is apple tv worth it?

You need Apple TV for AirPlay I think.

I would like to know too if Apple TV is worth it. I have a PS3 that I use for almost all of Internet/TV related stuff from Netflix to Internet browsing. But the ability to mirror my 4S on my TV is pretty cool, too. Not sure if it's worth it though.

For $99, YES!!!

himynameiscody said:

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What exactly are the best features it offers. Its selling points

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While netflix is on every device almost, it's great on the ATV. That is one of my favorites. Also if you have a sound system through your TV, it's so convenient to just bring up your iPhone music and tap the Apple TV button and have your music play, or even pandora. Mirroring, of course. For racing games, or just for fun (ex, project yourself on TV, Skype, etc.). Live sports. iCloud. Some people have no need for it, but I love it.

I have an Apple TV, macbook pro and iphone 4s. These are my opinions, sorry if i'm long winded.

To be honest....i dont really use the apple tv alot but for $99 thats alright. It's nice to have when you need it. Other than the netflix...for me....it is more one off instances when it comes in handy. Kind of a novelty thing. Like when we went to Italy last year and the family was over afterwards and they can look at the picures on a 50" tv rather than huddling around a 13" laptop...thats nice. And it doesnt stretch and distort photos to fit the screen. The pictures look great on the big screen. You can play all of your itunes library on apple tv but only if your laptop is connected to the same wifi network itunes IS OPEN on your computer otherwise it cannot see your computer in apple tv. It will also use your photolibrary from itunes as a screensaver which is cool.



As far as hardware you just need a tv with HDMI input the apple tv and wifi.

I dont like that fact that apple tv doesnt have a pandora app. Yes you can airplay from your iphone but many wifi capable tv's have pandora on them and the interface is much nicer than what it looks like airplaying on the apple tv...no album art, no playlist on the tv. It's ugly and i dont know why. It should look nicer imo...irritating. Why dont they have an app store for the apple tv? I dont think they will anytime soon either. It seems like the apple tv is the forgotten product of apple. It does get software updates via wifi every now and then so you never know what will be added next. My friend has a Roku and it has tons more stuff but no airplay and all the apple integration.

You can stream youtube. Which is alright. But typing in a search using the remote that comes with it is painstaking. When you use the remote app on the iphone you can actually type on a keyboard instead of selecting each letter one at a time when searching.

Airplay is kinda cool. For looking at pictures its great...pretty quick reaction time. Video was less impressive. The 1.5 minute clip of video i tried to airplay took quite some time to "buffer". I'm not sure why it needs to do that. Airplaying 1080p is a good question...i know it can only stream from netflix 720p so i'm assuming that is that max.

I dont think i would have bought it JUST for the airplay functionality. I know apple markets the airplay heavily but i dont see the apple tv as an accessory for the iphone. It is is own product and airplay is not as useful for me as i thought. If you have alot of apple products it does kind of complete the "ecosystem" for $99. Or if you are already in the market for a roku type device then its a good contender.

I don't understand the attraction of Apple TV, but then again I'm someone who would never pay for a digital download Film/TV episode/song. I guess if that's what you're into then it may be worthwhile, but then again you could just mirror your laptop to your TV.

Airplay is the only redeeming feature, and even that has a cheaper solution involving a HDMI adapter (wires, I know, still...)

It's great that whenever I have a friend come over with an iOS device (and that's most of my friends) and they say "let me show you these photos / video I shot / Youtube clip," they can just throw it up on my TV rather than have all of us crowd around one cell phone or iPad.

And yeah, I have Netflix on other devices, but NOTHING beats using the Apple remote app on my iPhone to type stuff in instead of using a video game controller to hunt-and-peck out letters.

I can't say for sure that you'll use it, but for me it's been well, well worth the price.

Apple TV is 100% worth it. If you are on a budget and would like to save money it is worth its weight in gold. Consider this, for $99 you get the apple tv unit. You hook it up to the tv and instead of having a cable tv subscription for $80 a month you cancel that and just have home internet service.

Then you can stream tv shows from netflix, or better yet stream anything you want wirelessly from your iPhone that allows airplay. Some of the different video streaming apps allow you to airplay so that widens your available options.

Basically, the $99 apple tv can save you around $800+ dollars per year and also keep you from having to watch frustrating commercials. It's win win.

** edit. I forgot one of the best parts. If you have a sound system you can stream pandora through airplay to your apple tv and listen to nice music all day as well. This can save you in costs of buying cd's or mp3s. Instead just listen to pandora.

It's just worth when you are an apple fanatic and buy all your media stuff with iTunes, everyone else just ignore it.

nexsta said:

It's just worth when you are an apple fanatic and buy all your media stuff with iTunes, everyone else just ignore it.

