Apple TV first impressions

posted by Jeff | Thursday, March 22, 2007, 6:53 PM | comments: 0

Apple TV started shipping this week, and the Apple stores apparently got them in the last day or so. Keeping good on my promise, I ran right out and bought one.

With all of the chatter about the thing by bloggers and journalists and such, I think that it keeps getting lost that the device is essentially a wireless iPod that hooks up to your TV and stereo, instead of its own screen and headphones. There is much punditry about what it will or should be, but it is what it is.

And it's exactly what I wanted too, because it allows me to just turn on the stereo and start playing shit the way I would on my iPod. That it does video is pretty cool, but I'm not sure I need that just yet, unless iTunes starts shipping movies and TV shows in 720p.

It has a couple of screen savers, which can naturally use your photos, but one of the built-in ones does a constant floating display of various album covers. I know now that I have a lot of shit on there I may never listen to from the 90's. It also sneaks in thumbnails of video clips too. I happen to have one of the video I shot in Orlando last March. To my shock, a giant picture of recently pool-drenched Kara and Julie went floating up across my 37" screen.

Is it worth it? Well, to me it is because it elegantly does what I need. In terms of value, it not only functions a lot like an iPod, but costs about the same too. The interesting thing going forward is what Apple will do with it, and if they'll start offering 720p video downloads on iTunes.


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