There’s a lot of excitement about Apple TV, but it’s not a new product. What’s new this time is that the device is HD and can interact with Netflix and YouTube. It also allows you to view photos and play your music collection, and in the future it may work well with the iPad and allow you to watch movies that are playing on the Apple TV, on the iPad. Media players have been around for years and the original Apple TV dates back to 2005. Back then it was standard definition and lacked support for much of what it offers now.
The Apple TV is much cheaper now, at just $99, a far cry from what it used to sell for in 2007 when it was over $200. This is a good price point, and seeing as how it’s one of the cheapest devices on offer Apple, I hope to see more adoption of this product than we have seen in the past. In fact, what I hope to see happen is mass adoption of the Apple TV by Mac enthusiasts (or now, “i” product enthusiasts, since there’s a whole different crowd of enthusiasts who like Apple devices but don’t have a real Mac computer) and continued support for everything else from those who love PCs. The biggest update to Apple TV is support for 720p video, which means you can finally get high-definition content through this device. You also get Ethernet, component video outputs and an HDMI connection and even a USB connection for firmware updates.
One thing that confuses me is the lack of support for 1080p. Is it because the average person doesn’t know the difference between 1080 and 720 or because they need a screen larger than 27 inches to realistically see the difference between the two? Seriously, it looks like Apple is ripping off their customers and putting out hardware that does a few things, but not enough that they might have trouble explaining the nuances of the product to customers in the Mac Store or whatever tech support numbers they have for the few who actually want to talk to them on the phone. If someone wants to watch a 1080 video on a 19-inch screen, as ridiculous as it is, they should have the right to do so. Offering a version of this device when they could charge another $30 for a $129 1080p device seems odd. Like most Apple devices, it primarily connects to its own store, and you can view Apple-approved content on the device. You can break the device or hack it, but doing so will void the warranty. The price of the content is interesting; you can currently watch SD content for $2.99 and HD for $3.99, and shows for 99 cents. Amazon On Demand now offers movies for the same price; they still offer the ability to purchase a title for $14.99 and they also have a lot of free content. What will differentiate the options Apple offers through its iTunes store, and what’s available through Amazon On Demand and other services, isn’t price, but whether or not you can play titles on your MP4 player or through a TiVo. or some other media center. online.
It is not backwards compatible with older TVs, so if you don’t have a TV that supports component or HDMI, don’t try to connect this TV with RCA Composite or S-Video cables because they won’t work on this device. To be totally honest, I don’t see why anyone would want to watch SD video on a TV larger than 25 inches, even if it’s coming from a computer; the novelty is great, but you won’t be able to experience the video the way it was intended to be seen. This is a product for those who are looking for a simple setup and prefer the controlled environment that people used to Apple products are used to working in. It’s not a viable alternative to the Mac Mini (which offers 1080p video) and is designed to be used out of the box.
There is also some confusion as to the difference between media center platforms and operating systems, and the media centers themselves. A good example of media center software is Windows Media Center, Google TV or XBMC. Most likely, the same software can also be run on a PC, but it is necessary to distinguish between that software and the actual hardware it runs on. For example, Google TV will be used on a variety of devices, but there is no indication that Google will produce the hardware it runs on. Another question one might want to ask themselves is whether or not they really want to connect another box to their TV, or whether or not they want to buy a TV with a media center already built in. A search under Internet-ready TVs will show you products that are already capable of watching YouTube videos or Netflix movies. If you’re already in the market for a TV because your old set is being replaced, buying a TV with a built-in Internet connection may not be a bad idea.
The Apple TV is a great product for those who want a streamlined experience and don’t mind paying for episodes of TV shows or movies. Plus, at $99, the Apple TV should be flying off shelves this holiday season and could make a great gift. But the bottom line is that what was a device ahead of its time can now interface with Netflix, YouTube and, in the future, the iPad, to centralize your TV experience under one roof, the Apple TV should be able to do that. everybody. The Apple TV will offer free content through YouTube and paid content through Netflix and Apple’s iTunes store. On the other hand, the Roku Player is still cheaper as they have devices as low as $59, and even their cheapest HD device is $69. For $99 you can get a player capable of delivering 1080p resolution, a feature they claim will be available in the near future, which is currently more than what you get on Apple TV.
