A few general questions about Apple TV

1) There is a delay, sometimes a few hours, a few days or weeks. Depends on the content provider.

2) I do not know this, I asked the same thing in another forum, 600 looks, no replies. I am too wondering, do I need to keep all my movies and shows on my MBP, why not just leave it all in iCloud? I know for apps, once Apple removes the app from the apps store you cannot download it again.

3) Hit or miss really. Depends on the providers.

4) MLB, NBA and NHL are all available live and to watch post play.

Apple TV is best used with another iDevice and or computer running XBMC/Plex where you can get additional media like ESPN, NFL (if you are outside the USA), and various network apps and airplay it.

But you will still lack live news and shows in most cases. You get used to that after a while. The key difference between using internet based media and live TV is YOU decide what to watch and when instead of your cable provider and the networks telling you what you can watch and when.

1) I only have one season pass, for How I Met Your Mother. In my timezone, it airs (I believe) in the morning and usually after lunch I get an e-mail saying that the episode is ready to download. Seems like a delay of only a few hours, which is perfect for me, since it's ready to download when I get home from work. I'm not sure if that's the way it is for all shows, though.

2) I believe so. With movies I've downloaded, if I've deleted them I can download them again from the iTunes Store. I had this happen with Avengers when the first download was stopped and started up again and had some problems with the file -- all I had to do was delete it and I could download it again. I don't see why it would be different with TV shows.

3) Like marc11 said, this is really dependent on the rights holders. Be patient and they might turn up eventually. Another option (if the show is available on DVD/Blu-ray) is to buy the discs, rip them to your computer, and encode them with Handbrake for Apple TV.

Italianblend said:

I am just curious if Apple TV is more cost effective for me than cable.

1) Are you Able to stay current with shows or is there a delay between air date and the date you can download them with iTunes?

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There is a delay between when the show is aired and when it appears in iTunes, how long that is depends on the content provider.

Italianblend said:

2) if you purchase a season of a show, you have that purchase forever, even if you delete the show from your device or iCloud? As in, you can always download it again anytime?

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No... Apple reserves the right to withdraw content irreversibly even if you've "purchased" it should the content provider or Apple change their terms and conditions. You do not own the content, you have a perpetual lease of the content for as long as its available for download from iTunes/iCloud, the correct term for purchases through the iTunes store and not downloaded should be perpetual lease. Apple still maintains rights to do what it pleases with content in its stores and also in your personal iCloud library.

If you value your content back it up on physical media, I.E. a hard drive... This is why many of us have large 2TB or bigger HDDs dedicated to content storage. Apple has no qualms of not making any guarantees as to how long content will be available on its servers.

Italianblend said:

3) I don't see many older shows on iTunes. This seems to be a major drawback to giving up cable. You are much more limited in programming. I need my Little House on the prairie.

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Again it depends on the content provider, or whether Apple can get a license to it AKA the Beetles.

Italianblend said:

4) how does Apple TV handle sports networks like espn? Does it broadcast live games? I see NHL on the list but what about stuff like soccer and nfl?

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There is no Football (soccer) on Apple TV, or NFL, you can Airplay it from your computer if you have a compatible tuner or access to NFL season pass, etc if you have an Airplay capable device.

Italianblend said:

I am just curious if Apple TV is more cost effective for me than cable.

1) Are you Able to stay current with shows or is there a delay between air date and the date you can download them with iTunes?

2) if you purchase a season of a show, you have that purchase forever, even if you delete the show from your device or iCloud? As in, you can always download it again anytime?

3) I don't see many older shows on iTunes. This seems to be a major drawback to giving up cable. You are much more limited in programming. I need my Little House on the prairie.

4) how does Apple TV handle sports networks like espn? Does it broadcast live games? I see NHL on the list but what about stuff like soccer and nfl?

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1. I do not know since I never purchas anything from Itunes. I like the disk.
2. Yes, Apple can remove the content from the cloud if you store your content in the cloud. Buy a 4 TB external drive and back everything up.
3. Sign up for Netflix through Apple TV. You will get all the old TV and movie you want delivered in your mail box.
4. That is what an Ipad and Apple TV is for. Airplay baby.

Italianblend said:

Yeah - I just hate that I pay so much for cable and maybe use like 20 channels total. But of course, some of those channels are on the higher tier. I think media just isn't where I need it to be right now to invest in it. However, I am thinking of getting an Apple TV anyway just so I can mirror my ipad or phone on the TV. That can come in handy.

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You're looking at it wrong, Apple doesn't even attempt to really compete with cable and content providers aren't even really ready to go there themselves yet. Apple is hedging they might do one day but until then the Apple TV will fill its own little niche in a small range of streaming products and replacing store rented/bought content.

For the mean time the Apple TV is a device that can compliment your pay tv, remove the need for you to pay for all the extra movie channels, even some TV channels. It also does a fine job for some of the sports such as NBA, MLB and NHL. It will even Airplay NFL and MLS provided you have access to it through another service that can be airplayed.

It provides an IPTV service content providers can jump onto if they want in the way Hulu and Netflix have as well as the NBA/MLB/NHL, but most are choosing to maintain their own IPTV services and extend cable over IP as faster internet continues to roll out.

I guess if you want a media player that ties more into the traditional ideas of what media is you can look at something like a Dune player that will play your blu-rays, record your tv, play your downloaded content, and even offer some of the streaming services. None of them really have access to the range of legally downloadable content that the Apple TV has though through the iTunes store so there's your drawback.

The Apple TV is a hedge fund for what TV might be in the not to distant future, if you want live on demand TV right now then you're still going to have to have a Pay TV service.

Have you considered an antenna?

We didn't connect the cable when we recently moved. We have changed our habits somewhat in how we use media, but have not felt disconnected or lacking.

I have even gone so far as to realize that I like listening to games over IHeartRadio and doing other tasks while I'm at it. There are so many more options for those who don't want to subscribe to pay tv than there used to be.

Thus far, we have used a mix of antenna broadcast tv, movies and shows that we own, renting movies via iTunes, Redbox, Hulu Plus, Netflix, podcasts, and internet radio. For me personally, channel surfing has evolved into seeing what is new on these different mediums. There are so many more categories of options beyond what cable/satellite offers for a fraction of the cost.

I do like to emphasize that I like encouraging people to consider other mediums and venues for acquiring entertainment and media. That doesn't mean that pay tv isn't the best option for some people. It's just that a lot of people limit their options with cable and satellite and don't consider what else may be out there for them.