Let me state right up front that I really do like this product, or at least the idea anyway but I'm on my third one in less than two years and I have spent countless hours wrestling with it and it has never performed 100% fully. Sometimes it syncs, sometimes it doesn't...while sometimes it streams and sometimes it doesn't. I have lost my media several times (thankfully it's all backed up on a Western Digital 2 TB ext HD). I have reset as well as factory restored innumerable times too, and let's not forget to mention the dozens of hours spent on the phone with Apple's tech support. FYI: Apple tech support can be very "hit or miss" depending who answers the call.
The original 40Gb model ended up on eBay for sale, then I learned within a few weeks that Apple released a whole new version of Apple TV that allegedly fixed the bugs. So, being the techno-obsessed that I am, I ordered a brand new 160GB model directly from Apple. Sadly, I must report it is less than a year old and it's gone back to Apple for a replacement.
Final thought: if you're thinking about buying an Apple TV product...be sure to spend the extra $49 for Apple's Care plan...otherwise they won't even talk to you.
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Geez steve, wtf?! No looping function?! Choppy playback for large files?! Pain in the rear to update the playlist from Itunes. Might be great for people sitting at home that are boycotting cable pay per view or someone that wants to watch youtube all day. For any serious professional or corporate use, this thing is worthless. Like anything apple, wait for the third generation, maybe they'll get it all figured out by then.
I still can't believe there is no looping function, my walkman back in the eighties had a looping function. Big dissapointment.
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I'd always wanted an Apple TV, just to be able to enjoy the simplicity it would bring to renting/watching movies. I love Redbox, but it drives me nuts when I have to wait in line, or can't get the movie I want when I want it. Apple TV doesn't have that problem. That being said, here is my list of pros and cons:
PROS:
1. Syncs up with multiple iTunes libraries very easily. Depending on your content, it can take awhile, but everything does on the first sync.
2. With my Samsung 720p HDTV, everything looks great. Much better than my Dish Network receiver w/ HD TV. I expect that's due to the compressed signal I get from Dish Network versus the Apple TV.
3. Very easy to use and setup. Decent movie selection, and same-day movie releases (same as DVD releases)
4. Looks fantastic--amazing how small it is!
5. With the iPhone 2.0 firmware, the remote app certainly ads to controlling the Apple TV. Too bad the remte that comes with the Apple TV isn't this good.
CONS:
1. Takes awhile for movies to be rentable sometimes. One of the biggest reasons I got it is so I didn't have to go to Redbox. Drives me nuts I can't rent things as quickly.
2. The dreaded "Apple logo" freezing issue. Sometimes, I'll start it up, and it just stays on the Apple logo. The Apple TV is not responsive whatsoever. After further research, it looks like shutting off the screen saver is supposed to help. I've done that, and haven't had the problem since. It has only been a few days, so I need to keep watching it.
3. Apple needs to not make this a "hobby" any longer. They need to really step up to the plate and make the Apple TV an awesome product. It's close, but there are definitely some improvements that can be made to the device/experience. With a little more tweaking, Apple could have a real winner...when and if they do this, they need to give existing Apple TV owners the upgrade for free...
4. Pricing... Why not make it $0.99/night or something similar, like Redbox? While $2.99 isn't bad for a rental, I only have 24 hours to watch it before its gone. For 24 hours with Redbox I'd pay $1.06 versus $2.99. HD rentals are worth an extra cost, but more competitive pricing would be more appealing to me, at least.
5. Selection--While Apple does have a decent movie selection, they need more. Some recent movies, like "Alex and Emma" are no where to be found. I know it takes time, and it's not always possible to have everything, but it should would be nice to have more.
Overall, I am very happy with my Apple TV. Apple continues to improve upon it, a bit slowly, but it really is becoming a very worthy product. If they take care of some of the few remaining issues, continue to bring more features, they'll really have another winner on their hands.
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I've had the Apple TV for around 2 months now and I just love this product!
- The user interface is superb
- The HD rental feature is excellent (It's like I have a library of 400+ titles that I can browse and preview and watch on demand at any time. The video quality surpasses my HD Video on demand I am getting from Cox. The movie once purchased for rent, starts playing in around 30 seconds.
- The HD rental quality is better than DVD, although slightly worse than Blu Ray. But it's usually more convenient for me to rent via Apple TV than buy a Blu Ray disk. I'd usually have to watch an HD movie 5-7 times to get to the price of buying one Blu Ray disk.
- I also noticed there are tons of HD content for rent on Apple TV that are yet to be announced on Blu Ray. So,even if you have Blu Ray (like I do), it may be well worth it to get an Apple TV.
- I can play all songs from my itunes playlist and the audio quality is excellent. I can even save internet radio stations into my playlist and play them through my AV Receiver.
- Photo slide show feature is also very cool.
- Synching with itunes is a breeze.
I have not tried the new ipod touch remote yet.
This is easily the most used source in my home theatre set up.
One caveat though. Unless you have a fast internet connection, the Apple TV HD rental will be very slow. I have a 20mbps line and it takes 30secs or less to start playing from when I start.
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