What's the rest of the world doing with their Apple TVs?

Ok, so you've set up your recently shipped Apple TV, you've upgraded its HDD, and you've got it to play your Xvid movies. For just a moment, why don't you take a break from continually rebooting your Apple TV just so you can see the flashy startup sequence again to spare a thought for the rest of the world and the pitiful amount of TV and movie content that their respective iTunes stores make available to them. See, whilst you may have spent the last few days loading up your collection of TV shows and movies from the last 18 months, the rest of the world has had to settle for "home movies, music, and photos", as quoted from the Apple TV's UK Apple Store product page. Professor Joshua Gans at the Melbourne Business School spotted a bunch of these little disclaimer differences on the Australian Apple website too: Apple even went through the trouble to replace all the tiny TV show / movie titles in the US promotional material with stock imagery on regional sites with no video content. Hit up the read link to see some comparisons between the Australian and US Apple TV literature, and then drop back here to tell us what exactly you've been watching on your new box.

[earthling @ Mar 25th 2007 6:57PM]

We got our Apple TV in the other day. Luckily I can use it as a work related device so it didn't end up costing me anything, good thing for that because its not really worth much at this point. No, I am not an MCE fanboy. I have a Mac Pro tower as my main machine, a 17" Macbook pro, and an older G5 imac. I also have a dual core/Vista ultimate installed system and an XBOX 360. On to the apple tv. Its slick as snot from a gui perspective, easy to get running just like all the articles say, much easier to get on the local network than the xbox for instance (and share files). But thats about it. Just comparing available trailers the ones I can get for the Xbox 360 look quite a bit better. Neither compares with the XBOX and HD-DVDs (not even close, not even within shouting distance). Its pretty much what all the reviews say, easy to get up and running, easy to use, but really, its pretty boring, has locked up a few times, and there just isn't that much to do with it. I wish they had included some form of LCD display so that I could play music without having the TV on, that would have been useful. But the bottom line is users in other countries aren't missing much if they skip the Apple TV all together and just go get an XBOX 360 (closest comparable console because of network sharing) or a PS3. Either is a much better deal than the Apple TV.

[Bill Jobs @ Mar 25th 2007 7:03PM]

Can somone please tell me why anyone would buy one of these? A Mac Mini is a LOT better, supports 1080p, provides DVR fuctionality via some 3rd party software, has a web broser, email, VLC, etc etc, you know, the real osx.

You can get a used Mac mini for same price or a brand new one for a few hundred bux more. I bypassed all that junk alltogether and got myself a Macbook for use as a Home Theatre computer. It works swell FTW.

[Chris @ Mar 25th 2007 11:17PM]

do you even know what FTW stands for? "It works swell for the win." that somehow seems right to you?

acronyms are not like smilies, you can't just toss them in a random places and expect to make sense. And "for the win!" needs an exclamation point, it's an exclamation! you shout it and throw you hands up!

Oh, and what if you already have a PC with DVR that you don't want next to your tv? what if your TV doens't have vga inputs? a VGA to composite converter box cost almost as much as a apple tv.

If I could get a box like this, at this price, except it could run any OS I want I would jump right on it. I;m sure the apple tv can run linux, maybe even a version of windows, and if I had the free time I would figure it out. When someone does figure it out, I will be looking hard at one.

[Bill Jobs @ Mar 25th 2007 11:32PM]

using a real computer instead of a appleTV wins,... thats why i say FTW at the end. get with the times old man its called communication not english class 101.

you are an idiot if you are going to wait till they can "hack linux onto apple TV"... like I said get a mac mini and be done with it.

btw, a dvi to vga adapter is less than $10... why you oldschool uber nerds feel the need to buy expensive cables and switches to simply connect stuff is beyond me. KISS ftw!

apple tv is for idiots. using a real mac with your tv is for winners. The End.

[danb @ Mar 25th 2007 8:01PM]

I've got about 5 gigs worth of podcasts... and I've been using my new project CastCluster to push youtube videos and videos from my local disk out to apple tv... it attempts to convert anything that's not mpeg4 (one of the few formats the apple tv will view)... still actively working on it.

blog:
http://castcluster.blogspot.com/

google project:
http://code.google.com/p/castcluster/

[Renegrub @ Mar 25th 2007 8:01PM]

Added the 160GB hard drive; now I've got all of my music, all of my photos, all of my tv shows and 60 random movies I've converted from DVD to MP4. Nothing crazy new, but works as advertised (once I upgraded the hard drive). I will use it more for music I think (in the end). The reason no mac mini for me is that my Sony 1080p requires I use VGA for computers and it doesn't use the full screen, so at least this I can hook up via component cables. No need for 1080p over 1080i considering my content.

