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Apple Announces Apple TV Take 2 + Price Drop

CWallace said:
I am guessing it is just an update in the audio codec to enable it (assuming it was always there in the content).

And I fully expect Handbrake and VisualHub will update to support it, as well.
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Well there hasn't been HD content before other than movie trailers and it used 6 discrete channels that were inexplicably dumbed down to Pro Logic II. The new AppleTV tech spec page says it does DD5.1 pass-through so maybe an AC3 track? We shall see.

Hopefully Handbrake can handle it - I have almost 800 DVDs in 2 Sony jukebox players and would like to digitize them to make room for the inevitable Sony Blu-ray jukebox 😉

Got off easy - no voice dial on iPhone so that's a no go, don't need a new laptop no matter how light (especially with a built in battery - I've gone through 2 already on my MBP) and I'll never be renting a 'baby' HD movie or one without DD5.1 sound. So an AppleTV it is - once I find out if the DD5.1 is doable by other than Apple.

Oh and as far as your eventual blu-ray player be warned: http://www.betanews.com/article/Bluray_Early_adopters_knew_what_they_were_getting_into/1199841379
 
nubero said:
My point is that I don't get how anyone can talk about a replacement of Optical Media when talking about downloads...
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downloads have all but replaced optical media in my case. Discs are a hassle, and while they might have better audio-quality than 128kb AAC (although 128kb AAC is "good enough" in most cases), there is no real difference between 256kb AAC and CD.

Downloads are just way more economical, ecological and convenient than CD's are. The last CD I bought (Dark Passion Play by Nightwish) was because it was released first on CD and only a bit later in iTunes, and I wanted to have it ASAP, and the CD contained a second disc that had instrumental version of the album, while iTunes only had the regural version.
 
The update now makes it look interesting to me, and I might consider getting one when cash flow allows. Prior to this, i couldn't see the point, it was just a box that plugged in and lit up and very little else.
At least now it will save me the walk to Blockbuster🙂
 
This still feels like a bad move. I said earlier I wanted more of a convergence device, and this isn't it. Someone told me to get a Wii, but I want an AppleTV. Maybe Apple will get my money next year when they release the 3rd version.
 
I believe that the AppleTV and iTunes were the most solid updates of the keynote as well.

$199 for the old 40 GB isn't that bad but I'm sure you can find a better deal elsewhere. I just wish the new lowend $229 model was say 80 GB instead.
 
What's up with the new crappy interface...? Looks cheap and squary... if that is a word. I like the art in the background though.

Still not mega worth it but I'll be buying one soon regardless. What a fool.
 
notjustjay said:
I don't have an Apple TV, but with this and the new price drop, it is now within the realm of consideration. I want a flat panel TV to watch DVDs and rabbit ears to pick up local HD signals, without a subscription to cable or satellite. The Apple TV may be just the thing to fill in the gap.

Now, the only thing I need to do is find a way to hide it completely (it looks slim enough, maybe I can actually tuck it in behind the TV?) and program a universal remote with the Apple remote buttons.
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Since Charter's internet has become unreliable and we're switching to DSL, we might be cutting off our cable TV and doing the same. There's also the local library, where DVD rentals are FREE. 🙂

The Apple remote is standard IR, so any learning remote will work, although I'm partial to Logitech's Harmony remotes.

BobVB said:
Well there hasn't been HD content before other than movie trailers and it used 6 discrete channels that were inexplicably dumbed down to Pro Logic II. The new AppleTV tech spec page says it does DD5.1 pass-through so maybe an AC3 track? We shall see.

Oh and as far as your eventual blu-ray player be warned: http://www.betanews.com/article/Bluray_Early_adopters_knew_what_they_were_getting_into/1199841379
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Actually the Pro Logic II mixdown isn't "inexplicable". The problem was simply that no other piece of audio hardware on Earth could decode the AAC audio. So they had to convert it to something - and stereo with PLII matrixed surround was the easy way out. Doesn't even require the users to fiddle with settings, because stereo-only equipment will play it back as well. A better choice would have been to transcode it to AC3, and I'm wondering now if maybe the new AppleTV will do that with older movies that have the 5.1 AAC tracks - that would be nice.

