Something happens when a company becomes a major player in the technology field: great expectations. After producing two of the most beloved innovations of the past decade, the iPod and the iPhone, Apple now faces the additional burden of living up to its own hype. That, in part, can be seen as one of the reasons Apple TV has been a disappointment. For those who haven't heard about it (which may be a lot of people, judging by sales), Apple TV is a device that hooks up to a widescreen TV and plugs into a high-speed Internet connection (either wirelessly or via Ethernet cable). The device enables users to rent (or buy) movies from the iTunes Store and watch them on their big-screen TVs instead of just their computers. While that's not the device's only purpose, it seems to be its main one. A person also can use the Apple TV box to buy individual TV-show episodes, listen to music, view photos from Flickr, and watch YouTube videos. The 2.5-pound Apple TV box is essentially a small computer and is available with a 40 GB hard drive (for $229) or a 160 GB hard drive (for $329). The box must be "linked" to a computer so it can work through that person's iTunes Store account. With Apple TV, a person can rent a movie instantly from iTunes and have it downloaded onto the Apple TV box. HD movies cost $4.99 to rent (for new titles) and $3.99 for older titles, while standard-definition movies are $3.99 and $2.99. Apple designed the Apple TV system to encourage people to download movies, but the major problem with the device is that it doesn't really give people an incentive to do so. According to most reviews, the quality of HD movies from Apple TV is decent, but nowhere near as good as Blu-ray. And the selection of movies currently available (in HD or SD) is severely limited (still in the hundreds), despite the fact that Apple has agreements with all the major studios. For regular renters, NetFlix offers greater variety and a better price - though renters have to wait to get DVDs in the mail or watch movies on the computer. And, for those who want immediacy, renting movies through a cable On Demand service may cost a dollar more - but it eliminates download time (which, for HD movies can take a few hours) and the need to spend a couple hundred dollars on an Apple TV box. Users also can get cable DVR or TiVo to record TV shows rather than pay $1.99 to rent episodes from iTunes. So, while Apple TV may offer a lot of different services, it's doesn't offer anything better than what's already out there. In fact, the greatest benefit of Apple TV may be the ability to look at Flickr photos or watch YouTube videos on a big screen. While the iPhone and iPod revolutionized cell phone use and portable music, Apple TV, in its current incarnation, hasn't really improved the movie-rental experience. And, until it does, this little white box remains the black sheep of the Apple family. Shad Connelly,
Executive Editor -
Invention & Technology News (http://news.inventhelp.com)
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Apple TV is on But Who's Watching?
