Early Apple TV Sales Estimated at 1 Million Per Quarter

[DJinTX]

I just had a revelation about my TV. I pay $30/month for cinemax and showtime and I watch 1 show between the two of them and I don’t even like it that much – Dexter. If I get the $9/month Netflix – I can save $20 and watch any freaking tv show or movie I want on my apple tv whenever I want - i get a much larger selection that the pay channels. am i missing something or is this a no brainer?

Okay I was with you until you said you don't like Dexter very much. How is this possible? Dexter is one of the best shows on TV right now!

As for your plan, for the most part you are correct. When my wife and I first got hooked on Dexter they had the first 2 seasons on instant streaming, and it was awesome. But guess what, season 3 and 4 still are not on instant, so we had to wait for DVDs in the mail. I wouldn't count on these appearing anytime soon, at least until Netflix makes a bigger commitment to instant and beefs up their library.

 

[Caliber26]

I just had a revelation about my TV. I pay $30/month for cinemax and showtime and I watch 1 show between the two of them and I don’t even like it that much – Dexter. If I get the $9/month Netflix – I can save $20 and watch any freaking tv show or movie I want on my apple tv whenever I want - i get a much larger selection that the pay channels. am i missing something or is this a no brainer?

Yep!! Dexter, along with MANY other shows/series, is available on Netflix. So if you have an TV, iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad, you can view any of the Netflix content available for streaming. It would be a VERY sound decision to ditch that premium subscription you have for Cinemax & Showtime. I, myself, am about to kiss off cable and keep just the basic network channels @ home.

 

[jp102235]

wake on lan for itunes

That's my problem: I don't want to have a central Mac (or PC for that matter) running 24/7. First there's the cost issue of having a server PC that essentially exists for the sole purpose of being able to watch a movie on a whim. Then there's the energy consumption.


I would even entertain the notion of replacing (or augmenting) my D-Link NAS with a Time Capsule, if it was simply a matter of Apple wanting you to stay within their ecosystem (and possibly even for legitimate reasons, like DRM negotiation). But a dedicated computer running 24/7 is not an option.

see:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3774

some kind of way, using time capsule / airport base station, your 'server' can sleep until you need it. Seems like os x _may_ listen to other wake-on-lan capable routers- I am not sure though.

also: in-home servers can be cool: they can manage backups, serve your blog, share your itunes over the net, or even just act as a backup computer when your main one goes down for repair.

j

 

[PowerGamerX]

Dude, chill out, then learn some grammar and ways to type easy to read sentences.

 

[E.Lizardo]

'And more' is accurate...
Check out their idea of a tasteful remote...

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/05/google-tv-remote/

OMG I thought that was something from the Onion at first.What a monstrosity.
Reminds me of this:
http://www.theonion.com/video/sony-releases-new-stupid-piece-of-****-that-doesnt,14309/

Note to the sensitive:Like most things on the Onion,profanity aplenty.

 

[E.Lizardo]

it is more functional. but with TV's, bluray players already having netflix, you are really buying into the iTunes store and airplay.

Not me.I've had the original model from day one and I've purchased exactly one movie and rented two.I bought it for audio streaming,streaming my ripped videos,AND for Netflix,no more hunting for the special Wii disc.Additional content"apps",hacked or official,will be gravy.

 

[richman555]

I have the original Apple TV and I am glad that people are experiencing how great it is. It truly has changed things for me. I have a 2TB external hard drive connected to my Mac via Firewire 800 and keep everything stored there. It works like an absolute charm. I own every episode of The Office and have about 20-30 movies. I may try renting more often as .99 cents makes it very tempting.

 

[CP123]

I am so tempted to buy this thing. If they stream live sports on the Apple TV, then I would jump all over it. I think with NBC streaming its football games live over the internet is a start. I just wish every sport will do the same. Then there will be no need for cable tv.

 

[DarkTimber]

A cool gadget for $99

I've wasted way more money on stuff not nearly as cool as this, so I'm looking forward to getting mine as soon as possible. If it's half as functional as Apple says it is, I'll be happy...

