apple tv

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apple tv

posted @ Wednesday, March 28, 2007 9:15 PM | 5 Comments

first of all, what's up with dropping the "i" brand -- no iTV...was there a company that already had that too?

i recently was contemplating something a friend did lately and it made me really look at the apple tv...he's not a dumb guy, so i had to look. i'm unimpressed. not just because i'm a microsoft guy (recall: i have a mac at home as my family's primary computer, my wife and i use ipods, and i want a macbook), but from a practical sense...allow me to just dump my thoughts:

it's an extension to itunes only. it isn't a standalone unit
i remember watching the launch -- when steve jobs was trying to get people excited about it...my gut was "huh, no excitement...i've seen this stuff before .. it's called media center."
the setup scenario -- per ben's comment below this may not be accurate -- i've seen reports and other friends tell me they had to do this step to get the pairing with a machine correct on a secure wireless network, but maybe it's isolated ~~must be plugged in to a hard-wired connection before it can be configured.~~
- ~~oh, and they don't include an ethernet cable -- sounds trivial, but an oversight in my opinion if the first step requires one~~
parental controls? -- seem to be lacking
purchase from apple tv -- nope
browse library? -- nope, only "top"
basically it's an extender only -- but i don't think it really is being presented as such

i don't know, clearly i'm not the market for it -- but do people really buy content from itunes they want on their 60-inch tv? they don't even sell quality video on itunes. maybe i'm cynical, but it's kinda of redemption that apple has a crappy v1 product supported by crappy marketing for it. for me, there is no story here.

the *only* think i like what they did -- and in typical apple form they succeed -- is the physical nature of it. media center is in "pc" form except those like vidabox.com. apple tv -- great form factor. i can't help but really think it is just a smashed mini with front row on it.

tags: appletv, apple tv, itv, itunes, front row, media center, ipod

Comments

Josh Knowles

3/28/2007 10:23 PM | # re: apple tv

I am definitely their target audience. I currently am subscribed to 6+ "season passes" from the ITMS and purchase the majority of my music from there which all gets streamed to my 50" HDTV. For me it is much more convenient, and actually cheaper, to purchase the shows I want to watch as opposed to being subscribed to cable.
Scott McAndrew

3/28/2007 11:47 PM | # re: apple tv

I’d agree, Apple TV is a yawner. The UI is great (which we expect from Apple at this point), but beyond that, I just don’t see myself throwing down two dollars to watch an episode of television programming which was on, and will again be on, television for free. (Actually, I would record it on my TiVo and watch it whenever I want).

Insofar as marketing, just as Apple is doing a sub-par job marketing Apple TV, I think Microsoft isn't doing a great job marketing Media Center. To preface, I think Media Center (as a part of Windows) is one of the best products Microsoft is making right now. It has a DVR, there are download services for music and movies, and it’s reasonably open (which Apple TV will undoubtedly not be). Not to mention the user experience is excellent.

In Microsoft Press Releases, you read how many copies of Windows (XP or Vista) are out in the wild that have Media Center on them, and accompanying text often describes a living room scenario. But, how many people do you know that are leveraging their Windows Media Center in the living room?

The people in my immediate and extended circle are inclined to be technically astute (and most of them are decidedly aligned with Microsoft). Most have Windows XP Media Center Edition and/or Windows Vista with Media Center (and most have multiple computers in their household). I only know one who is utilizing Media Center in their living room.

Microsoft hasn’t done a good job marketing and creating cost-effective product and plug-and-play solutions around the advantageous situation that they’ve had with Media Center for the past 5 years—and they’ve had, and still do have, the better product. Apple TV is a v1 product with a v.8 feature set. They might be getting it wrong, but I doubt they’ll go away. Microsoft needs to clarify their position and take advantage of it sooner than later.
Ben Galbraith

4/2/2007 6:50 AM | # re: apple tv

Apple TV doesn't require an ethernet connection for setup. I got mine, plugged the power cable into the wall, plugged the HDMI into the receiver, and boom, was off to the races.

But I agree, Windows Media Center kills it in terms of device UX and feature-set. Too bad I can't buy a Windows Media Center device for $300 and too bad the UX for getting content onto the Windows Media Center isn't as easy to understand as iTunes.
timheuer

4/2/2007 12:17 PM | # re: apple tv

ben: interesting -- i've had 2 friends and seen reports that the initial pairing of the apple tv to your itunes machine couldn't be done over those using a secure wireless network and that it required a wired connection first.

as to itunes -- why does it show two different results when each user logs in even though it is pointed to a shared folder? that's what i like about media center -- you really don't have to configure much -- it searches media content for you -- it doesn't have to sit in any particular location!
北京翻译公司

9/5/2007 12:09 AM | # re: apple tv

APPLE IS A MIRCALE, I LOVE THE COMPANY.