Why Apple TV Doesn’t Suck
I’m writing this in response to a recent article at ExtremeTech. The article gives 5 reasons why the Apple TV sucks and I thought I’d respond in kind to each point. Now it’s hard not to sound like an Apple fanboy responding to this but I think many of us are fans of the product and think it’s getting ignored (by the market in general and by Apple).
- No Optical Drive - Since the hardware is there now, this is a little hard to address in the current Apple TV model. The Apple TV was really meant to be a way to play content from iTunes and presumably content from your PC or Mac that you have in iTunes. I really didn’t expect the Apple TV to completely replace my DVD player. I will likely be late to adopt Blu Ray, if at all, so I’m unlikely to be pushing for Blu Ray in an Apple TV. Additional hardware will push the Apple TV well beyond it’s current price point.
- Storage Issues - In the article this is really three issues - lack of storage, lack of expansion and Apple forcing customers to store their bought content locally. I don’t think lack of storage is a problem since the addition of streaming to the Apple TV. In fact, I really don’t need the 160 GB model I bought, I would have been happy with 40 GB. I think if you are looking to store your content on the Apple TV you might be open to hacking it and using external USB storage and additional software. Apple could easily enable USB storage but I’m not sure you really need it - given the way it’s “meant to be used”. As for Apple forcing customers to store content locally, I do agree with the point made here. Apple should let customers re-download content if they needed to and it’s not something they support. Other download services keep track of what you own and let you re-download content (e.g. Xbox Marketplace and Valve’s Steam).
- Limited Codecs - This point I do agree with and was initially my hesitation to buy the Apple TV. In the end, however, I didn’t mind using Visual Hub and MetaX to organize my non-iTunes content. Until Boxee came along, I actually preferred putting all the content in iTunes so it was conveniently available on the Apple TV and presented as well as “store-bought”. It has to be said that all of Apple’s product suffer from this and it goes with the territory. iPods and Macs have limited codecs. Modifying your Apple TV to support new codecs and players such as Boxee is so easy now, I think it’s a viable excuse for some of the limitations.
- No Web Browser - This is really a don’t care for me. I’ve installed the Couch Surfer browser and it works fine but I just don’t need it or use it. Maybe I’m in the minority but I’m not surfing on my TV very often. Using a 6 button remote to navigate the Internet is painful, period. Again, feel free to hack your Apple TV and use a mouse and keyboard - I challenge other set top boxes to provide a meaningful browsing experience.
- No DVR - This is by design, of course, since you are supposed to get all of your TV from iTunes. In some ways you can’t fault Apple for this decision, the Apple TV was meant to be a living room version of the iPod. I have a Elgato EyeTV hybrid for my Mac and it records TV and exports it to iTunes automatically. It works like a charm and is not an expensive option. I would like to see a hack to get this running directly on the Apple TV but I don’t expect Apple to pursue this option. TV = iTunes as far as Apple is concerned.
In summary, I don’t think the crticisms are severe enough to really say the Apple TV sucks. As an extension to iTunes and a PC or Mac where your content lives (like an iPod) it fits the bill. What you really have in that box is a mini Mac mini and I don’t mind relying on third parties like Boxee to provide more functionality.
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Comments
I do share everyone’s frustrations over the Apple TV. I think the hacking community has opened our eyes to what is possible. Given it’s really a Mac in there you can anything really. Adding a cheap external USB DVD drive should give you DVD playback - why not? A great 3rd party add on could be a DVD/HD combo with the same form factor. I’d be interested in buying that…
First off I love my Apple TV. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do.
Second, ever since I installed Boxee onto it, it has given the ATV new meaning! It’s like what’s it been “missing” all along is now there. Love it!!
WHY APPLE TV HARDLY SUCKS!
The article Bill is responding to is actually from ExtremeTech where Jim Lynch is the well known forums shepherd geek from Ziff Davis - ContentTech merely reprinted it.
