Steve Jobs, for a lot of us, is kind of like Chuck Norris, except all the things that Chuck can supposedly do... well, Steve can actually do them. This is a man who once beat Magnus ver Magnusson in an arm-wrestling match with his left hand while designing a new iPod Nano with his right. The man's got game.That being said, even he admitted yesterday during his Macworld keynote speech that the original Apple TV was kind of a flop. It was pricey and clumsy and not very popular at all. Yesterday's announcement of Apple TV (take two) acknowledged the flaws of the first machine and promised to make things right for consumers.
Here's the rundown of the new Apple TV (more detail on this is of course available at our sister sites, The Unofficial Apple Weblog and Engadget):
- Price: $229
- Computer: Unnecessary. You can link directly to the iTunes store through your Apple TV and download without the computer as a middleman. (Though, if you do have a computer, you can sync the content on your Apple TV to your computer and vice versa).
- Content
- 600 TV shows ($1.99 a piece)
- all of the podcasts available on iTunes
- anything already in your iTunes library
- over 50 million videos from YouTube
- your pictures -- not only what's on your computer, but there's also now flikr.com support.
- and, finally, the big news: movie rentals! You can get DVD quality movie rentals ($2.99 for catalog titles, $3.99 for new releases) or HD quality (with 5.1 surround sound) for a dollar more. The movies are available for viewing up to 30 days after you rent them and you'll have them for 24 hours once you actually start watching them.
People have been trying now for at least a decade to converge media into the living room. I can remember going to a Gateway store back in 1998 and seeing the display for its $4000 Destination system. I turned to my friend Chris and said, "Wow, man, it looks like the future is finally here." Chris, quite rightly, slapped me as hard as he could. No one bought the machine and no one bought any of the other PC/entertainment hybrids that the various Dr. Moreaus of the world have tried to sell us.
The question on the table then is this: Will anyone buy the second revision of Apple TV? I love the idea of online movie rentals, but the $229 upfront for the box reminds me a bit too much of the old video store "clubs" where you had to buy a membership in order to rent videos. I don't care all that much about watching YouTube on my TV (I can sing Chocolate Rain by myself if I need to) and I can already listen to my music and podcasts and look at my pictures on my TV thanks to TiVo.
So, for me, this is a pass. I'll wait till Apple TV (Take Three) which will probably be the size of a nickel and let you watch any event in history. But I want to open the floor to you, our trusted readership. Are you going to buy an Apple TV? If so, why? If not, why not? Come on! Web 2.0 can't exist without your valued comments...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-16-2008 @ 8:37AM
vacelts said...
I have a friend who bought the first Apple TV. He talked about it a lot when he was buying it, but I haven't heard anything from him lately on his Apple TV. I'll have to ask he likes it and if he plans to upgrade to the new one.
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1-16-2008 @ 11:03AM
Adam said...
He shouldn't have to do much planning to upgrade...it's a free update for current AppleTV owners.
1-16-2008 @ 11:12AM
vacelts said...
I'm sure that'll be a relief for him. But isn't this new Apple TV less expensive that the previous version?
1-16-2008 @ 8:46AM
Eric H said...
No Apple TV for me I have a 360 and a computer, both hooked up to my tv, I am more than covered.
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1-16-2008 @ 8:47AM
Usama said...
I would pass too. A few things:
1) $229 is still too much for the entry-level model, and you only get 40GBs? Okay, pay an extra $100 and for $329 you get a glorious 160GB. Now if you compare Apple TV to his new device, "Time Capsule," it's got the same form factor as Apple TV (same footprint, but Time Capsule is 0.3 inches taller) except it has two very different hard drive sizes: 500GBs and 1TB, the entry level one (500GB) costs $299. Why Apple? If we know you can fit a bigger hard drive in Apple TV why are we paying so much for iTunes in a box with small HDDs??
2) Buying a DVD box is still more fun. You get extras, you get something tangible, something you can lend to your friends and blah blah, we know the advantages. Here it's great that I can watch a TV show soon after it airs, but paying $2 for each show can get pricey when compared to a DVR service fee (which is usually from $5-$10 a month) and it provides the same service for you. Also, the entry-level hard drive sizes on those are bigger.
3) YouTube? $229 for a YouTube device on my TV? Well OK, most of that money is going to pay for my iTunes in a box, so this is an added bonus, but you need a keyboard to search effectively and that kind of takes away from the whole Apple TV's simple user interface thing. It's good that it's here, but I'd just as watch those on a computer.
4) Pictures is a nice thing, especially link-up with a Flickr account. Nothing bad to say here, except a bigger hard drive would make me feel better about this.
