Anyone here use Apple TV?

[xjsnake]

I don't know about the shows available but I have an apple tv and LOVE IT. I love being able to mirror anything on my ipad onto my tv. Makes web surfing great

[Krull]

I would get a Roku player -- if you have PS3 you can get stuff through that as well. Hulu Plus, Amazon prime etc have current TV shows such as Justified, The Following, Revolution etc but you have to wait a day to watch them. THe apple TV is nothing special and most of that stuff you can get through ROKU and get two players for theprice of one apple tv....Unless things have changed the only thing apple TV offers you cant get through a Roku is access to ITUNES.


I dont have cable -- i have internet - and roku players and stream through the xbox, my mac connected to my tv's and ps3. A lot of shows you can watch on the the website of NBC ABC etc. If you know someone in your family that has comcast you can piggy off their Xfinity under a different user name and password and watch espn espn 2 espn 3 espn u CNN etc live. Several options there. I pay a total of 65 bucks a month + the yearly fee of 70 bucks for Amazon prime and have a HD antenna for local channels and i do not miss cable one bit. My bill was 195 bucks a month before i swapped.


Check ROKU and compare channel lineups before you drop a bill on apple TV


There are several free channels on the Roku that has classic military and regular movies for free like Crackle which is a good one.


There are many thousands of movies you can get when a member of Amazon Prime as well as hulu...


My pricing

Amazon Prime yearly fee of 70 bucks

Hulu Plus 8 bucks a month

Netflix 9 bucks a month

Fastest cable internet offered 50 bucks a month.

I have 3 Roku players -- a PS3 and Xbox streaming to various TV's


I can run 4 tv's at once streaming with my setup and no hiccups.


PM me if you need some advice


Your yearly bill runs out to about $900 +$1000 worth of gear to purchase, that's not much savings lol

1k worth of gear? Not even close at retail prices.
Xbox and play station I had which apple tv or roku will do what either one of these does.

A roku player costs 50-80 bucks depending on which one you get. Even if you buy 3 roku players and an apple tv total investment is 250 buck or a little more. Not sure where the thousand comes in. Even with the Ps3 and a Xbox your talking more like 500 which I would save in 5 months by ditching cable.

[Krull]

Keep in mind my bill was 195 a month.
You get a couple rokus and a app tv your first year startup is what around 1200 with the services above . Compare to over 2k a year on cable I would say that's a pretty good chunk of savings for us. Edited April 9, 2013 by Krull

[2.ooohhh]

Keep in mind my bill was 195 a month.
You get a couple rokus and a app tv your first year startup is what around 1200 with the services above . Compare to over 2k a year on cable I would say that's a pretty good chunk of savings for us.

 

X2

 

You also have to remember take into account the internet expense, In my case I'm in the computer field and frequenly on-call/working from home so the high speed internet is a job requirement rather than an entertainment expense. I would have to have a high speed connection at home even if I went back to cable/direct tv.

 

I also save more b/c I used to have cable subscriptions at several different houses. Now I only have mid level high speed internet at each which I use for monitoring the properties alarm/HVAC/Cameras remotely. When we go on vacation now I just toss an apple TV in my bag and all my content and accounts come with me via the internet.

 

 

I think I figured out that we were saving $3600 a year in cable and landline phone bills due to the switch to IP. All the alarms now use the internet for monitoring with a cell backup which saves the cost of a landline at each location completely and reduced the cost of monitoring alarms by half.  

 

I've learned pretty quick since becoming a homeowner that any money saved in recurring monthly expenses no matter how small adds up fast.  IP TV is just an easy way to cut the cord and the expense that comes with it.

Edited April 9, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[D3vo]

I have both the Roku XL and Apple TV. I purchased the Roku first and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I purchased the Apple TV because of its smooth interface. The Apple TV is what is attached to my big screen now. The Roku has been moved to the bedroom. Netflix is Netflix no matter which box right? Not at all. For one the layout of each is different. I can control the TV with almost any device using airplay. When I want to search for a show I can use my apple device keypad instead of moving a box from letter to letter on the screen. Better yet I can go to the search screen and speak what I am looking for using any Siri capable device and it translates on the screen. It has Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon and iTunes. When you buy a season pass or other content you can watch it from any Apple device anywhere. I can play music from my iTunes library provided the PC Is on. I can look at pictures from the same PC. One slick feature is I have placed all our home movies in an iTunes format and I stream them across the wireless network.