Most tech tinkerers know Jim Lynch as as the acerbically obsessed and overly opinionated guy at ExtremeTech, PC Mag, et al… And, as far as his audience is concerned, he’s probably right - from that point of view. But, the small rub is that his ‘tinkerers’ (you know, the ones who have a living room full of exposed wires) decidedly do not represent the silent majority of humans who use Apple TV. Most of them don’t care to spend their time tinkering, and the rest are satisfied with the ability, but not the necessity. Moreover, we really needn’t be overly concerned by Jim’s rantings (i.e., embrace the old quotation, “To everything there is a season…”).
IMO, Bill stated the case well and, in particular, hit the nail of the head to say that (paraphrased) Apple TV is simply how Apple delivers the iTunes Store content into the living room, rather than the computer screen. I mean, who but geeks want to sit in front of their computer with family? And Steve Jobs is probably content to be patient, calling Apple TV a “hobby”, while time sorts out the optical drive vs DVR vs digital download/streaming device thing. (Isn’t iTunes growth an established fact at this point?)
IMO, Apple shouldn’t (and won’t) waste the resources to install an optical drive in Apple TV. But extending its function by activating the USB port for additional storage would require minimal engineering effort and should payoff nicely in user experience. It also wouldn’t detract from ease of use, being simply an option… The only possible fly in the ointment is the licensors (content providers) would likely need to be assured on the piracy issue.
Jim’s article is just about as disorganized as he may be… But I suspect that’s how he likes it. …It’s just not how most customers want things… Jobs and Apple have long operated under the his vision of ‘beauty and simplicity’. I’m quite certain they have no intention of making Apple TV a metaphoric ‘jumbled mass of wires’ with various and sundry functions all grafted together just to fulfill his every technical desire for complexity and function.
And IMO Apple TV will cease to be a “hobby” when Jobs sees a clear path to (invest) move his digital content plan forward, and not before.
Just my two cents, FWIW… 
Like previous posters, I love my Apple TV, hence I am here.
It works great as a stereo controller and movie/TV provider. I never buy movies, since if I really want to watch a movie more than once I can rent it again.
My biggest frustration comes from the content providers. Why does it make any difference whether someone rents from Apple TV or physical media. Why the artificial delay. I personally think it is greener to send a few 100 megabytes through the pipes then to send by mail (NetFlix) or get from BlockBuster. The SD count is over 2000 which is good and many are first release, but there’s still a way to go. The HD count is also good, nearing 700.
In terms of hardware, an external DVD capability would be nice but only for those who want it. I don’t find that to be an inconvenience. An off button would be nice so as to not draw excess power when not needed.
@Chas - link and reference has been updated.
I actually emailed Jim Lynch directly and he noted this too. I thought it fair to let him know that I was directly addressing his article. The reason for writing to article was to make sure there was some counter points to such criticisms since “Apple TV sucks” ends up getting attention.
As I’ve stated in other articles - if you consider a refurb Apple TV for $200 as a minimum entry price - it’s a pretty slick piece of tech for the money. Try to do what it does with a Vudu or D-Link box…
Forgot to mention…
You’d think Jim might have at least given honorable mention to the ability to control Apple TV with iPhone/iPod touch. I mean, that’s pretty damn slick, IMO…
1. Jim Lynch is clueless
2. Why on earth would anyone want to hook an external drive to Apple TV? That would mean that every time I bought a new DVD and ripped it, I would have to disconnect the HDD from my Apple TV, carry it to my iMac, hook it up, copy the file, and then carry the HDD back to the living room, and re-connect it to the Apple TV. As it is now, I rip the DVD, and iTunes handles the rest; wirelessly.
Galley… Come again? I think the idea was to provide an option to supplement the internal storage space of Apple TV (for those who want lots of local content)…
I agree with most of your points, but I would easily spend 100 bucks more to have a basic dvd drive in there so I could watch my dvd’s thru the appletv interface, this would eliminate one large component from my system, and I wouldn’t have to switch the video input in the tv, audio from the receive, etc every time I want to watch a dvd or go back to appletv.
At a minimum apple should open up the USB port to accept external drives without us needing to hack them, if nothing else it would be nice to have an inexpensive 500 GB drive hooked up the unit itself if for no other reason than it would provide a solid backup of all of our movies.
I do love my appletv, I just think its unforunate that apple thinks its a hobby when it could develop into much much more…