# Should I but Apple TV?



## spiffychristian (Mar 17, 2008)

*Should I buy Apple TV?*

Does anyone have it? Do you like it?

Is it worth the money? Am I better off getting something else?

I've been looking on getting it for awhile now, but I want opinions from real people, not just what apple says about it's own product.


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## Megs_29 (Sep 25, 2007)

I love my AppleTV!

I originally bought it for the purpose of unlocking it for external USB storage, and couldnt get it to work... however i had no problems using it with syncing/streaming! Especially if you've got an HD tv, it looks quite nice. If you've got tons of content in iTunes its perfect... I can rip a DVD into my library and not have to burn dvds to watch them on tv, or use some cables to hook it up...I can just use the ATV... 

Definitely worth it..esp. cause it connects to the ITMS too..


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## xtal (Jul 9, 2006)

apple tv reviews - Google Search


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## Rubbie (Feb 27, 2008)

I love mine as well, it works great I have a wired network because I was having trouble with the wireless network in my Condo (there were about 15 strong signals in close proximity) I find I spend a lot of time surfing youtube on the couch, watching HD podcasts, and looking at firends Flickr accounts when i get bored.

Yes it does all the regular stuff that you would expect it to do great as well, purchase or rent content from itunes, and stream music from your mac to to play out of your stereo system.


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## John Pryor (Feb 13, 2008)

I've only had mine a short time but it is well worth it. Not just for the TV shows and movies. I use mine a lot to feature my pictures and have music playing. Screen shots of my son with music is great for bragging to the Grandparents.


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## 11thIndian (Feb 5, 2008)

Another vote of confidence for Apple TV.

I had a US account, and now can use my Canadian account to rent movies as well. I don't have a super-fast connection, and I have been able to start watching HD movies in 6-10 minutes- long enough to get a drink and popcorn.

And I don't think they're done with their software tinkering yet...


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

I have one hacked and it is great, hacked or not. Put Safari on this sucker with the Touch/iPhone as a remote and they will sell like crazy.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

spiffychristian said:


> Should I buy Apple TV?


If you like (almost) instant HD movie rentals or purchases, you should. Works as advertised!


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Have it. Love it. Use it all the time. Recommend it with a bullet.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

fjnmusic said:


> Have it. Love it. Use it all the time. Recommend it with a bullet.


If he likes it, I like it!


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Yes. Great minds meld alike. Live long and prosper, Ottawaman.


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

Ditto 

I think I've been starring at the screen 2 long, I'm seeing double.


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## spiffychristian (Mar 17, 2008)

thanks guys!

i'm definitely gonna take all of your words and get one.

i've always got people coming over so it sounds like it would be a good addition to my home.


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## G-Mo (Sep 26, 2007)

Have it (40GB)... Love it! It's great...


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## 11thIndian (Feb 5, 2008)

My wife was skeptical, but once she realized we had access to our entire music library on both our computers to our TV (which is hooked into the main floor speaker system) she was onboard. Movie rentals are the icing on the cake.

Again, I wouldn't be surprised to see it's feature set increase as time goes on. I've heard about being able to use iPod Touch/iPhone as a super-remote on some mac news sites. Even if Apple themselves doesn't do it, someone will surely come out with a 3rd party app for the AppStore before too long.


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

I got a 160gb ATV a few months ago - I think its a great product. I store a copy my iTunes & iPhoto library on it so we can listen to our music when the laptops aren't around. Renting movies is sooo easy and convenient.


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## wcg (Oct 13, 2007)

I bought mine from the online refurb section of the Apple store. It comes in retail packaging and is identical to regular retail.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I had one, but (FOOLISHLY!) sold it before moving up here because it was the 40GB.

I've got to be a responsible adult and pay a few more bills first, but then I am SOOOO getting one again. Love them.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

I had a headache, rubbed my head against the Apple TV -- headache gone. It's that good.

I do wish I'd gotten a 160GB now, but otherwise I love it. Even my technophobe family love the thing. If I was on commission from Apple I'd have a lot more money...


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## spitfire1945 (May 17, 2008)

Yes, if you don't mind paying for your movies. No, if you have lots of HD MKVs that you wish to play on your TV. Apple TV fails miserebly in that field. Which leads me to say the following - I hate proprietary hardware (to a certain extent)


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## 11thIndian (Feb 5, 2008)

There are ways to transcode those files if you want to put them on the AppleTV, so no problem there. It's not instantaneous, but let's say that's your penance for not paying for movies. As a punishment, that's not horrible.

