Comments on: AppleTV is NOT a DVR

By: patchstick

patchstick — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:28:19 +0000

Apple TV works with these USB TV tuners and probably more.

Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro
Elgato eyetv Diversity
Elgato eyetv hybrid
Pinnacle DVB-T Stick
Terratec Cinergy S USB
Twinhan Alpha Mac
Miglia Mini TV
Freecom DVB-T USB
ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950

Awkward TV is your friend if you are an AppleTV owner and PyeTV is worth looking in, also grab a 4GB USB Key and load it with Patchstick to get anything worthwhile from it… it really is a neat little media center.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:09:05 +0000

Couldn’t I just plug the miniDV out of my laptop into the rca input of my tv and have everything on the TV screen for $15? I am sorry to seem really dumb here but what does the Apple TV do to make the experience better?

By: NeuroticNomad

NeuroticNomad — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 02:09:46 +0000

The iPod was doomed to failure because of no FM tuner. The AppleTV is doomed to failure because of no TV tuner. History repeats itself.

P.S. Mpeg-4 is not an “Apple Flavored Format”. AAC is not an Apple codec.

By: MC

MC — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:29:36 +0000

Hopefully, it is just a very cool high-end media extender that can do pictures, music and videos seamlessly in a user friendly package (understanding it locks you into Apple-favored formats.)

Personally, I’ll be pissed if it can’t do slide shows to music with the “Ken Burns” effect enabled like you can with IPhoto. To me that feature will be worth half the price.

Since my Series 3 won’t do video, I’ll get that back after upgrading from Series 2.

By: DBL

DBL — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:09:49 +0000

“I had that story emailed to me by a couple of Mac-fanboy co-workers. I can�t believe what people are saying about Apple TV � it�s such a massive Kool Aid campaign. There�s nothing revolutionary about the product at all.”

And the first of our ancestors who walked upright were noting revolutionary, either — they were merely monkeys arrayed in a slightly different configuration.

Doesn’t make sense, does it? See, you do not need a whole new technology in order to be revolutionary. Sometimes all it takes is using what you already have in a slightly different way (the tough part is figuring out what that way should be, something Apple excels at). Then suddenly the whole world changes and opens up to you. If people feel that way when using Apple TV, then the product WILL be revolutionary, because it will change everyone’s expectations for these kinds of devices (even non-Apple ones) to a whole new plateau. Apple has already done this for computers and MP3 players, and is possibly about to do it with cel phones too. And I think the Apple TV has a decent chance of being added to this list.

The Apple TV the first time anyone can buy something with all the complexity of a tuna sandwich that results, minutes later, in them sitting back in their living room and watching all the computer content they’ve historically accumulated, on their HDTV. Tell me someone else in the marketplace has provided this kind of experience without hours of configuration and setup, because when I look out there, I see tumbleweeds.

So yeah, it’s basically just a wireless router with A/V inputs. Simple, right? That is it’s strength, and could become it’s absolute killer feature.

By the way, have you ever *seen* “just a wireless router with A/V inputs” before? Thought not.

By: peteypete

peteypete — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:32:21 +0000

Right! And we’ll charge another $99 for the sexy dongle.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:21:42 +0000

In a way NOT having a tuner does make sense.. Between people with OTA signals, analog cable, digital cable, what kind of tuner would it be? Any single tuner is making sure its on its way to obsolescence.

Personally I need a dongle with cablecard so I can record premium cable too.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:08:52 +0000

Both Mark (above) and Michael Gartenberg hypothesize that an external USB widget could provide a source of television content. While that is a possibility (and there are rumors of a Miglia acquisition), as Michael says "we're not talking about a competitor for the set top box." And certainly not a DVR without a hardware upgrade/accessory.