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from irrelevant to obsolete

...then, from obsolete to insignificant

...from apple...what do you expect?

Has anyone tried a TIVX box?

This thing doesn't even look like a TV. Where is the Screen?

hmmm...any one knows that this thing can play DiVx?? or any format you throw in?

Service Pack due out any day is supposed to make major modifications to this. From add on/adapter to appliance/stand-alone. Will be interesting to see what it turns into. Regardless, it still won't be a DVR. It will, however, be more functional then it is now.

poorly named device, but if the HD rentals are decent quality, it's a fairly cheap way to get into the HD game without having to spend $400+ for a bluray player.

Upsides: On-demand functionality from an online rental store, relatively inexpensive, easy for most people to hook-up and understand. Helluva lot faster at starting up than a bluray box, near silent operation (no internal fans, just the HD)

Downsides: Only 720p, no hi-def surround sound, esoteric rental structure, limited controls on remote for videophiles.

Actually, it's probably a good idea for people who don't want to go into the hassle of a full fledged home theater (and thus don't really need the hi-def audio codecs anyway).

I heard the HD isn't even "real" HD in the sense that it is very low bitrate. Still the new update should be interesting. If this thing could double as a DVR they would really have something.

apple makes electronics that look good, but besides the ipod, most of thier stuff pretty much sucks. and costs too much. don't get me start on "great" software updates.

A 1080P signal with poor bitrate and poor compression, is worse than a good 720p signal. Think Gizmodo has a blog entry comparing directTV 1080p quality with comcast HD and actual Blue ray disc --- conclusion, streamed 1080p qualities are much worse than blue ray, big time.

So, 720p rental is not too bad if Apple can offer good enough bitrate+compression. I think most consumer don't care much 720p vs 1080p for movie rental. For those who really want the last bit of clarity will probably buy or rent a blue ray disc.

Well... I won't buy an AppleTV.... yet. They should really add more codec and make the usb port usable (play picture music or video on USB mass storage). Until then, it is pretty expensive upfront cost for streaming picture movie from PC to TV and movie rental.

$199-229 is not expensive for a streaming box. The Windows-only boxes cost as much or more than this.

The software update will add surround sound capability.

The USB port has already been hacked.

#12
Regarding USB: Yes there are hacks for USB and added codec , but most people won't bother or have no desire to hack even if they have the time and skill.

$199-229 is not too expensive as a gadget, but added cost for those who wants it as a movie rental box. Things would sound better if they include a movie and 10-20 free movie rentals (like vudu)

For the record I am not an Apple hater, our family have 2 apple notebooks, iphone, ipods.

I never understood the point of this product given that it didn't work as a standalone DVR. If you had a DVR that had Apple's famously easy/slick UI treatment, that would be a winner by itself. Combine that with the ability to rent videos online and it gets even more interesting.

This price isn't so bad, but can't you get the basic Xbox 360 for like $250 these days? As far as I know there's no ability to rent (yet) over a 360, but you can use a lot of different codecs, assuming you have content on your PC. Ditto the PS3, but more expensive.

Not to mention, LG (and apparently others eventually) will be coming out with a box to rent content from Netflix.

To me, this product is like the Ipod "Shuffle". I can spend a lot less and get a good MP3 player with no display, or get one with a display for about the same price. I guess if you're an Itunes only kind of a person the shuffle means something, but for me, the hassle of dealing with AAC/DRMed music means that I've never actually bought from Itunes, so the shuffle would be a waste for me. I know how to rip and convert, but why should I bother? I'll just buy the MP3 from somewhere else (or more often, just buy the CD from half.com and rip straight to high quality MP3). Enough rambling.

most number of refurbished in the market are apple products, well done apple!!! this gives me the confidence to invest in apple shares if apple products suck first time then refurbish them sell them to stupid apple fan boys, if they suck again refurbish again and sell to more stupid apple fan boys this process continues till infinity...like Bessel function.

This is an Apple, so you must buy it. Simply owning an Apple product compensates for having a tiny little johnson. The proof is that my boyfriend hardly ever laughs at my wee noodle now because he can't stop pointing and laughing at my Apple TV. Thank you, Apple!

*smirk*

It can sit in the closet with the other mac stuff that you poured all that money into. I hope it was worth it?

#15 Yeah right - that's for the Arcade version. No HD to speak of. You do get a 32MB Memory card with that. Good for nothing.

The 20MB 360 goes for %350. 8GB includes MS junk. The remaining 12GB left for game info - updates and demoes downloaded leaves about 1-2GB for movies. Oh, and no HDMI output. No Coax audio. Whooppee.

Elites have 120GB go for $450. Much better, and yes a nice digital hub for games + movies.

EDIT:
Oh, and the Elite does not come with wireless.