How would you change the Apple TV (take 2)?

Aside from finally offering up 1080p support and giving users the ability to rent HD flicks (though only some with Dolby Digital 5.1), the v2.0 upgrade changed up the look and added in Flickr integration. Granted, the innards here have remained the same, but we're not just interested in finding out what you adore / detest about the newest update. Oh no -- we're also curious to know how you think the existing hardware is handling its new duties. Has anything slowed down? Are you still (or were you ever) satisfied with the port assortment? Have you found yourself itching to downgrade? We know, software updates as substantial as this one





















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 6:37PM
I'm sure 12 others here will mention the price of rentals. That's the obvious one, but blame the studios first. Anyways, I'd like to see a TV tuner and DVR in mine.
ScareyJ @ Feb 15th 2008 9:46PM
Ditto on the DVR ... for me, a media hub has to be the central most used device. I should be switching away from it rarely ... not switching to it frequently. The DVR in my house is the primary functionality.
deSquared @ Feb 16th 2008 10:23AM
Waiting for a USB DVR that encodes in .H264. Streaming from a big HD (hard drive) thru itunes would be the best solution. FCC reguation would be a pain for it to be in the unit IMO, but I'm hoping eyeTV releases something like this. I'd buy that yesterday. (hoping someone replies this exists already w/ a link ;) )
The GUI is a step backwards. Its not nearly as elegant to navigate thru. I wish there was more control over content--I personally don't care about top westerns or staff picks... make the movie icons larger or add text (42" tv about 8 ft away makes it hard to ID unfamiliar movies--the pictures are about 2" tall) It is more of a vehicle for sales, but I feel like QVC not apple designed the interface. Also better organization of video podcasts please.
They need to open it up to other codecs though--would the ipod have been a success if it only allowed i tune purchases for content??
The Business model for the itunes movies and its rental service is pretty short-sighted. 24 hrs sucks--why not 72? Its more like napster's mp3 service. I tried streching the 24hrs rental. It will let you finish watching if you start in the 23rd hour though... If you pause after the 24 hrs is up it says something like 'the rental period is over you can either resume playback or exit and delete this movie perminately.' To see waht happened I left this screen on overnight and 8 hours later it wouldn't resume playback.
My wifi pulls about 58 mbps. Not great by any means, but it took until 35% (almost 40 mins) for a 90 min HD rental to start streaming. That was my first and only experience renting (4.99 is steep!!). I was pretty bummed by this reading multiple places streaming started 1 minute after dl'ing began. Any other experiences???
Also, i'd like to be able to video chat with my TV ala Captain Kirk. Apple and a USB camera--the horror....
joe @ Feb 16th 2008 10:36AM
I'd like to see full netlifx support on the @TV instead of once again having to use Itunes as an intermediary for everything.
Nick @ Feb 17th 2008 11:49AM
netflix support would kind of be counter productive to Apple wanting to fuel their new rental business.
I want DVR support with the ability to have a second user (computer) stream DVR content via wifi.
Built-in upscaling DVD drive.
I really would like a better quality remote or create an app to allow iPhone/iPod Touch users to use their device as a remote.
Curtis @ Feb 15th 2008 6:38PM
1) Larger, more functional remote. Add support for keyboard.
2) Add high end version with a Blu-Ray player incorporated.
3) Add Safari browser
4) Add continous and shuffle play for Music Videoes and Podcasts. Stop treating Music Videos and Podcasts as second-class citizens!
It's there for music audio!
5) Add iPod-like games
6) Enable the USB port.
Jeff @ Feb 15th 2008 7:03PM
Continuous play for videos. word. what an oversight.
I'd also like to have some kind of integration with my EyeTV OTA HD tuner....
Rentals for TV shows. (or seasons)
I'm sure there's more.
Will @ Feb 15th 2008 7:51PM
How bout support for seamless sharing for all the media on all computers on your home network. I have several machines throughout the house with different media. On AppleTV I have to navigate to the settings and explicitly connect to a certain machine to browse its library... and I can only view the media from one computer at a time.
Why cant AppleTV simply provide a seamless list of all the media on *ALL* the computers with shared media at once, without having to go through the clunky step of disconnecting from one machine, and connecting to another. The only way you can get this functionality is to hack the thing.
