AppleTV vs. Upscaled DVD Player

One thing that is more than just not having to switch DVDs for movies is if you have TV show DVDs as well. Having access to all seasons and all episodes through AppleTV is pretty useful.

I was on the fence about whether it was worth my time to rip and encode ALL of my DVDs just to free up space. Now that I have the AppleTV I'm just upset that I waited so long to get it.

Also, if you watch movies in more than one room, having two of them (one in main room/one in bedroom) you would also benefit even more from not having to have the actual DVD to play.

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I started ripping all my DVDs when I got my iPhone and once I'd done that the Apple TV started making sense. It's fantastic to have all your DVD's instantly accessible and for me it is well worth the purchase price just for that. On chapter selection, you can skip chapters if you rip with chapter marks but you don't get the DVD menus

Quality wise, though, the original DVD will still look better than once its been re-compressed for TV. And if you have a sizable DVD collection, encoding will take forever. I know I gave up after about a week For those two reasons, my DVD player won't be going anywhere if I get an TV...

How many DVD's do you own?

How much $$$$ do you have invested in them?

Every time you play one, no matter how careful you claim to be, you risk damage to the physical DVD.

A DVD ripped once and played many times is safer than a DVD played many times and never ripped at all.

I have a Library of over 225 DVD's, we are in the process of ripping them, yes it is a long and tedious process but we have brought up to 7 computers online at the same time to speed up the process.

How much $$$ do I have tied up in those DVD's? I couldn't tell you. Some were bought retail, some at yard sales, flea markets and auctions.

I look at it like this .... the $329 I spend for an 160 Gig Apple TV is like an insurance policy to protect however much I have in the DVD's

They are for two different uses. I don't understand why you would try and compare the two.

pilotError said:

They are for two different uses. I don't understand why you would try and compare the two.

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Watching movies, and watching movies... Doesn't sound like a different use to me.

Actually its watching on-line content vs. physical media.

Apple TV also plays streaming audio, photos and podcasts.

If there's a concern, buy both. You can buy good upscaling DVD players for around $70 now.

I just wrote a really long post about how I have over 200g of movies, each with correctly named chapters, Dolby Pro Logic 2 5.1 and two pass encoding at 640x360 for iPod, iPhone & Apple TV compatibility.

How it all looks slick, and the only downside being the time it takes to encode and tag all the details for each film so it looks pretty on appleTV with all the details.

But my browser crashed, so i've had to type this much shorted version
*grumbles about stoopid windows crashing*

From the sentiment expressed on this thread, and many others in this forum, it seems Apple may have missed the mark with the tv. Or at least is still slightly ahead of its time. Apple brought it to market to bolster iTMS sales. Seems like everyone actually buying the hardware, including myself, are ripping/downloading/converting their own content, rather than relying on iTMS.

How many of us here ever plan on ditching our current workflow in favor of using the tv as Apple intends it to be used? Even though I'm glad they dropped the price, they may regret it because they have seriously cut into their profits from the hardware itself. iTMS as a whole is certainly a success, but I wonder what Apple's ROI is, specifically from just tv owners. I'm guessing it's not even close to what they expected.

DVD is such a beast, and the everyday Wal-Mart shopper is still trained to think the only way they can enjoy a movie in their living room is from that little shiny plastic disc. Apple, Netflix, and all the rest have a tough road to hoe with movie downloads.

I should add I'm in the UK so can't rent movies until Steve lets me.. But when I can I fully intend to Rent lovely HD ones I get a suprising amount of music videos and the odd TV show since they became available. Especially since they added Wonder Woman and V episodes.. grrr. so hard to resist revisiting childhood...

Also, from what I've gathered, upscaling DVD players are a scam. Pretty much useless if you already have an HDTV. A friend of mine who has run a high-end electronics store for 20+ years says upscaling players are crap.

Go with the tv. I got mine a last month and have been loving it ever since. I'm currently in the process of ripping all my DVDs. It does take a long time but well worth it to have your entire collection at the click of a button.

wmealer said:

From the sentiment expressed on this thread, and many others in this forum, it seems Apple may have missed the mark with the tv. Or at least is still slightly ahead of its time. Apple brought it to market to bolster iTMS sales. Seems like everyone actually buying the hardware, including myself, are ripping/downloading/converting their own content, rather than relying on iTMS.

How many of us here ever plan on ditching our current workflow in favor of using the tv as Apple intends it to be used? Even though I'm glad they dropped the price, they may regret it because they have seriously cut into their profits from the hardware itself. iTMS as a whole is certainly a success, but I wonder what Apple's ROI is, specifically from just tv owners. I'm guessing it's not even close to what they expected.

