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Do you think Apple TV is ever going to really take off?

IF
they add local hd network over the air content for free
AND
New .99 cent movies like a Redbox or Blockbuster kiosk.
THEN
It will take off.
 
noteple said:
IF
they add local hd network over the air content for free
AND
New .99 cent movies like a Redbox or Blockbuster kiosk.
THEN
It will take off.
Click to expand...

I dont think those will make it take off, if they offer an app store for it just like the iphone/ipod/ipad, then it will take off, just my theory though.
 
To be honest at the moment I think Apple would be better off promoting the ATV as an iPhone/iPad accessory. I think if they showed more of Airplay sales would pick up even more.

This would probably change whenever the actual Apple television launches - then they could market the ATV as a way to add similar (but likely not all) the functionality to your existing TV.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Playing back 1080p via wired connection. I've shot this video at 1080p with good consumer camcorders, imported it into FCP X and rendered it as Pro Res 422. Then I've used Handbrake with the stock high profile to yield a final file. I've checked things like Mbps, etc to be sure the final render fits below :apple:TV3 specs (and it does by a long way).

The video plays fine in Quicktime on my Macs with no stuttering, but stutters on :apple:TV3. No ISP involvement (it stutters with the local stream from Mac to :apple:TV3 with an AEBS as the "middle man"). I've tried everything already and am increasingly convinced it's a software playback bug... possibly tied to that latest software update as I don't remember (or didn't notice it doing this) before the update.

It's not an overwhelming stutter making it unwatchable, just not the "silky smooth" you describe. Apparently the issue is tied to buffering while playing back and stops once the video file is fully buffered (and no it's not "catching up" to the buffering). It also seems to be most prevalent at 1080p (I'm not seeing it in 720p or SD files).

I'm not the only one with the problem. Do a search for "Apple TV 3 stutter" and read the threads. If you have no stutter with 1080p content, consider yourself lucky. Some people aren't noticing until they look for it and it seems it's more noticeable on bigger screens.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Thanks for the info! I have only been watching iTunes Store and Netflix content so far, which has been smooth, but my HDTV cannot display 1080p, so it's not a fair comparison to what you're doing.
 
It has lots of potential but is severely gimped in its current form. Of course if it did more then it's currently doing now, be sure apple would charge more then $99 for it
 
iisforiphone said:
what types of apps would there be for ATV
Click to expand...

In addition to apps that might have a hardware connection (DVR, BluRay), I see a lot of apps being essentially content subscriptions. If you want baseball, use the MBP app. If you want to watch Big Bang Theory, it would have its own app... or CBS would have an all-inclusive app.

It's very possible that some of these would also have subscription fees on top of the app purchase, but I welcome any option that lets people purchase content instead of delivery. It's a better deal for the consumer.
 
godslabrat said:
In addition to apps that might have a hardware connection (DVR, BluRay), I see a lot of apps being essentially content subscriptions. If you want baseball, use the MBP app. If you want to watch Big Bang Theory, it would have its own app... or CBS would have an all-inclusive app.

It's very possible that some of these would also have subscription fees on top of the app purchase, but I welcome any option that lets people purchase content instead of delivery. It's a better deal for the consumer.
Click to expand...

That's what I've been thinking for a while but I can't see that being cheaper than the cost of cable TV. What would entice people to switch?
 
I have an ATV1 and was very much awaiting native 1080p playback of my movies with ATV3. But I am very disappointed because the ATV3 UI is geared towards internet content rather than accessing local content.

Because there is no JB, having to leave iTunes on all the time to access local content is a real pain.

So I'm starting to give on Apple constantly closing-up on everything that is not part of their iTunes centric vision:

(1) Now my ATV 1 has the crystalHD card and is running XBMC from the crystalbuntu installation on the internal hard drive. It SMB mounts to the NAS for Movies
=> I'm very impressed with the performance, GUI is not the best but highly customizable

(2) I just use my ATV3 to stream my photos and music (NAS to TV via iTunes). This is a real pain to work via the new GUI compared to my previous sync'd music/photos to have them available locally on my 250GB internal ATV1 drive.
=> My old ATV 1 was much snappier in handling my large music/photo collection compared to the new streaming via ATV3/iTunes

IMHO in the absence of a jailbreak ATV is going nowhere except backwards. The best route for Apple is to allow an official XBMC app for the ATV3 or that they themselves break the need for run iTunes so that I can easily access content on my NAS or a capsule of some sort.
 
Every one keeps saying stuf along the lines of "If Apple pushed it harder they could sell more" but you don't realize that Apple can push products all they want but if the content providers don't help them they are just spinning wheels for no reason. Apple is allowing the AppleTV to exist right now to have a user-base for when it can be big. It's much like starting a magazine - you need to have a reader base before you can sell ads in the magazine (kind of a screwed up cycle but it is the way it works).

Once Apple builds their content base enough to where they feel comfortable pushing it to the AppleTV they will. Basing off the recent UI change, I think this is happening soon - maybe Monday? Apps and Folders will hopefully become a possible thing.
 
AppleDApp said:
That's what I've been thinking for a while but I can't see that being cheaper than the cost of cable TV. What would entice people to switch?
Click to expand...

Value for the money. Lots of people pay $50-$200 each month for content. This puts even the smallest cable TV packages at $600 per year. Let's say your main motivation is to watch football and Family Guy. There could be an NFL app that costs $150, an NCAA app that costs $200, and a season of FG costs $50. That's a whopping $400, but if it's really all you want, you're still saving $200 over the course of the year.

Or let's say you're a sitcom fan, and you watch two primetime shows every night. If each one is $50/season, that's $500. You're still $100 ahead.

Granted, I'm completely pulling these prices out of my ass, but my point is that the content providers could charge A LOT for their apps and still end up being a better deal for the viewer.
 
Apple TV has really "evolved" into something quite wonderful.

This is how I envisioned TV 30 years ago - before the internet, so it wasn't feasible at that time.

So Apple, with it's enormous resources and the genius of the late Steve Jobs have developed this infrastructure that works very, very well.

It's great being able to listen to music (iTunes Match or Airplay), rent or buy HD movies and TV shows, watch previews and access the internet (in a limited fashion thus far).

The user interface is great, easy to use and intriguing - I spend hours tinkering with it. Response time is usually excellent, except on weekends when it does slow down noticeably.

I look forward to even more features and performance improvements to come
 
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