Just noticed a question on the Apple TV Feedback page asking "What do you use you Apple TV for? and the last option is Watch content from DVDs" http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html How could you do this, no DVD drive! Is remote DVD coming in the next version? I hope So!
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Apple TV Feedback Page "Watch content from DVDs"
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We can dream eh? Having the ability to play actual DVDs without ripping them would make the ATV just that much better IMHO.
I honestly can't imagine how this would be useful. Think about it, the whole idea behind 
TV is to stream content to your living room, from your mac on the other side of the house. That's what I do. In my entertainment system, I have a PS3, HD DVD player, TV, and DirecTV box. I can't imagine wanting to get up walk to the other side of the house, load up a dvd into my iMac, and then go watch it from the living room when I have all the equipment right there. It's just not practical. Even if I could, I'd lose a lot of functionality of a DVD player using the TV to watch it. What if I want subtitles, or what if I want the DTS track? Even if the TV got an add-on DVD player to plug into the USB port on the unit, the software would have to go through a huge revision to provide this functionality. The remote is also limited as well.
Digital downloads are the future of content. Apple is not trying to reinvent the DVD player.
TV is to stream content to your living room, from your mac on the other side of the house. That's what I do. In my entertainment system, I have a PS3, HD DVD player, TV, and DirecTV box. I can't imagine wanting to get up walk to the other side of the house, load up a dvd into my iMac, and then go watch it from the living room when I have all the equipment right there. It's just not practical. Even if I could, I'd lose a lot of functionality of a DVD player using the TV to watch it. What if I want subtitles, or what if I want the DTS track? Even if the TV got an add-on DVD player to plug into the USB port on the unit, the software would have to go through a huge revision to provide this functionality. The remote is also limited as well.Digital downloads are the future of content. Apple is not trying to reinvent the DVD player.
I honestly can't imagine how this would be useful. Think about it, the whole idea behind
Digital downloads are the future of content. Apple is not trying to reinvent the DVD player.
That might be true, but keep in mind that the iPod was king before the iTunes Store was king. iTunes supported ripping music from your own CDs which helped to build content libraries to put on iPods. The same logic could be applied to DVDs and the iPod for your TV. If Apple can get permission to copy DVDs to a hard disk with some form of DRM like Fairplay then the AppleTV might become more popular.
Say what you like about features, but convenience is king.
That might be true, but keep in mind that the iPod was king before the iTunes Store was king. iTunes supported ripping music from your own CDs which helped to build content libraries to put on iPods. The same logic could be applied to DVDs and the iPod for your TV. If Apple can get permission to copy DVDs to a hard disk with some form of DRM like Fairplay then the AppleTV might become more popular.
Say what you like about features, but convenience is king.
I agree with you 100%. I've always wanted the ability to access all of my media in one place and often dreamed that there would be a solution to this. That's why I love my
TV. I only hope that someday we consumers can have that option of being able to pop a DVD into our machines and make quality rips that we can then stream/sync our TVs.I think it would be great if I could insert a DVD into my iMac, and watch it on my Apple TV. It would reduce the amount of equipment under my TV as I could eliminate my DVD player. Seems possible since they have Remote Disk for the MBA. Could be even better if Apple has Blue Ray Drive for Mac!
This sounds unlikely for two reasons:
1) The remote disk for the Macbook Air is slow. It works well for what it is intended for, but it is not suitable as a full substitute for a Superdrive. That is why they sell a separate Superdrive for the Macbook Air.
2) It doesn't sound very convenient or elegant which seem to be the hallmark of Apple designs. Apple has designed most of the AppleTV interface to be centered around an easy to use rental/purchase platform along with iTunes which can somewhat elegantly manage a sizable video library from other sources such as ripped DVDs.
Blu-ray on Apple products may be available in the professional lines such as the Mac Pro as a BTO option, but I doubt we will see it in consumer level models from Apple in the short term if ever. Apple seems to be moving away from physical media (see the Macbook Air when compared to similar models from Lenovo or lack of a DVD player option in the AppleTV) as the future. It may take many years for the media to be replaced, but it isn't impossible.
Defeats the whole purpose of it - it is meant to be a storage library with everything available at a click. Not for you have to walk across and hunt for a DVD.
Remember that in order to play a video DVD, you only need to sustain "1x" speed. Most networks should be able to manage that.
I think this would be a great addition, not just for living room use. I work with a men's ministry and we show a lot of video clips at our events. Instead of running cables galore to hook up to a HDTV or having to settle for a projector, I could easily show clips via the ATV.