but my roof antenna in NJ area can get well over 15 channels. I probably watch 6 or 7 ‘antenna’ channels regularly, and about three or four ‘cable only’ stations regularly. And frankly those cable channels are watched only because they happen to have one or two shows each that I’m interested in – the over the air channels actually have more shows that I watch/per channel – Mon & Thurs nights especially.
So basically, I look at it like this: If Apple sold the cable shows I watch (which they do, but since I have cable I ain’t gonna buy them again) AND gave me the option of recording stuff off the antenna (local & national) that I actually watch more often, I could finally drop the monthly extortion that is my cable bill and give the proceeds to them. As it stands now, I use my VCR to time shift and/or archive for both types of programming, continue paying for cable cause I really like those few shows, and Apple gets nothing.
I tell my friends all the time – AppleTV is a luxury toy. It does some neat stuff with music, but that doesn’t really occupy my ‘video life’, and the video streaming stuff AppleTV can do isn’t nearly as engrossing to me as Apple seems to think it should be. They could have made it great. With just a disc player & a software app to do DVR (isn’t Apple supposed to be this great software company? shouldn’t be too hard …) the thing could be everything I really want & use 24/7. Certainly I’d be willing to buy individual shows off of iTunes instead of paying for cable fees – cheaper for sure. But I want the flexibility of recording what I want when I want for stuff I don’t have to pay for too. I just do. I don’t care what Steve Jobs or any of you fanatics thinks I SHOULD be doing – that’s what I am doing and I like it. And so does everyone else I know.
So I’m probably gonna eBay the AppleTV and go get a decent DVR (hard drive or disc based – haven’t made up my mind) from Sams with the proceeds. I tried it. It’s not quite there yet. Apple needs to stop trying so hard to reinvent the wheel on this one and just give the thing the basic abilities that people have come to expect from a video device over the last 30 years (recording), as well as an easy way to keep our DVD collections from collecting dust. And if HD is the future, then get that shit on iTunes ASAP.
So to recap for the mentally challenged – an AppleTV that records, plays my discs, and allows me to buy HD content direct from the iTS a) lets me save money (no cable), b) gives me the opportunity to get rid of one or two devices I already own (player and/or recorder), and c) would prevents me from buying another (HD player). In other words THAT kind of AppleTV would be the perfect solution to everything video. The kind we are stuck with … not so much.
…and now we’ve got YouTube on the AppleTV…
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/live/steve-jobs-at-d-now-264586.php
The YouTube thing is very exciting.
Soon you will be able to stream to your TV video that is of even less quality than the downloads iTunes offers. L:
For what it’s worth, I love my Apple TV. No, it isn’t a DVD player. I have one of those. No, it isn’t a DVR. I have one of those too. For me, it’s an iPod for my livingroom, and for that I love it.
Would I like it to do more? Sure. I also wish my $5,000.00 Saturn would park itself, but alas, it doesn’t. Apple TV does exactly what it promises, it’s cheaper than a Mac mini, and I do expect more to come over time. For now, the $300.00 is well-spent.
Read up. If it seems like it will do what you want buy it. If you want a Lexus, then buy a Lexus.
Could this guy have picked a worse time to slam the AppleTV. Was it like 3 hours later Steve Jobs basically blew the folks away with the YouTube announcement and now we here that they may be working with AT&T on an IPTV connection. Suddenly analysts are saying its the key to the future…. nice job Fortune.