Ben Drawbaugh

With all the Apple TV posts today thanks to Walt, I figured I would throw in my 2 cents. So here are 10 reasons why the Apple TV will be a success.

1. There is no better way to enjoy your iTunes music collection on your home theater system. Sure there are plenty of ways, like Windows Media Center, burning CDs, Xbox 360 and simply plugging the iPod in, but are these the best? Will they always be there, ready for you or will you have to run out to your car to grab your iPod or use some syncing software to keep your ratings and play count in sync.  Do you really think the Xbox360 media interface looks as good as the Apple TV?
2. There is no better way to view your iPhotos on your HDTV in HD. You could use your Series3 Tivo at 3 time the price or the clunky Xbox360 interface, but that is assuming you are running a PC or know how to share your pictures directory on your Mac and still don’t have access to your iPhoto albums.
3. Movie Trailers. Apple has had the best online trailers for some time and there won’t be a more enjoyable way to watch them then via the Apple TV.
4. It has a 40GB hard drive. Sure it could be bigger, but it will be nice to find new media available even when your laptop isn’t turn on.
5. Video Podcasts. There is no easier way to watch Video podcasts on your big screen TV. With iTunes you can easily find them and always have the latest episode synced to your Apple TV.
6. Easy to use, easy to configure. Unlike a Mac Mini or other computer, the Apple TV has a HDMI port as well as component. Toslink and everything else you will need to connect it to your HDTV. A small easy to use remote and we hope a  wiz to plug in.
7. No power brick. Unlike the Xbox360 and a Mac Mini there is no big power brick to clutter up  your wiring. Wow just like a real consumer electronic device.
8. Because YouTube content looks bad and doesn’t have any business on my HDTV.
9. Because Philip “The Swanni” Swann said it would fail and so usually the opposite comes true.
10. Because it is made by Apple. Seriously, once you drink the Apple kool-aid it’s hard to not buy everything they make.

You might have noticed that I completely ignored the HDTV content. That is because it isn’t a reason it will succeed. In fact I don’t think it is very useful as a HD content streamer. But compared to the Series3 and a Blu-ray player everything else is just not up to snuff. The best places to get HD from is your cable provider (or Sat) or on a Blu-ray disc. Call me when you can download a 50GB HD movie on your broadband connection.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Apple, HDTV, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.