Edited to say it makes perfect sense to me that Apple would do this [not allow just any video codec to play on TV]; it's probably one of the many stipulations Apple had to make in order to get deals signed with broadcasters and studios. "If you want our content, you're going to have to make it not blindly easy to view pirated content on your devices.". I'm sure if studios had their way things would be even more draconian. In fact, I'm quite certain if Apple had it's way prices would be lower, the rental period would be longer [though apparently the rental time is 48hrs in Canada- yay!], and there would just be one Worldwide iTunes Store, with none of this regional crap. But hey, Apple can only make the deals it can make.


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

spitfire1945 said:


> Yes, if you don't mind paying for your movies. No, if you have lots of HD MKVs that you wish to play on your TV. Apple TV fails miserebly in that field. Which leads me to say the following - I hate proprietary hardware (to a certain extent)



It has nothing to do with proprietary hardware, appletv just doesn't have the the cpu power to decode 720p mkv files, it's only a 1gig single core with 256meg of memory, the mac mini has a hard time, if you strip the mkv container and remux it, it has no problem.


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

11thIndian said:


> There are ways to transcode those files if you want to put them on the AppleTV, so no problem there. It's not instantaneous, but let's say that's your penance for not paying for movies. As a punishment, that's not horrible.
> 
> Edited to say it makes perfect sense to me that Apple would do this [not allow just any video codec to play on TV]; it's probably one of the many stipulations Apple had to make in order to get deals signed with broadcasters and studios. "If you want our content, you're going to have to make it not blindly easy to view pirated content on your devices.". I'm sure if studios had their way things would be even more draconian. In fact, I'm quite certain if Apple had it's way prices would be lower, the rental period would be longer [though apparently the rental time is 48hrs in Canada- yay!], and there would just be one Worldwide iTunes Store, with none of this regional crap. But hey, Apple can only make the deals it can make.


but apple left the door open (so far) for hackers to add codecs, if anything it's the fact that it's open that has a lot of people buying it, after all you can convert it to a cheap mac running OSX 10.4 tiger or install dvix on it, there's even a web app by (Brandon Holland). 

You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.


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## smellybook (Aug 31, 2006)

*I just realized that I can watch podcasts in HD on demand!*

and for about 1 month I was downloading them from my macbook and streaming to the ATV.

I still havae a lot to learn!


Yay! Now I can finally catch up on all the Diggnation episodes I missed


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

spiffychristian said:


> Does anyone have it? Do you like it?
> 
> Is it worth the money? Am I better off getting something else?
> 
> I've been looking on getting it for awhile now, but I want opinions from real people, not just what apple says about it's own product.


It depends what your motivation is for buying it. 

If you have an extensive music library in iTunes you want to play in your living room, for sure. Bonus that you get cover flow on your TV. It's nice that you don't have to sync the music. Also, you can use it as an AirTunes device.

If you enjoy watching podcasts, for sure. Especially if you want to watch them with other people. My girlfriend and I browse the library regularly, especially for cooking shows.

If you find it fun to check out YouTube. Then for sure. Although you come to appreciate how horrible the picture quality of youtube videos really is 

If you want to toy around with purchasing TV Shows and Movies through iTunes. For sure. I don't do this often. And you'll want to keep an eye if you have download caps from your provider.

The picture options are neat, though i personally rarely use them.

The only thing I really REALLY want Apple to add is DVD sharing, like you can do with the MBA.


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Bjornbro said:


> If you like (almost) instant HD movie rentals or purchases, you should. Works as advertised!


I am have a question about AppleTV instant HD movie rentals, what would be the difference(s) between that and Rogers OnDemand HD?


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Walmart is selling 2 $20 Gift cards as a combo for $40. Nice 25% saving off of your iTunes purchases/rentals. Stock up when Costco has them at 50%.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

mikeinmontreal said:


> Walmart is selling 2 $20 Gift cards as a combo for $40. Nice 25% saving off of your iTunes purchases/rentals. Stock up when Costco has them at 50%.


Hi Mike,

Do you mean 2 for $30? 

I'll be checking out Costco big time when the 50% off is on again.