Its a pain in the ass, and apple should be ashamed. They still didnt improve the situation for 2.0.
caleb @ Feb 15th 2008 7:58PM
@Jeff,
Yes! TV rentals for those we don't care to own. And they might as well be HD while we're at it.
max andrews @ Feb 16th 2008 3:02AM
Curtis, I believe the device you just described is known as a "mac mini." (except the blu-ray, naturally) :)
Mr. Reeee @ Feb 16th 2008 11:16AM
Personally, I think a Mac mini beats the Apple TV hands down! Sure, it costs more, but is SO much more capable. You can download moves from the iTunes Store... to your big external FireWire hard drive! Or store ALL your music and movies on the same drive.
Being a FULL-BLOWN Mac, it does everything your Mac does: browsers, email, keyboard and mouse support (wired or Bluetooth), Wacom tablet, games... ANY application you want to run because it's Mac. With it connected to your network... well, it's connected to your network. 'Nuff said.
There's something fun about looking at travel photos on my HDTV, then switching to Google Earth to show everyone where the place is... there's our hotel... there's that beach... we ate there, etc.. Here's the project I'm working on and that's where it's being built. Or Googling to solve a dispute. These things cannot be undervalued!
Right now, I use my MacBook Pro with my TV, but a Mac mini is definitely my next home entertainment addition. Maybe a Blu-ray player, too.
Dan @ Feb 16th 2008 9:51PM
Definitely
1) Beefier hardware to handle all my ripped bluray and hd-dvd movies and their respective audio streams
2) Open codec support (install what you want)
3) Support for DVD.iso images
4) Skinnable OS
5) Display Port
6) Gigabit ethernet
7) Display resolutions past 1080p (Why didn't they make it sing with the 30" cinema display???
It makes way more sense for me to buy a Nexus Psile case and make myself a Windows Media machine.
Apple TV sucks. So does Apple TV take 2.
AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 15th 2008 6:38PM
Make it $150.
paul @ Feb 15th 2008 8:13PM
Amen! Tha's what I paid for my HD multimedia drive. But here's some more requests:
1) Support .avi files, for crying out loud.
2) Allow it to be turned off.
3) Continuous play.
James @ Feb 15th 2008 10:00PM
You can turn it off - hold down the middle button on the remote for a few seconds - it will go off.
Kawika @ Feb 15th 2008 6:40PM
One terabyte hard drive for Time Capsule-like backups and off-computer storage.
Andrew @ Feb 15th 2008 6:40PM
- Blue-Ray drive add-on stackable under the AppleTV - connect via USB slot
- Transfer rentals (SD and HD) initiative on the AppleTV back to a Mac or PC.
- Better WiFi reception - damn thing drops off all the time
- Bring back either of the last two menus - this latest one is missing Apples flash
Gremlin @ Feb 15th 2008 6:41PM
Let's start out really basic with some actual 1080p content to go along with the 1080p output.
londonmufla @ Feb 15th 2008 7:15PM
The Apple TV hw (sadly) does not support "real" 1080p...
Mark @ Feb 15th 2008 6:43PM
More podcast genres. Where's the Sports and Travel genres? Ability to filter podcasts by Video and HD only.
Chris Uribe @ Feb 15th 2008 6:44PM
This is so easy.
Simply add AVI and Divix support. Apple please allow us to load our own content, like our home movies and dvd rips the same way you do music (MP3s). Can you imagine how unpopular the iPod would have been if it could only play AAC files? MP3 made the iPod the same way DiviX and AVI will make the Apple TV a success.
Eric @ Feb 15th 2008 8:48PM
Um... all the video content on my ATV is material I've added myself. It's all DVD rips, music, or podcasts. I've picked up VERY little material from the ITMS.
Hans Luijten @ Feb 16th 2008 4:23PM
Add support for server apps like WiZD ... my $99 Avellink layer handles this smoothly ... why doesn't my $225+ AppleTV do this?
Yes I tried the hacks and mods out there -- they're a great and respected effort to get this going, but it still runs crappy ...
