Target to Carry Apple TVs?

[iMouseHD]

IMO the tv is just like the ipod video.

It is great for music and photo viewing and the video is there but not ideal in the execution.

For 299 I can plunk the box into a living room system that will allow me to listen to my music library, share photos with friends and family and have the novelty of watching videos if I choose to, all thru a very slick interface and ease of use via remote.

For me, I would not want to use a mac mini or a lap top to do music and photos due to cost and not needing the other functions of running an OS on our living room system.

I understand the frustration on the video side of things but understanding where the tv is right now, I would not have bought if for the video aspect alone, but I love the idea of it as a general no frills, ease of use, media hub.

I think the folks who shop at Target for devices such as an tv will get that.

 

[Avatar74]

I have yet to see an apple store display. I highly doubt that apple would demo a video that is of "poor quality". Maybe you just have way too high of standards.

No, he's on the money. The video they use in the in-store demos, not including the looped "commercial" on the boxes but the actual video that you can navigate to as you test it out... is atrocious... almost worse than 320x240.

Also, the Apple Store employees don't know what they're selling... I've been listening anonymously to sales pitches they give to other customers, and their lack of knowledge of the AppleTV and video/audio in general makes them no more useful to the sale than a Target or Best Buy employee.

Management is at fault for not training them adequately.

 

[papadopolis1024]

No Way

True, but then again, the advice you get at Comp USA is not all that much better....

In our comp usa store we have fully trained apple tech ppl and we have and apple rep right there! who is also the rep for tri state area!

 

[Vorst]

- If you never experienced the Apple TV yourself, you can't feel the need for it. I personally was very reluctant to buy this thing for the following reason:
1) film quality from the iTune is not DVD quality.(tried it, before I bought ATV)
2) couldn't believe that you could stream video correctly via g-type wireless network

After I bought it this is my experience:
1) Finally my all family can see my 1000's of fotos from my PC via a slideshow on the TV
2)or listen to my complete Music libary with a touch of button on my apple remote. During the music session you have a screensaver that shows very nicely all my pictures in small animated way. It really rocks.
3) I also managed to download TV shows in highdef format and stream them to my ATV without a hick-up via the g-netwerk. Just amazing. In my country HDef is not available yet.
4) If my son want to show his pictures or music from his laptop, you change the source on the ATV and magically get that information wireless from his laptop on the TV or our HiFi system in a seconds.
5)ATV box is so small that you hardly notice it.

This thing works so nice, it give the magic that I had when I had my first experience with my Mobile telephone many years ago. I'm so impressed I bought myself a new 50" flatscreen TV, to replace my 16 year old sony CRT TV (which I never felt replacing before till it broke).

-converting a DVD via my Mac/PC to ATV is giving be the same DVD quality as my DVD-player.
-If iTune could upgrade there video quality, I see this device replacing my DVD player for ever.

 

[glennyboiwpg]

- If you never experienced the Apple TV yourself, you can't feel the need for it. I personally was very reluctant to buy this thing for the following reason:
1) film quality from the iTune is not DVD quality.(tried it, before I bought ATV)
2) couldn't believe that you could stream video correctly via g-type wireless network

After I bought it this is my experience:
1) Finally my all family can see my 1000's of fotos from my PC via a slideshow on the TV
2)or listen to my complete Music libary with a touch of button on my apple remote. During the music session you have a screensaver that shows very nicely all my pictures in small animated way. It really rocks.
3) I also managed to download TV shows in highdef format and stream them to my ATV without a hick-up via the g-netwerk. Just amazing. In my country HDef is not available yet.
4) If my son want to show his pictures or music from his laptop, you change the source on the ATV and magically get that information wireless from his laptop on the TV or our HiFi system in a seconds.
5)ATV box is so small that you hardly notice it.

This thing works so nice, it give the magic that I had when I had my first experience with my Mobile telephone many years ago. I'm so impressed I bought myself a new 50" flatscreen TV, to replace my 16 year old sony CRT TV (which I never felt replacing before till it broke).

-converting a DVD via my Mac/PC to ATV is giving be the same DVD quality as my DVD-player.
-If iTune could upgrade there video quality, I see this device replacing my DVD player for ever.

I saw the apple tv last night for the first time... it looked impressive... but what I don't get, is that why steve jobs hasn't announced:

A: ITMS offing 720p movie/tv show downloads
B: ITMS not offing tv/movies to other countries such as canada??

I think appleTV is a great product but ITS ONLY HALF THE STORY! if you REALLY want this thing to take off, you NEED the ITMS to be able to offer awesome content!

just my two cents.

 

[FriarTuck]

Whenever I go into my local Target, the display XBox 360 is either turned off or stuck on a set-up screen. I expect the same for the TV.

Is Apple forgetting why they started opening Apple Retail Stores in the first place?