I wish I could rent an apple tv. I have an older big screen Sony TV so it's not widescreen, but it plays widescreen, if that makes sense. I'd like to see if the ATV works and then I'd buy one. I know I could always buy and return, but that's cheeky imho.

cheers,
Keebler


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

Joker Eh said:


> I am have a question about AppleTV instant HD movie rentals, what would be the difference(s) between that and Rogers OnDemand HD?


Rogers-on-demand is more expensive by a buck or two per movie. I've found that their HD films tend to download faster than those purchased via Apple TV. But that's a your-mileage-my-vary kind of observation.

Apple's movies (Canada store only...so far) are good for 30 days before you hit play. Then you have it for 48 hours to watch it. ROD's have to be watched within 24 hours and I don't think they have the same provision about the 30-day grace period.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Oops. I meant 2 for $30. It's in their flyer/catalog this week. Costco had them before Xmas at around $25, but there is no guarantee we'll see that again, with movies and rentals available now. I should have been clearer.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

(( p g )) said:


> Rogers-on-demand is more expensive by a buck or two per movie. I've found that their HD films tend to download faster than those purchased via Apple TV. But that's a your-mileage-my-vary kind of observation.
> 
> Apple's movies (Canada store only...so far) are good for 30 days before you hit play. Then you have it for 48 hours to watch it. ROD's have to be watched within 24 hours and I don't think they have the same provision about the 30-day grace period.


hi pg,

i think it's only 24 hrs to watch through itunes.

mikeinmtl - no biggee. i'm just terrible at math and had to confirm


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

keebler27 said:


> hi pg,
> 
> i think it's only 24 hrs to watch through itunes.
> 
> mikeinmtl - no biggee. i'm just terrible at math and had to confirm


It's still 24 hours for the US store. The newly announced Canadian store offers 48 hours. Details here: Apple Premieres Movies on the iTunes Store in Canada

It's a little confusing...especially for those who have a US account. But I wouldn't be surprised if this gets addressed at the Stevenote next week.


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

Probably also worth mentioning that the price of HD movies are noticeably cheaper through Apple TV *if* connecting via a US store account. In the Canadian store, it a dollar more.

Example: There Will be Blood (HD) is $7.99CDN* on Rogers. On Apple TV (US), it's $4.99USD. On AppleTV (Can), it would be $5.99. I say would because that title is not available yet in that store. But you get the idea.

* If you're a Rogers VIP member (or whatever they call it now), I think you save fifty cents per purchase.


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## jicon (Jan 12, 2005)

What it can do, I think it does quite well. I love using it to play music and TV shows.

Kind of an awkward size compared to other audio/video equipment I have, but that is forgiven. I've also ditched the remote for a Harmony.

Honestly though, if I couldn't hack it, I wouldn't buy one. I very often torrent fairly popular shows that I can't download from iTunes, so with a hacked AppleTV with Divx/XVid support, it works quite well.

Normally, I'd transcode, but on a first gen Macmini, it takes far too long to do.

I have a PS3 with proper Divx certification, no hack necessary, but I like the AppleTV more. Slicker interface, and more importantly, no fan=no noise.


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## ruffdeezy (Mar 17, 2008)

I've had it for a few months now and I love it. I got the 40gb version. I just stream everything from my computer. There's no point in syncing everything to the apple tv hard drive. I watch you tube stuff on it now and then although searching for stuff in near impossible. I mainly watch movies on it. Everything has to be converted to mp4 though unless you want to hack it. I might do that but I haven't decided yet. Playing music on it is cool too if you have people over. Basically it is a good product, what would make it better is have a tv tuner and the ability to record tv which would make it the best product available on the market.


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## ruffdeezy (Mar 17, 2008)

jicon said:


> Honestly though, if I couldn't hack it, I wouldn't buy one. I very often torrent fairly popular shows that I can't download from iTunes, so with a hacked AppleTV with Divx/XVid support, it works quite well.


How did you hack yours?


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## spitfire1945 (May 17, 2008)

to jeepguy and 11thindian... no.. i will not sit there for 7 hours for a movie to decode out of its mkv format and into something that is mac friendly. Do you know how many .mkvs I have? can you guys even comprehend how many hours of footage I have? I thought Apple TV would have been great but comon.. I'd just buy a mac mini and use that instead. 