[Claus Christensen @ Mar 25th 2007 8:04PM]

Well Canadian users are in the same boat, No movies or TV shows to buy..and WHO CARES?. The content offered is old and un-intersting.

I am in the process of ripping my entire 800 DVD collection to H264 on a 1TB firewire 8 HD. Yes the files can be compressed to play with the 1080I setting on Apple TV, and yes they spit out just as good a picture as a DVD (in my opinion) I am for one happy with our Apple TV, so far it has been work the bucks to stream. Would I care if Canada got Itune Movies....as Borat said, I would pause pause pause NOT

[Damon DG @ Apr 4th 2007 8:57PM]

I'm interested to know your process of ripping DVDs to H.264. So far, my experience has yielded between 2 - 8 hours for ripping a single DVD, depending on what bitrate and other settings I used. I was also not able to get meta data in any automated way. I use DVDpedia for Mac Mini and it's been great! How can I replicate the experience in Apple TV?

What I want is:
1) DVD quality
2) 5.1 surround sound or 2 channel, depending on the system used (like a regular DVD offers)
3) To get cover art and meta data when scrolling titles (DVDpedia is a good example, but more movie info would be nice on the "black screen")

Does anyone have any suggestions to achieve this on an Apple TV. I am currently using a Mac Mini, but WANT to use Apple TVs due to their simple interface for non-tech savvy users in the house.

[Brett B @ Mar 25th 2007 8:07PM]

I have a mac mini w/ dvr hooked up to a 27 inch flatscreen hdtv= I don't need one of these.

[Kev50027 @ Mar 25th 2007 8:31PM]

The real title should be "Who gives a damn about the AppleTV, and why does Engadget keep mentioning it?"

[lolMacNoobs @ Mar 25th 2007 8:46PM]

LOL, I think the best answer is RETURN IT.
There are so many reason's not to buy an Apple TV :
http://www.microsoftisawesome.com/2007/03/apple-tv-vs-xbox-360-media-center.html
http://www.microsoftisawesome.com/2007/03/apple-tv-i-cant-stop-not-liking-it.html

The only reason to own this is if you have money to BURN on inferior, pointless products, or if you absolutely love the idea of pay-to-own tv episodes.

[Cleverboy @ Mar 25th 2007 9:03PM]

Sometimes its amusing to read the people who don't like the AppleTV and can't understand why anyone else would. Othertimes its simply... boring. So, very... very... boring. Like watching drunks who can't keep walking into a bar and asking why other drinkers like the one beer they don't even though it costs about the same.

Snap out of it, weirdos. Choice is coice. If you don't "get" someone else's choice, it might be random preference or that they're dumber or smarter than you. Don't make yourself crazy about it.

Me. I think Apple TV rocks, and whether I get it or a MacMini, I'll likely NEVER get an XBox. I want a Wii, and I don't care for Microsoft's fund floater ecosystem. Cheers.

[Franco @ Mar 25th 2007 9:55PM]

so old news. I notice this on the launch date. When all the apple tv site of different region went up.

[kris @ Mar 25th 2007 10:02PM]

@ lolMacNoobs

It's funny someone that thinks Microsoft is awesome thinks they are smart enough to talk bad about AppleTV? What a loser!

[Patrick Case @ Mar 25th 2007 11:03PM]

I am very upset with Apple right now. I identified the fact that Apple more than implied to Canadians that they would be able to play movies and TV shows on Apple TV. They could not and did not mean that such content would be "ripped" from non-iTunes sources. It's just misleading advertising. I for one am not going to fall for it. I'll buy Apple TV when I can download movies from iTunes and not a day before. If Wal-Mart can cut deals with all of the production companies and get 3000 movies online, how come Apple cannot do the same. If the trouble is on this side of the border and canadian TV or government authorities are putting up barriers, let us know so that as consumers we can lobby the right people.

