![[text]](http://ilind.net/images_2010/appletv.jpg)
Apple delivered on its promise to ship this new product in September. Barely.
Fedex delivered the little box containing my newly purchased Apple TV at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the last day of September.
Yes, this does classify me as an early adopter, but we’ve been searching for a good television solution for a long time. Right now, we’re paying for lots of channels that we never watch. We don’t have a recorder because, well, we would probably forget to record the things we would like to watch.
So when Apple announced this $99 bit of new technology, I went right to the computer and put in an order.
So far, I give it an A+ grade.
I opened the box, took it out. It contained the Apple TV itself, a little bigger than a pack of cards, a coiled power cord, and a tiny remote, along with a few pages of instructions.
I already had a spare HDMI cable that came with our television. The hardest part of the installation was reaching behind the tv to plug the cable into the proper place. Then I plugged in the power cord. A green light went on. Apple TV was in business.
Within a couple of minutes, I was tooling around cyberspace looking at various options. After entering my email and password, I was browsing “on demand” offerings from Netflix. Nothing could have been easier. Picture and audio quality is very good. Then I went browsing on YouTube and made dinner for myself while watching old performances by Pete Seeger, Janis Joplin, and others, topped off with an episode or two of “The Office”.
It taps directly into Apple’s library of video and audio podcasts, everything from today’s NPR news to university lectures, all free.
Of course, Apple also has layers of paid content, new movies, television shows, etc.
But for now, it looks like there’s a whole lot of free content available, and a giant library of stuff via even the lowest priced Netflix plan.
Typing search terms or entering passwords using the tiny remote is the hardest part of the Apple TV, but they’ve got an answer. “Remote” is an app for iPhone or iPad that turns either into a high-powered media central controller. Problem solved.
So I am a very happy camper. I still have to learn how to stream other content from a computer, but that’s just gravy on an already delicious media meal.
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I am also trying to turn off the cable channels I don’t watch, but still have an old tube TV that won’t connect to my PC. So for $80 I bought a Roku box, which connects my TV and PC and allows me to access the $8.99/mo. Netfix instant offerings. I am very happy with this setup – there is PLENTY of stuff to watch. Not Youtube, yet, unfortunately, but I’ll bet it will be coming soon….
I’m also looking for a way to get rid of my cable, but my big hurdle is finding a good alternative to road runner. Any ideas or recs?
WooWoo,
While Apple TV, Netflix and Hulu (etc) offer alternatives for cable television, I don’t think there IS a good alternative to Roadrunner for broadband access to the internet.
But even these alternative routes to content may very well be choked off, or made much more expensive, if Net Neutrality is removed.
Welcome to the real world impact of monopoly capitalism. Unfortunately, the telecom giants own the leadership of both major political parties. And public support for anti-trust action on the part of government has been eroded successfully by corporate-financed Tea Party style complaints against “Big Government.” As if “Liberty” for the citizen/comsumer is somehow increased by allowing the telecom giants (or insurance, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, agri-business, etc giants) to run “free range” over the countryside, trampling as they go.
But I digress. Good luck!
Kolea-
I know… why don’t we just nationalize the cable companies and make access to the internet a human right? “No one should be denied access!”
😉
Bill Clinton, probably the most astute politician alive today, said last week that the current public backlash is against bigness. People are mad at both big government and big business.
But we digress!
Bill Clinton, probably the most astute political whore alive today, has earned over a hundred million dollars in pay-offs for services to the Super Rich since leaving office (for which “services” exactly?)…
But we digress.
Clearly you meant to say Sarah Palin.
Ian, I don’t know much about all the gadgets you’ve purchased, but hubby plans to buy a 70″ 3D TV, when Netflix rents out 3D movies. He’s holding off for now, because there is hardly any software and he doesn’t want to buy the movies.
Back ON Topic.
Engadget has a pretty thorough review of the new Apple TV (2G). Among the interesting pieces of info, the OS has already been jailbroken, though it appears the exploit is not yet available to the public. Give it a few days.
A jailbreak would probably allow free the ATV from its current restrictions, allowing the owner to fully use the potential of the powerful technology in the device. It currently is artificially hobbled as to which file formats it can play and its ability to play video files from the local network.
Since both my desktop and laptops are pre-Intel Macs, I have not been able to benefit from streaming Netflix video. At $99, especially with the possibilities unleashed with a Jailbreak, this device might be a good fit for my present needs.
Ooops! Here’s the link to the Engadget review:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/29/apple-tv-review-2010/
at our home, we have a networked computer hooked up to our tv and use programs like boxee and xbmc to watch tv shows and movies. both programs also link up to various services, like youtube, netflix, etc. for the first six months of 2010, we disconnected our television cable service and used this system only, as a way of saving money. we now have cable again but still use this other system regularly. i would say each system is used 50/50 as complements to each other. the main downside to the computer/internet version is the quantity/variety of shows/content available.
Speak in Plain English please. What are you people writing about?
I still haven’t been able to do anything more on my iPhone beyond make & receive calls. The iPod I bought at the end of July is still sitting in the box alongside my 2003 Dell desktop with a 20 lb. monitor. I am so untechnical and have even gone to workshops at the Apple stores and bought Dummy books – but I still don’t know what to do with these thingees.
I was planning to buy an iPad, a Notebook, and a fancy-shmancy desktop, but I cannot bring myself to spend that kind of money on stuff that is unknowable and unlearnable.
From a marketing standpoint, Apple products are a big success. They sound & look easy to use except they aren’t; by the time I figured that out that, I’d sipped away nealy $500 .
BTW – why would anyone want to watch tv on a something about the size of a cinnaman roll?
HILARIOUS!!! LOL.
By the way, I am just as technologically illiterate as you are. Thank God for a husband who is literate.
Just a quick note, for anyone who does not have an iPhone or iPad, the Remote app is also available for the iPod Touch.