 

[DarkTimber]

lmao!

 

[shk718]

Okay I was with you until you said you don't like Dexter very much. How is this possible? Dexter is one of the best shows on TV right now!

As for your plan, for the most part you are correct. When my wife and I first got hooked on Dexter they had the first 2 seasons on instant streaming, and it was awesome. But guess what, season 3 and 4 still are not on instant, so we had to wait for DVDs in the mail. I wouldn't count on these appearing anytime soon, at least until Netflix makes a bigger commitment to instant and beefs up their library.

actually i do like Dexter - but do i like it $150/year for 1 show. i saw that nexflix has a 1 month free trial - i'll do that to see how much stuff they have on it.

 

[Optimus Frag]

I store my iTunes liberary and content on an external HD not on my iMac.

I've just brought a new router that has a USB to connect to an external HD for network use.

Would I still need my iMac on if I switched the HD with the iTunes content on it to the routers USB? Surely the Apple TV has a version of iTunes on it that could read the liberary folder and not need the iMac on?

It would make too much difference to me as the iMac is only really off when I'm out or asleep.

 

[Stelph]

I guess I just don't understand the value (for me at least) of the ATV.

1)I get the streaming Netflix concept...that's easily understood and I can do that already. So no value here for me. Besides, I think the Netflix selection stinks for streaming...not to mention the performance.

2)I can pay and rent tv shows...? why? Why not just watch them or record them with my dvr every week? Unless there are very premium shows like HBO or Showtime (for $.99) that I do not have to own HBO or Showtime. My tv cable bill alone is $70/month for 1 cablebox...I'm not paying $.99 to watch a Seinfeld rerun that is on TBS every day or the newest Discovery Channel show that I can dvr for free.

3)There is no mention that I can store my bazillion dvds or blurays on the ATV. Nor can I attach a USB drive filled with movies. Nor is there any mention of streaming these movies from my personal network (and even if I could, I would bet I would be forced to store my movies in iTunes).

4)I can rent movies. From where? Who promises and guarantees the quality? And I only get 24 hours to watch it from the second I press Play? This concept (common in Pay Per View) has annoyed me for years. There are plenty of times that I'd like to watch the movie again...or the wife fell asleep...or something interrupted us. I'll keep my simple 3-dvd Netflix account where I can easily rent 10+ month for about $15 (compared to $40 if I rented via Apple)...all in beautiful quality with no cable operators pointing fingers at why the video stinks/freezes/performs badly. And I can watch the movie more than once if needed...or pause/resume quite easily...or take it to another dvd/bluray player.


Whether it's $99 or $299, I just don't get what the lure is unless you're a consumer who owns no cable and thus has nothing to begin with. I bought a Western Digital WD TV a few weeks ago and love it for #3 above. The $99 ATV price is very catchy but after thinking it out for a few mins, at least for me, I don't see the point. Unless someone can elaborate on something I'm overlooking.

Hey, I'm all ears if someone can give me some reasons to buy ATV.

-Eric

Well for me its not what it does now its what it will do in the near future, Airplay and (hopefully) app store.

Im based in the UK, where I have a freesat PVR so I get all my TV for free (TV licence notwithstanding) so I have no interest in the TV rentals, the movie rentals is a possibility and I dont have lovefilm because I dont watch that many movies, but I do like having a film or two to hand, especially the 99p weekly films.

The main thing that I like this device for is the potential of Airplay, as I spend a lot of time sat on my sofa browsing the web on my Iphone, sometimes I find a video that i like and want to watch so with the AppleTV I could send it to the TV with no hassle. Similarly we have a Catchup service called iPlayer and I could also use that to find programmes that I missed and send those to the ATV for viewing as well.

