IAMWW

This weekend I replaced my home-grown Windows Media Center HTPC that was in my entertainment center with an Apple TV. I had to decide between buying the kids a new pc and the Apple TV. So I naturally got the new toy and the kids got a good PC to last them a couple of years.

I actually went to Fry’s twice to look at them with plans of buying from the store. However, I was able to hold back long enough to check out the Apple Refurbished Store. With free shipping I was able to save $50.00 and still have the 1 year warranty.

The things I initial like about the device:

1. Silent - The Media PC made a bearable roar. I could have upgrade the power supply, but that would have meant spending more money and still not have a free PC to work with.
2. Streams or syncs directly with my Mac.
3. No little buttons or disk drives for my toddler to play with.
4. Less power consumption - The Media PC ran 24 X 7.

The things I initially do not like about the device:

1. To stream media iTunes has to be running on the PC.
2. No built in DVR - That would be really nice.
3. Doesn’t support as many formats as Windows Media Center.
4. Puts off a lot of heat during use - Not that a full PC didn’t.

Even with the dislikes I have listed, I still think I am going to enjoy the Apple TV. Now all of my media is now stored on my iMac and an attached firewire drive rather than on a PC in the living room. This should make it much easier to manage.

I was easily able to overcome the Apple TV’s lack of video format support using VisualHub. I was able convert all of my videos and movies over the course of a couple of days by queuing up the conversions while I was away from my computer.

While I am not sure how often I will use the YouTube integration, I can see how it would become addictive. You can have a virtually endless stream of millions of people making complete fools of themselves!

Here are some photos of the unboxing and new set-up.