Customer Reviews

New Apple TV (Latest Model - Launched Mar 2012)

5 star:		(252)
4 star:		(82)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I had been reading the reviews on the Apple TV for some time and had mixed feelings on what to expect. I bought an ipad3 2 weeks ago and looked at what I could use with it.. I saw a quick demonstration of the Apple TV at the Apple store in Birmingham and realised I could use it to play my music and videos as well as show my pictures on my Panasonic TV . What I did not appreciate was just how easy it was to set it up and use. In addition I had not realised how much can be obtained as a stand alone item without using the iPad as the controller.

The quality of the music, pictures and video is fantastic. I downloaded Where Eagles Dare from iTunes onto my iPad and played it on my TV through the Apple TV connected to my Onkyo amp by HDMI cable. The amp has an HDMI out whiich is connected to the HDMI input on the TV, so the one lead from the Apple TV sends both picture and sound into the amp and the amp then sends the audio to the speakers and the picture to the TV. Bearing in mind this was filmed in 1968 and I only bought the standard version, the picture quality is brilliant and the sound is also first rate.

I also have an old Marantz amplifier and TV in another room. The amp does not have the facility of HDMI in and out but it does have facility to use an optical lead for the sound. The TV does have an HDMI in connection. I was able to take an HDMI lead from the
Apple TV and plug it into the TV ( but turned the TV volume down to zero) and took an optical cable from the Apple TV to the Marantz amp. The result was still lovely picture and sound.

By using the Apple TV controller without the use of the iPad I can still watch YouTube, see podcasts, listen to radio channels and view iTunes.

I appreciate that using an iPad and Apple TV is a very expensive remote controller for your TV and music, but when you consider what you can actually use them to view and listen to it is a brilliant way of taking control of your entertainment system. I have actually composed this entry using my iPad, so it is much more than just a controller.

For me this has been a sound investment

I have been using Apple TV stream both Netflix and iTunes movies, as I like the idea I can view any movie at any time...

Streaming from iTunes has worked flawlessly, which is good.. The only downside it gets quite expensive to get new movies (especially HD), so I decided to get a Netflix account..

The Netflix (Uk), issue being watching a HD movie the system will stop streaming up to a couple times a movie.. Then you have to start movie and jump to location you where last at where.. Fortunately the latest iOS update did manage to save location, so thankfully you don't need to fast forward to location, but process becomes very annoying when you watch a film)

So in summary iTunes becomes quite expensive, so good for a few films but not ten films a month..
Netflix is good for older movies, unlimited in number you can watch, but has such poor connection issues.

1) Apple improved its Netflix app I would give it another star.

2) Apple had other Apps from love film (and worked flawlessly), I would give int another star.

3) Apple had BBC Player and iTV Player, it would be a perfect system...

So at the moment I have a device I mainly use for Netflix (a bit flawed) and iTunes (expensive, but works).

I believe Apple need to improve its regional awareness, as a lot of Apps are aimed at American Market (MLB.tv NBA)... Where as UK market you should have BBC Player, iTV Player...

Bought as a birthday pressie for my husband - excellent. Worked first time with no fiddling about. Qick, efficient service. Would highly recommend to others.

Had the hdmi cable but this is much better, this gets a lot more use and allows you to view all your photos on the TV. Music can also be streamed to the hifi.

I'd spent quite a while working out how best to equip myself for streaming TV services. In the end I bought an iPad as it did so much more besides just the TV streaming but seemed to do that too. I'm not a particularly demanding user, but ideally I wanted to get BBC iPlayer, 4OD, Demand 5, and ITV Player on my TV. We have a Wii which will deliver iPlayer relatively nicely, but that's it I believe. I thought about getting a Playstation as that seems to offer a few more options. However, I don't really play games so seemed like a waste. I wanted an iPad anyway for a variety of things, so concluded that this was the way to go (ie iPad + Apple TV). You need to be aware that the iPad links to the Apple TV box in several ways:

1)For stuff like iTunes where seemingly there is less of a rights issue, you simply have the option to flip the screen of the iPad direct to the Apple TV box. There is a button in the GUI to turn this on and off and the iPad just seems to find the Apple TV box on the wireless network. This is the best viewing experience.

