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So to prepare for my Apple TV (arriving by next week I hope!) I checked the tech specs to see what cables were included. What's absent from the "In the box" section is any cables (either hdmi or component). I find this very un-Apple.

Does anyone know for sure if any cables are included?

Power Cable is included.:D No other cables are included because Apple has no way of knowing what cables you are going to use. Also it's another cost which would be passed on to the customer.
 
So to prepare for my Apple TV (arriving by next week I hope!) I checked the tech specs to see what cables were included. What's absent from the "In the box" section is any cables (either hdmi or component). I find this very un-Apple.

Does anyone know for sure if any cables are included?

Did you not notice the page of cables that were offered to you on the Apple Store after selecting the Apple TV for purchase? The fact that there were so many different types is the reason that none are bundled. They are expensive, and you don't want to include the wrong one.

I needed a HDMI -> DVI for example.

Cheers, Ed.
 
can't wait to see someone hack it to play divx files...
I mean I already have a dvd player that outputs hdtv and has a network jack so I can stream from my server....and it does just about every file format

It only cost me 200 bucks....
iodata avellink player2...been around for a looooooong time.
There are lots of them out there.

appletv is not some mind blowing new product. It's just apple's take on something that's been around for years.
ps mine doesn't need stupid ass itunes to organize and serve up my movies....any folder location works for me!
and yes it plays mp3, displays pictures, connects to podcasts online, grabs online content, plays all the good audio formats...not something you are going to find with appletv..did I mention it plays DVDs???????
 
can't wait to see someone hack it to play divx files...
I mean I already have a dvd player that outputs hdtv and has a network jack so I can stream from my server....and it does just about every file format

It only cost me 200 bucks....
iodata avellink player2...been around for a looooooong time.
There are lots of them out there.

appletv is not some mind blowing new product. It's just apple's take on something that's been around for years.
ps mine doesn't need stupid ass itunes to organize and serve up my movies....any folder location works for me!
and yes it plays mp3, displays pictures, connects to podcasts online, grabs online content, plays all the good audio formats...not something you are going to find with appletv..did I mention it plays DVDs???????

You are on the wrong thread BUDDY. Go to the tv bashing thread, this one is for people who are excited that the product they have already ordered might be shipping and their credit cards are showing a charge.
 
You are on the wrong thread BUDDY. Go to the tv bashing thread, this one is for people who are excited that the product they have already ordered might be shipping and their credit cards are showing a charge.
ok BUDDY....you're still getting excited about something that's lame and old technology
 
Did anyone else notice that on the apple web site the only section of the opitions menu that they dont go into depth with is the sources menu.... Here's to hoping that the sources menu includes USB tv tuners and external HD's...
 
can't wait to see someone hack it to play divx files...
I mean I already have a dvd player that outputs hdtv and has a network jack so I can stream from my server....and it does just about every file format

It only cost me 200 bucks....
iodata avellink player2...been around for a looooooong time.
There are lots of them out there.

appletv is not some mind blowing new product. It's just apple's take on something that's been around for years.
ps mine doesn't need stupid ass itunes to organize and serve up my movies....any folder location works for me!
and yes it plays mp3, displays pictures, connects to podcasts online, grabs online content, plays all the good audio formats...not something you are going to find with appletv..did I mention it plays DVDs???????

Actually, this is just Apple's method of expanding their content beyond the iPod and computer without having to connect cables to the television. It's just an iTunes client. Think of the ATV as a screenless TV-connected iPod.

I happen to like iTunes' organization of my movie files, and I love the coverflow feature which works very well.
 
Power Cable is included.:D No other cables are included because Apple has no way of knowing what cables you are going to use. Also it's another cost which would be passed on to the customer.
No need to defend :apple: . $250 is not cheap for the simple hardware you are buying. They could have included regular 480i cables for those who didn't mastermind their setup ahead of time, and this would add like, what, 5 cents? Oh, not to mention it would add a considerable amount of customer satisfaction.
 
I think that sorta sucks that it doesn't come with at least one kind of cable start off with, and I know that good cables are not cheap (at least the kind I'd buy) and it would be much cheaper for Apple to include them in the box than it would be for me to go out and buy them myself.
 
I think that sorta sucks that it doesn't come with at least one kind of cable start off with, and I know that good cables are not cheap (at least the kind I'd buy) and it would be much cheaper for Apple to include them in the box than it would be for me to go out and buy them myself.

Apple will include them in the shipping box if you take two seconds to click and select the one you need on the AppleTV page where the accessories are listed right next to the product.

Most of the cables it *could* come with (e.g. HDMI, component video, toslink) are not cheap and also not manufactured by Apple. The result is that in order for them to include products made entirely by a third party, repackage/rebrand them as Apple and include them in the AppleTV packaging would cost more than you buying the cables separately because the costs of wholesale purchasing, plus repackaging, plus rebranding, end up adding to more than the cost plus margin of you buying it direct from the same vendor.

And audio/video cabling in particular gets really ugly with cost because most often the vendor doesn't even MAKE the cables. Most cabling companies buy the interconnects and the cable, solder them together, repackage and rebrand. So even buying direct you're already paying a huge markup... and you want to pay an even bigger markup?!

Cabling is the last thing you'd want packaged in with any product for this very reason.
 
No need to defend :apple: . $250 is not cheap for the simple hardware you are buying. They could have included regular 480i cables for those who didn't mastermind their setup ahead of time, and this would add like, what, 5 cents? Oh, not to mention it would add a considerable amount of customer satisfaction.