[Jesse]

I dont see the buzz over netflix. They are really slow at getting newer movies. Last time i tried the free trial everything they had decent i done seen at some point. The good tv shows i just watch on tv when they actually come on.

Theres really now good cheap way to get out of paying for stuff you like. Netflix is cheaper than cable but lacks. Hulu is full of junk you never heard of. Basic cable and redbox is my combo. Even redbox gets movies later than retail.

[D3vo]

I dont see the buzz over netflix. They are really slow at getting newer movies..

I agree with this statement. I used it a a reference to highlight the differences in AppleTV and Roku because its the same Netflix service. Apple just has a better interface IMO. To the OP you won't be disappointed with either box. I think you will be happier the AppleTV.

[Krull]

I dont see the buzz over netflix. They are really slow at getting newer movies. Last time i tried the free trial everything they had decent i done seen at some point. The good tv shows i just watch on tv when they actually come on.

Theres really now good cheap way to get out of paying for stuff you like. Netflix is cheaper than cable but lacks. Hulu is full of junk you never heard of. Basic cable and redbox is my combo. Even redbox gets movies later than retail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

obviously you do not have a 1 year old :)

 

Each has their pros and cons depending on what you like to watch.  Netflix does not have the newest movies but they have a metric chit ton of movies.  They have all kinds of nat geo specials, kids shows, ID shows, shows like breaking bad, steven segall movies heh -- there is a ton to choose from.  Lots of movies you have heard of and lots of movies you havent heard of.  HULU has a whole bunch of TV shows that you can watch that you have heard of.. hell is saw twin peaks was available last night here is a channel line up of some stuff they offer

http://www.hulu.com/plus/content

 

There are other things on the Roku and others like blockbuster, cinema now, amazon you can rent almost any new movie for a decent price...

 

We do not watch a whole lot of TV anyway...between these players and HD antennas we never miss anything we had before except the sportsman channel and outdoor channels which i do miss.

 

 

You stated that hulu has a bunch of movies and shows you have never heard of??? well that is right on par with cable anymore.... we had the biggest package and never watched anything because there was never anything on....

 

Another gripe i had about cable was about 20 of my "premium" channels were in spanish for the mexicans and they wouldnt take them off and i was charged for them.... that pissed me off

Edited April 10, 2013 by Krull

[maroonandwhite]

I dont see the buzz over netflix. They are really slow at getting newer movies. Last time i tried the free trial everything they had decent i done seen at some point. The good tv shows i just watch on tv when they actually come on.

Theres really now good cheap way to get out of paying for stuff you like. Netflix is cheaper than cable but lacks. Hulu is full of junk you never heard of. Basic cable and redbox is my combo. Even redbox gets movies later than retail.

 

I also agree with this but I like netflix FOR the old stuff. I like to find an old TV series that has run it's course and watch it all the way through without waiting a week in between episodes (Battle-star Galactica, Lost, etc.). All the new movies are remakes of the old movies anyways. :rofl:

[2.ooohhh]

I dont see the buzz over netflix. They are really slow at getting newer movies. Last time i tried the free trial everything they had decent i done seen at some point. The good tv shows i just watch on tv when they actually come on.

Theres really now good cheap way to get out of paying for stuff you like. Netflix is cheaper than cable but lacks. Hulu is full of junk you never heard of. Basic cable and redbox is my combo. Even redbox gets movies later than retail.

 

I thought this too, when we were first getting used to not having cable, but now I find that my wife and I are bouncing between several excellent shows old and new. We refuse to watch "reality television" so there is very little being recorded OTA anymore in our household. 

 

Several of the shows we've been watching are exclusive to Nexflix, as in; you can't watch them on Cable, you can't buy them in iTunes, you can only watch them on Nextflix.  (House of Cards, Lilyhammer, and soon another season of Arrested Development)

 

That is why I was giving Krull a hard time earlier, it's hard to be an "exclusive" when friends at work watched it the night before on cable, and those without cable can buy it in iTunes the same day it's available on prime. Don't get me wrong, I like that amazon is making a go at the online content biz, and we have prime anyway and love making use of the free streaming. I'm just not a fan of their marketing team announcing that things are exclusive when they aren't.

 

 

Maroon- if yor looking for older TV to add to your list, rewatch the West Wing. It was remastered in HD last year and all 7 seasons are on Netflix. Star Trek Enterprise was pretty good too, made me kind sad I missed most of it when it was on television.

