During the introduction of the new Apple TV, Job’s stated that Apple had done a great job of listening to customers when the new Apple TV was being designed, however after hearing what the device can do and reviewing the Tech Specs on Apple’s site, I question his statement. The list below lists some of the features that were either removed from the new Apple TV or completely dismissed. If you disagree with this list or would like to add to it please use the comments form at the end of the story.
1. No Hard Drive
What?! Where does the stuff go? It’s all about streaming and the cloud concept. All of the content viewed via an Apple TV is streamed from Netflix, YouTube, or your computers. So if you’re internet connection is down and your computers are dead, the Apple TV is useless. Want to take it on the road, make sure your laptop or iOS devices have enough storage room.
2. No Games
Apple is missing out on a goldmine here. Imagine playing GodFinger or Mafia Wars on your TV…that would be a killer service, couple that with Game Center and you have an instant winner.
3. No Analog Audio Outputs or Composite / Component Outputs
For those of us that are still stuck in the Ice Age, the exclusion of both analog audio outputs and Composite/Component outputs take this device off our shopping lists.
4. No Gigabit Ethernet
I know the ultimate goal is to use wireless for everything but for those who prefer to stay out of the wireless spectrum, an Ethernet port is the way to go…why not bump it up to Gigabit, the standard in almost anything with an Ethernet port.
5. No USB or FireWire Ports
Why on earth is Apple so allergic to USB ports? I know that with iOS devices it is a way to keep memory keys and other devices from expanding the device’s storage space, but come on…Apple TV. Why do I have to opt for an iPhone or a computer running iTunes when I have my pictures stored on a flash drive. This doesn’t make sense.
I know the Apple TV has a USB port, but it is only for service and support.
6. No Support for RAW Images
They were listening to who? Most photographers shoot in RAW format, lots of photographers also happen to have Macs. Why on earth would I want to wait for my images to be converted to JPEG’S, TIFF’S or GIF’S before I can show them to friends and family?
7. No Support for Ogg/MKV/Divx Formats
There goes the entire library of DVD’s that were converted to a format that can be streamed throughout the house prior to H.264 rising as a standard.
8. No Streaming from UPnP Devices
Although it isn’t mentioned anywhere that it will not work, the fact that it is not mentioned on the Tech Specs page is reason enough to believe that streaming from other UPnP devices will not be possible. There goes the NAS and your Media Center PC recordings.
9. No DVD/Blu-ray Drives
We all know that Apple aims to use only cutting-edge technology for its products and despises Blu-ray, but what are we to do with all of the DVD and Blu-ray discs we already own? Why doesn’t Apple use Apple TV as a way to relegate standalone DVD/Blu-ray players as a thing of the past?
10. No PVR Functionality
The idea of Apple TV is to sell content via the iTunes store, but wouldn’t it be great if it also doubled as a PVR? A feature like this would kill Tivo and any other PVR service on the market.
Image Via Flickr & Flickr & techreport.com
