Apple TV MB189LL/A with 160GB Hard Drive [OLD VERSION]
by Apple Computer
![Apple TV MB189LL/A with 160GB Hard Drive [OLD VERSION]](/images/Apple-TV-MB189LL-A-with-160GB-Hard-Drive-OLD-VERSION-B000RQHAUA-L.jpg)
|
Our Price: $399.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $110.00 (click here) Category: Home Theater See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple TV MB189LL/A with 160GB Hard Drive [OLD VERSION]
Customer Review: Nice device with a few errors
Summary: 4 Stars
I waited for the Apple TV until the software upgrade the the price dropped on the 160GB version. There are a few problems that should be brought up.
I have a PS3 that I use to stream videos to my television. My library is over 1000 videos strong with several hundred being 30 to 60 min. TV shows, 800 plus movies and 10 HD movies. None are in a format that Apple TV will play. converting 200 plus TV programs will take 30 min each to put into a format that Apple TV will play. The regular movies take about 1.33 hours per movie and the HD movies take 27 hours each. It will take around 1400 hours, or about 2 months to convert my media for Apple TV, and that is with a dedicated computer.
The times above are with using my couple years old laplop. I have a quad core desk top that will take a far less amount of time, but I cannot connect that computer running Itunes with the apple TV. i have worked over ten hours on the problem with no luck. Since the Apple TV works with the lap top, the problem is going to be with the desk top, I tries to contact apple support, but you have to make an appointment for them to call you, or for you to call them. IM support would be nice.
Another draw back is the small click remote that comes with the Apple TV. Entering user names and password is a real pain in the rear.
As far as operating the Apple TV, the new software update make operating it very easy. The secret is in setting up the Itunes correctly with movie name, season, type, and genre. With careful set up of Itunes, the Apple TV is very easy to use.
Some people complain that the Apple TV will only do up to 720p, unless you have a TV of 55" or larger, the 720 will not make that much of a difference.
Apple does have a large selection of movies and television programs to choose from and access to a very large selection of pod casts, plus you can add all the pod casts you want. It would be nice if Apple would give you access to services such as Hulu and Netflix without having to hack the Apple TV.
The lack of support for anything else but Apple may turn out to ne the downfall for a great device.
Video play back has been smooth so far.
Customer Review: Make sure this is what you want/need!
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this knowing that all I was getting was a solution to having to connect my iPod to my home theatre every time I wanted to watch TV shows and movies I had rented or purchased from ITunes. Anyone thinking about getting one must realize that this is all this device does besides the YouTube gimmick. It is not an alternative storage solution for your iTunes media. I like my Apple TV over all for that purpose, but the engineers could have gotten it so much better. If you have connectivity problems via wireless as I was initially, I recommend an 802.11n router over an 802.11g. This solved my sudden Apple TV loss of connectivity problems, I just happened to buy the Time Capsule since I needed the back up space. If you use Time Capsule I also recommend that you disable hourly back up and do them manually because even though I have my Mac Pro connected to the Time Capsule via cat V my Apple TV would occasionally lose connectivity when the Time Machine initiated a back up due to bandwidth issues. Future versions of the Apple TV will hopefully have an ON/OFF switch this is an unbelievable blunder on Apples part. The remote application for iPod touch and iPhone is kind of nice but will not let you put the unit in standby mode so you still have to have your TV powered on to be able to see the menu to put the unit in standby even if you were just wanting to listen to music. One work around if you don't want to turn your TV on to listen to music when your done just hit the menu button on the provided remote a few times then hold the play/pause button for 6 seconds and the unit will go into standby. Additionally the Apple TV will randomly wake itself up from standby mode and the device does get quite hot so keep it well ventilated. I also hope they will offer an option for a 1TB hard disk or solid state storage so that we can sync all of our movies, music and TV shows to the drive eliminating the need to have the computer turned on with ITunes open. I connect the device via HDMI to my TV and to my receiver via fiber optic. The picture/sound quality is really good. I would like to see Apple add the DJ feature in a future software update.Customer Review: Don't Buy Before You Read This
Summary: 1 Stars
My Apple TV (ATV) worked fine for over a year. That changed with the latest software upgrade. Apple support is the worst I've experienced. Syncing with iTunes has stopped since their latest version 2.3 of the ATV software. A number of people are having this issue and reported it on the Apple support forum. Apple Support was totally unhelpful. Wanted me to pay for "extended care" since I bought my ATV last year. I said it's not my out-of-Apple support ATV, but their new software that's the problem. Told me it was "buyer beware" with respect to updates your ATV prompts you to do, and that my only recourse was to role back to the factory default (version 1.1) - that is unless I wanted to pay for support. So I asked her if she'd heard of the problem, and she said no. Excuse me? What would I be paying for then? Why can't this company support the software they just released for free like any other responsible manufacturer??? They are shooting themselves in the foot because now that I've rolled back to 1.1, I can't buy the new content they're pushing from the iTunes store. So much for the Apple mantra that "it just works."