Edited April 10, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[Krull]

"

That is why I was giving Krull a hard time earlier, it's hard to be an "exclusive" when friends at work watched it the night before on cable, and those without cable can buy it in iTunes the same day it's available on prime. Don't get me wrong, I like that amazon is making a go at the online content biz, and we have prime anyway and love making use of the free streaming. I'm just not a fan of their marketing team announcing that things are exclusive when they aren't.

"

 

basically i guess they are stating you dont have to pay additional fees for the program such as Justified.... which they are "exclusively" the only provider that you can watch it at no additional charges.  I can wait a day to watch it instead of paying 2 bucks an episode.... I have no friends so i dont have to worry about someone runining it hahahahahah

 

You all should check out The Killing if youwant a good realistic The Wire type show.... its on netflix.. originally an AMC show i think

Edited April 10, 2013 by Krull

[JG55]

I did the free trail of netflix and then went ahead and bought 1 month. I started watching the chinese and korean movies because they were the only ones I haven't seen. Most likely I am going to drop the service again. As someone stated I don't get the buzz about Netflix.  I don't have little kids, either..

Edited April 10, 2013 by JG55

[Krull]

I did the free trail of netflix and then went ahead and bought 1 month. I started watching the chinese and korean movies because they were the only ones I haven't seen. Most likely I am going to drop the service again. As someone stated I don't get the buzz about Netflix.  I don't have little kids, either..

 

 

I enjoy all the reality crime shows you can get and the military documentary's ... there is a a@@ ton of kids shows to keep my daughter occupied from time to time. As stated above there are a lot of british shows that are really good and older shows i missed the first time around that we watch occasionaly.  There are a few Netflix originals as well -- House of Cards with Kevin Spacey is a good show...It is the american version of the brit show that holds the same name

Edited April 10, 2013 by Krull

[Jesse]

Live sports is a must for me, gotta have nba and nfl. Does hulu have the games? And i only watch movies in blu ray these days. Cant stand the vhs quality of old movies. I redbox blu rays and buy they really good ones.

It all depends on what you like. I know nothing but cable can give me the shows i like when they air. The nfl draft is coming up. Cant miss that.

[2.ooohhh]

NFL is available(but I don't watch it so I can't review it), I haven't looked for NBA.

 

We do get more STL/MLB games via appleTV live than my FIL who has the $$$ MLB package through Direct TV. I was able to see my wife in the stands at the home season opener on Monday as soon as I got home from work. (not live but could have been if I wasn't at work all day) also saw her and her dad at several of the spring training games a few weeks back down in Jupiter, FL. It's a lot of coverage for around the cost of attending a single game IRL. The post season is a little screwy via the app but we have ended up preferring sports bars for the world series games anyway to be around other friends/fans.

 

I really don't watch sports other than WRC which I typically get un-timeshifted/edited via the web, and some soccer here and there, also via the web. The only reason we even have the MLB subscription via aTV is for the FIL when he visits, since he's constantly giving us tickets to the games I figure the least I can do is make sure I have them available for him when he's down here visiting.

 

 

As for having shows "when they air" I lost my desire for that years ago. If I'm watching TV it's on my schedule not the network's. I watch TV my way, which generally means no commercials, save for rare instances. If I can't find something to fill the excedingly small slot of time I generally get to watch TV in, then it's time to go outside and play.

Edited April 10, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[Guest Lester Weevils]

All the Twin Peaks shows are on netflix as well, unless it was recently removed. I don't hardly watch TV but have hunted around and found a few things on netflix watchable. If I watched TV more than a couple of times a month, maybe would have tapped netflix dry by now and cancelled.

 

Wish netflix would get all the older movies at least for awhile, but for licensing or whatever it appears there is a subset that will never get listed on that service. For instance the movie adaptations of the Philip K. Dick stories "Paycheck" and "A Scanner Darkly" are old enough, and were hardly "blockbuster movies" and by all rights they ought to have been affordable enough, with enough cult interest to be added to netflix, but at least not so far. "Idiocracy" never made it to netflix yet either. But I don't care about seeing the "latest" movies. Something "hot" is released this year, then I'm content to see it several years in the future when it is free or cheap. In the few times I feel like watching TV, I can see the "hot" releases from years ago I never saw yet.

