Apple TV

[gmar]

Does anyone use it and if so, what do you like or dislike about it? From what I see, it looks pretty cool to stream Netflix, music and movies from iTunes.

 

[donner]

i've been doing some research on it lately. It does look cool, but from what i've read it really geared towards rentals and purchases and not stuff from the internet. I don't think you can use amazon instant movies for example with the apple tv.

If you have a good itunes library, it does sound handy, though.

I've also looked at the roku and a few other boxes that provide the same features.

Personally, i'm thinking of saving up a bit more and just getting a mac mini. Built in wifi, bigger hard drive, ability to add usb/firewire hard drives and just having the full internet available to me for any service i want to use (amazon prime, youtube, hulu, etc) is pretty appealing to me.

 

[mapcon1941]

I have a Samsung blu-ray player that has an internet connection. You can stream Netflix, Youtube, Blockbuster and Pandora radio. If you are in the market for a blu-ray player, or want to replace one, you might consider one with internet ready. Several brands have this now, but I only have experience with Samsung and I like the capability. I have also played with a Roku box, but a lot of the streaming requires subscriptions.

 

[natgas]

Other than the pitiful content for streaming on Netflix, Apple TV is really good. Netflix just doesn't offer anything worth watching on their streaming line

 

[soonerwings]

i've been doing some research on it lately. It does look cool, but from what i've read it really geared towards rentals and purchases and not stuff from the internet. I don't think you can use amazon instant movies for example with the apple tv.

If you have a good itunes library, it does sound handy, though.

I've also looked at the roku and a few other boxes that provide the same features.

Personally, i'm thinking of saving up a bit more and just getting a mac mini. Built in wifi, bigger hard drive, ability to add usb/firewire hard drives and just having the full internet available to me for any service i want to use (amazon prime, youtube, hulu, etc) is pretty appealing to me.

This. I went the mac mini route and I love it. Yes, the up front cost is high, but I cancelled my cable programming and recouped the cost in about 6 months.

 

[dukhunter20]

I've been using the apple tv gen 2 for a while now. My latest opinion is not great. I am an Apple person, all of my pcs are Mac, my wife and I have iPhones, and we have an iPad. Our router is even apple. The Apple tv is the only product that has fallen a little short. We have had issues with steaming Netflix and YouTube. Our Internet is 25Mbs so that's not the problem. We have a ps3 that has worked flawlessly with all of the features that the apple tv has. But the apple tv does have some upsides. It is really small, really cheap (for the price it's almost a must for geeks like me), it can be controlled by a remote app on an iPhone or iPad, oh and did I mention it is really cheap.

I guess what I am getting at is, if you are looking for a very low cost component that allows you to view/listen to most of your media content, rent/buy tv and movies, stream netflix and more, than I would say the apple tv is for you. If you already have something like a ps3 or another gaming/media center that you like, than stick with that. If you are a tech geek like myself, just buy one for the sake of having one.

Hope this wasn't to confusing and good luck with your decision.

 

[gmar]

I haven't even thought about a Mac Mini. I already have a tv and blu ray player that streams netflix but I was thinking about transfering all my movies to iTunes and using the Apple TV for my music and the movies I already own. However, I will have to look into the mac mini to see if that will suit me better.

 

[Blinocac200sx]

Other than the pitiful content for streaming on Netflix, Apple TV is really good. Netflix just doesn't offer anything worth watching on their streaming line

I would disagree. All I ever watch anymore is Netflix.

 

[bigwilly]

For your main TV setup you should look into a Mac mini and Plex. It's amazing.

 

[gunnut]

Apple TV 2 has been the biggest let down of any Apple product. It's been plagued with bugs since day 1 and it's really a shame. There was a lot of potential with this product, but it hasn't lived up to it as of yet.