Arstechnica: Apple TV vs. the Xbox 360 Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Arstechnica: Apple TV vs. the Xbox 360 Posted by XanTium | March 11 00:28 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From arstechnica.com: [QUOTE] Previously, I looked at the Apple TV in isolation, to see how it fits as a digital hub. Apple isn't the only company that wants to have its device at the center of your home entertainment though, nor the only ones who want its storefront to be the one you use to download TV and movies. So in this next installment, I shall compare the Apple TV to what I think will be its closest rival, the Microsoft Xbox 360. Yes, you read that right. I am going to compare a game console with the Apple TV, but the comparison is not as far fetched as you might think. Both have storefronts where you can download TV episodes and movies. Both will rent you content in both HD and SD, and both will let you stream your own media through them to your TV and speakers. Why the Apple TV is better: * Cheaper than the Xbox 360 * Cheaper HD rentals * Less restrictive licensing * Build quality * Better integration with the iTunes store * Silent running * Small form factor Why the Xbox 360 is better: * