03/23/2007, 8:55am, EDT
Friday, March 23rd
Apple TV: reviews discuss shortcomings
The same review notes that Apple's limited video content selection, high pricing, and limited storage (only 33GB of usable space) makes the device impractical for general video consumption.
CNET News.com also gave the device a 7.7 out of 10 rating, noting several limitations, including file support, quality of currently available iTunes content, lack of HD content--some of which is available via the Xbox 360 marketplace--an oversimplified remote can't control other devices, the inability to purchase iTunes content directly through Apple TV, no internet radio support, and the lack of bundled A/V cables.
"The main issues we have with Apple TV rest not in its performance: it does everything it claims to, and like all Apple products, with amazing ease of use. My problem is with the iTunes movie pricing," PC Magazine notes.
Unlike music, the article notes, most adults don't watch the same video twice, exacerbating the problem of pricing--especially given video rental services such as Netflix.
"What about Netflix? Should I pay $300 for an Apple TV and then about $12 a film on iTunes, when for the price of one iTunes film, I can just have new DVDs all the time? Netflix even offers a streaming service," PC Magazine writes.
"Without a subscription-based movie service or a lower price for films that you can only view for a limited time or a couple times, I think it's hard to convince people that Apple TV is a must-have. It doesn't cost a ton to fill up your iPod, but to load ten flicks that may only be watched once onto Apple TV is going to set you back well over $100…and loading in pirated content takes extra effort and some Quicktime [sic] skills."
Video quality, audio limitations mar good performance
CNET's review also notes the poor video resolution issues as well as consistency in video quality, which the review concluded "were a step down from what you'd see on a $50 DVD player" when played on a large-screen TV.
"Unfortunately, the excellent streaming performance is offset by a drawback that's more the fault of iTunes than Apple TV: generally disappointing video quality. Movies and TV shows in iTunes are currently available in what Apple calls "near-DVD quality"--a maximum of 640x480," the publication writes. "Perhaps 'bad analog cable quality' would be more descriptive--all of the videos were quite soft, lacking the sort of fine detail we've come to expect from well-mastered DVDs."
In addition to video resolutions and consistency issues, iTunes also only supports stereo sound, instead of surround sound, according to CNET. The review concludes the device is best for iTunes addicts, until Apple improves the video (and audio) quality of its iTunes content and offers better file conversion tools to expand the amount of content that can be displayed using Apple TV.
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Spend $2k on an hdtv & put vga on it? Classic irony...
Time will tell... QHDTV has my attention now...
Boy does this ring. A few months ago I got a 5.5G video Pod. Put 2 videos on it, one a free 1/2 sitcom ep from iTunes Store and one an avi I got on the net (DivX) that I had to convert into a h.264 file. Played both on my 40" 16:9 HD display.
The converted avi, although 4:3, looked amazingly good. Very clean and sharp, not at all what I expected having gone through multiple "compression" cycles.
The video from iTunes was a shocker. First, it did look good on the Pod's screen. Yes the file was in 16:9 format. BUT, on my TV, it was terrible, I mean shockingly so. Soft, "pastely," not something I'd like to watch. AND it "played" letterboxed inside a 4:3 frame (SD sourced material, shown letterboxed appear exactly like this on a HD set, normally one uses the "zoom" function to make it appear full screen).
If material from the $300 TV unit look the same as from a Pod, fuhgeddaboutit.
BTW, commercially created and mastered VHS tapes 100% had more quality than what I saw from my Pod.