DVD is such a beast, and the everyday Wal-Mart shopper is still trained to think the only way they can enjoy a movie in their living room is from that little shiny plastic disc. Apple, Netflix, and all the rest have a tough road to hoe with movie downloads.

Click to expand...

If they truly have the content they potentially have a winner on their hands. I'm not talking iPod success, but a self sustaining business model for the near future. I think they need to beef up their Video library so when the casual blockbuster user wants to rent a flick, they can do it without being a heavy computer user.

It still requires someone to be able to plug the thing into the internet, but all the iTunes users already do that. The 4:3 display issue is still going to be a limiting factor, but should improve over the next 5 years.

The truth is that its still easier to go to blockbuster and rent that shiny disk and stick it into a cheap dvd player. Its also portable, so if you want to pop it into the family vehicle and take a trip with the kids, you can. The market hasn't solved all the issues yet, but they are making progress.

As always, us early adopters (Beta users) always jump in first to fit some personal need. For me, it was getting away from buying the same kids movies 5 times because they ultimately scratch the crap out of the discs.

For others, it was a convenience move to rip their collection for easy access and for ease of use.

For the general consumer, its going to be the ability to rent without having to leave the couch.

I think Cable operators are still in a better position to do this, since the box is already in the home and theirs nothing more to purchase, but they have their head in their collective...

For the short term, this is still a hobby for Apple. The MPAA is really holding on tight to avoid the same situation that the Music industry ended up with, although it looks like they are more willing to give the consumer what they want.

wmealer said:

How many of us here ever plan on ditching our current workflow in favor of using the tv as Apple intends it to be used?

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Certainly not I. I originally purchased mine to have my audio, video, TV and photo library in the living room, and I got that concept the instant I realized that Apple had designed iTunes as a server. I have been happily syncing, streaming, ripping, encoding and watching ever since.

I am considering not upgrading to Take 2. I seriously doubt I will be buying/renting content through the ITMS since my blockbuster account is significantly less $. I have, however, purchased a dozen or so CDs via ITMS, and may continue to do so.

MikieMikie said:

I am considering not upgrading to Take 2.

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As am I, but I'm still torn. I have a hacked tv which affords me much more functionality than an un-hacked box would. There is fiddle-factor involved, however. For those times when the odd .ISO file won't mount up in nitoTV, or when I can't seem to stream a large divx without stuttering, or when a Video_TS folder won't play unless I copy it via AFP to the tv's HDD, I want to just do a system restore and just forget about the hacks. Then I think about how much more difficult it would be to work within the confines of just iTunes-friendly content. On the flip, I'd have an appliance that "just works."

wmealer said:

As am I, but I'm still torn.

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I would feel a lot better (upgrading) if I thought there were significant improvements in the UI. As it stands, being able to select SF films, or Crime films in my streaming library is impossible. No filters, so sorts, no video playlists...

This is what drives me to anger with Apple -- their lack of desire to address the little, maddening issues, accompanied by their drive to generate new revenue from us all. Well, perhaps anger is an overstatement -- I would say I am more disappointed in this recent attitude.

I'm just glad they finally put something out.

I was half expecting them to leave us out in the cold with a new and improved device.

I was starting to get ready to hack mine... I'll try V2 out and see how it goes.

omni said:

It's interesting that you bring this up because I think it's totally valid and correct. I want to treat my TV much like my iPod: I ripped all of my own music and I've yet to buy one song from iTunes.

Maybe the TV isn't the device that I want it to be? Although it seems pretty damn close.

And Apple's strong desire to not fix the small things yet implement more ways for them to generate revenue (wifi music store on my iphone) has become disappointing.

Lets hope Take 2 solves a lot of everyone's concerns.

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You have echoed my disillusionment with Apple. My iPhone is much like my TV -- it cries out for a more-rounded, more-finished implementation. I do not regret having purchased these devices and, despite Apple's focus on syphoning off my last penny through the ITMS, I would purchase them again.

I am a firm believer in knowing what you're buying, and buying something "as is." I couldn't have cared if Apple never updated TV -- I just resent that they update it to enable purchases while leaving basic stuff by the wayside, just as they have done with the iPhone. (BTW, this last iPhone update was simply a way of adding scrolling to the home screen so that people can purchase software. Without it, there'd be only a few slots open. Sigh.)

You know, for some reason I just assumed that the ATV had a DVD player in it. In a way I know it doesn't because I've seen pictures of the box so many times now, but somehow I just thought there was one in there.

I guess there never will be one because that's not the way that Apple is wanting you to use the box. But on the other hand, if they'd put in a DVD drive or even a Blu Ray drive, it really could become a must-buy for many more people.

For someone who's new to this product, have Apple reduced the UK price yet btw?