Switch from cable TV to Apple TV?
Way off topic, I know. Tired of flipping through 300 channels and paying a shitload for cable TV. Been considering switching to an Apple TV/Roku receiver. Anyone else make this transition? I’m interested to hear thoughts/opinions on these devices.
I doubt very seriously that you will be saving anything with an apple product. I’ve never in my life heard the word “Savings” associated with any Apple product. Apple products always cost more. This will not be an exception. That’s just my opinion.
I don’t think you know what I’m talking about. Anyone else?
Apple TV doesn’t do anything more than a normal Smart TV does. Except that they charge the $99 for it. If you already have a smart TV then there’s no need to get Apple TV unless you want to give Apple $99
I use my Apple TV mostly for programs which i missed on the regular tv.
This will only work if you take time to “edit” your ATV so it can use f.i. XBMC and Icefilms as a plugin. 
Don’t have a smart tv. Can get an Apple TV used for $50 on ebay.
You’ll be losing out on HBO, ESPN, SHOTime, TNT, TBS, FX And tons of other channels. Apple TV doesn’t carry them.
So would another media device be better, or do they all lack the aforementioned channels? I’d only miss HBO and ESPN, but I use a friend’s HBOGO account so that problem is solved.
No other player would be better. They all lack those channels for they are subscription based. ESPN has plenty of stuff online. But what about local channels… ABC, CBS, NBC? Apple TV doesn’t carry those (you can get them with an Off-Air Antenna depending where you live), but if you are too far away from a dedent sized city you’ll be missing out on Football Games (if you watch that) and tons of other local programming. I too thought about setting up an internet based TV system, but the amount of content that I wouldn’t have access to didn’t make it worth it. It isn’t ready yet for me.
I’ll stick to cable. Thanks, man.
Also remember you can access Netflix Streaming and Hulu Plus from an Apple TV…
if you want a stream box dont get an apple tv there crap! total waste of time!
get a android dongle much cheaper and does everything apple tv does plus loads more
I spend $19 a month of TW cable and use an apple TV to stream downloaded movies and netflix and my laptop hooked up for regular shows.
Fuck spending $200 a month to watch 3 channels.
Who pays $200 a month for cable? LOL. I pay about $160. But, that includes my internet, and a land line (which I need for my security system). I have two TV’s. It IS too much, but every time you call to ask Comcast for a lower plan they are like well, we can drop your bill from $160 to $120 a month, but you’ll lose 90% of the services you have now. They suck.
Apple TV does have a few more advantages for Mac users then the other solutions, like you can use airplay to stream your desktop and audio to your home theater, which is nice. It also integrates nicely with iTunes. But, you are definitely limited to their environment.
Cable TV is insanely expensive and worthless.
We basically pay $60 a month for Game of Thrones. If we knew anyone else who had HBOGo, I’d drop it right now and buy some combination of “streaming boxes”.
Yes, there’s other stuff we watch. But as far as things that we can’t get on some combination of Amazon Video, iTunes, and Google Play stores, we’re down to crap TV that we only watch when we’re too lazy to go outside and actually live anyway.
Buying a different season each month seems like a better idea than spending more money for one show that I’m going to buy when it comes out on DVD anyway. My girlfriend just wanted to watch Game of Thrones when it came out instead of whenever it shows up to buy somewhere.
So, in short, I think the Apple TV is fine. If it were totally up to me, I’d have one…and any of the others that gave me access to different stores. Bullshit closed economies that all brag about openness are way less annoying than paying $60 a month for one TV show.
Apple TV is not junk and, unlike most Apple products, is not even over-priced. It’s a perfectly reasonable and handy solution for many people… especially people who are already invested in the Apple ecosystem. Nobody else does Airplay, for example.
That being said, I recently got a Roku 3 and it’s fantastic. Dropping my TWC in the coming month. The Roku does support a lot more services than the Apple TV. The only thing it’s (surprisingly) missing is a YouTube channel.
I also love that the Roku supports Spotify and Pandora (I’m a Spotify Premium subscriber, so this is very handy!)
Just google some comparisons… I made my decision after searching for “apple tv vs roku” and decided on the Roku, but I’m sure I’d be happy with ATV or any of the other major competitors as well.