NO, I will never buy an Apple TV or similar device that uses DRM and proprietary recording / playback file types.

Since I don't see Apple ever releasing a product like this that does not rely on iTunes - I will never buy one.

Chris D.

TiVo + Amazon Unbox > Apple TV.

If they had turned it into a PVR and stuck a Blu Ray DVD player in it then I would give it a second look. As it exists today? Nah.

I'd probably only use it if I could rent TV shows at $.50 an episode to catch up on series from HBO & Showtime. I don't want to buy tv episodes, what I really want is a la carte cable tv. This gets me no closer to that dream.

I followed the Keynote address and was almost dumbfounded at the amount of air time Apple is getting for these lack luster products. Apple TV, I mean come on, it just gets 5.1 audio after being out how long, and the kicker was that not all HD content that you can rent 30 days after the DVD/BD/HD DVD is released comes with 5.1 audio and you will have to settle for 2-channel at 720p (hardly) HD.
To compare the Apple TV to Blu-ray and even the dead/dying HD DVD formats is just wrong, I wonder how much Apple had to pay to get people to compare the two?
In reality most people are a lot smarter then Jobs would like to think. The Apple TV will die out like HD DVD not because some studios signed on to the competitor but because it is sub par and offers half-ass HD at a substantial price with 2006 technology. People want 1080p, DolbyHD/DTS HD audio not some cheap set top box saying its HD.

Sad part is the Apple cult following with keep this product alive because Jobs says its the latest and greatest even thought Xbox 360 has been able to do the same thing for how long?

Wake me up when it can play DivX/Xvid from a network share...

Maybe they'll get it right with v3.

My take on this:
I have a a Series 3 Tivo and have done a download with Unbox, the problem here is that there is no HD content to download.

I subscribe to Netflix and it 's nice to have but you have to wait a long time if you want HD disks, this a reported problem with Netflix.

I have an Apple TV and all I have to say if their HD content comes close to their HD podcasts, I will cancel Netflix and go with AppleTV HD downloads to view movies. I am waiting anxiously for the firmware update.

Nope, the Xbox 360 (or any media center extender) is a much better deal for the amount of features and is exactly what I'm looking for.

I agree with Malren: My TiVo already does this, has done it for most of a year now, and already has a huge jumpstart on Apple with Amazon Unbox adding titles left and right. To be honest, I don't even use THAT, because we have Blockbuster Total Access. For $12 a month we get movies on our list shipped to us, which we then turn around and exchange at the Blockbuster near us for a second movie immediately. As soon as we do that they ship us the next movie on our list, which arrives long before we'll want to watch another movie the next weekend. 5 movies a month for $12 compared to .99-2.99 for TiVo+Amazon, or 2.99-3.99 for Apple TV? That's a no-brainer.

In a word? No. In more than a word? I have a TiVo with TiVo-to-Go and Amazon Unbox, plus a free cable box with thousands of on-demand items, many of which are free.

I could not possibly need this device less. Between my Xbox 260, two tivos, a DVD player that is networked and plays all sorts of formats and at least two other ways of getting content to my TV, I'm all full up in this space.
This device, like most Apple products, is designed to keep the Apple faithful inside the walled garden.

I am thinking about taking the plunge, whenever they get around to move rentals in Canada. I understand the hold up with TV because of our networks, but movie distribution should be much easier.

The lack of divx/xvid/etc. playback is troubling. I have an xbox with xbox media center, and it does everything I need. The Apple TV has a nice interface and remote, and more storage.

I will never buy anything Apple related that has to do with TV (ie Apple TV or an Ipod). Why?: DRM. They have stupid file extensions that can only be played exclusively on their overpriced crap. Their movie/tv files are low quality, and do not look good on bigger screens.

I am an .AVI guy. My "apple TV" is my Oppo DVD player, and I can can play any TV show I want due to its awesome DIVX capabilities. Moreover, I can watch these files anywhere, on cheaper devices such as The Zen or the Sansa. The quality is super on those small screens since the divx files are made to look good on an actual Tv.