 

[RollTide]

No, the Apple store demo unit's media looks craptastic. Grainy, pixalated... Not exactly a good way to entice customers. The TV that was streaming content from a near by computer looked great, however.

I recently went to the Birmingham Al. store Grand Opening, and I was so suprised by the crap video. But as you said the streaming looks great.

 

[Porchland]

"Target will reportedly mimic Apple Stores with a full demonstration unit connected to a widescreen HDTV."

Yes, but will they mimic Apple Stores with the utter crap quality video media being used for the Apple Store demo units?

I hope not.

I think we're going to see HD content in the iTS store before the end of this year. Maybe when the new TV season starts in September but hopefully sooner.

HD is a given. I think the killer app is going to be direct purchase of content through tv over your wireless network -- without iTunes and without a computer.

 

[rezatayebi]

not that good

I`m sorry to say this apple TV is not that good. as a matter of fact it`s very expensive for what it does.
I have a xbox 360. it`s the same price but it does so much more. I can play awsome games , I can watch dvds...

APPLE MUSY FOCUS ON MAC

 

[jamiejamie]

Great Idea

Making Apple as mainstream as possible is a great idea for the company. Let's hope Apple doesn't lose focus on producing quality products as their success continues to grow.

 

[aricher]

why not just take the DVD out of the iMac and put it in your DVD player!!!!

Some of us actually like to reduce the clutter in our lives. By ripping all my CDs I was able to clear 2000+ CDs off the shelves in my living room. By ripping all my DVDs I'll be able to clear off several more shelves. Other benefits to this are faster, easier access to all content and preservation of the media - if you have ever let children handle DVDs you'll know what I mean. That said, I don't own an Apple TV yet, waiting until Rev. B or C for that. In the mean time I'm slowly ripping all my DVDs.

To paraphrase an old adage: a cluttered home equals a cluttered mind.

 

[egsaxy]

the chicken or the egg

I think appleTV is a great product but ITS ONLY HALF THE STORY! if you REALLY want this thing to take off, you NEED the ITMS to be able to offer awesome content!

I think that's the right question to ask. But why would tv studios sell show on iTunes if people can only watch them on tiny little ipod screens-- the novelty factor is there, but not an incentive to spend 2 bucks. Perhaps this was apple's way of going see now people have a reason to buy your content. Why should hollywood (and their international counterparts) spend time and money on digitizing their wares if there isn't a way for people to view/access it? But if there isn't anything to buy why should consumers try this media paradigm shift? I think apple did the right thing by saying -- here's why this content matters (you can watch it on big screen computer monitors and in early 2007 you can do it on tvs too) but you can get that content now. It creates buzz, and people thinking and analyzing what and how they do tv. As we see more movies, and tv shows added to iTunes the more willing people will be to get an Apple tv.

I personally buy into the mac mini approach with front row, but I understand why the apple tv is a simpler choice. When I get a flat pannel tv in January or February, we'll see which option is better.

 

[Telp]

Its great all the people that are now selling apple products. Just goes to show you that Apple is finally coming out and hitting it big. !

 

[orbital]

I have one and most mac people i tell about it, say "whats that?" I already have a DVR i don't need one. I have cable why would I want apple TV.

Which means, apple needs to step up its consumer awareness on this product.

That and only people with HDtvs would really be interested in it.

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

I went up to the Fifth Avenue store when the TV arrived. I was floored by the piss poor video resolution. It really did look like a youtube clip. The interface was smooth and the streaming was awesome, but none of this matters when the videos available look like utter crap. However, on my smaller flatscreen television, the 720x302 resolution movies I own will look fantastic, and with almost zero artifacts of compression. I know this because my iPod presents them beautifully already. Depite the woefully decrepit presentation in the store, I know full well that I myself would have no problem with the videos I currently rip, which is pretty much the majority of my library anyway.

But for what Apple is shooting for, HD is now a necessity. They won't last long with these blocky low resolution videos on TV's that basically show how compressed it really is.

 

[Abstract]

That and only people with HDtvs would really be interested in it.

Or only nerds, although regular folks have TVs too.


I know I'm not being as analytical as you lot, but like the iPod, which seemed ridiculous to me at first, the general population will eventually catch up with the technology. If customers continue with their DVDs and never rip them, and the iTMS never releases higher quality videos, then yes, TV will be a failure. However, as more people record TV to their computers, and as more people store movies on their computer harddrives, the TV will start to make more and more sense.

You could have said the same thing about the general population about their music listening habits, but people adopt new technology eventually. Apple is gambling that the general population is going to adopt this technology in this way. They're essentially taking a risk, hoping that people's habits will evolve in the direction that Apple envisions. If they don't, and they evolve in another direction because of alternatives ("I like my TiVo just fine, thank you") or because of a future unreleased product that people seem to like more than using their computer for everything media-related, then Apple will fail.

