Apple TV clearly a complete failure

[guitarist]

Lux Interior wrote:

I am in the process of ripping all my DVDs to ATV format using Handbrake. It's like SoundJam all over again! I thought it was awesome to have all my CDs just a click away. Now all my movies are (or will be) easily available.

I am just starting to explore Boxee/XMBC. Got them installed and have been playing with them. Next step is to get AFS running on the ATV and plug my 3 TB drive to use as NFS.

Lux, sounds like you're in a similar position as me. I immediately discovered its potential to store DVD content, and began a campaign of Handbrake rips that yielded about a hundred titles. I set up the Apple TV to stream my movie library from an external HD attached to an iMac on our network via iTunes. To make it more visually navigable, using Google picture search, I added the movie posters for each of these movies, in the Artwork preference in iTunes, a drag-and-drop process that's effortless. Handling physical DVD discs is rarer. It's convenient to have all the titles at the tip of my fingers. CD music content, too, as you mentioned. Easily operated using the Remote App on my iPhone.

At first I dismissed Boxee, lacking the motive, but since have reconsidered. My wife watched a full-screen, hi-resolution episode of "Medium" she'd missed the night before, on our iMac last night, via Hulu. The viewing experience was impressive. I'm sold, I see why people dig Hulu.

We also have the Apple TV drawing recorded and categorized content from Elgato's EyeTV, a compatible arrangement that gives us DVR convenience, too.

Puzzling that there's such a toxic level of hostility and discontent about Apple TV. People have strong feelings about it, differing views of its role, and endless advice about its problems and potential. Mostly from people who don't own one. If Apple were to add every feature that holdouts complain it doesn't have, it would look like a Microsoft product. It would be a gaming platform, have a radio receiver, a subscription service, play Windows Media files, have a Vista interface, a "Battlestar Galactica" screen saver, and a plugin for a miniature 7-11 Slurpee machine. Those of us who actually own an Apple TV are almost universally content, consider it one of Apple's underrated products, and dismiss most of the passenger-seat complaints as trivial.