2)For some of the On Demand TV services (like iPlayer), you can do a mirror of the iPad screen but it seems to do a bit better than a straight mirror, and you get a static image on the iPad while the programme plays on the Apple TV box.

3)Some On Demand services don't seem to be quite so nice and you siply get a direct mirror of the iPad and it doesn't necessarily go full screen etc

4)Some services (explained below) seem to stubbornly not work on mirrored screen and only work on the iPad's own screen

So headlines are:

- For material you have bought on iTunes, you can play these on the TV and turn this on and off at the touch of an (obvious) button. I had bought a TV Series on iTunes and this worked really well. It seems to be the best, most integrated experience which I guess you would expect as you've paid for the content.

- ITV Player and BBC iPlayer require the screen mirror function of the iPad (which I had to look up on the web how to do and you'd never find if you didn't know how to do it). There is no standard button in the GUI to turn this on and off. Once done, it works pretty well and you get a static image on the iPad and a full screen on the Apple TV box.

- Demand 5 works but only as a dumb iPad screen mirror so not brilliant, but watchable

- 4OD is damned annoying as you can't even get the Demand 5 effect of a dumb screen mirror. I assume this is rights related, but they have worked hard to cripple this so there is literally no way at present of seeing 4OD content other than on the iPad screen itself.

I think Apple TV offers a variety of direct services without the need for an iPad but I have yet to explore those.

Why 4 stars and not 5? Probably slightly unfair to the Apple TV box, but I wanted a fully working on demand TV service via my iPad, and what I got is: BBC + ITV - great, Demand 5 - ok, 4OD - nothing. I assume this may come with time. The Apple TV box also feels slightly less well thought out than some of the Apple kit like the iPod or iPad. It's still great and a lot better than a lot of other kit, but it's just a bit more clunky in its design, packaging and setup.

I bought this Apple TV to link my IPod with all my music to my Living Room AV amplifier and corresponding speaker system; similarly to my Pure i20 Pod Dock attached to my HiFi system in another room.
I am extremely pleased with the result and the extra benefit of TV and internet connectivity; the only real down side is the inability to down load apps to the ATV! You are stuck with what Apple provide; come on Apple give us the flexibility to expand an otherwise cracking piece of kit.

I bought this so I could stream my music and movies from my iPad to our Samsung TV. I was really annoyed to find out that movies I'd purchased and downloaded from iTunes to myiPad would not play on the TV via an HDMI connection kit due to some stupid restrictions put in place by Apple, so I bought Apple TV to connect via airplay. Why apple will allow you to stream movies by AirPlay but not with an HDMI cable is simply beyond me and totally stupid. I guess it's just a marketing ploy to force you to buy Apple TV.

Well the Apple TV airplay works but far from perfectly unfortunately. On start up the devices found each other, connected seamlessly and I loved the way I could mirror the iPad display on the TV. However after about 30 minutes the signal always drops out, and they refuse to reconnect and I end up having to reboot both the Apple TV and my iPad. I have yet to be able to watch a whole movie without the connection failing. The software on the Apple TV has been upgraded and my iPad 3 has the latest iOS upgrade too, but the problem still persists and I haven't yet found a solution. Any ideas anyone?

I haven't used the other app on Apple TV that much, part from You Tube. The one app it is really lacking however is e BBC iplayer.

Pros: you can stream your music, and pictures to your TV from your ipod ipad etc, you can hire DVDs from the net and watch an array of things from there menu.
Cons: will not allow you to stream sky anytime from your device, very expensive to hire films

But all round I like it

Apple really know your mind don't they? Brilliant little gadget, now I can watch my iPad on the big screen!

I purchased this item for work, having previously been given one as a gift. Straight out of the box, I connected this item to our Dell 4610sx projector: a fabulous projector and extremely popular. The only problem with the projector is it is pc specific and needs to upload its proprietary software to you pc in order to work wirelessly. It therefore cannot work with an iPad.

I connected my iPad to the Apple tv, 30 seconds later, my iPad screen was projecting onto the screen.

Using airplay is great, whether it be from iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, the Apple TV connects easily to a tv or our projector. Ideal for presentations, be it a PowerPoint or showing off your latest holiday pics. Similarly apps such as bbc I player can be used and displayed Etc etc etc.

Simply brilliant and at almost �20 cheaper at amazon than the apple store, what more can be said?