- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 23
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- 1
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- 3
- Location
- New York, NY
- Your Mac's Specs
- SR MBP 2.4Ghz 2GB RAM running a 30" ADC
I've been playing with my Apple TV for about a day now. While I do agree that it sucks that there's no HD content right now, I would point out two things:
(1) I'm certain that Apple will be releasing HD content soon. It would be absolutely moronic to create a hardware set-top box that connects through component and HDMI without plans to create HD content. My guess is that the first group of videos to shift over to HD content will be TV shows -- what's the point, though, in shifting videos over to HD content in the middle of a season? My guess is that they will be releasing HD content in September to coincide with the new season.
(2) I've downloaded a couple of things from the iTunes video store, including the second season of Monk and the free episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. and Raines. Now, Monk is not HD content and I'll agree that it doens't look pristine on my 20" iMac, but when I put it on my 42" plasma, it looks really good. (Remember that the plasma supports a lower resolution than your computer.) I'd say it looks better than digital cable, but not as good as HD. (I've only seen a few episodes of Monk in HD anyway since it's a USA show.) Andy Barker and Raines actually look rather close to their HD counterparts -- I switched between my Apple TV and my recorded HD cable set-top box, and the difference was there, but negligible.
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As for the people to which the set top box is targeted -- I guess I'm part of that group. I pay about 80 dollars a month (in Washington, DC) for a bunch of channels, but I really only watch about 6 shows. When I move up to NYC this May, I'll be able to get satellite for about 50 dollars a month. Now, even using the NYC number of 50 a month for 12 months a year, I'll be paying $600 a year for cable. But I really only care about watching 6 shows.
Switch now to Apple TV. The cost of Apple TV was $300. The HDMI cable was $20. Assuming that each show's season pass costs approximately $35. Then I'm paying $210 for content. The total I'll be paying for my next year's worth of content is going to be $530, a savings of $70. The next year, my costs will just be for content -- $210.
Lets assume that we get HD content at a pricing scheme that's the same as that on Microsoft's Xbox. The price for content is $2 for standard definition and $3 for HD. Then I'll increase the costs of my season passes to $53 per show. This will change this next season's costs to $320 + ($53 x 6) = $320 + $318 = $638. So slightly over. The year after, the cost will drop to $318. Either way, I end up saving money.
But, of course, this is dependent on each individual's own television watching habits.
(1) I'm certain that Apple will be releasing HD content soon. It would be absolutely moronic to create a hardware set-top box that connects through component and HDMI without plans to create HD content. My guess is that the first group of videos to shift over to HD content will be TV shows -- what's the point, though, in shifting videos over to HD content in the middle of a season? My guess is that they will be releasing HD content in September to coincide with the new season.
(2) I've downloaded a couple of things from the iTunes video store, including the second season of Monk and the free episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. and Raines. Now, Monk is not HD content and I'll agree that it doens't look pristine on my 20" iMac, but when I put it on my 42" plasma, it looks really good. (Remember that the plasma supports a lower resolution than your computer.) I'd say it looks better than digital cable, but not as good as HD. (I've only seen a few episodes of Monk in HD anyway since it's a USA show.) Andy Barker and Raines actually look rather close to their HD counterparts -- I switched between my Apple TV and my recorded HD cable set-top box, and the difference was there, but negligible.
----
As for the people to which the set top box is targeted -- I guess I'm part of that group. I pay about 80 dollars a month (in Washington, DC) for a bunch of channels, but I really only watch about 6 shows. When I move up to NYC this May, I'll be able to get satellite for about 50 dollars a month. Now, even using the NYC number of 50 a month for 12 months a year, I'll be paying $600 a year for cable. But I really only care about watching 6 shows.
Switch now to Apple TV. The cost of Apple TV was $300. The HDMI cable was $20. Assuming that each show's season pass costs approximately $35. Then I'm paying $210 for content. The total I'll be paying for my next year's worth of content is going to be $530, a savings of $70. The next year, my costs will just be for content -- $210.
Lets assume that we get HD content at a pricing scheme that's the same as that on Microsoft's Xbox. The price for content is $2 for standard definition and $3 for HD. Then I'll increase the costs of my season passes to $53 per show. This will change this next season's costs to $320 + ($53 x 6) = $320 + $318 = $638. So slightly over. The year after, the cost will drop to $318. Either way, I end up saving money.
But, of course, this is dependent on each individual's own television watching habits.