Comments on: Loving Apple TV http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/ Personal site of Ryan M. Jacobs Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:29:00 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Michael | Family Hack http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Michael | Family Hack Fri, 16 May 2008 12:26:44 +0000 http://ryanjacobs.com/?p=50#comment-23 Hi Ryan, I couldn't agree more. The AppleTV is misunderstood and underrated. We're long time Mac heads and have multiple Macs & iPods. However, we never considered the AppleTV. On paper it just didn't seem too compelling. Several months ago I bought one for my parents so they could easily watch home video of their grandkids on their TV. Since they are in their 70's I wasn't sure if they would take to it and was prepared to return it. The minute the first photo appeared on the screen my Mom clutched her chest, gasped and got a tear in her eye. I knew right then it was a keeper. The photos just look so good on the HDTV. They love watching the screensaver of their photos as they get to see photos they haven't seen in a long time. They'll sit there for several minutes just oohing and aahing. Your other comment about feeling obligated to a DVR is spot on. We had Satellite TV for 5 months and finally killed it. We were watching a bunch of marginal crap that we wouldn't normally watch if we had to go get it. Now, we watch only the shows we really want and feel more in control of our experience. The bottom line is the AppleTV just feels good. best, Michael http://www.familyhack.com Hi Ryan,

I couldn’t agree more. The AppleTV is misunderstood and underrated. We’re long time Mac heads and have multiple Macs & iPods. However, we never considered the AppleTV. On paper it just didn’t seem too compelling.

Several months ago I bought one for my parents so they could easily watch home video of their grandkids on their TV. Since they are in their 70’s I wasn’t sure if they would take to it and was prepared to return it.

The minute the first photo appeared on the screen my Mom clutched her chest, gasped and got a tear in her eye. I knew right then it was a keeper. The photos just look so good on the HDTV. They love watching the screensaver of their photos as they get to see photos they haven’t seen in a long time. They’ll sit there for several minutes just oohing and aahing.

Your other comment about feeling obligated to a DVR is spot on. We had Satellite TV for 5 months and finally killed it. We were watching a bunch of marginal crap that we wouldn’t normally watch if we had to go get it. Now, we watch only the shows we really want and feel more in control of our experience.

The bottom line is the AppleTV just feels good.

best,
Michael
http://www.familyhack.com

]]> By: Ryan http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-17 Ryan Thu, 15 May 2008 23:27:12 +0000 http://ryanjacobs.com/?p=50#comment-17 @Aaron: You can have Apple TV access files on your Time Capsule? How does that work? I don't have a Time Capsule, but this intrigues me -- makes me think I can use this as an always on centralized location that plays well with iTunes? @Aaron: You can have Apple TV access files on your Time Capsule? How does that work? I don’t have a Time Capsule, but this intrigues me — makes me think I can use this as an always on centralized location that plays well with iTunes?

]]> By: D9 http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-16 D9 Thu, 15 May 2008 18:04:26 +0000 http://ryanjacobs.com/?p=50#comment-16 Yep, throw me in the pool of very satisfied Apple TV owners! I agree with everyone's assessment before. Only minor things need tweaking. But I have to say my biggest surprise in having an Apple TV (which is not even required) is the discovery of all the cool video Podcasts. Having them subscribed to update automatically as well as perusing via the Apple TV has made it a daily experience. The breadth and quality of episodes is amazing. / Yep, throw me in the pool of very satisfied Apple TV owners!

I agree with everyone’s assessment before. Only minor things need tweaking. But I have to say my biggest surprise in having an Apple TV (which is not even required) is the discovery of all the cool video Podcasts. Having them subscribed to update automatically as well as perusing via the Apple TV has made it a daily experience. The breadth and quality of episodes is amazing.

/

]]> By: Nathan http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Nathan Thu, 15 May 2008 15:48:24 +0000 http://ryanjacobs.com/?p=50#comment-11 With Blu-Ray players still pricey, this is a great way to get HD for a low price and with the convenience of home downloads as well. The fiber-optic sound connection provides the best surround sound I've heard yet out of my system. Only complaints are wishing rentals would last 48 hours (instead of 24) and more movies available for HD rental. With these exceptions, I've been amazed by what this little box can do. Typical Apple product, it just works! With Blu-Ray players still pricey, this is a great way to get HD for a low price and with the convenience of home downloads as well. The fiber-optic sound connection provides the best surround sound I’ve heard yet out of my system.

Only complaints are wishing rentals would last 48 hours (instead of 24) and more movies available for HD rental.

With these exceptions, I’ve been amazed by what this little box can do. Typical Apple product, it just works!

]]> By: Aaron http://ryanjacobs.com/2008/05/15/loving-apple-tv/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Aaron Thu, 15 May 2008 15:19:14 +0000 http://ryanjacobs.com/?p=50#comment-10 I love my AppleTV. I bought it right away, and although version two is better then the first, it still wasn’t that bad to begin with. I figured Apple would work with it and they did! I have transferred most of my favorite music playlists from iTunes to it, plus I watch or listen to daily podcasts, my favorite YouTube videos, my iPhoto albums, and purchased TV shows from iTunes. Plus, WOW! Do iTunes rented HD movies look and sound great! I’ll never rent another DVD again. I can see buying another AppleTV later with a larger hard drive, as I have iTunes setup to transfer new TV shows to the AppleTV until I watch them. I tend to buy a lot of shows and I like to keep them there so that I don’t have to have my MacBook on all the time for streaming the shows to the AppleTV. I would like to see more HD content from iTunes, such as music videos! I would be wiling to pay an extra dollar for some videos to be able to buy them in HD. I also have a 1TB TimeCapsule on a real 802.11n (5 GHz) network, and I actually store my iTunes videos there, which works out great! I love my AppleTV. I bought it right away, and although version two is better then the first, it still wasn’t that bad to begin with. I figured Apple would work with it and they did! I have transferred most of my favorite music playlists from iTunes to it, plus I watch or listen to daily podcasts, my favorite YouTube videos, my iPhoto albums, and purchased TV shows from iTunes.

Plus, WOW! Do iTunes rented HD movies look and sound great! I’ll never rent another DVD again.

I can see buying another AppleTV later with a larger hard drive, as I have iTunes setup to transfer new TV shows to the AppleTV until I watch them. I tend to buy a lot of shows and I like to keep them there so that I don’t have to have my MacBook on all the time for streaming the shows to the AppleTV.

I would like to see more HD content from iTunes, such as music videos! I would be wiling to pay an extra dollar for some videos to be able to buy them in HD. I also have a 1TB TimeCapsule on a real 802.11n (5 GHz) network, and I actually store my iTunes videos there, which works out great!

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