Give me that option (WiZD and the likes) support and I'll replace all my Avellink players for an AppleTV ... for now, I'll stick with the one AppleTV I have and might even sell it on eBay - it's not doing anything right now anyway ...
phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 6:44PM
web sites is plural. i hope you put your romanian to english filter on this time.
Jeff @ Feb 15th 2008 6:47PM
Id like to see them make a QuickTime file that holds both the iPod/iPhone quality video's and a High Def version of a music video so that music video's would look decent on the AppleTV but still be playable on an iPod/iPhone.
phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 6:49PM
that would take the perpetual motion machine to power the CPU driving it.
a ham sandwich @ Feb 15th 2008 6:53PM
not to mention completely impractical due to file size.
shaun @ Feb 15th 2008 6:55PM
Better call Steorn and ask them how the Orbo's coming along then...
Metaphor @ Feb 15th 2008 6:54PM
I'd Like to see apple throw in or support DVR functioinality though their own software or others such as Elgato's EyeTV. I would love the ability to Rip/Transcode unprotected video, with subtitles, and 5.1 as easily as I can audio files. I would love for aTV to be able to stream from DLNA sources like a readyNAS, or a windows box, or other media servers. Please give advanced users the ability to customize the UI for grouping, playlists, sorting options and the like.
sparrow @ Feb 15th 2008 6:55PM
How about making this thing usable on something other than a $1000+ Widescreen TV. How hard would it have been to make this SD capable?
YouFaceTheTick @ Feb 15th 2008 6:56PM
Kinda think Apple expects buyers of AppleTV would at least be up on 8 year old HDTV tech.
shaun @ Feb 15th 2008 6:56PM
I think it's half SD capable, as it works with a widescreen TV
Big John @ Feb 15th 2008 7:23PM
Huh? It works with SD...
sparrow @ Feb 15th 2008 8:07PM
YouFaceTheTick,
"Kinda think Apple expects buyers of AppleTV would at least be up on 8 year old HDTV tech."
Well, I think if I had bought a HDTV 8 years ago I don't think it would have aged well (given that it would have probably been a rear projection TV). HDTVs have been changing so much in the last 8 years that it just isn't worth getting in on until it calms down. I mean come on! If I walked into my local electronic store and asked an employee there to show me an HDTV, I would be blown away by all the choices out there: LCD, DLP, Plasma, Rear Projection, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, etc...
Now don't get me wrong, I like the look of HD (I work in video production editing, so I know what is what with this) but you can't possibly expect people to jump on the bandwagon with something that seems to be changing more than computers these days. I know there are a lot of people that have SDTVs that would love a product like this... but this product would cost them the price of a HDTV and an Apple TV to be able to rent movies so conveniently... which isn't an easy sell.
Big John,
"Huh? It works with SD..."
Well, according to several Apple Reps that I've talked to it doesn't work with Standard Definition TVs (NTSC standard 640x480 res). Have you tried it or have and evidence of it working? If it does, they should be advertising it as such.
rhix @ Feb 15th 2008 9:19PM
I use it with an SDTV. As long as you have component connectors on your TV, you're good to go. Granted text doesn't look all that beautiful on SDTV due to interlacing, but it works.
sparrow @ Feb 15th 2008 9:31PM
rhix
Really? Do you use it on a 4x3 aspect ratio TV or is it a 16x9?
swrdfghtr @ Feb 15th 2008 11:00PM
It works with SD (480i), just not 4:3 aspect ratio. It does require a 16:9 aspect ratio, but that isn't synonymous with HD. I have one running on an older widescreen unit that only supports 480i resolution.
YouFaceTheTick @ Feb 15th 2008 6:55PM
Realistic rental prices would help. Netflix runs about $1 per movie (18 movies a month or so). $2 per movie is real. $4 per movie is insulting.
Joe Maki @ Feb 15th 2008 7:42PM
Ya, might as well do cable PPV.
caleb @ Feb 16th 2008 1:10AM
I just canceled my Netflix subscription because I wasn't getting my moneys worth. I actually tracked my rentals per month and graphed the trends. It started out great. I was at about $2 per movie at first when I first joined. I was very dedicated to getting as many movies per week as I could and I was getting about $2 rentals. but as of last month the average was well over $5, and the idea of the automatic renewal leaching money off my checking account really irritated me. Now if I want to watch a rental, I'll be counting on my Apple TV. hopefully its catalog grows quickly.
travis @ Feb 15th 2008 6:56PM
keep the take 1 UI and add an itunes store menu w/ rentals.
the store in take 2 is way too in your face & i hate the my own content is buried.