[Chris @ Mar 25th 2007 11:18PM]

whoops, that should be "vga to component converter"... damned fingers

[z3rr0 @ Mar 25th 2007 11:39PM]

Here's why: http://www.zerologic.com/site/page/pg4759-as308-pn_Why_AppleTV.html

[Evan @ Mar 26th 2007 12:08AM]

Yes, it sucks to be Canadian. We want downloadable movies and tv shows as much as Americans. We have the same broadband internet bandwidth in which to download movies and tv shows. Yet, Apple won't offer those downloads to Canadians. I just don't understand it.

[srw @ Mar 26th 2007 12:12AM]

I am really hoping this pushes TIVO to finally add these long-overdue functions (such as playing home movies) to their boxes.

[tundraboy @ Mar 26th 2007 12:24AM]

And yet Apple just keeps selling the damn thing!

Hey tech geeks, if Apple tailored their products to suit your preferences, they would be out of business in two months.

And to those who claim that a Mac mini can do everything that AppleTV can do: A Mac mini costs $600. Why would anyone pay twice the money if he only wanted the AppleTV's functions? And don't go off about how you get more out of a Mac mini. Well yeah, that's why it costs twice as much. But some people don't need more so they'll just stay with the AppleTV.

If the AppleTV doesn't suit your needs, don't buy it. It's not for you. Sheesh.

[Aaron @ Mar 26th 2007 1:11AM]

"What's the rest of the world doing with their Apple TVs?"

After they get sick of playing with it in a week? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And every one, EVERY LAST ONE of you Apple zealots saying you love your Apple TV and you're doing all sorts of fun stuff with it: you're full of shit. You're like children with a new toy, except you bought it yourself so you have to keep defending it after you realize it's useless.

GROW UP. Don't kid yourself you morons, it's not about "choice", it's about blind love for a goddamn brand name. Do us all a favor and just stop it.

I'm not a "fanboy". I don't hate Apple and I don't love Microsoft. But when it's clear to so many people that a product is garbage and overpriced, why pretend that it's anything more than a toy, a temporary amusement? If I had one, I'm sure I'd be able to bring myself to watch the same old content I already have too, but how long is that going to be fun? A day or two, if that?

Listen: if you absolutely need to watch something on your TV (something you've undoubtedly already seen anyway), then buy a better product to do it. If you need THIS product, then at the very least wait for the inevitable price drop. There's no reason to have this thing.

[danb @ Mar 26th 2007 10:08AM]

podcasts man... podcasts... I got an apple TV and I'm not planning on watching much itunes content on it... but I have gigs and gigs of podcasts... and they look just fine... and CastCluster lets me push (and convert) youtube videos and videos from my local drive... soon, google video as well...

$300 was a good price, it's a great bit of hardware that does exactly what I need it to... although, a few more codecs would be nice... NO MPEG1+2?!?!

[lolMacNoobs @ Mar 26th 2007 1:17AM]

I could see how if you owned a Mac, you might consider buying an AppleTV, but it truly is a terrible product. It requires a widescreen hdtv (unless you have one of the 3 people who own component 4:3 tvs), and the only content that makes sense to watch on it is video content made to watch on your iPod (podcasts, itunes videos ect.), which are inherently low res. Its not just that the 360 has the same capabilities as the AppleTV, its that it has SO much more, integrating with an MCE/Vista box for DVR, DVD/HDDVD drive for movie watching, 360 gaming, Movie download service. The AppleTV is nothing more then an expensive wireless dongle for people with a Mac, and a lot of ipod video to watch.

[Claus Christensen @ Mar 26th 2007 2:23AM]

Reading all 22 comments and I have to laugh. If you bought Apple TV to fork out $$ fork out Movies that are 1-2 years old or TV shows that would pain your eyes watching twice then yes you have too much time and money.

I bought the Apple TV as the price compared to what it offers is reasonable. it allows me to finally retire a couple of Sony 400 DVD boxes that were a paing to program. I am using ATV to help stream my collection to my TV through an external HD. Yes I do enjoy watching a movie more than once. I do have an Xbox 360 that is collecting dust and IT DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME TECHNOLOGY..half of the negative non objective comments obviously are from keyboard cowboys who have not done their homework.

still think it is moronic?, swing by ill hand you a frosty fire up the ATV and change your mind guaranteed...