I already knew about the imminent arrival of Blu-ray 2.0, which is why I don't have a player yet. 🙂
 
Is there a hardware difference between the new unit and the old? I am asking because i am thinking of getting a refurb unit at 199. But if the new one is "better" then i will spend the extra $30.
 
Flyinace2000 said:
Is there a hardware difference between the new unit and the old? I am asking because i am thinking of getting a refurb unit at 199. But if the new one is "better" then i will spend the extra $30.
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I answered my own question. The new on has a part number of MA711LL/A and the refurb on is FA711LL/A. They must be the same.
 
HiRez said:
When they say HD, is it 1080 or 720? I wonder how good the compression will be. If it's good I may finally buy into this scheme.

Still think the 24 hour limit is terrible, 30 hours would be much more useful. It's fine for people who don't work, have no kids or other interruptions in their life. But it's not enough for a lot of people.
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*sigh* Seriously, you have a MONTH to press play. If don't have the time within a 24 hour period to watch a 2 hour movie, I don't think those extra 6 hours are going to make or break the deal.

As for 5.1 audio... "Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through" from the tech specs of the AppleTV page. I'm guessing they're updated... That doesn't sound like 5.1 aac converted to Dolby to me...
 
Evangelion said:
Price hasn't dropped in the Finnish store 🙁. I hope it will drop soon. It would be a travesty if they dropped the US price, while keeping the Euro-prices steady at 299e and 399e! With these exchange-rates, it should be about 199e and 299e in Europe!
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Oooh, my pet hate 🙄

SthrnCmfrtr said:
Is the AppleTV interface going to change to match its appearance at, say, http://www.apple.com/appletv/features.html#movies ?

If so, yuck.
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I can imagine it looking pretty swish on a nice flat panel 😉
 
Wow.. I just noticed in the Tech Specs it says "HDMI (video and audio)". I wonder if it can do multichannel PCM over HDMI? That would be the ideal way to handle both future HD movies and old 5.1 AAC iTMS movies. But knowing Apple, it's probably stereo only.

Another thing they ought to consider is an option to apply the rental price toward a future purchase of the same movie - kind of like "Complete my album" works now.
 
Was seriously considering dumping Netflix until I read that HD titles cost more.

Ugh. I would think Apple wouldn't play the "penalize the HD users" game. HD should be the new standard, not some sort of special high-end price.

So I guess I'll still wait for a cheap blu-ray player and stick with Netflix, who will send me HD discs at day of release for no extra charge.
 
Evangelion said:
downloads have all but replaced optical media in my case. Discs are a hassle, and while they might have better audio-quality than 128kb AAC (although 128kb AAC is "good enough" in most cases), there is no real difference between 256kb AAC and CD.
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until you buy speakers by Dynaudio...

But more important: What do you do about Backup? I mean if you really have a good solution please tell me, I'm eager to hear...

And long term storage? ten years, twenty?
 
720p or 1080p/i?

Calling 720p and touting as HD is a bit of a stretch these days. If it ain't 1080p/i it ain't HD.
 
Sorry, but €299 ($443) for the small one and €399 ($591) for the large one?

That's surely an excessive price difference between Ireland and the US.
 
nubero said:
until you buy speakers by Dynaudio...

But more important: What do you do about Backup? I mean if you really have a good solution please tell me, I'm eager to hear...

And long term storage? ten years, twenty?
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I love my DynAudios and Totem Acoustics <3 Unfortunately this is how such services are so successful. No one else has any idea what we are talking about.
 
carlivar said:
Was seriously considering dumping Netflix until I read that HD titles cost more.

Ugh. I would think Apple wouldn't play the "penalize the HD users" game. HD should be the new standard, not some sort of special high-end price.

So I guess I'll still wait for a cheap blu-ray player and stick with Netflix, who will send me HD discs at day of release for no extra charge.
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Yep, Netflix is IMO a way better option. I can see renting an HD movie every once in a while when you want it now, but I don't see that happening too much. I'll stick with Netflix 🙂
 
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