Replies

outdone basically by $50 or less ROKU players

The list price on the lowest Roku player capable of 1080p is $79.99, not less than $50.

And I'm certainly not going to knock Roku... as I mentioned earlier, it's still in the running for when I ditch cable/satellite (but that's over a year away still, sadly, due to contract commitments). But where it out-does the ATV is primarily in the number of "channels" offered, the major of I have no interest in (Amazon instant video would probably be the biggest exception, as a potential replacement for Netflix for me).

The real selling point for me would be if either (or both) system offered access to the live events I'd want to see (such as the existing NBA, MLB, and NHL packages).

The Roku Player for < 50 is only 720p not 1080p, so its $50 less, but it comes with far more content and works just fine. If you want the 1080p its $20 cheaper. The point being its CHEAPER, its a COMMODITY ITEM.

Apple has the apple interface, but that’s it, its got fewer channels, and doesn’t really do anything remarkable or more than products out there. I just don’t see this being more than a fanboy toy, I really don’t. For the same $100 you pay for the ATV, you get a roku player just as powerful, and with an motion control sensor and games preloaded. etc etc..

I just don’t see how apple becomes the “IT” product in this space, I’m sure it would love for a cable carrier to brand its boxes etc.. but I just don’t see it. Are you really going to ditch your cable carrier for another because that one has the APPLE TV and yours has some other brand? Not hardly.

Apple’s making money on this thing, some anyway, and selling a few, but its not in anyway 5 years after launch a game changer.. and doubt it will ever be. Face it, Apple itself calls this a HOBBY... so that doesn’t bode well for this product itself to be much more than what it currently is.

Now that doesn’t mean Apple won’t take lessons from this and eventually introduce something that is a game changer in this space, but ATV as it stands sure as hell ain’t it, or likely to ever be it.

Apple MOVED the market in music and cell phones, it moved it out of the gate, ATV is just another product with an apple logo on it, it is not and likely never will be a market mover.