[ArthurDent @ Mar 26th 2007 3:03AM]

Does anyone else find it a bit odd that the one group that says "No I am getting everything I can out of my Apple TV" mostly involve people who are ripping their entire DVD collections into iTunes? Yest the same people claim "it just works". Last I checked, in order for something to "just work" this tedious, and not trivial, step would not be necessary. Yes, the Apple TV appeals to those who are not tech savvy. But this same group are also going to be the people who don't want to deal with setting up a 2 TB RAID5, then ripping all their DVDs to it.

Bottom line, if you are going to be ripping all your DVDs, using H264 just so they can play on an Apple TV is senseless. If it was a real solution for tech nerds, it would allow playing of different formats, and essentially function like a mac mini (or some other HTPC). If it was truly a very usable solution for the general population, it would easily allow playing of DVDs somehow. That's not where we are, though. Currently, it requires a lot of tinkering to fit the bill for tech nerds, and if used by "low tech" people, it's feature set nowhere near justifies a $300 price tag.

[cubbiechris @ Mar 26th 2007 8:45AM]

"I do have an Xbox 360 that is collecting dust"

Why? You must not like games because it seems that every month another great game is being released. My guess is you don't actually own a 360. Fess up!

[Gordy @ Mar 26th 2007 7:50AM]

I love my AppleTV. Not sure why there is so much drama regarding a product--other that it's potential ownership of this product segment. Nothing else even comes close. Xbox? Really, using the controller as the remote? The windows thing? How much is that? Mac Mini? Who needs all that? With AppleTV you [let's say it together folks] "Set it and forget it!"

There's a reason why fanboys become fanboys. Apple has done it again.

[Lloyd @ Mar 26th 2007 8:05AM]

I for one think it's another very competative product well done by Apple.

I am in fact someone who has burned (most of) their DVD collection to H.264 and I frequently download TV shows.

Typically I'll have to copy the show to my laptop, bring my laptop downstairs to the HDTV (with the charger, video and audio cables), pull out my digital reciever, plug everything in, play around with the volume on my mac and TV to get enough volume and minimise hissing (which never completely goes) then open Front Row and finally play the file.

With Apple TV I sit down, press play.

No setup and dismantling time, no "damn, I forgot to plug the charger in so now I have to run upstairs and get it before my laptop dies", I can't get distracted by my laptop's LCD etc.

I considered the Mac min route for a while, and it has a lot of benefits over Apple TV (DVD player for one!) but there's something nice about having something designed for the job, like customizable iTunes syncing of Apple TV. The thing is also silent and uses HDMI = less cables, ultimate quality. Has anyone actually had a Mac mini playing 1080p content (and I really mean the base model here because it's the only one that's VAGUELY competative on price) with that 1.66GHz CPU and 512MB RAM? There's no effort to prevent screen burn so I could see my TV getting a very permanent Apple menu bar! It's also only got a 60GB HDD - for the $300 I saved, I could swap out the Apple TV's for a truly capacious 200GB drive for all of my content- or I could just get my $300 changed into cents, put them in the bath (all 30,000 of them for the mathmatically challenged of you) and enjoy my savings a la Cartman (Southpark).

Alternative, third party wireless steamers. I don't hear many people flaming all of the other wireless media streamers - because they play more formats? - because they're cheaper? Certainly you'd save even more but I've heard of lots of steaming issues with such devices in the past (stuttering, freezing, not being able to fast forward, dropping connection, resetting - requiring network settings to be set up again. It is early days but I've heard nothing but praise of the Apple TVs reliability. Futhermore, a friend who bought a cheaper Apple TV alternative (albeit before Apple TV's release) has seen its performance degrade and is now considering an Apple TV. Let's not forget of course, you get none of the niceties of the Apple TV - iTunes syncing, GUI, screen burn prevention.

For me, the only choice was between the 360 and Apple TV. I may end up still getting a 360, but for gaming, not for media streaming where it's never truly been the perfect solution either with it's crazy fans and none of the integration the Apple TV offers.


I try not to be a fanboy but I do consecutively love Apple's products and think the Apple TV was a very timely product by Apple which will enjoy great sucess. Please Apple, let this be a sign of forthcoming 720p iTunes content (and Lossless audio while you're at it!). Also, for Apple TV2, may we please have surround sound support (my greatest qualm), 1080p just for the sake of it, some sort of use of the internet, iPhone integration (maybe as a remote :D) plus of course whatever cool features you decide.

