Not another Apple TV review (repost from Podcast Wasteland)

Unlike most bloggers, I waited a week to review the new Apple TV. I thought I would give it some time before I made a snap judgment.

I’m not going to draw out this post by going into an in-depth analysis of it, but I will summarize the pros and cons (because I know that you are all bored of reading Apple TV reviews).

Summary: If you watch a lot of video podcasts, Apple TV is for you. If you watch a lot of iTunes purchased video content, I wouldn’t waste my time.

Pros
1. Easy to set up.
2. Clean interface and easy to use.
3. Can stream quickly from a computer or store locally on the Apple TV’s hard drive.
4. Decent resolution as long as you play around with the settings (trust me folks, it depends more on your TV’s ability to decode the info sent to it vs. the Apple TV).
5. Ripped DVD’s (that I own BTW) look REALLY GOOD. Thank you iSquint.
6. Ability to sync my audio and video podcasts to iTunes on my Mac and then to my iPod without loosing where i left off.

Cons:
1. Resolution is OK, for purchased iTunes content, but lack of true widescreen and HD formats really suck.
2. Have to convert to specified iTunes H.264 or MP4 formats (easily done with iSquint, but Apple should assist with that).
3. Quirky screen saver sometimes doesn’t work (I have scoured the web and apparently mine is the only one with this problem).
4. Hot as hell! Why are 1.0 products from Apple always wanting to take the place of my furnace?
5. I’ll admit, lack of a proper connection cord has to be included as a con, but FREEKIN’ READ THE WEBSITE YOU WHINY BASTARDS, it clearly indicates that you have to order the cord separately. Most of you would have bought the HDMI cable separately anyway. Thank Apple for at least keeping the cord price to a reasonable level (unlike my local Best Buy).
6. Really should have let us control the volume...and 5.1 surround wouldn’t have been too much to ask (though on my own ripped movies, I swear I have surround).

So if you are a podcast junkie like me, this is a great product. It gets you away from squinting at your computer screen and watching shows as they were intended to be seen. If you plan to use it as your primary TV viewing unit (via content on iTunes), I’d wait until version 2.0, or at least until Apple releases content in “near HD” quality.

That being said, this is a tremendous opportunity for podcasters to put out shows that are BETTER in resolution than mainstream shows that are purchased on iTunes. Please listen to TWIT 92 for a really good discussion of the subject.

Speaking of that, I have more podcasts to watch....please excuse me.