It is a proprietary hardware software issue, believe it or not.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

This may be a silly question, but if i want to play movies of my own through ATV do they have to be in iTunes? I have an external drive full of content I would love to play. Dragging it all into iTunes would be a mess. 

Right now i use Front Row on my Macbook with my external connected (and an alias in my Movies folder linking my drive to it).....can't help but think that a Mini would be more usefull for my needs.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

spitfire1945 said:


> to jeepguy and 11thindian... no.. i will not sit there for 7 hours for a movie to decode out of its mkv format and into something that is mac friendly. Do you know how many .mkvs I have? can you guys even comprehend how many hours of footage I have?


Given that no buyable/legal content that I am aware of exists on .mkv format ... isn't this just the price you ought to pay for the piracy?


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Piracy, is it? The thing is, the codec is more like…guidelines than actual rules.


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## Kirtland (Aug 18, 2002)

keebler27 said:


> I have an older big screen Sony TV so it's not widescreen, but it plays widescreen, if that makes sense. I'd like to see if the ATV works and then I'd buy one. I know I could always buy and return, but that's cheeky imho.


I too have an older large screen non HD TV and am very interested in ATV. Is it worth it on older TVs or do I need to upgrade to benefit? What is required to connect to the TV? I have audio/video in/out connections, is that sufficient?
I would be interested in hearing if anyone has utilized ATV with older TV sets.


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## John Pryor (Feb 13, 2008)

you need to have at least component video inputs on the TV (three plugs for video, red, blue, green) and two for audio or have a stereo you can connect to for sound.

don't confuse this with the three plug setup (video,audio right, audio left.)

Also remember you will need to pick up the cables separate from the aTV though apple is a bit less than my local stores.


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## spitfire1945 (May 17, 2008)

chas_m said:


> Given that no buyable/legal content that I am aware of exists on .mkv format ... isn't this just the price you ought to pay for the piracy?


Its kinda like scurvy in the olden days now is it?

...NO...

Truth is this Russian format is superior interms of holding HD content and several Digital 5.1 or 6.1 surround sound streams. Unlike any other. 

However we are derailing this thread and must avoid that kinda conversation here.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

spitfire, just block/ignore the piracy troll, it makes this forum a lot better.

Maximusbibicus, option-drag your movies on the external drive into iTunes and if it's aTV friendly it should jive wonderfully. No need to bog down that iTunes library with movies and whatnot.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

maximusbibicus said:


> This may be a silly question, but if i want to play movies of my own through ATV do they have to be in iTunes?


To quote Stevie J. "If it's on iTunes, it's on AppleTV".


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

spitfire1945 said:


> Truth is this Russian format is superior interms of holding HD content and several Digital 5.1 or 6.1 surround sound streams. Unlike any other.


Really? Handles it better than DivX?

Interesting ... maybe this format does have some worth after all!

Problem is (and feel free to call me old) but I'm a little leery of anything from Russia. Their last "trustworthy" contribution to the overall computer world was Tetris, and while we were all addicted to that they slowly undid their democracy and became a superpower again.


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

spitfire1945 said:


> to jeepguy and 11thindian... no.. i will not sit there for 7 hours for a movie to decode out of its mkv format and into something that is mac friendly. Do you know how many .mkvs I have? can you guys even comprehend how many hours of footage I have? I thought Apple TV would have been great but comon.. I'd just buy a mac mini and use that instead.
> 
> It is a proprietary hardware software issue, believe it or not.


I don't see how an intel chip with Nvidia graphics is proprietary, if anything it's cpu is just under powered, but for what it was *intended* it's perfect, it's just a big iPod, that can play HD rentals. 

I have a mac mini, it will decode 720p mkv flawlessly, 1080p not so good but they play flawlessly on my 2.8g imac, I bought the appletv for *HD rentals*. If all you want to do is play your mkv files then the apple TV is not for you. If they had put more horse power in it you would have a better chance but it would cost double. I would have gladly paid double for one with a Core2duo, maybe next revision .

The problem with mkv files, is they require lots of horse power(720p/1080p) to decode. there are countless threads about this on Home Theater forms.. 

.. and like you said it's just not practical to convert them, i too have tried and gave up, I would love to replace my apple tv/Mac mini with one solution, in a small *small form factor* that can rent HD movies and decode *ALL* video codecs , this would be the killer setup. I wasn't suggesting that you decode them, I was just pointing out that it can, when demuxed.