Despite seeming utterly one-sided (my bias is obvious), I've tried to bring together a lot of the points mentioned in other comments. I guess at the end of the day though, what wins it for me really is the whole simplicity of it, the eye candy and the integration - worth the price.

BTW, if you haven't started ripping your DVD yet, better get started. It feels really good having a digital library of movies! :)

As a last note, I must say, I'm wondering how many of these posts were by Microsoft employees...

[Charles @ Mar 26th 2007 8:31AM]

Gulp. I keep playing the flashy stuff again and again.

[brad @ Mar 26th 2007 9:22AM]

I bought the little box to have the simple ability to access the 200gigs of music in my itunes library, visually, and be able to forward/reverse/select songs from the room where the stereo is. It is a perfect device for that, kinda like what I had always wanted airtunes too be. I think it is priced quite right. I am not a mac guy, but this product may make me consider the switch. I guess it brings what all you self proclaimed hackers already had, to the rest of the world.

[llamasonic @ Mar 26th 2007 2:19PM]

what makes it interesting? in 6 months they are going to be going for 130 USD on eBay & 185 on the apple store. by that time there will be hacks available to run everything from OSX desktop to linuxmce on it - not to mention the version of OSX on aTV will be running on all kinds of other hardware..

i can wait 6 months - apple tv os on xbox360 - dual boot linuxmce? why not :)

[Al Wilkes @ Mar 27th 2007 5:09PM]

The price won't drop. The iPod's been out for how many years now, and they're still $300. They just keep increasing the capacity.

Apples prices very rarely drop.

[Dennis @ Mar 26th 2007 2:41PM]

So uh, isn't the headline "What's the rest of the world doing with their Apple TVs?"

From the posts I thought it was "How many a-holes care to give uninformed reactions to hardware they don't own?"

Anyone else making a connection between the open nature of this product and the forthcoming iPhone?

[Dan @ Mar 26th 2007 5:14PM]

As a Canadian, I just buy an iTunes gift card everytime I'm in the U.S. Works great! I don't expect iTunes video to happen soon in Canada. You can be sure that CTV and Global will be pushing to have content released under their brand and not ABC or Warner.

[Bart Lee @ Mar 26th 2007 5:18PM]

I'm using mine to serve up all the HD home movies I've shot on my HC-1 and put together in iMovieHD. Even streaming them at 1080i from my laptop works like a charm. I love it.

[whyibother @ Mar 28th 2007 7:38AM]

I'm Australian and I love my Apple TV. Even without content available through iTunes. Bit-torrent is always there for that and I probably would never pay for a TV show anyway.

I think a lot of people are missing the point of the device and it's intended audience. Apple TV is not meant to be the all in one play anything sex-box that everyone seems to be wanting or trying to turn it into. It is designed to be a simple to use device that anyone can access and use to get content from their PC or Mac and onto their TV with no fuss.

I use Eye TV to record TV shows that I miss which automatically converts and places in iTunes ready for Apple TV. I rip the kids DVD's to iTunes (as my 2yr old destroys the disks as soon as we've watched them once). They are quickly available at the press of a button and trust me when their screaming, your trying to get lunch ready and you can't find their favourite DVD it's a Godsend to just dial it up.

My Podcasts are now available from my couch.

Our family photo's are available instantly when the Grandparents visit (I just sync our latest snaps and a few favourite ones. The rest I store on the computer and DVDs.)
Music is a click away when the 2yr old has is mid-morning nap and I just want to have a coffee and read a magazine but can't be bothered getting up to pop a CD on.

My wife and I don't store our DVD's on it as we watch those in our dedicated Home Theatre room from uncompressed disk in their full glory.

This is probably not a device aimed at teenagers and tech-heads. This is more suited to a family where anyone can use it to quickly access content that otherwise would be left idle on the computer.

The hard drive is fine at 40gigs. What doesn't fit I just stream. It doesn't even need one really. Content that is in a different codec I just convert or watch it elsewhere.

For busy family's not tech minded 5 out of 5.
For 14yr olds and singles with a degree in computers 2 of 5. Go buy a Mac Mini or Media Center PC.

p.s I also own a modded Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, Ps3, 2 Macs, and a Windows Media Centre PC running Vista Ultimate. There is room for the Apple TV in my life and it's the only thing that my wife can use and comprehend.

Steve Jobs built this for his wife. Not his son.