 

The HBO "Weeds" series is on netflix, which I find hilarious. They recently added the last and apparently final season of weeds to netflix, after HBO got its utility out of the shows. 

[Krull]

NFL is available(but I don't watch it so I can't review it), I haven't looked for NBA.

 

 

I really don't watch sports other than WRC which I typically get un-timeshifted/edited via the web,

 

 

 

WRC is available on HULU!!!  Best racing in the world :)

Edited April 10, 2013 by Krull

[battleop]

As the title states I am looking to get some opinions on the Apple TV service. I am getting ready to cancel my DirecTV service as I just can't stand paying $100 a month for three or four shows that I watch. It looks like with this box not only can I watch netflix streaming but I can buy season passes for my shows and reasonable prices. I am wondering if anyone who uses these knows if the shows are available to watch the same time as they are available on DirecTV/Dish. I don't mind waiting an extra day for them to be available but don't want to wait months for them to release them. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

The Apple TV won't do much to replace your $100/mo Directv bill because everything on it is pretty much Pay Per View.   You should probably look at a Roku/Netflix type setup if you are trying to replace Directv.  If you have an iPhone/iPad then an Apple Tv is an absolute must.  It's without a doubt the best accessory to the iphone/ipad because it's pretty much an extension of the idevice to your TV.

[2.ooohhh]

The Apple TV won't do much to replace your $100/mo Directv bill because everything on it is pretty much Pay Per View.   You should probably look at a Roku/Netflix type setup if you are trying to replace Directv.  If you have an iPhone/iPad then an Apple Tv is an absolute must.  It's without a doubt the best accessory to the iphone/ipad because it's pretty much an extension of the idevice to your TV.

 

 

Odd, my Apple TVs have pretty much completely replaced my DirectTV content, and now I'm not paying for anything in languages I don't speak, or for any channels that I simply don't watch. I find more content I'm actually interested in watching now than I ever did with cable. Most of the time I would sit down to watch my top tier service then I would be frustrated at the number of reruns, DVRed content being off due to a sporting event running long and messing up scheduling, or ads loud enough to wake my neighbors while my wife is trying to sleep. 

[Romad7]

Since I only pay for what I watch, I save a lot of money and don't pay for reruns and off season time when there is nothing on. I can buy 2-3 entire seasons per month and still save money. I also get a lot of shows through Netflix saving even more.

[2.ooohhh]

The wife also reminded me to mention the Video Podcasts, she uses them when she wants to do yoga, or other exercise that she doesn't want to spend money on. She also often watches the NBC nightly news podcast, it's a 20 min summary of the days news (commercial free version of the NBC OTA show) It' a good summary for the days when we can't catch the top stories as they break online thorughout the day.

 

PS- NBA league pass for aTV is $29 to follow up to 5 teams, or $49 to see every game from all teams. Blackouts apply similar to MLB but no clue how they measure where you're at, I got around many of the MLB blackouts by moving the billing addres address of the credit card we use to pay for it.

 

 

Fast way to find where to best find what you want to watch across services- http://www.canistream.it/

Edited April 11, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[maroonandwhite]

Well I ended up going with the Apple TV. I can't really take full advantage of the airplay because all we have is an iPad and iPhones but once I get a Mac it will really be useful. The netflix and Hulu apps are much faster and easier to navigate than the ones built in my surround sound receiver. Overall I am happy with it.

[Jesse]

They reported yesterday the new xbox is going to be like apple tv but with more features. Ms has good partnerships in that area. Something to keep an eye on. Ive heard rumor they want to buyout netflix too.

[Romad7]

Well I ended up going with the Apple TV. I can't really take full advantage of the airplay because all we have is an iPad and iPhones but once I get a Mac it will really be useful. The netflix and Hulu apps are much faster and easier to navigate than the ones built in my surround sound receiver. Overall I am happy with it.

Not sure what you mean by this. You should be able to AirPlay just fine with your iPad and iPhone, even mirroring with the iPad.

What are you trying to do that you can't?

Oh and congrats on the purchase, it's a neat little box:-) Edited April 13, 2013 by Romad7

[maroonandwhite]

Yeah I just figured out how to actually mirror last night. I am referring the accessing my iTunes library from the apple TV. I don't have iTunes match but I am thinking if I did I would be able to access all of the music on my iPhone. I know with a Mac/PC though I can stream straight from the Mac/PC.