Others say...

"Fun"
I bought this product for my restaurant as I am hoping to show music videos. I was very excited to get this "toy" and try it out. In the box you get the Apple TV, a power cord and a remote about the size of a 2nd generation ipod shuffle. As previously mentioned, there are only a few buttons and no scrolling feature like on the regular ipods. Upon connecting the power cord to the wall the device turns on (there is no power button). It then takes you through an initial setup where you configure your device to sync with your wireless computer. Once that's done your device starts to download everything from your computer which takes longer than if it was hooked up via cables, but not a big deal. The device is cool because you can purchase music, movies and videos right from your living room and they will auto sync with your computer. It boasts 1080i/p HD, but I haven't had a chance to try that out (not many music videos in HD). Here are some tips if you decide to buy this: 1. After initial setup, make sure you check for software updates. As of the date on this review you should be up to version 2.2 (the Apple guy told me whenever iTunes updates, so does Apple TV). 2. If you want to use 1080p, you won't have that option initially until you get the latest update; in the meantime choose 1080i (you need to make a choice to continue). 3. Get the proper cables to hook up to your tv- if your tv has HDMI, get HDMI. 4. While there is no power button, there is a standby mode, so get familiar with it. 5. The unit gets hot, very hot; I suggest you get one of those laptop coolers and put it underneath the unit. 6. The included control can get annoying because when you want to type you have to scroll to each letter, however, if you own an iphone, you can get the 'remote' app that will allow you to use your iphone as a remote providing you with a full qwerty keyboard. Other than some minor things, like a freeze up I had the second night I used it, I love this thing. It is fun to download media on the fly.

"Flawless, Crashproof, Entertaining"
Great Apple interface, dummy-proof setup, easily access all the media in your house. Browse iTunes and YouTube, all with one remote. If I could change anything it would be how hot it runs, but don't let that stop you. The rolling, cascading screensaver alone is worth the price of admission. When you use your own photos, it can be addictive to watch.

"Definitely NOT worth the money."
Trust me, do not waste your money on this product. We have owned this unit for several months now and really wish we could still return it. I am still an Apple fan. I have a MacBook and the Airport both are wonderful but this little gadget just isn't worth it!

- The movie rentals are a SCAM. When a new movie comes out you can BUY it right away for $15 dollars, but they make you wait another month before you can rent it. wtf? I can rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster the same day it comes out but Apple makes me wait a month! They are just trying to get you to spend more money.

- We have to reboot it ALL THE TIME. It just goes out to lunch for some reason. It won't download, or it says it can't connect to the Apple store. Then we have to get up off the nice comfy couch, pull the power plug from the back of the unit, then count to ten and plug it back in.

- As others have said, the unit gets HOT. Chernobyl HOT. I have to prop it up on stilts to keep it from melting the finish off my table.

- The remote sucks. We also have an Apple laptop in the living room and the remotes are exactly the same. So if you are using the laptop and someone trys to watch a movie it makes the computer go crazy until you physically block the IR port.

- It is a real pain to find a movie you are looking for. You can scroll and scroll and scroll and hope you get lucky or you can try the search function which is like entering your name into the video game you just got high score on at the arcade... one letter at a time.



"Better than you might think"
I've had an apple tv for about 5 months and I think I've actually sold a few to friends and it's not for the reasons you might think. Many reviewers have focused on movie rentals, but I bought this to be able to share my photos and home videos with family and friends. I know it could be called a glorified ipod, but it quietly gives me access to the home movies and family photos that have sequestered on my hard drive. Instead of gathering around the computer to see the latest...we just access the apple tv. It is also as another reviewer mentioned, a great way to access your music collection. By the way I have rented movies and played purchased movies...it works great. For me, 720p is fine...you won't find anything better than 720p on cable or broadcast HD. I also love being able to use my iPhone as a remote for the system. It's awesome

"Does Not Deserve to Wear the Apple Logo"
I'm an Apple fan. I have owned two desktops, an Airport, four iPods, and and iPhone. This product is just not ready for prime time. But it makes a really nice, warm, $300 doorstop.

Here's my setup, DSL line to Airport base station, over wireless, to Apple TV. (Note: I later added a Cat 5 wire between the Airport and the Apple TV, and performance only improved marginally.)

1. Movie Rental Scheme Makes No Sense - If you want to rent an HD movie it takes about 5 hours to download. Then you've got 30 days to start watching it. Once you start watching a two hour movie you have to finish within 24 hours. We have a toddler. Those blocks of time are not likely to line up in our lives for at least 15 years. It just doesn't make any sense. The only real knock on the Apple TV here is the 5 hours it takes to download. Apple pitched it as something you could start watching right away. That just hasn't been my experience.

2. Only 780p, not 1080p -- If I'm going to drop $300 on a consumer electronics device, it should perform at the current gold standard.

3. It gets hot -- As many others noted, the unit gets very warm. I was afraid to leave the stereo cabinet doors closed for risk of fire.

4. The Remote is Lame -- Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling . . . keep that thumb scrolling. Too many menu choices for such a limited remote. It takes many many clicks to get where you're going.

5. Latency -- It's like a bad cell phone or PDA. If you push a button and it is busy doing something, it just sits there. No acknowledgment, no little hourglass, just sits there. I had to wait up to a few minutes for remote clicks to be processed. I routinely waited 10-30 seconds for clicks to process.

6. Long Waits for Content -- If you want to watch HD content, it does NOT start playing right away. You have to wait between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 times the length of the content before you can start watching.

Contrast all of this above with a Blu-Ray DVD player. The player is about the same price. The content costs about the same. There's no latency. There's no waiting for downloads. The images are full 1080p.

The one good thing about the Apple TV, HD Podcasts. We loved the NASA podcasts of space imagery and underwater diving podcasts.

Final word, way too expensive for what it does. We returned it after 3 weeks.