Apple vs. Google TVs 403
This SFGate article begins,
"Apple and Google just kicked off the first round of their battle for the living room. Based on what we've seen so far, Apple is in the lead. It's still early, and this could change, but it looks like Apple is making an all-around smarter bet than Google." I haven't tried out the Google device yet. The Apple unit is decent, but it's so focused on TV rental that it makes it difficult to work with an existing library of media; between the transcoding, and tedious menu navigation... well, it's a good thing it's only $99. It's a dang cheap way to get your stuff on your bigger screens, provided you're willing to jump through the necessary hoops.
FTFS (Score:5, Informative)
It's a dang cheap way to get your stuff on your bigger screens, provided you're willing to jump through the necessary hoops.
Roku Box [roku.com] or WDTV [wdc.com], anyone? No hoops to jump through there...or, if you have an Xbox 360 or PS3, TVersity [tversity.com] is a FANTASTIC solution.
Re:FTFS (Score:4, Informative)
slanted author (Score:5, Informative)
The author already had his mind made up even before he compared them.
- There is some rambling about input 1 and 2 and I'm not quite sure what he is getting at with that but the conclusion was Apple uses input 2 and that made it easier and therefore better. His criteria for "easier therefore better" gets lost when he talks about the Sony with built in Goolge functionality. With that, there is no external input 2 or what ever needed at all, it is built in! You can't get any more easier to hook up and use than that but somehow that simplicity gets no mention.
- He mentions that an official "Apps store" is in the works for the G device but Apple hackers will probably have something unoffical as well. So Apple hackers making an unoffical app store is a postivie or a negative? He did not clarify but was leaning toward a positive. I'm sure that unofficial app store will be seemless and easy to use for all of those people that bought the Apple device because it was simplar because the Google device using input 1 was too hard for them to figure out.
Bottom line... He cherry picked things and used different criteria to compare them. There is no technical content and no specs or options are even considered in his comparison of which is better. It was a useless and biased article from start to finish and 30 seconds of my life i will never get back. It is similar to a paid advertisement "editorial".
He was right on the cost, the Apple device appears to be $200 cheaper. We all know Apple made it's inroads from being cheaper.
Here's a thought, check out some already available embedded devices for home entertainment. They have some decent features, they are cheap and some can stream netflix, youtube, rss feeds, audio feeds, and even PPV movies from the large distributors like Paramount.
Re:3 Menu Clicks (Score:2, Informative)
Getting to stored media on a computer only requires 3 clicks. Hardly a difficult proposition.
These devices are also a lot cheaper than even an ION nettop. How much effort does getting the computer to the TV require?
Re:Based on what we've seen so far (Score:5, Informative)
Don't forget that if we're talking about set-top boxes to access network content, the Xbox 360 is in the lead, followed by the PS3. Way behind them are the Apple and Google TV's.
Re:One thing I can't find (Score:2, Informative)
Some NAS boxes have iTunes sharing.
Re:the transcoding... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Based on what I saw in the article (Score:3, Informative)
a 'little' more expensive? $700 vs $100? That sounds like a LOT more expensive to me.
Re:Based on what I saw in the article (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How easy are they? (Score:3, Informative)
There's a lot of misinformation out there, so let me try to answer this with as many facts as I can:
1. No, only HDMI is supported.
2. It ranges from the "very easy" to the "virtually impossible" depending on what you expect them to use it for. First, it comes with a very simple remote control with only 4 navigation buttons (up, down, left, right) and one "Enter" button, organized in a circle like the old iPod scroll wheel. The remote control also has two comfortably large sound volume buttons. Second, the user interface is so darn intuitive, that it is designed to be fully navigable with just the remote control. Choosing a movie to rent and view is as simple as two or three clicks away.
But that's just it. If all they plan on doing with it is renting movies from iTunes or Netflix with their AppleTV, it's as easy as a toaster. However, it won't "play" TV. It doesn't have a TV tuner, so if they want to watch TV, they will need to interface with their TV's remote or control panel to switch from external input to the internal TV tuner. If they can manage this, then there's no problem. Your comment suggests that they won't. That said, this is the same for anybody who has a DVD player or any other external device hooked up to a TV.
And if they have a personal computer running iTunes, they can play all their music, videos, pod-casts, and photos from it using the same simple interface in the AppleTV as for renting movies--but someone has to show them how to get the stuff in their PC in the first place. Again, if they can manage this, the rest goes swimmingly.
Note, however, that a personal computer and iTunes is not necessary to access the online iTunes store.
What about DVDs? The AppleTV does not have a DVD drive in it. Nor does iTunes, which means that even if they put the DVD in their personal computer's player, it won't stream to the AppleTV. Someone will have to help your parents encode their DVDs into an iTunes-friendly format. This is easy to do with many readily available tools, but it is not built-in. However, once all videos are in, it all works easily and intuitively, so maybe it's the price to pay to set them up at first.
