Apple TV: 3 Months Later
Jun 5, 2008 Just Plain Awesomeness, Technology
It has been several months now since I purchased an AppleTV. I have had a lot of time to love it, get mad at it, and really get to know it, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the device and how it has changed the way I partake in media.
Movie Rentals
Every week, iTunes offers a $.99 rental. This is a standard definition movie that is usually at least a few years old, but so far they have served up some pretty classic movies. I have rented A Fish Called Wanda, Escape from Alcatraz, The Usual Suspects, and a few others. For $.99, it’s hard to beat that deal.
The HD rentals look great on a 30 inch HDTV, as do the standard definition ones. An extra buck gets you 720p video on your rental. For me, that’s worth it. A new release HD rental will run you 5 bucks, but you don’t have to leave the house, and the download pretty fast. Usually a few seconds after starting a download of a standard definition movie, it’s ready to watch.
There really is no reason to go to blockbuster now. The time restrictions are not an issue. When I start a movie, I finish the same day, so 24 hours to finish watching it is not an issue.
Movies I Own
I have a few hundred DVD’s, and have them all ripped to an external hard drive. In iTunes, I have selected a bunch of them to sync over to the AppleTV so they can be watched sans computer. But even still, with iTunes up and running, every single non-synced movie is viewable via streaming.
When streaming, it usually starts playing almost instantly. That being said, the movies copied to the AppleTV hard drive are the ones I plan on watching sometime soon.
Movie Purchases
I have only purchased a few movies through iTunes. The ones I have purchased (Mission to Mars and The Hunted) have been $9.99 each (as are all of the “library” titles), which isn’t so bad. The downside here is that you are not getting any special features with the movie. For most movies, I don’t really care about those.
The quality is *almost* dvd quality. Honestly though, the movies look just fine. Maybe on a 60-inch tv you would notice some pixelation, but Apple seems to have that under control.
Video Podcasts
Many video podcasts are available in HD, so what I do here is subscribe to both the iPod version AND the HD version. I sync the HD version to the AppleTV, so I can watch it either at home or on the go using my iPod. And trust me, Diggnation and The Totally Rad Show both look great in HD on a TV.
Music
Personally, I don’t have any music copied to the AppleTV. I have it stream since the files are so small. The only time I listen to music through the AppleTV is if I am cleaning my house (so hardly ever really).
Annoyances
Luckily, there aren’t many. I would say that the main one is that sometimes the AppleTV will just “disappear” from iTunes. This seems to happen right in the middle of a movie I am streaming from my computer, so it causes it to just stop.
Other than that, there are no other major annoyances.
Overall
It has been at least 3 months since I watched a dvd in my dvd player. Besides watching TV using DirecTV, the AppleTV is my primary source of entertainment. It’s hard to imagine going back to watching dvd discs, especially now that I have access to them at my fingertips.
If you are even the least bit thinking about getting an AppleTV, I would highly reccommend it. It is rediculously easy to use, and it will change the way you watch movies at home.
Tags: apple, apple tv, appletv, Movies, Music, podcasts, Technology, TV
Podcasts - What I listen to
May 22, 2008 Internet, Technology
Let me just tell you how much I love podcasts. “Podcasts”, you say? Yes. A podcast is basically like a radio show, only it is distributed over the internet through mediums like iTunes. They are free, and every time a new episode comes out, it automatically downloads to your computer/iPod/mp3 player. There are podcasts for any subject you can think of. Tech, sports, finance, news, comedy… all are represented well!
So, here are the ones I listen to (with links, some straight to iTunes):
TWiT - A round table discussion of the week’s biggest tech stories and industry news
Macbreak Weekly - See above, just all things Macintosh
Net @ Night - Looking at new trends in internet-related things
Diggnation - Video podcast, covers the most “dugg” stories from Digg.com
Phone Taps - A radio station in New York pranks phone calls people
Best of YouTube - Popular Youtube videos.
Totally Rad Show - Video reviews of movies, tv, and video games
Geek Brief - a daily 5-minute video podcast covering tech trends
Maccast - One guy talks about all things Macintosh
Sure, I know these are mostly geeky, but whatever. That’s me! So head over to iTunes and browse the Podcast category. They are all free, and you are sure to find something you’ll like!
Tags: apple, ipod, podcast, Technology
iPhone + MS Exchange = Crazy Delicious
Mar 6, 2008 Technology
Anyone catch the Anyways, Apple announced today that starting in June, the iPhone will fully support Microsoft Exchange, a la Blackberry style. In other words, you can use it just like a Blackberry at work. I don’t use a Blackberry, but if I did, I would switch in a heartbeat.
Anyone out there planning on dropping the Crackberry for an iPhone?
Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Officially Discontinued
Feb 25, 2008 Technology, Video Games
It was only a matter of time before Microsoft officially discontinued manufacturing the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, but it took them a few days longer than we expected. Their statement is finally out, and it signals Microsoft’s official withdraw from HD DVD on the console front.
I sold my Xbox 360 HD drive several months back, and I’m glad I did. It played HD movies, but it was a crappy player (at least mine was). So this is good. As much as it pains me to say, I hope Microsoft can adopt Blu-Ray and make a good, cheap player for the 360. I might have to pick one up then…
Tags: blu-ray, dvd, hddvd, Technology, Video Games, Xbox, xbox 360
YouTube Wins TIME Magazine’s "Invention of the Year"
Nov 7, 2006 Uncategorized
“Meet Peter. Peter is a 79-year-old English retiree. Back in WW II he served as a radar technician. He is now an international star.
One year ago, this would not have been possible, but the world has changed. In the past 12 months, thousands of ordinary people have become famous. Famous people have been embarrassed. Huge sums of money have changed hands. Lots and lots of Mentos have been dropped into Diet Coke. The rules are different now, and one website changed them: YouTube.”
