Thanks to helpful readers Mark and Jack (and our own Kate), I was loaded up with links to the full Apple TV review. Here’s the non-shocker. He likes it. He really likes it. First and foremost, it worked easily for him. There was no complicated setup, it just worked right out of the box.
It even successfully streamed using Walt’s 802.11g wireless router. Time to eat some crow Dan Moren, Chris Breen, and Daniel Eran. I was right.
In our tests, streaming worked just as well as playing content from the Apple TV’s own hard disk. Even though Walt’s Wi-Fi network is of the older “G” variety, and the Apple TV can handle newer, faster “N” variety networks, every single movie, TV show and song streamed without interruption from both Windows and Mac computers. That even included older or slower computers. This was an impressive feat.
I still contend it’s not and “impressive” feat considering the actual bandwidth requirements and others have been doing it for years, but I’ll leave that alone. The real reason for 802.11n now becomes very clear. When Apple finally starts offering high definition content, the extra bandwidth will be all the difference.
We’ve also got word that you’ll need at least an enhanced definition TV in order to use it with your TV.
There are some drawbacks to Apple TV. It won’t work with most older TV sets, the square kind that aren’t capable of handling widescreen programming. And it works only with TVs that have the newer types of connectors, such as “component” jacks, and the new HDMI cables being used on most high-definition TVs. It works best with high-definition TVs, and it puts out video in high-definition resolutions. But it will also work with “enhanced definition” widescreen sets.
Bummer for those of you not in the club yet (I’m in like Flynn and even know the secret handshake of the HDTV owner). He also notes the USB port can’t used for more storage (also a bummer). So the verdict is that the Apple TV does it well, as long as it does what you want.
Hey Derik
Interesting commentary. Thanks for the link to Mossberg's review.
I'm not in the "club" yet, so I can't get the Apple TV. I am really excited about it, however. I think it's really a landmark release -- there are really wide implications for this sort of device. It will be the first mainstream device to allow the viewing of content delivered "over the top" (or cable-bypass). That is no small change, and should prove to disrupt a major business model -- the cable industry.
I'm wondering what their response will be, when these devices become popular.
Which, of course, they will.
- Jessica
Jessica:
I read the linked article, but wasn't really sure what the author was getting at.
What I got from it was that 100% of American internet is bundled with either cable (65%) or telephone (35%).
What is cable company going to do when you decide to pull the plug on the TV portion of your bill? They're going to raise the price of your internet service so you end up not saving much at all. For instance if your bill states that the TV service is $45 and the internet is $40, when you kill the TV service the internet will cost $65 instead. You're saving $20 a month, but not the $45 you expected.
And it's even easier for the phone companies. They'll just tell you that you need a live phone line to get DSL (which isn't true as I discovered during one move when the DSL continued to work even after the land line was disconnected). So they won't even cut you a break.
And if somehow it manages to take off and start cutting into revenues, it will probably be the TV networks that respond. iTunes content will suddenly only be available via Season Pass (or more insidiously, all episodes but 2 will be available and the other 2 by Season Only like certain songs are "By Album Only."). Or they'll just yank it altogether and make it available via broadcast only or on their ad-supported web service.
And there's the economics of AppleTV. Say I want it for 3 TV's. I have to shell out $900. And if I have cable and I want digital in 3 rooms, it'll run you about $5 a box per month. It'll take 5 years before it costs more than the AppleTV. And if the cable box breaks, the cable company will replace it for free. If that AppleTV dies outside of the warranty, you're down another $300.