And here's the icing on the cake - when I posted my experience on the Apple Support forum and asked for help, they deleted it as a "non-constructive rants or complaints." Apparently, customer dissatisfaction is something they don't want to hear about or for others to know. Interestingly, when I searched for my problem with the search function on Apple's forum, I couldn't come up any postings on point. I then went to Google and found relevant posts on the Apple forum right away.
So to be clear, I loved my Apple TV until Apple released this upgrade to its software. If there is a solution to this problem, good luck in getting it out of Apple since they don't even acknowledge there is a problem which is posted on their user forums.
Think long and hard before placing yourself at the mercy of Apple's support policies. And I certainly wouldn't buy this product until Apple announces that the problem has been fixed.
Customer Review: Apple's shelf warmer
Summary: 2 Stars
To state it clearly: I like Apple. But let's face it: They create products and their first thought seems to be: how can we make loads of money? After that they add a dash of design and try to sell it.
Okay you think? No. They should sometimes ask what the user wants. Consequently this device has a cool design and is set up to earn loads of money whith it, because it is connected to iTunes and you can buy flicks and music.
Has it ever come to their mind that I do not want an additional device in my stereo rack? I want less of them.
So here are the devices they should have replaced:
* CD-Player
- mission accomplished. Throw your CDs in the computer. Get them ripped using iTunes. Sync and you're done.
* tuner
- failed. There is no way to listen to (internet) radio.
One update on this (04/03/2008): You can stream internet radio from iTunes to AppleTV, but AppleTV needs to be idle and you need to trigger this from you Mac/PC. You cannot trigger this in AppleTV.
There have been reports that internet radio appeared in playlists on Apple, but the discussions on Apple's formums imply that it only works occasionally.
* VCR
- failed. Sure, you can buy movies and even some TV shows on iTMS. But why pay for something that is on TV anyway. And what about the stuff that is not in their shop. So you will still need your VCR or HD recorder.
* DVD
- failed. There is no (legal and fast) way to view your DVDs on your appleTV. Actually a simple DVD Player would have done. But it seems that then it is too similar to the Mac mini. But the Mac mini is first of all a computer and not a media center. And apart from this: The Mac mini option is too expensive.
From my point of view this is 1 out of 4, which is not enough to make this a successful product. And the competitors are quite active. If Apple does not act to meet the expectations of most customers this will end like their PDA and game console. You do not know these devices? See. That's what I mean.
Customer Review: Now supports 1080p and 5.1 surround
Summary: 5 Stars
The content on the Apple iTunes store does not offer 1080p for purchase, but you can rent 1080p content or add it (if you can get it) from your computer. There are also 1080p video podcasts. 5.1 digital surround is now supported and you can rip your DVDs using 5.1 with Handbrake software (free download on the web). Handbrake works with Mac OS 10.5 or > and Windows (if you are unfortunate enough to not have a Mac).
Caveats: It does run hot. The video used to lag, but this seems much better with the latest releases of the OS. The GUI can stick and then jump - so you click 3 times with no effect and then it jumps the 3 positions, etc. The remote control is a pain when typing passwords or searching youtube, etc.
If you have an iPhone (I think iPod Touch also) you can use the Remote Application to control your Apple TV (or iTunes) from your iPhone. It's great and much better than the remote that comes with the Apple TV.
I highly recommend a direct 100 Mb ethernet connection or 802.11n. Do not use this product with 802.11g or slower.
Don't bother with the 40GB version. It's just too small. You'll wish you had the 160GB. The 40GB is only good if you don't buy content - only rent movies. But watch out - if you keep you music on it, you'll want more space.
The Apple TV is great even just as a music jukebox! Even if you don't use it for video. We use it all the time for music. It's easier than hooking up an iPod and having to pick up the iPod to change songs, etc. The GUI on the HDTV screen is so much better. I looked at similar MP3 components for audio only - this was cheaper and had a far superior GUI. It is so easy to use that my wife can do it (she is not technology savvy).
The other great thing is that software updates are free and come automatically over the internet. New features and fixes!
Bottom line: There is no other product like it on the market in terms of cost, intuitive interface, quality, and features.