What other device are you comparing AppleTV's pricing to, exactly? Is there another device out there that uses 802.11n wi-fi to wirelessly stream 720p movies, photos, music (in formats ranging from MP3 to MPEG-4 to LPCM AIFF) from up to five computers with seamless onscreen, remote-controlled user interface integration with iTunes?

See, I have no problem with suggesting that AppleTV is not cheap... but in comparison to what?

There's nothing particularly cheap about a $3000 piece of machinery... but if that $3000 piece of machinery happens to be a car, let's say, then it does things that other $3000 pieces of machinery might not do.... and yet it's still dirt cheap compared to, say, a $42,000 car. But, to make my point, I'm willing to bet the $3000 car probably didn't come with heated leather seats, speed-sensitive audio, and rain sensing wipers.

Pricing is relative to features and benefits.

So, it's just sensible to... you know... Compare Apples to apples. :D
 
Apple will include them in the shipping box if you take two seconds to click and select the one you need on the AppleTV page where the accessories are listed right next to the product.

Most of the cables it *could* come with (e.g. HDMI, component video, toslink) are not cheap and also not manufactured by Apple. The result is that in order for them to include products made entirely by a third party, repackage/rebrand them as Apple and include them in the AppleTV packaging would cost more than you buying the cables separately because the costs of wholesale purchasing, plus repackaging, plus rebranding, end up adding to more than the cost plus margin of you buying it direct from the same vendor.

And audio/video cabling in particular gets really ugly with cost because most often the vendor doesn't even MAKE the cables. Most cabling companies buy the interconnects and the cable, solder them together, repackage and rebrand. So even buying direct you're already paying a huge markup... and you want to pay an even bigger markup?!

Cabling is the last thing you'd want packaged in with any product for this very reason.

Oh ok. Well, complaint retracted :D

I'm not the richest man in the world, but I can't seem to get it into my head that the ATV's price is terribly expensive given what it does. I did pay $400 for my 60GB iPod and $1,600 for my macbook though, so perhaps this is what's warping my wallet's eye view. =/
 
Oh ok. Well, complaint retracted :D

I'm not the richest man in the world, but I can't seem to get it into my head that the ATV's price is terribly expensive given what it does. I did pay $400 for my 60GB iPod and $1,600 for my macbook though, so perhaps this is what's warping my wallet's eye view. =/

I paid $400 for a 2nd generation 10GB iPod, $500 to upgrade my Power Mac 8500's 32MB of RAM to 128MB, and $1500 for an Apple IIc with no hard drive and 128 kilobytes of RAM.

What does that tell you?
 
speaking of the iTV in our ad at target. for next week we are advertising iTunes TV cards. so does that say anything?

a quick browse through the weekly circular for target in lincoln, ne (where you're from right?) does not show the :apple:TV at all. got a scan?

btw ya'll my credit card pre-authorization seems to have dropped off so i guess these aren't shipping yet.
 
actually this cicrular is for all targets. but i probably can get a copy.i don't work till tomorrow so i probably won't be till after 5 or so.

edit: it is not this weeks, its for next week.
 
Mine has been charged here in the UK. I ordered it yesterday. Im gonna give em a ring to see what they say. :D

EDIT: So I called them. "If you placed the order on a debit card then it will be billed immediately but if you used a credit card then a block is placed on it until the item has shipped".

I could of sworn previous items I have purchased were only billed when the item had shipped.

Anyhoo. For those talking about lack of cables. The reason is most likely there are none because there are so many different ways to hook up AppleTV that for Apple to supply all the different cables or even just one that may never be used would be like throwing money away. Simple really when you think about it.
 
just called apple

can't make any changes to the order because it is in processing. they said as soon as it becomes available it will ship out and they are estimating between 3/22 and 3/26.
 
Not liking MS doesn't justify pretending that they don't exist.

Sure it does! I've had dismal experiences with M$ products, so I just step over anything having to do with M$. Works great for me...

Like SpicyApple, I have no plans to ever own an XBox because I'm not a gamer. What's more, I look forward to hooking the MacMini which lives in my stereo cabinet into the AppleTV, and being able to use FrontRow on my plasma TV.

It doesn't matter to me about XBox... I love Apple technology and design, and will support them at every turn.
 
appletv is not some mind blowing new product. It's just apple's take on something that's been around for years.
Um, yeah. That's obvious... The iPod wasn't a mind blowing new product either. It was just Apple's take on something that'd been around for years.

They put the polish on it required for the average consumer to feel comfortable with the product. End result was a product ready for the mass market.

A typical AVSforum comment about your DVD player solution = "I still would not recommend this player for Joe Sixpack.

I will heartily recommend it if you are a video geek. (You know who you are.)"

That's *exactly* the opposite experience Apple wants to give.

ps mine doesn't need stupid ass itunes to organize and serve up my movies....any folder location works for me!
Hate iTunes if you want, but I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the fact that with over 90 MILLION iPods having been sold, there's a HUGE (!!!!) base of "Joe Sixpacks" that are comfortable with knowing how to use iTunes to manage their library.

For those less-technically inclined (which I imagine to be the majority of the mass market), already being comfortable with the media management software (iTunes) is a HUGE plus in them chosing an AppleTV instead of a device like the I-O Data AVeL LinkPlayer2.

Real MP3 player geeks don't choose iPods.
I don't see why real video geeks would chose the AppleTV.

But to pretend that the AppleTV won't be a hit with the masses because you hate iTunes or because it doesn't play a format you like is pretty shortsighted, IMO.
 
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