Advantages of Apple TV vs. ordinary Mac or PC connected to television?

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I was considering buying one of these, as I do watch a lot of streaming media from sites like YouTube / NetFlix / BBC iPlayer / etc. and also a lot of offline digital media downloaded to my computer's harddrive.

However, I then realised, I do already do this; I have my 1080p HDTV as my desktop computer's monitor - comfortably running at native 1920*1080 resolution - meaning I already can watch content in full HD (when it's available).

So, as neat & good value for what it is as it may be; are there any actual specific benefits to this device vs. a full computer (I have a wireless keyboard & mouse, so the Apple Remote is of only negligible benefit); or is it just a small, cheap alternative to having to buy a fully-fledged computer to dedicate to one television, unnecessary if one already has a computer dedicated to one's TV?

Cheers for any insights / relevant experience with the device :)
 

RavingMac

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No benefits that I am aware of (or at least that matter to me).
 
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If you already have a dedicated media center computer, the AppleTV isn't worth it. The AppleTV is more targeted toward people that don't have a dedicated HTPC, but have a sizable iTunes media library and want to watch it on their TV, or play their HTPC media on a 2nd TV. At least that's the way I see it.
 
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try roku if you are watching streaming videos a lot, I do not work for roku, yet I know it is a good stuff.
 
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You can though have more than one ATV in your set-up which enables you to be a bit more expansive with other TV's and amp/speaker set-ups further away from your computer. For $99 it's not a bad option.
 
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It works great for mirroring laptops,iPads and iPhones to the screen wirelessly providing they are all newer models and the 1080p movies for rent are very nice along with the higher res podcasts.
 
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Can one only do mirroring to an ATV, cannot to a properly configured Mac already wired to the HDTV?
 
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Can one only do mirroring to an ATV, cannot to a properly configured Mac already wired to the HDTV?

The advantage would be wireless and since the ATV3 is 99.00 and depending on how far away the Mac is a quality HDMI may be half that cost.
 

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