Then theres also the potential of an App store, nothing really needs to be said about the potential there..... Essentially for $99 (so glad I could pick one up last week when I was in the USA) its a great little device with a lot of potential

 

[Scarpad]

I liked my original and I like that the new one is so small and cool. But... I miss being able to purchase content thru it, and there is no able not to allow it, just simply have the content download to the currently selected Itunes library as if purchasing from the Computer. Whats the issue with this? Also I would buy my content from Itunes if it was a bit cheaper. $2.99 for a HD episode is too much. Season passes work out to be $50 or more and the inevitable blue rays are around the same and 1080p. Plus if you wait a month r two you can get them for less. Sons of Anarchy was purchased by me for Around $25 bucks. I think $1.99 for an HD episode and I would Spring for them.

 

[sirozha]

I liked my original and I like that the new one is so small and cool. But... I miss being able to purchase content thru it, and there is no able not to allow it, just simply have the content download to the currently selected Itunes library as if purchasing from the Computer. Whats the issue with this? Also I would buy my content from Itunes if it was a bit cheaper. $2.99 for a HD episode is too much. Season passes work out to be $50 or more and the inevitable blue rays are around the same and 1080p. Plus if you wait a month r two you can get them for less. Sons of Anarchy was purchased by me for Around $25 bucks. I think $1.99 for an HD episode and I would Spring for them.

I am contemplating dropping my TV cable altogether in favor of season passes available on iTunes. I never watch the same episode twice, so to me renting would be perfect, especially if it is $.99/episode. However, none of the shows we watch is currently available for rent at this price via the new Apple TV. So, I will have to buy season passes through the iTunes store and stream from my Mac to the new Apple TV. I would prefer being able to "purchase" these same episodes directly from the new Apple TV even if it meant having to overwrite a previously purchased episode due to the small internal storage capacity. Because I never watch the same episode twice, purchasing episodes on iTunes is the same thing to me as renting episodes via the new Apple TV. The price is the only difference. However, even at $50/season per show, I would be spending less than half of what I am spending now on Cable TV each year.

 

[jdbr]

Great little device, but mine has a fault: screen goes green and then a pink picture for about 10 mins. Apple are sending a replacement, but I don't hold out much hope of a solution. A lot of people seem to have the same problem!

 

[notjustjay]

I am contemplating dropping my TV cable altogether in favor of season passes available on iTunes. I never watch the same episode twice, so to me renting would be perfect, especially if it is $.99/episode. However, none of the shows we watch is currently available for rent at this price via the new Apple TV. So, I will have to buy season passes through the iTunes store and stream from my Mac to the new Apple TV. I would prefer being able to "purchase" these same episodes directly from the new Apple TV even if it meant having to overwrite a previously purchased episode due to the small internal storage capacity. Because I never watch the same episode twice, purchasing episodes on iTunes is the same thing to me as renting episodes via the new Apple TV. The price is the only difference. However, even at $50/season per show, I would be spending less than half of what I am spending now on Cable TV each year.

I cut cable/satellite a few years ago, and I haven't really missed it. Between iTunes (for recent shows), DVD box sets (for older shows), and OTA broadcasts (availability varies by region), I've got pretty much all the entertainment I need. When I was paying for satellite TV the bill was about $50/month, there were hundreds of channels, but nothing to watch...

 

[sirozha]

I cut cable/satellite a few years ago, and I haven't really missed it. Between iTunes (for recent shows), DVD box sets (for older shows), and OTA broadcasts (availability varies by region), I've got pretty much all the entertainment I need. When I was paying for satellite TV the bill was about $50/month, there were hundreds of channels, but nothing to watch...

My cable bill was just bumped up from $85/month to $125/month (not including the Internet), and I don't even have any additional HD channels. All I have is your standard digital cable package (which includes some HD channels) and an HD DVR. This is completely ridiculous, and you are right - there's nothing to watch even though I have hundreds of channels. Because I cannot choose and pick the channels (a la carte), I am forced to pay for the mediocre channels I never watch. That's why the new Apple TV is so appealing to me. I just wish there were more content for rent at this point. As it stands now, direct rentals from the new Apple TV are useless to me.