I've looked at the AppleTV on and off for a few years. I'm not very happy with my current cable subscription and have been thinking of making a change. The AppleTV device looks interesting but I have a couple of questions that I haven't been able to find answers to.
1: How can I tell what I will get? I see these neat graphics showing a lot of channels that I don't know what they are, but no list of what channels will appear if I plug this device between my TV and high speed internet line. I know there will be "more" but more what? Does it very by where I am? I'd assume that living in B.C. I wouldn't get the same things as I would get in Seattle for example.
2:I keep seeing articles about how AppleTV now has HBO or RedBull channel etc., etc., and then often it's got an asterisk saying that I need to have the channel as part of my cable subscription. So what's the point of the AppleTV box then? If I have to have the feed on my cable system already why get an AppleTV?
3: What is the advantage of the AppleTV over purely Software solutions like Crunchyroll or AcornTV?
AppleTV looks cool and as I said I've pondered getting one for some time. I just haven't been able to get enough information on what it does, how it works, and what I get for my cash to jump in.
Any advice would be appreciated.
One of the mistakes that people on forums like this make is that everyone assumes that their way of doing things is just like everyone else's.
It seems to me like you and are are quite similar in our viewing habits. I have xfinity with an X1 and a TiVo box. I have wanted to get an Apple TV for a long time, but have not made the plunge for a couple of reasons.
1. I already have several devices that will do Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.
2. I can play movies on my TiVo that are stored on a network drive.
3. I watch lots of live sports.
4. I watch lots of movies.
The one thing that my set-up doesn't do is allow me to display my iPhone and iPad on the TV.
So, most people who have an Apple TV are cable cutters, and/or only watch a limited number of TV shows. Many of them are happy to wait a season to watch a show.
We watch a lot of TV (not saying that is a good thing), but as you said, If I got an Apple TV, it wouldn't really allow me to do much that I don't already do.
And to take advantage of its features we would have to drastically change the way we approach consuming media.
That might be a good thing, but right now, no one at my house wants to cut the cable and spend time trying to find the content elsewhere when it is just poured into the house.
We have talked about making a list of everything that we watch and then seeing how much it would cost to purchase it from the iTunes store, but it never happens.