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March 3, 2008
So you’re thinking of buying Apple’s new 40/160 GB Apple TV. The concept is great, but there are a few drawbacks that are keeping me from buying one. If you don’t know what the Apple TV does, here’s a quick summary. The Apple TV is essentially a small computer that you connect to your TV so you can watch all those movies you’ve been downloading through iTunes.
Picture taken from www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html
The device itself can connect to the internet using either a wireless connection or your basic Ethernet cable. It will connect to your home computer and get your iTunes content from there and it supports streamed content from sites such as YouTube. With Apple’s new rental service, you don’t have to go down the street to Blockbuster, or wait a few days for that Netflix DVD to arrive. The biggest plus is that it supports content up to 720p, so that high def video you downloaded (or rented) can be watched on that nice HD plasma of yours.
So by now you’re thinking, I think I’ll drive down to that Apple store and get one of these things, but here come the drawbacks. You’ll have to create, convert, or buy compatible formats so that your videos will work with the Apple TV’s limited number of formats. Watching those YouTube videos on some of the larger TV’s can look absolutely horrible. You can’t connect to network storage devices or even to other Apple TVs. Connecting a keyboard is also impossible, so you’ll have to make do with that little remote they give you. You can only sync with one computer, so if you have media on multiple computers and you can’t put all of it onto one computer then this isn’t a viable solution for you.
All-in-all: If you’re looking for a small device that is as simple to use as that iPod in your pocket, then this could be the device for you. I, however, would rather build a media computer and connect that to my TV. With a media computer I can do much more and have as much storage space as I want. With 500 GB drives at around $100, you could have 2 terabytes of space quite easily.
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One response
I believe that the Apple TV is a very useful and engaging device which really allows for expansion of media from one room to the next. The ability to rent movies from you living room or stream your desktop’s movies or music and play them through your living room’s surround sound is what really sold me.
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