I have to say I am disappointed that I have to wait another two weeks before I can get my hands on an Apple TV. It really gets me wondering about what else Apple might have up their sleeve considering how simple this device seems, but yet how long it has taken for them to release it, not to mention the fact that Apple pre-announced this product which isn’t their usual practice. I think it might just be HD movies and another studio, but perhaps that is just wishful thinking. Read
Archive for the ‘HDTV’ Category
Apple TV delayed
Monday, February 26th, 2007My HDTV gear
Saturday, February 24th, 2007
I have been writting online for just over a year and unless you listen to the Podcast you don’t know much about me. I probably share more than many on my Podcast, (when I actually record one) but after talking to Dave Zatz I took some pictures and I want to share some of them as well as some details of my gear for any who want to see it. Yeah I know it’s vain, but I guess thats me.
I most of the work myself with some help from my good friend Dave Evans who also feeds my habit by geting me good deals on supplies. I ran all the CAT5 cable and component cables throughout the house, but the alarm wireing was done already, most of it anyways, I had to run the wires for the glass break and motion sensors.
My Gear
- Mitsubishi ws55813
- Saphire towers and center
- Speakercraft surounds
- Series3 TiVo
- Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray player
- Video Storm 4×2 component matrix switch
- HDHomeRun
- Xbox360
- Whitebox HTPC
- Pioneer Elite VSX-33tx AV reciever
- Elk M1-Gold alarm
- Insteon Dimmers about 14
- Cisco Aironet 1100 WiFi AP
- Linksys WRT54GS router (wifi disabled)
- HAI thermostat
- MacBook Pro
- G4 Mini
- 20″ cinema Display
- 32″ Sharp Aquas
So now that you have a parts list, just figure out where I live so you can take it from me. I will reference this list when filing my insurance claim.
Check out the flicker pool for all the pics.
TiVo Desktop 2.4; and some wonder why Mac fans can’t wait for Apple TV
Friday, February 23rd, 2007TiVo recenlty announced an updated to their desktop software that now allows Window users to enjoy HD quality photos on their Series3. While this is great news, it leaves Mac users everywhere wondering where the love is? It seems that as great as OS X is and iLife with it, that being treated like a second class citizen in the consumer electronics world is the worst part of owning a Mac. Mac fans know that Apple takes care of their own and given enough time the Mac equivelent will be superior to the Windows version.
I love my Series3, but I can’t wait to get my Apple TV next week so I can enjoy all my photos in HD on my HDTV in an enjoyable way.
Chris nails it: Apple doesn’t care about CableCARD
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007For whatever reason pepople continue to want Apple to get in the DVR business. Whether it is rumors about Apple buying TiVo or that the new Apple TV will include CableCARD support, people just love to dream. The fact of the matter is they don’t because they don’t want to. They want to sell shows and movies off iTunes, in the end VOD is the future. It will take years till everything is available to everyone whenever they want and that point who would want a DVR? Sure if it’s cheaper, but other than price, VOD is where it is at. Either way Chris Lanier really spells it out for people in his latest post and I think he is dead on. So if you still believe Apple will offically support some soft of DVR head over and take a look.
Bye bye for now DirecTV
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007
I have been a DirecTV customers for some time now, originally it wasn’t for reasons I will publicly mention, but eventually it was because of the HD TiVo. Now that DirecTV has decided to go another route and the Series3 is everything I hoped it would be (assuming they add MRV and TTG), I am done with DirecTV; for now. I say for now, because they might just live up to their promisses and add 100 HD channels and although I love my TiVo I may pick up a H20 to watch the new channels till I can recored them with my Series3 (when BHN adds them) — I mean why not, I already have the AT9 dish on my roof?
It is really kind of sad for me, but what else can I do to get a HD TiVo? How much do I like TiVo/hate the SA8300/HR20? So much that I paid $800 for my first Series3, $300 for 3 years prepaid TiVo Service and $8/mo for 2 CableCARDs. We have been a 2 DVR family for some time now, so we had to buy a second Series3 for $611, as well as the service and the CableCARD rental. Wow $32/mo for TiVo service and CableCARD fees that shocks me, but it is what it is.
Now if TiVo would just enable MRV, and I would be all set.
Why I want an Apple TV
Sunday, January 14th, 2007
Everyone loves to hate on Apple as much as some love them. I love Apple products, but try to be impartial. The cliché “It just works” really does apply to most Apple products. TiVo is another company that I really like their products and in the world of getting content off my Mac onto my TV the TiVo lets me down as does MCE. The iTunes ecosystem has got me, no doubt about it and I like it. I like the way iPhoto and iTunes manages my music, videos and pictures and keeps them in sync with my iPod. The management of my content is my favorite part and up until the Apple TV I haven’t been able to easily get this content on my TV. Sure I have a dock that lets me output my iPod to my TV, but the interface on is pretty lame. I could also connect my Series3 to TiVoDesktop and stream them, but the interface is less than elegant and visualizations are a joke. (Not to mention TiVoDesktop doesn’t support Intel macs, where I store my photos). I could also somehow sync my iTunes from my Mac Mini to my MCE and use my Xbox360 to view my photos and pictures on my TV, but again, this is anything but elegant, more like a cluster.
The Apple TV solves all of this by linking iLife to my TV in a elegant way that my wife could use (after I program my Harmony 880 to control my ATV).
At this point you might be saying “But Ben you haven’t even mentioned Video isn’t that the whole point of ATV?”. My answer would be “not for me it isn’t”. I have my Series3 and my Blu-ray player for all my HD video needs and everyone who knows me knows that I only watch HD. Sure I could get HD content via torrents or off a capture card, but it just won’t work as well as my Series3 does and the movies won’t look or sound as good as my Blu-ray player so what is the point? Even if Apple does start to sell HD movies I doubt they will sound or look as good as Blu-ray so the only way I would buy them is if I really wanted to see a movie that wasn’t available for Blu-ray which doesn’t seem very luckily at this point since both Disney and Paramount make Blu-ray movies. Sure I may convert a movie or TV show at some point in time to watch via ATV, but for me it is all about my music and my photos on my HDTV in a brain dead way that “Just works”.
