What you should know about the Apple TV, Google TV and Media Center platforms in general

There is a lot of enthusiasm for Apple TV, but it is not a new product. What is new this time is that the device is HD and can interact with Netflix and YouTube. It also allows you to view photos and play your music collection, and in the future it may work well with the iPad and allow you to watch movies that are playing on the Apple TV, on the iPad. Media players have been around for years and the original Apple TV dates back to 2005. Back then it was standard definition and lacked support for much of what it offers now.

The Apple TV is a lot cheaper now, at just $ 99, a far cry from what it used to sell in 2007, when it was over $ 200. This is a good price, and seeing as it is one of the cheapest devices on offer Apple, I hope to see more adoption of this product than we have seen in the past. In fact, what I hope will happen is the massive adoption of the Apple TV by Mac enthusiasts (or now, enthusiasts of “i” products, as there is a completely different crowd of enthusiasts who like Mac products. Apple devices but don’t have a real Mac computer) and continued support for everything else by PC lovers. The most significant update to the Apple TV is support for 720p video, which means that you can finally get high-definition content through this device. It also has Ethernet, component video outputs, and an HDMI connection and even a USB connection for firmware updates.

One thing that confuses me is the lack of support for 1080p. Is it because the average person doesn’t know the difference between 1080 and 720 or because they need a screen larger than 27 inches to realistically see the difference between the two? Seriously, Apple seems to be misleading their customers and putting out hardware that does some things, but not enough as they may have trouble explaining the nuances of the product to customers on the Mac Store or whatever tech support number they have for those few who really want to talk to them on the phone. If someone wants to watch 1080 video on a 19-inch screen, ridiculous as it may be, they should have the right to do so. Offering a version of this device when they could charge another $ 30 for a 1080p device at $ 129 seems odd. Like most Apple devices, it primarily connects to its own store and can view Apple-approved content on the device. You can break the device or hack it, but doing so voids the warranty. The price of the content is interesting; you can currently watch SD content for $ 2.99 and HD content for $ 3.99, and shows for 99 cents. Amazon On Demand now offers movies for the same price; they still offer the ability to buy a title for $ 14.99 and they still have a lot of free content. What will differentiate the options that Apple offers through its iTunes store, and what is available through Amazon On Demand and other services is not the price, but whether or not you can see titles on your MP4 player or through a TiVo. or some other multimedia center. as online.

It is not compatible with older televisions, so if you do not have a television that supports component or HDMI, please do not try to connect this television with composite RCA or S-Video cables because they will not work on this device. To be totally honest, I don’t see why anyone would want to watch SD videos on a TV larger than 25 inches, even if it comes from a computer; the novelty is great, but you won’t be able to experience the video the way it was intended to be seen. This is a product for those who are looking for a simple setup and prefer the controlled environment that people used to Apple products are used to working in. It is not a viable alternative to the Mac Mini (which offers 1080p video) and is designed to be used out of the box.

There is also some confusion as to the difference between the platforms and operating systems of the media centers and the media centers themselves. A good example of media center software is Windows Media Center, Google TV, or XBMC. It is likely that the same software can also be run on a PC, but the distinction needs to be made between that software and the actual hardware it runs on. For example, Google TV will be used on a variety of computers, but there is no indication that Google itself will produce the hardware that it runs on. Another question one may want to ask is whether or not they really want to connect another box to their TV, or whether or not they want to buy a TV with a media center already built in. A search on Internet-ready TVs will show you products that are already capable of watching YouTube videos or Netflix movies. If you’re already looking for a TV because your old set is being replaced, buying a TV with a built-in internet connection may not be a bad idea.

The Apple TV is a great product for those who want a simplified experience and don’t mind paying for episodes of TV shows or movies. Plus, at $ 99, the Apple TV should fly off the shelves this holiday season and it could make a great gift. But the important thing is that what was a device ahead of its time can now interact with Netflix, YouTube and, in the future, the iPad, to centralize its television experience under one roof, Apple TV should be able to do so. all. Apple TV will offer free content through YouTube and paid content through Netflix and Apple’s iTunes store. On the other hand, the Roku Player is still cheaper as they have devices for as low as $ 59, and even their cheapest HD device is $ 69. For $ 99, you can get a player capable of 1080p resolution, a feature that they claim will be available in the near future, which is currently more than what you get on Apple TV.