Apple TV ?

Anyone have this yet?

My wife bought it for me for our anniversary and I don't know if it is
something I will really use. I told her I appreciate it but I don't know if
I am sure I want it(at least yet), and it hasn't arrived yet so I might send
it back.

I think the overall premise is good but does it stream in HD?

I love HD so much I rarely watch any SD programming. Also I have a upscaling
DVD player that does a good job in giving me a nice picture on my HDTV. Is
the quality of the streams that you download any good ?

I love new tech toys but I think this may be one that I can live without,
plus it just came out so I know there will be the Apple TV ver 2 out in 6
month s with all kinds of features and upgrades that ver 1 does not have.

In article ,
"Postal68" wrote:

Anyone have this yet?

My wife bought it for me for our anniversary and I don't know if it is
something I will really use. I told her I appreciate it but I don't know if
I am sure I want it(at least yet), and it hasn't arrived yet so I might send
it back.

I think the overall premise is good but does it stream in HD?

I love HD so much I rarely watch any SD programming. Also I have a upscaling
DVD player that does a good job in giving me a nice picture on my HDTV. Is
the quality of the streams that you download any good ?

I love new tech toys but I think this may be one that I can live without,
plus it just came out so I know there will be the Apple TV ver 2 out in 6
month s with all kinds of features and upgrades that ver 1 does not have.

Here's a link that should answer all your questions :

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Also, in my experience, Apple doesn't refresh product as often as some
of the other mfgs. I wouldn't expect the next one to show up until next
year. Of course, I could be wrong on this one.

"Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message
...


Here's a link that should answer all your questions :

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Also, in my experience, Apple doesn't refresh product as often as some of
the other mfgs. I wouldn't expect the next one to show up until next
year. Of course, I could be wrong on this one.

Thanks Lloyd,
I already checked out that site. I don't like the fact that it seems to be
limited to itunes and currently iTunes has ZERO HD programming and according
to some reviews even some of the purchased streams of TV shows were very
"blocky"

"Postal68" wrote in message
. ..
Anyone have this yet?

My wife bought it for me for our anniversary and I don't know if it is
something I will really use. I told her I appreciate it but I don't know
if I am sure I want it(at least yet), and it hasn't arrived yet so I might
send it back.

I think the overall premise is good but does it stream in HD?

I love HD so much I rarely watch any SD programming. Also I have a
upscaling DVD player that does a good job in giving me a nice picture on
my HDTV. Is the quality of the streams that you download any good ?

I love new tech toys but I think this may be one that I can live without,
plus it just came out so I know there will be the Apple TV ver 2 out in 6
month s with all kinds of features and upgrades that ver 1 does not have.


What I've read about the video "quality" puts it in the same class as all
the other services that have so far offered similar services. I tried Vongo
for a while and would rate the video at always less then DVD at it's very
best and uneven in quality between different movies. It doesn't sound like
it will be ready for larger viewing devices for some time.

In article ,
"Postal68" wrote:

"Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message
...


Here's a link that should answer all your questions :

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Also, in my experience, Apple doesn't refresh product as often as some of
the other mfgs. I wouldn't expect the next one to show up until next
year. Of course, I could be wrong on this one.

Thanks Lloyd,
I already checked out that site. I don't like the fact that it seems to be
limited to itunes and currently iTunes has ZERO HD programming and according
to some reviews even some of the purchased streams of TV shows were very
"blocky"

It will probably always be limited to itunes as is the iPod. But I
think you'll see more HD content as time goes on. As to the existing
video, I've gotten a very few from iTunes and was pleased with the
videos. Played on my 21" widescreen tv/monitor, they were excellent.
But I suspect that those same videos on my 61" wouldn't be acceptable.

So I guess your choice is either join the early adopters and enjoy the
ride, or cancel the order and wait a bit...

In article ,
"Postal68" wrote:

"Lloyd Parsons" wrote in message
...


Here's a link that should answer all your questions :

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Also, in my experience, Apple doesn't refresh product as often as some of
the other mfgs. I wouldn't expect the next one to show up until next
year. Of course, I could be wrong on this one.

Thanks Lloyd,
I already checked out that site. I don't like the fact that it seems to be
limited to itunes and currently iTunes has ZERO HD programming and according
to some reviews even some of the purchased streams of TV shows were very
"blocky"

The main purpose of the current AppleTV is to move video content
wirelessly from your computers (up to 5 of them IIRC) to your TV using
an Airport Extreme base station with either an 802.11g or, preferably,
802.11n protocol. AppleTV does not (yet) do HD due to bandwidth issues
but I'm not aware of any downloadable HD video content available over
high bandwidth connections anyway. Are you?

If internet-based video content does not interest you, then AppleTV
won't either.

In article , Postal68
wrote:

Anyone have this yet?

My wife bought it for me for our anniversary and I don't know if it is
something I will really use. I told her I appreciate it but I don't know if
I am sure I want it(at least yet), and it hasn't arrived yet so I might send
it back.

I think the overall premise is good but does it stream in HD?

I love HD so much I rarely watch any SD programming. Also I have a upscaling
DVD player that does a good job in giving me a nice picture on my HDTV. Is
the quality of the streams that you download any good ?

I love new tech toys but I think this may be one that I can live without,
plus it just came out so I know there will be the Apple TV ver 2 out in 6
month s with all kinds of features and upgrades that ver 1 does not have.

There's a bit of cart and horse going on. I think there will be more
720p available as time goes on. Apple is still going through the
transition from 320x240 to 640x480 as they move iPod video to TV. They
certainly know that folks are looking for HD versions of TV shows they
buy. Who wants to download The Office in SD when you can DVR it at
1080i? So you have to believe 720p is coming, too.

You can convert your own stuff and stick it in iTunes as well,
obviously. Or install hacks to play Divx data...

I think in the future we may be buying programs rather than cable. How
much is your cable bill, and how many shows dow you really watch? If
you paid by the show rather than for cable access, it might be cheaper.
Apple TV may be the beginning of the delivery system for that paradigm.
And it argues against Apple TV becoming a DVR. Apple wants to provide
targeted media directly rather than generic programming.

Also, I expect to see a lot of independent programming becoming
available... video podcasting in HD. Like indie movie shops, indie TV
shops could deliver content directly to consumers, bypassing the
network distribution oligarchy. For example, would we have gotten more
Joan of Arcadia if it wasn't for the availability of space on existing
networks?

Also, Apple has said that they expect to add features to Apple TV via
software upgrades, and that those would be free to owners. So you may
already have the V2 Apple TV. Unless there are upgrades to hardware
that you can't do... something other than HD space.

All that said, I don't have one. I'm waiting for Leopard to see if the
software in Apple TV is part of a new Front Row. If so, I'd be willing
to pay the premium over an Apple TV to get a Core2Duo Mac Mini to serve
as an Apple TV and a HTPC.

In article ,
Madwen wrote:

AppleTV does not (yet) do HD

Yes it does. 720p

Video formats supported
€ H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps,
Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps
(maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at
30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
€ iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels or 640 by 480
pixels
€ MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160
Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4
and .mov file formats

Apple TV is a lo tech/hi tech product.
Yes, it can stream internet video to your tv.
However the resolution of internet video is generally lower than NTSC so why
anyone would want this is beyond my understanding.

Not to start an Apple vs. Microsoft war or anything but the Xbox 360
has lots of downloadable movies and tv shows in HD. Plus if you have
a media center pc the 360 works as a media center extender.