Dave @ Feb 15th 2008 7:00PM
1. My first take after upgrading is the user interface. It was not the clean, sleek, handsome, and sexy interface that I have come to expect from Apple. It really looks more like a cluttered rushed mess to get this out to door but then that is the interface Steve showed last month.
2. Let's get a Blue Ray/DVD drive in this thing and then were talking about using one device for both My new and future downloaded content and my old several thousand dollar investment in DVD's and Blueray.
3. Allow me to add USB drives to store more content!
4. How about an Additional or different remote. It's small and easy to loose, but give me some kind of keyboard for inputting searches etc... OR allow the BT mac keyboard.
5. Downloaded movies and shows should not be edited to remove content deemed inappropriate by apple YES, they do remove and bleep things from questionable content but your just forcing me to still buy DVD's. I thought you wanted to transform the delivery of content....then don't assume everyone here is a conservative church going bible thumper! I'm ok with warnings making sure I understand what I'm downloading but give me the option to choose full artistic content or a warm soft easy to eat bowl of oatmeal with too much milk. Were big boys we can handle the truth. You have a child security feature already....?
6. If you Ever offer additional USB Drive support so I can expand my library, I would like the option of larger file sizes and better HD content! I could care less if the Simpson's movie is compressed to death but I'd like to own the true HD content for Lord of the rings!
7. Give me a remote port on top to Sync my iPod! Or let me plug in my docking station! Most evenings I only go into my home office so I can sync my two ipods! let me do this from any Apple TV or iTunes!
I'll keep thinking!
Frankinla @ Feb 16th 2008 2:04PM
Wooooaaa... they are editing content? Really!! This is a fucking deal breaker!
If I wanted the lame ass "Edited for Television" version I'd just record it...
If I gave a rats ass what fundie christian anti-democracy pro-theocracy types thought I'd go to church!
Wow... I was just pricing these out... gonna pass until this edited content shit clears up.
Note: Vulgarity intended... deal with it!
doctorSpoc @ Feb 17th 2008 3:39PM
WTF... don't think you've used one..
AppleTV has unlimited storage capacity... but you add them to your computer and stream content from there... i have 2TB of storage dedicated to media for iTunes/AppleTV
Dave @ Feb 18th 2008 2:08AM
HUH??? (doctorspoc) WTF? Why are you such an A$$ saying I havent used one? Your short sightedness and narrow mind makes you look like a jerk and ignorant!
Damn dude, your reasoning would indicate there doesnt even need to be a HD in the unit....stream everything! I guess you don't understand why apple put hard drives in these units huh? and they have a 40 and 160gb drive how odd that must be for you! But it's not really needed according to you!
However, for me, I'd like to take content the the cabin or on the houseboat and have my whole library of content with me! 160Gb just dosent cut it and I'm not going to set up a network and a media server at the cabin!
So, open your mind and even more important...don't cut people down for wanting something different than you! It makes you look like an ignorant fool!
Dave
dukrous @ Feb 15th 2008 7:00PM
I'd like to see an optical drive in there, but mostly how about a rental subscription service a la Netflix.
Skully @ Feb 15th 2008 7:01PM
I would like the old UI back! It seems like Apple really rushed this update and hacked at the old UI and added the grid at the beginning. So I'm going back and forth from the new to the old. I miss the "Sources" in the UI. no it lumps my tethered itunes account with the on-board storage of the appleTV unit. I like them being separate.
other than that, I'm happy to have store integration, rentals, and especially podcasts! almost makes me want to ditch the dish network!
geekazine @ Feb 15th 2008 7:02PM
The only thing I could highly suggest Apple to do is to change the price. If you make AppleTV box $20, people will buy and use. I assume the service will cost $$, right?
phanbouy @ Feb 15th 2008 7:03PM
um....what?
Big John @ Feb 15th 2008 7:25PM
I love how people consistently ignore R&D costs as well as hardware costs.
$20? I can't even get a fifth of Jim that cheap.