5) Movie Rentals are a good idea. I don't like the 24 hr watch period but I guess they had to set a time limit somehow so you don't own it forever. Still I think it would have been FAR better if they had a Netflix-like scheme where you can only have 2 or 3 movies on your Apple TV at a time (if they're rentals) and if you try to rent a new movie it'll alert you that you need to delete one of the 3 movies you currently have on your Apple TV. That way you can hang onto a movie practically forever but you don't own it, technically, just like with Netflix.
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1-16-2008 @ 9:05AM
Usama said...
Sorry, forgot to add that the HD rental is good stuff. For the most part end-users won't know what format they're downloading the HD in (presumably quicktime) but what they do care about is they're getting HD stuff without having to choose a format (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD).
Dan S an Eric H make excellent points too.
1-16-2008 @ 1:44PM
Thomas said...
Apple TV also has a computer and 802.11n wifi, Time Capsule just has wifi and a router and also has a bigger power brick which is why it has room for bigger drives and the not so big difference in price.
When I get an HD TV I will definitely be getting an Apple TV, I have lots of content as is and with any future upgrades it can only get better,
1-16-2008 @ 5:38PM
Usama said...
Apple TV isn't a computer. Although hackers have managed to install OS X on it, a regular user won't be able to use it as a computer. The chip inside an Apple TV is Dothan-based, much slower than a Core 2. Eitherway it's not something I'd want to use as a computer. As for the powerbrick: I wouldn't mind having an external power brick if it means I can store more in the unit.
I'm sure Apple doesn't need a full blown computer to run an Apple TV, if those parts are the real reason why there's such a price premium they should redesign the thing and have it run off of a much simpler CPU and perhaps a dedicated GPU for the video (HD and non).
1-16-2008 @ 8:51AM
Dan S said...
I think I would if I could. But apple says it still won't work on my 4:3 tv. I suspect they're cutting a lot of people out of buying it with that.
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1-16-2008 @ 9:22AM
h8rain said...
I already have a 160gb one. I have had it for quite a while. I converted all of my DVDs, using handbrake on high quality, and they look good (almost the same as playing the dvd) on my 720p DLP TV. It is great because I ca just scroll through my movies right there. Call me lazy, but it is also great for kids. They can't mess up a DVD if they never touch it. :)
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1-16-2008 @ 9:26AM
Galley said...
Refurbished models are even cheaper.
40GB: $179.00
160GB: $279.00
I've been dying to get an Apple TV ever since they were released. My 160 gigger is on its way.
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1-16-2008 @ 9:26AM
jon said...
Add DivX/Xvid support and I'll buy one...
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1-16-2008 @ 9:52AM
yaksplat said...
Not a chance. I've got media center streaming to my xbox 360. OTA HD channels are all available and recordable with no DRM. My entire dvd collection is available on demand. On top of all of that the 360 plays games. If i really want to display YouTube content on my TV, I'll just use the browser in the Wii.
I'm not sure why people love handing their money to apple.
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1-16-2008 @ 9:54AM
yaksplat said...
Another reason to use Media Center over AppleTV. All episodes of Arrested Development are available through InternetTV on Media Center.
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1-16-2008 @ 10:01AM
GigG said...
But still no DVR functionality. It would be a simple softwate fix. Oh, well.
My TiVo and Amazon let's me rent or buy movies and I don't have to store the movies I buy forever on the TiVo. I can delete and re-download them.
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1-16-2008 @ 10:22AM
Blu-Sam said...
Not interest during without cc or subtitle support.
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1-16-2008 @ 10:22AM
Mike S said...
Nah...too restrictive. I need Fivx, Xvid support. My D-LINK DSM-320 (albie clumsy) streams video from PC fine.
I am interested in the Netflix set top box since I love Netflix and now can watch unlimited online movies!
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1-16-2008 @ 10:34AM
Captain Obvious said...
Sounds like Apple realized that M$ did right by the consumer with the XBL Marketplace, and decided to do a little emulation, with slight improvements. The cheaper HD movie rentals are nice, as is the 30 day grace period (over 14 for M$).
But I couldn't see myself ever buying a separate box, when the 360 does everything ATV does and more. Granted, there are a lot of 360 owners out there that don't know about the XBLM, or even XBL (I'm talking to you, Joel Shafer of Calabasas, CA), so I could see some moron buying an ATV on top of his or her 360. But not me!
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1-16-2008 @ 10:43AM
Adam P said...
So... no computer is necessary, but you still need the internet. Who gets the internet without a computer?
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1-16-2008 @ 10:54AM
Krushd said...
There are too many caveats with it to be as good as it could...can only transfer to newest iPods, not compatible with older ones. Not all HD movies have 5.1 surround sound. HD movies are at 720 not 1080. Can't rent HD movies from iTunes on a computer. Need a pretty fast internet connection to "instantly" watch...not everyone has fiber or the preium DSL packages (reports show about 100MB needs to be donwloaded to start watching). And if you bought it on AppleTV then you can't take it with you. You have to rent it again from your computer. So maybe the next version will be more useful...
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