Alternatively, they could play DVDs on a regular DVD player, and switch inputs as normal.
3. 1000 Kbit/s line? That's 1 Mbit/s, it should be fine. There is no "download first and watch later". The AppleTV only streams its content, it does not download for later viewing.
The AppleTV is primarily designed to be an interface for streaming digital content into your TV. The digital content is expected to come from iTunes--either your iTunes client on a PC, or the online iTunes Music/Video Store. It also allows streaming from YouTube and Netflix. For these narrow uses, it is superb. And to be honest, that's pretty much what a lot of people need (I personally do not watch regular TV, only Netflix and my purchased DVDs, which I have encoded into iTunes already, so for me it is a dream.)
The rental prices range from $0.99 for TV shows to $4.99 for the latest movie releases. The selection of movies available for rent is wide and varied, and includes many new releases. For TV shows, only a few networks have joined so far, but presumably the list will grow eventually. TV shows will be available the day after they first air, completely commercial free, for $0.99 cents.
It is up to you (and your parents) to decide if this will suit your their TV watching habits. And even if they do not have any streaming needs today, consider that it may be the most accessible distribution channel for entertainment in the near future, and therefore the AppleTV may be viewed as an investment.
You may want to check out the glossy marketing material available from Apple directly:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/ [apple.com]
Also, I personally find it helpful sometimes to use the Online Store Live Chat feature and ask questions directly from a representative.
-dZ.
WDTV (Score:3, Informative)
I've had the WDTV for over a year and it's an awesome device for playing your own media (works with almost any type of video file you throw at it including DVD .iso files). The Plus version adds netflix streaming and would be the one I would get now if I were purchasing it for the first time. I have mine hooked up to an external USB drive with my media stored on it.
Re:Based on what we've seen so far (Score:4, Informative)
I'm just talking in install numbers and cultural penetration. The PS3 is a great media device, though it would be nice if Netflix didn't require a disk.
Re:One thing I can't find (Score:4, Informative)
My understanding is that it can't. I believe you need to have your content in an iTunes library on your computer. Furthermore, I have read that an Apple TV won't stream content on a NAS that can otherwise host an iTunes library; the library actually needs to be on a computer.
This is a myth that Apple themselves have been perpetuating. I don't know why they make it so hard to find this information on their website [apple.com] but it is there.
The Apple TV can subscribe to video podcast channels and happily stream your media library from anything that can run a basic Apache installation. Just dump your media library information into an XML file (as described in the above link) and point your Apple TV at it.
I find it absolutely amazing that the actual Apple TV section of their website makes no mention of this feature. You do not need to submit it to iTunes for review/approval. You just host it on your own home network.
Re:What NAS box with iTunes? (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.deleet.de/projekte/daap/daapd/ [deleet.de] any NAS box that is open enough to let you run linux on it. I'm not sure DAAPD works well anymore, or for videos, i have no idea if it does videos or anything, i hvan't needed to talk to an apple only client in years now.
Re:Based on what I saw in the article (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Based on what we've seen so far (Score:4, Informative)
About two weeks ago I installed Netflix on a PS3, directly from the "app store" or whatever Sony calls it. Small download, installed it, logged into my Netflix.ca account and watched a few minutes of some movies to check out the quality.
For the Wii, however, it still requires a disc.
Roku is actually in the lead (Score:5, Informative)
They are actually in the lead in internet set top boxes right now, at least for internet streaming. If you haven't heard of them or haven't checked them lately (I thought until recently that they were only Netflix boxes), they start at $60 for similar features to the new Apple TV, they already have 75+ apps/channels available (including Netflix, Amazon VOD, Pandora, MLB, NBA, NHL, etc), expected to increase to 100 by the end of the year, DLNA local media streaming feature is coming soon, Hulu+ also coming soon. It's really thriving and unquestionably the best deal for this type of device right now.
Oh, since this is Slashdot, you may also like to know that anyone can develop an app for it, with free tools in Windows/Mac/Linux, according to their developer page: http://www.roku.com/developer [roku.com]
Unfortunately, Apple's marketing might and fanboy army are probably going to crush them in the marketplace. Google probably won't be far behind either. Roku are also not helped by (to my understanding) not being available at brick and mortar retail stores, but you can get them at their own website, at Amazon.com and probably at other online retailers as well.
Re:tivo premier blows them both away (Score:3, Informative)
Considering that SATA didn't exist until 2003, I mean you're full of shit.
Re:Based on what we've seen so far (Score:4, Informative)
No, there was nothing *illegal* about modifying your XBOX. It's against Microsoft's plans for the intended use of said box, but no, it's not illegal.