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## kevinf (Aug 17, 2007)

Hi there! Kinda new here. I originally bought an AppleTV when they first came out in order to show HD camcorder movies. It is amazing for that. 

I have to agree that the AppleTV seems underpowered for formats other than QuickTime. Even DIVX movies (with the Perian codec set loaded on a hacked ATV) seem like too much. Half the time my ATV reboots itself if I try to play DIVX. 

Converting .MKV and DIVX to .MOV is definitely SLOW. It is worth it, though. After conversion, everything plays really smoothly in QuickTime format, and DTS surround works perfectly too. Toss a file or two into VisualHub (a must have) and let it run over night. It's not like you can download more than a movie a day through the torrents anyway, right? 

For those who use their AppleTV and their Mac with their TV, do you find that the Mac video seems blocky, or has less contrast? I find my AppleTV's output twice as nice as what I get out of my MacBook and a DVI to HDMI cable. Something to do with being designed specifically to work with a TV instead of a computer monitor? 

As for the "proprietary" comments, what DOES play MKV files directly? I can't stand watching movies on my computer screen now that I have an AppleTV in front of my comfy couch. Will a PS3 play MKV directly? I was kind of thinking of getting a PS3 since they can output 1080p and the price has come down to (only?!?) $400.


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

kevinf said:


> As for the "proprietary" comments, what DOES play MKV files directly? I can't stand watching movies on my computer screen now that I have an AppleTV in front of my comfy couch. Will a PS3 play MKV directly? I was kind of thinking of getting a PS3 since they can output 1080p and the price has come down to (only?!?) $400.


The ps3 won't play MKV files either, there are a few media players that will and are based on Sigma Designs 8634 chip, they have hardware MKV decoding up to 1080p, they range in price from $179usd to $400usd and don't include a hard drive, which you have to supply. 

Tvix 6500, and Popcorn Hour, are the most popular.


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## 11thIndian (Feb 5, 2008)

[unless hacked] TV is never going to be the uber-machine that is completely open and plays everything everyone wants. I think people have to realize that Apple can't orient the same device to distribute legal purchased downloads, and at the same time supporting codecs that everyone is aware are the common ones used for illegal downloads.

Apple is making inroads in mainstream marketshare because used as intended, Apple products guarantee a level of stability and simplicity that sets them apart from PCs. That's why Apple's preference will always be QT. That shouldn't be a surprise or mystery to anyone.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Another reason you'll want to buy an AppleTV... Steve's Keynotes! :clap:


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## jeepguy (Apr 4, 2008)

11thIndian said:


> Apple is making inroads in mainstream marketshare because used as intended, Apple products guarantee a level of stability and simplicity that sets them apart from PCs. That's why Apple's preference will always be QT. That shouldn't be a surprise or mystery to anyone.


apple designed quick time to accept 3rd party plug-ins, they just made it difficult to add to TV.


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## 11thIndian (Feb 5, 2008)

jeepguy said:


> apple designed quick time to accept 3rd party plug-ins, they just made it difficult to add to TV.


Let's not confuse quicktime the program with quicktime the format. Two different things entirely...

TV does have it's technical limitations. I think it's a fore-drawn conclusion that before we'll see 1080p downloads, there will need to be some new internals for the platform; as I think the only way we should expect full HD resolution downloads at reasonable speeds will be if the format is one that's less mb/s but more processor intensive- like Apples own proRes422 [or some version thereof].

But again, as long as TV is looking to be a platform for legitimate downloads, they'll be restricted by agreements with content providers to not make the viewing of illicit content too easy.


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## PierreB (Mar 5, 2007)

*Apple TV*

Not for everyone. 

I use it to: 

- view photos; 
- view movies purchased from iTunes; 
- view video podcasts. 
- stream music to my home theater system. 


works great for the most part. Whether it is is worth it for you depends on what you are looking for.


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## atvpatch (May 12, 2008)

spiffychristian said:


> Does anyone have it? Do you like it?
> 
> Is it worth the money? Am I better off getting something else?
> 
> I've been looking on getting it for awhile now, but I want opinions from real people, not just what apple says about it's own product.


I LOVE my ATV, and even my gf likes it.
Much better than having to run to teh video store to rent movies...


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