 

[aricher]

I've been to 3 Apple stores in the Chicago area. The resolution of The Incredibles on the Apple TVs was AWFUL. I overheard groups of people at each store commenting on how pixilated it looked. Apple better get some better content on the demo units PRONTO.

 

[mac-er]

As for the Target deal... well, I can't stand Target stores. I try to avoid them at all costs. When I walk in I feel like I'm stepping into the red-xenon-light decontamination room on the movie Andromeda Strain Target needs to re-think their interior design.

It's much better than the nasty, noisy warehouse feel of a Wal-Mart. At least most Targets keep the product full and straightened on the shelf. Wal-Mart shelves look like they just threw the crap on the shelf.

I wish Target would bring back Mac software...they had a small selection, but it was on the most convenient places to buy the most popular selections.

 

[uNext]

Mac Mini

I can vouch for the whole mac mini is a better solution then the apple tv.

As somebody pointed out -a person that spent thousand of dollars on their home theater setup will not slouch at an additional 400 to get it done right.

I am pretty sure this product will grow and expand but as of right now
there is really no need for it.

 

[MackyMoto]

Whether or not Apple TV will enjoy a large consumer adoption remains to be seen.

If Apple really wants AppleTV to take off they NEED to give it DVR capability AND they should tie it in with .Mac which would add some sorely need value to a .Mac membership. Apple could provide the programming data through .Mac as part of the standard membership package. AppleTV as it currently exists just isn't compelling enough for me. And I say that as an Apple fanatic.

 

[twinn233]

I wish you were right. Frankly, I couldn't believe what I was seeing either. The video demos were bad. Really bad. Not quite YouTube bad, but they looked closer to YouTube than they did to DVD. Honestly.

If you read any of the forums just after the AppleTV was released, you would have seen others report the same thing, from stores across the country (I had hoped it was just an issue at my local store).

I'm not sure what went wrong, as owners of AppleTVs later confirmed that video really did look better than what was shown at the Apple Stores. So why the demos were (are?) so bad is a mystery that remains unexplained. But seeing these things in action gave me a "no way I'm buying one of these if this is what the video looks like" reaction. And I typically have a hard time finding fault in Apple products.

Someone should have been fired for the junk those demo units were churning out for all the world to see.

Hold on, Hold on. I was at the Apple Store a few weeks ago and they had 4 Apple TVs on display. Not one of them looked bad. I really don't know what you're talking about. They were playing Heros and some other shows available on the iTunes Store and I was floored by the quality. It looked HD to me. I didn't notice anything wrong with the demo units. In fact I went into the store not wanting an Apple TV and walked out longing for one. But I don't have a widescreen HDTV so I can't get one... oh well.

Really though the Apple TV is very nice, and the video looks great.

 

[gkarris]

I've been to 3 Apple stores in the Chicago area. The resolution of The Incredibles on the Apple TVs was AWFUL. I overheard groups of people at each store commenting on how pixilated it looked. Apple better get some better content on the demo units PRONTO.

I was at the OBC store and BG looked pretty bad..

Now I was somewhere else where the person ripped (can I talk about this?) "Casino Royale" at TV's max specs. It was mastered in HD and the transfer was stunning on a 40" LCD...

 

[Clive At Five]

AppleTV is aimed at the tech savvy community, its ready for mass consumption when it won't need a computer in the network and get its content direct from the internet.

What?! tv is not aimed at tech-savvy users! Tech-savvy users creat solutions without dropping an extra $300 for an intermediate box... or they go all out and buy a MacMini, elgato and use the DarWiin-Remote hack for an on-the-couch complete solution. Guess which camp I'm in?

tv is basically trying to be the iPod for your TV and is aiming to give the same ease-of-use thereof.

-Clive

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

I'm going to have to go with the mac mini, simply because it's just far more versatile than the ATV. While I want the ATV to be a successful venture for Apple, the Mini provides way more. If I come home with a rental DVD, I can just pop it in the mini and *maybe* rip the DVD and encode it later

 

[aristobrat]

AppleTV is aimed at the tech savvy community, its ready for mass consumption when it won't need a computer in the network and get its content direct from the internet.

Have you seen the AppleTV ads? Apple's pitching the AppleTV as a way to watch the content you purchased from the iTunes Store on your TV. IMO, the AppleTV is a consumer accessory (just like the iPod) aimed squarely at the non-tech savvy community that have no clue how to do this otherwise.

Yeah, I don't think some people are even getting what the Apple TV commercial says. Most of my friends don't use computers the way we (the people on this board) do. They are just starting to import CDs into iTunes. I doubt they know iTunes even sells movies.

For what it's worth, as of 6 months ago, over 45 MILLION TV episodes had been downloaded from the iTunes Store. Your friends may not know that they can purchase video content from the iTS, but it doesn't appear to be a secret.

Is Apple forgetting why they started opening Apple Retail Stores in the first place?

There's still a huge part of the country not covered by Apple retail stores.
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/blackout_zone.html