Is it an innovative device or a glorified iPod?
By tech-know
by jonathan masker
2007-04-10
Originally dubbed iTV, Apple Inc. finally released its latest creation, AppleTV. It’s sleek and it’s designed to play your iTunes music and videos on your TV.
How does it work? Well, you can sync it wirelessly or use a hard wired connection. It supports 802.11n, sports a 40GB hard drive and works with a PC or a Mac.
The actual unit looks great, but can’t be used with a standard TV set. The AppleTV only supports component or HDMI inputs. What does that mean exactly? Well, if you don’t own a HDTV then you’re more or less forced into buying one.
So you got a couple grand to blow on a brand new HDTV? Great. Too bad iTunes currently doesn’t offer any HD content on its site. That means that when you watch a movie or TV show on your new TV, it’s going to be grainy and pixelated. What’s up with that?
I called Apple Inc. to find out and they told me there isn’t anything on the horizon for HD content for iTunes. In my opinion, they’ll have to figure something out just to keep up with Microsoft. When I questioned the rep about the company’s stance on Microsoft, there really wasn’t much to say. The rep said I was comparing “apples and oranges.” No pun intended, but Microsoft is a competitor. A big one.
Microsoft’s Xbox360 does offer HD content via the Xbox Live Marketplace and it has a lot of similarities to AppleTV. It can sync with your PC to stream music and videos. It can produce videos in HD and display them in widescreen. It can also play DVD’s and games. You can rent movies. You can connect it to a standard CRT television.
If Apple doesn’t want its new product to flop it needs to improve upon a few things.
• Direct iTunes Purchases: I can already preview 30-second clips on my AppleTV, but I’d like to purchase content directly without involving my computer.
• Direct Movie Rentals: Amazon, Xbox360 and TIVO all can rent movies. Why can’t Apple?
• DVD streaming: Right now, if I want to watch a DVD, I have to shut down my AppleTV and start up my DVD player. It would be cool if I could eliminate that extra player and just stream the DVD from my PC or Mac.
Hopefully, when Apple is ready to make a new version it will keep these things in mind, but overall AppleTV is a great product for a basic user.
AppleTV is available now for $299.99 at a local retailer near you or visit www.apple.com/appletv.
Jonathan Masker of Portland is a wireless solution expert and a self-proclaimed gadget guru.
How does it work? Well, you can sync it wirelessly or use a hard wired connection. It supports 802.11n, sports a 40GB hard drive and works with a PC or a Mac.
The actual unit looks great, but can’t be used with a standard TV set. The AppleTV only supports component or HDMI inputs. What does that mean exactly? Well, if you don’t own a HDTV then you’re more or less forced into buying one.
So you got a couple grand to blow on a brand new HDTV? Great. Too bad iTunes currently doesn’t offer any HD content on its site. That means that when you watch a movie or TV show on your new TV, it’s going to be grainy and pixelated. What’s up with that?
I called Apple Inc. to find out and they told me there isn’t anything on the horizon for HD content for iTunes. In my opinion, they’ll have to figure something out just to keep up with Microsoft. When I questioned the rep about the company’s stance on Microsoft, there really wasn’t much to say. The rep said I was comparing “apples and oranges.” No pun intended, but Microsoft is a competitor. A big one.
Microsoft’s Xbox360 does offer HD content via the Xbox Live Marketplace and it has a lot of similarities to AppleTV. It can sync with your PC to stream music and videos. It can produce videos in HD and display them in widescreen. It can also play DVD’s and games. You can rent movies. You can connect it to a standard CRT television.
If Apple doesn’t want its new product to flop it needs to improve upon a few things.
• Direct iTunes Purchases: I can already preview 30-second clips on my AppleTV, but I’d like to purchase content directly without involving my computer.
• Direct Movie Rentals: Amazon, Xbox360 and TIVO all can rent movies. Why can’t Apple?
• DVD streaming: Right now, if I want to watch a DVD, I have to shut down my AppleTV and start up my DVD player. It would be cool if I could eliminate that extra player and just stream the DVD from my PC or Mac.
Hopefully, when Apple is ready to make a new version it will keep these things in mind, but overall AppleTV is a great product for a basic user.
AppleTV is available now for $299.99 at a local retailer near you or visit www.apple.com/appletv.
Jonathan Masker of Portland is a wireless solution expert and a self-proclaimed gadget guru.