i really cant see how this one will work, it is WAY to restrictive for what one can do with an old K2 box and a decent vid card, so it looks pretty so what? its not functional

I hope this product will have more PROs than CONs =)

It’s USUALLY a mistake to bet against Steve Jobs…though the CUBE was not a brilliant move certainly…And I’m no fan of ANY mouse from Apple.
The point of this product is in it’s EASE of use which is a factor so clearly misunderstood by those who post on boards like this that it’s hard to over emphasize it. Most people are NOT tech geeks, most do not post messages on boards, most don’t weigh the virtues of Apple TV vs a MediaCenter PC (though you may disagree..I’m referring to the bulk of the public). When these people see a Simple device..doing ONE thing very well…and they want to do that…they will buy it…And has been observed…this is the first version…Wait until the bigger hard drive comes with it…for $249 and even your gramma will have one.

Why do you say it only works with newer HDMI TVs? The specs say ‘Apple TV connects to your TV via an HDMI port or component video and audio ports.’

If you want a computer on your Full HD plasma screen, you’d better buy a Playstation 3 … It has a bigger hard drive, It streams Video on Demand, Plays your music, makes cofee, cup cakes and donnuts !!
And you can also play videogames, if you want …
With the (apple)TV, what can you do ?
play videos (only if they’re synced with a computer, play Itunes music (and Itunes only) only if it’s synced with a computer, watch, photos, only if it is synced with a computer, and also you can open it to see what’s inside.
from there, a little question is comming to my mind …. What is the difference betveen a big 40G (apple) TV and a 80g IPod ??
correct !! you can also play games o your IPod !!!

I hope you’ll love your new unusefull (apple) Computer under your TV, knowing that a mac mini has the same functionaliti with front row, and Vista (The os people love to hate) with Media center.

Good afternoon gentlemans,

Victor lazaro
http://www.myspace.com/phenixone

the component ai also a digital component … if you want video on your regular TV, buy an Ipod video …

There was one good point made. People trust a product that does one thing well, versus a bunch of thing in mediocrity. Yes hooking a computer to your television through a decent video card is nice, but majority of the public will not know how to to that. This on the other hand, people understand. It is all about marketing, to this day people call a portable radio a walkman and seperate iPods from mp3 players. That’s what marketing does.

To the target audience who would be interested in a product like this, it may be worth that. Too many people often misinterpret that just because they see no value in something, that means the rest of the public won’t either. I saw no value in the iPod Mini for example when it came out (you could get a bigger iPod for much more), but that item took off (and lives on in the second generation Nanos.)

Using a computer to output video to TV is overrated. In just about every instance I’ve tried, with S-Video the image was blurry and cruddy or with HDTV there would be under/overscan or the screen would crop off. In these situations, this is because computers are intended FIRST for a monitor and not a television.

Now in the case of something like a Tivo, an Apple TV, or even a hacked XBox with XBMC on it, they look far better on the screen to me because they’re made for a TV in mind. Much easier to navigate too, I don’t want to be greeted with a desktop when I have a PC/Mac Mini/whatever hooked up to the TV, it just doesn’t make sense.

I’m not investing in an Apple TV yet (no streaming radio?), I think they’ll get it more right on the next version. Buuuut…I am keeping a close eye on the stories which told how they upgraded the hard drive or added codecs to it. We just might have a highly hackable little machine here.