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...says someone who's never heard of DVD ripping.

nexsta said:

It's just worth when you are an apple fanatic and buy all your media stuff with iTunes, everyone else just ignore it.

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Lol. If you happen to be one of the millions of consumers who are fed up with paying anywhere from $50 to $100+ per month for television that has commercials that tend to be twice as loud as the show, then apple tv can be a great option.

Consider that there are many apps that are airplay capable. Netflix, PBS, CNN, Pandora and many more. This allows people to watch enjoyable shows and keep up with the news and watch shows and movies without having to pay more than $8 a month and not having to listen to 10 minutes of commercials for every 20 minutes of show.

It's worth it imo. I have a set up similar to yours in my office. I use my ps3 to stream all of my media. I use my apple tv in my living room. Airplay + Airvideo is great. Its easy to use so my daughter can use it when she needs to watch anything. Also, netflix is great on it. If the only tv you are using is the one connected to your ps3 I would rethink buying one . If it weren't for my wife and daughter the set up in my office would be the only thing that I would need.

Small White Car said:

...says someone who's never heard of DVD ripping.

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This.

I "find" shows on certain websites. I convert them to Apple TV compatible formats and stream them though Apple TV. Saves me subscription fees to Premium channels

vachargerfan said:

This.

I "find" shows on certain websites. I convert them to Apple TV compatible formats and stream them though Apple TV. Saves me subscription fees to Premium channels

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but if u had an xbox u could just "find" these shows and stream it through the xbox without needing to spend time converting. So would there be any point in me getting ATV cos already have an xbox?

cperchard said:

but if u had an xbox u could just "find" these shows and stream it through the xbox without needing to spend time converting. So would there be any point in me getting ATV cos already have an xbox?

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Converting is VERY time consuming. If it was not for airplay I probably wouldn't have an apple tv at all.

i debated the atv for a while... ended up deciding that streaming lan content was an important factor and i went with a boxee box.

OMG, yes it's worth it. I was sold on the AirPlay function alone. I love being able to stream my vast music collection through my entertainment center speakers without having to burn CDs or plug my iPod/Computer into anything. I can just take my phone out my pocket, select a song, and press play no matter where in the house I am. My computer doesn't even have to be on! (I have two other AirPort Express units in my house for the sole purpose of being able to stream music all over the place.)

As others have said, being able to have friends and family over at my house and show them vacation pictures, home videos, and YouTube clips on my 46" TV (as opposed to having everyone crowd around the computer screen) is very convenient too.

Features like Netflix and iTunes rentals are added bonuses that I often take advantage of. If you don't already have a streaming device, this a nice way to pick out any movie or TV show (even documentaries on Netflix) and just play it from the comfort of your couch/bed.

I'm surprised Apple let us have such a practical device for just $99. Can't beat that!

Depends on what you need it for

You have to ask yourself why you would want an ATV.

I bought one because I needed a wireless streamer for Netflix.

I moved into a house with new roommates.. yes college.... and we all had TVs.

I have my 42" in my room, a 60" in the living room. My Xbox, older version/no wifi, which was what I used in the old house for ... everything.. went into the living room.

I needed something for my room.

It was either spend $200 for a Wii or another Xbox ( with wireless), $299 for a PS3, or $99 for an ATV.

I have mine Jailbroken. I think thats the only way to go.

It's 99 Bucks! At that price, of course it is. If I were 200 bucks, it would still be worth it. AirPlay mirroring for those who own iOS devices, which should be almost all of us here makes the AppleTV a must have device.

I use a Roku, PS3 and AppleTV. Its excessive but none of them are "great" but all of them have uniquely awesome features that I need.

If you're really entrenched in the Apple Ecosystem then the AppleTV is an essential because you can access all your itunes videos as well as rent from the iTunes store and use netflix. I thought mirroring would be awesome but its not as useful as i thought because of the different aspect ratios.

But if you're looking for a more diverse product then I recommend the Roku. It has Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu+, Crunch etc.

Finally, the PS3 does everything i need (DLNA to stream over network, Netflix, Hulu, DVD, Bluray) but takes too much power to use constantly.

Hulu is the big deal to me because I prefer the AppleTV but without Hulu Im missing out on a lot so I have to waste HDMI ports and electricity on single function devices.

outz said:

i debated the atv for a while... ended up deciding that streaming lan content was an important factor and i went with a boxee box.

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Boxee Box has Airplay, so that was a win/win, now wasn't it?

Boxee Box won't do mirroring (right now anyway). I didn't want to deal with the conversions, that's why I picked Boxee Box. It has nearly no limitations, but does have some faults

For $99, it's worth it if you use Netflix and don't have another means of viewing Netflix on your TV.

Otherwise, I think it's only worth it if you're willing to jailbreak the thing. Using Firecore's app, for example, you can steam most kinds of media from your computer through the Apple TV ... and with that, it's a killer device.