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)
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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 |
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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: Intuitive, simple, and impressive
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with all the criticisms of the Apple TV and I second all of them. I actually did find a way to turn OFF the unit using my Logitech universal remote, but it's insane that the stock remote doesn't let you turn it off...I thought apple was all for environmental responsibility, so why does this 20 watt unit need to stay on 24/7? That's about $1.25/month in electricity just for the convenience of keeping this thing plugged in. I am particularly disappointed with the HDMI switching when connected to a receiver. Not a big deal if you have a good receiver that's able to up-convert from component to HDMI, but it would have been nice to have all audio and video running with one single cable, which AppleTV has a hard time doing when coupled to even a high quality receiver.
Fact however, is that the pros outweigh the cons and my home is equipped with 3 of these devices so I can watch my video library easily from my TVs with seamless and straightforward home networking. I don't experience any lag, whatsoever but that's mostly due to my wired network vs wireless. I LOVE the remote app on my iphone and the ability to use appletv as an Airtunes hub, allowing me to pick and choose songs from my itunes library and play it on my 7.1 1400 watt surround sound system all from my iphone. It's been very impressive at gatherings, and for movie nights at home. There are other media players similar to Apple TV but nothing really come close because of the simplicity of use and the way it seamlessly blends in with itunes and my iphone. These features and ease of use, plus the ability to rent HD movies on demand give Apple TV a continued advantage over other media players.
Customer Review: Great Device, Two Small Flaws; Would 40 Gb Be Enough For You?
Summary: 5 Stars
The "ah ha" moment comes when you discover that this device is actually a big square iPod, optimized for use with a television. I bought it for displaying photos, and it works great in this capacity. Other features are top notch, with three caveats:
1) Apparently this device was intended to be connected to power 24/7. I live in a lightening prone area, so I *always* disconnect electronics from the grid when not in use. The device gets very warm on top, and does not appear to go to sleep on its own. (You can turn it "off" with a special sequence on the remote, but there is no switch on the box.) All this would be fine, except it loses the password for my wireless network and I have to re-enter it each time I power back up. Minor pain and not as clean as it should be.
2) Apple fortunately gave us an alternative to iPhoto for managing/syncing photos -- you can specify a sync folder. However, iTunes is apparently not able to follow aliases, so you have to move or copy your photos into the special sync folder. Aliases are clearly better than copies in this context, so I was disappointed they didn't work. I use aliases all the time elsewhere on the Mac, so I consider this a true bug.
3) There is no Apple-sanctioned way to fill up the 160Gb HD with movies independent of iTunes (it *is* an iPod after all). This means you must have copies of all the media files on your computer. If you have a laptop, it is unlikely you'll ever use more than a third of that 160Gig, so the 40Gb version may be right for you. I would have saved $100 had I known this.
Otherwise I'm completely satisfied!
Customer Review: Many options but this is the one!
Summary: 5 Stars
It took about a year before I finally decided to buy this product, but finally I decided to get it last week! I'm a Mac computer owner (3) and this is the best choice for me. First thing there were 2 other choices: (A) VUDU Set Top Box for Movies On Demand for $110 and (B) Roku Digital Video Player for $100.
Selection (A) had less titles then the others, probably about 36,000 to 37,000 titles. Selection (B) was excellent because I have Netflix and Roku gave me the option to view my movies from Netflix and 40,000 plus more movies available from Amazon on Demand... but I already have an XBOX 360 and I can view my Netflix movies with it.
The reason why I chose the Apple TV is because I have an extensive Itunes music and video library and the Apple TV allows me to view and listen my movies in my family room and music around my house at any time without the hassle of tying up more cables than what I already have. Also the Apple TV has a 160GB hard drive allowing me to save space from more DVD cases, granted so does the first option but the most important thing was the customer service. Apple has the greatest customer service available via phone and online so therefore I chose the Apple TV.
If you don't care about the hard drive, the uploading of your Itunes library into your TV so that you can listen to your music around the house (if you have surround sound), viewing your pictures on your TV with little or no trouble using IPhoto, and you don't care about YouTube in your TV.... then I would go with the Roku Digital Video Player, they also seem to have a large selection of movies.
Customer Review: Now a viable option with latest software update
Summary: 4 Stars
After Apple released the free "take 2" update for the Apple TV (applies to all models), the box became quite a bit more useful. I would now not hesitate to recommend it to people with flat panel TV's looking for a great way to watch Podcasts, TV Shows, Movies, and YouTube. The built in movie rentals are great - they literally start playing about 30 seconds after renting and are great quality (even the non-HD ones). I also enjoy instant streaming of any podcast available on the iTunes store - I find myself using the Apple TV instead of watching regular cable TV. However, why can't you rent TV shows yet? The only way to get TV shows is to BUY them for $2 each, whereas you can rent an entire movie for only $3.
As a music hub, the product also shines - I can have all my music permanently hooked up to my stereo, and by using an aux input on the stereo, I don't even have to have the TV on to listen to music. This new version also allows you to stream *and control* the Apple TV from any other Mac (or PC?) via iTunes, so you can stream music wirelessly to your living room. The old version could kind of do this too, but you had to set it up via the Apple TV which required turning on your TV set. Now, I can just turn on my stereo and start streaming while I'm sitting at my computer.
YouTube is also fun, and as a photo sharing box, the Apple TV really shines. Photos synced from iPhoto, Aperture, or just a folder on your computer look stunning. Built in Flickr and .Mac support is also nice, although the Flickr option only shows public albums which is kind of disappointing.
Customer Review: Definitely NOT worth the money.
Summary: 1 Stars
Trust me, do not waste your money on this product. We have owned this unit for several months now and really wish we could still return it. I am still an Apple fan. I have a MacBook and the Airport both are wonderful but this little gadget just isn't worth it!
- The movie rentals are a SCAM. When a new movie comes out you can BUY it right away for $15 dollars, but they make you wait another month before you can rent it. wtf? I can rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster the same day it comes out but Apple makes me wait a month! They are just trying to get you to spend more money.
- We have to reboot it ALL THE TIME. It just goes out to lunch for some reason. It won't download, or it says it can't connect to the Apple store. Then we have to get up off the nice comfy couch, pull the power plug from the back of the unit, then count to ten and plug it back in.
- As others have said, the unit gets HOT. Chernobyl HOT. I have to prop it up on stilts to keep it from melting the finish off my table.
- The remote sucks. We also have an Apple laptop in the living room and the remotes are exactly the same. So if you are using the laptop and someone trys to watch a movie it makes the computer go crazy until you physically block the IR port.
- It is a real pain to find a movie you are looking for. You can scroll and scroll and scroll and hope you get lucky or you can try the search function which is like entering your name into the video game you just got high score on at the arcade... one letter at a time.