Is Apple TV really worth buying?

[socialsandy]

I think $100 is not much more to spend on Apple TV. They are providing good features.

 

[Fausty82]

I'm still a little confused. What are the features involved with airplay via iPhone 4 and Apple TV 2? My iphone is jailbroken if that adds anything else and I intend to pick up an apple TV for myself.

The feature is that you can stream anything that you can play on your iPhone/iPod/iPad to any AppleTV that it can "see" on your network. It's really handy for showing captured video on a big screen TV, or showing a photo slide show to the family without having to have everyone huddle around a 3.5" or 10" screen. I have used it to stream music from my iPhone to a friend's AppleTV, as well.

 

[Link]

I already have Tivo, which can stream netflix and youtube, as well as media from a computer within my network. Yet my friends keep telling me to buy Apple TV because it's "great". Am I missing something?

I mainly use mine for Netflix and sometimes YouTube. The Airplay feature is neat to play my itunes songs and videos from my iPod or iPad on the TV if I want to, but it isn't something I do very often.

 

[GeoKaplan]

Not really, Macs are sleek, quasi-futuristic machines on the outside, but don't really show up on the inside. For their cost, they have insufficient hard drive space, memory, and processor speed. Look at the Satellite line of laptops, or the higher-end Dells. If price is not a factor, check out the Alienware laptops. They are the ultimate gaming machines.

That reply somehow entered this thread from the year 2005. How weird is that?

 

[GeoKaplan]

To answer the OP, it is very much worth the money. Santa brought us one for Christmas, and while we used it primarily for Nexflix and streaming the iTunes collection we already had, the surprise addition of MLB.tv a few months ago meant it has received even more use.

My wife has been digging through marathons of television shows on Netflix, watching entire seasons of various shows on rainy weekends. There have been enough streaming movies we haven't yet seen that we've not yet paid for a movie from Apple. Running the iTunes downstairs from the laptop upstairs on AirPlay has been great for parties.

It's $100. You can't go wrong.

 

[yanks19]

as many have already stated, it really is worth the price... provided at least one of the following is true:

-you have a Netflix account and use the streaming feature
-you have an mlb.tv or nba.tv account and watch games
-you have a large library of ripped video (and music or pictures) you'd like to watch on your main TV

plus the other things like youtube and iTunes rentals....but those are kind of secondary, i think. even if the ripped video you have is not in an idevice friendly format, something like air video with it's new airplay support can transcode to an iphone, shifted to the aTV. and there's always the jailbreak option. plus, if you have a friend over that also has an iphone or ipad, put them on your wifi and they can just shift their music/movies/photos to your TV as well. better than passing the device around.

 

[cjvitek]

We have two of them, one for each TV set. We have about 50 different videos/movies/tv shows on my wifes computer in iTunes, so we stream everything from that. Plus we watch netflix often.

I would say we actually watch MORE through Apple TV now that we do through regular TV. Too bad Apple doesn't offer Internet TV channels.

Chris

 

[Mella]

Too bad Apple doesn't offer Internet TV channels.

Yeah, it's pity, but I think now there are many ways to watch TV shows online, maybe this list can give some good idea, watch through ATV? iPhone TV: Top iPhone Apps for Live Streaming Television

To the Op, why not buy an Apple TV, and why not it's worth for the $100, read this wiki:
AppleTV 2 - AwkwardTV

 

[vplc]

I think its pretty cool. I bought a wd tv live last year and it didn't work as well as I hoped. I just recently got an apple tv and i like it. I really like the airplay feature because searching for videos with the atv remote is rather slow. here is a video of me using it to watch videos from coachella YouTube - coachella at home

 

[tritan]

I went to the store to buy an apple tv then seen that I have to buy a cable HDMI to make it work. another 40 bucks insigma brand best buy recommended other wise he stated the cheaper cables with show choppy ness. Thoughts? where is the best place to buy a 6ft cable cheap? Both my tv's are 720 viso and a sharp.

*update , i just found the refurbed on apples site for 85 with one year shipping and adding a 6ft hdmi cable out the door for 110.00 free shipping.

I think I am close to pulling the trigger.

 

[glorman]

If you have Five Below in your area, go there pick up a perfectly fine HDMI cable for 5 bucks.

 

[Fausty82]

I get all of my HDMI cables from Monoprice.com. Their cables are good, but cheap... 6 foot cable for under $10 shipped.

 

[glorman]

I agree monoprice is another great source for cheap cables, their tv mounts are a great deal too. Never ever take advice from Best Buy employees. The $5 cable will work just as well as the $40 dollar one they are trying to sell you.

And just to bring this back on topic, YES! The AppleTV is worth every penny!

Grant

 

[736dave]

Appletv plus Netflix is pretty good. Netflix has a good children's selection. Netflix is the real winner in this deal; apple must be getting a bit of a kickback for it to make sense.

 

[App Guy]

I think it is worth the $99. Like said could do without it but it is worth the money. Use it once in a while for Netflix and airplay with Iphone/ipod when working around house. I bought it to try knowing I could put on Ebay and sell used for $90. So it is worth the try. I like having it, but would like to see more from it.

I agree. It isn't very expensive and pretty low risk.

 

[OnbeatApps]

i reckon it's worth the money. I like the fact you can sync your iPhone, iPad etc up to it and play your music and you do get good new movies on it. The only problem i have had with it is sometimes it can take a while to download the movies especially if they are HD, so it can be a pain when you are ready to watch a movie and it takes 3 hours to download!

 

[m13]

It has potential but the apps are not there yet. That's why people are interested in JB to get more contents on. Potentially you can use it to video conference and watch all internet video (flash included). All this sounds plausible but there are no iOS or Mac apps that can support those functionality, yet. Then there is the (remote) possibility of Apple allowing an app store for Apple TV.

If getting a discount is the last hurdle then wait for the Thanksgiving sale at the end of November.

 

[taddy]

It's very worth it to me.

 

[korp#IM]

I just have a bunch of movies converted for my iPad and iPhone on my computer, then stream them to AppleTV and works flawlessly.

 

[fubaracing7374]

I just have a bunch of movies converted for my iPad and iPhone on my computer, then stream them to AppleTV and works flawlessly.

I do this with all my DVDs and I have two Apple TVs... Best investment!!!!


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