apple TV - DPChallenge Forums

05/10/2007 07:15:09 PM · #1

curious if anyone has tried this new thing.

i have one here, but have yet to hook it up, or unwrap it.

i didn't buy it, but am curious of those who have if it was worth the money...

//www.apple.com/appletv/

Message edited by author 2007-05-10 19:16:20.

05/10/2007 07:21:48 PM · #2

If u have tv shows and movies u bought from itunes and tired of watching on ur pc or ipod.... then yeah it probly is.

05/10/2007 07:27:58 PM · #3

well it isn't really mine, my GF uses itunes a lot - and i have no idea what she has besides a ton of music. i think i'd be content with the music option... but i don't know. seems pricey.

i don't want to hook it up tonight because it's supposed to strom, so i figured i do a bit of snooping in the mean time.

05/10/2007 07:29:25 PM · #4

i also don't know what the video quality will be like.

we have a 42" hidef, plasma tv. will a movie be a movie?

05/10/2007 07:29:42 PM · #5

"to strom" wtf is that? EDIT - nvm storm

You can get a free short film of itunes and a few free tv shows off itunes and if u ever are allowed to hook it up try em out on it.

05/10/2007 07:30:44 PM · #6

Originally posted by soup:

i also don't know what the video quality will be like.

we have a 42" hidef, plasma tv. will a movie be a movie?

Same as if u stuck a standard 4:3 DVD in it. My fathers Sony home theatre and lcd seem to know how to handle and black bar the different formats as not to distort.

05/10/2007 07:36:08 PM · #7

yeah, if it doesn't auto-format, i can just set it myself for that unput. so that's cool.

05/10/2007 07:37:40 PM · #8

and it's a HD broadcast, so to speak. that's what i'm getting at...

05/10/2007 07:37:52 PM · #9

Originally posted by soup:

yeah, if it doesn't auto-format, i can just set it myself for that unput. so that's cool.

I believe they use 640x480 which is around what a dvd would use.
NTSC maximum resolution is 720x480. Theres some confusion for some people neither format is wider. CRT's draw lines differently think of it liek a printer that prints 1200x4800 lol.

05/10/2007 07:39:11 PM · #10

Originally posted by soup:

and it's a HD broadcast, so to speak. that's what i'm getting at...

Whats im getting at is stick in a dvd thats what ur dealing with lol. Or its what ur supposed to be dealing with.

28-48 minute shows are around 250-600 MB Mpeg 4

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

05/10/2007 07:59:23 PM · #11

cool enough.

thanks

Creature

Nikon D70s

05/11/2007 12:04:07 PM · #12

videos that you download from iTunes are, I think, optimized at 320x240 pixel resolution, which is going to look crappy at full size on an HDTV.

However, videos that other people rip for iTunes are often done at 640x480 so those will look better. In any case, don't expect the same sharpness on the TV that you see on the iPod.

scarbrd

Leica M10

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

05/11/2007 12:08:06 PM · #13

Originally posted by Creature:

I believe that Apple has upped the video resolution to 640x480 on iTune video downloads.

digitalpins

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

05/11/2007 12:11:54 PM · #14

First let me say I am huge Apple fan/junkie/groupy but I think Apple TV is a big waste. It not worthed just yet. I have brought tv shows from them before but never a movie and never will I just cant see buying a movie. For a couple of bucks I brought a adapter that has a s-video connection and I just plug that into my tv and watch anything I want on thats on my apple computer or laptop... such as anything I downloaded or tv shows on websites like 24. Since heroes comes on the sametime 24 does on mondays I go to fox.com and watch 24 on my tv. The resolution is ok and for the sound I use my stereo...works out great.

Message edited by author 2007-05-11 12:13:39.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/11/2007 12:12:35 PM · #15

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Originally posted by Creature:
videos that you download from iTunes are, I think, optimized at 320x240 pixel resolution, which is going to look crappy at full size on an HDTV.

However, videos that other people rip for iTunes are often done at 640x480 so those will look better. In any case, don't expect the same sharpness on the TV that you see on the iPod.

I believe that Apple has upped the video resolution to 640x480 on iTune video downloads.

Last time i checked thats what it is. It will be just as crappy as a DVD.

Message edited by author 2007-05-11 12:12:40.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

05/11/2007 01:51:07 PM · #16

I believe most iTunes shows have been upped to 480p. (Also referred to at DTV.)

However, just cause the resolution is equivalent to a standard DVD does NOT mean the image quality is. I've found that iTunes' video quality varies quite a bit (and that in just one TV show - namely Battlestar Galactica).

I think it depends on the compression quality and just how much they try to compress the video. I've watched some episodes of BSG that were pretty darn close to broadcast DTV/DVD quality. That said, I've watched a few that were grainy, and way too much striation in colors.

On the flip side, I pretty much rely on iTunes and Netflix for my TV and decided not to get cable. iTunes gives me Sci-Fi channel and Netflix movies and a lot of TV series.

I signed up with Netflix years ago after renting two DVDs for $4 each for a weekend. Only to manage to watch one. I then forgot to bring the discs with me on the way to work and had to pay a $4 late fee on each disc. All in all I was out $16 bucks for one movie. I decided to go with Netflix, for another $4 I got a month of rentals. And have never regretted it.

About 2 yrs ago I was given a gift certificate to blockbuster to rent movies. I went there and spent 2 and 1/2 hours trying to find a movie I wanted to see. All the movies I wanted to see were all rented out, the few exceptions I had already seen via Netflix. So I started looking at older releases. By the time all was done with I was down to renting The Muppet Wizard of Oz. But I couldn't find another movie to rent. In the end I bought a copy of "I Robot". It was at that point I decided that the so called advantage of blockbuster's online service with the in store rental was not an advantage. I had spent over 2 hours just trying to rent a movie and instead I could have gone home and watched a Netflix.

That said, Netflix just launched their "Watch it Now" service. So now if all your Netflix discs are in the mail or you want something different you can hop online and just stream a movie.

As for quality, every now and then there I've seen a small jitter. But I have watched hours of Netflix online without any visual artifacts or pauses. On top of that, I am amazed with the video quality of Netflix's "Watch It Now". The video quality, at least of the TV shows I've watched so far, is far far better than that of iTunes. (And this is streaming tech as opposed to downloading.)

:)

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

05/11/2007 01:57:32 PM · #17

Also the quality of itunes movies on a CRT at 640x480 resolution versus them being scaled up to 1280x1024 on my LCD moniter probly has a similar effect to it being blwon up on the HDTV.

I think on a decent say 17 inch tube monitor or say even 19 inch's for more viewing pleasure scales the video better as in comparison with a normal TV.

scarbrd

Leica M10

05/11/2007 02:35:38 PM · #18

I think time will tell on the Apple TV. Steve Jobs hinted at movie rentals and other features in the pipeline. It's still a new product and the iTunes Store will start to offer higher resolution content soon.

Add DVR funtionality, music and video purchases, bigger hard drive (or the ability to add external storage) and you'll have a pretty compelling product.

The ease of use on this thing compared to Windows Media Center is off the chart.

05/11/2007 02:59:29 PM · #19

Can i get a hell yeah on that?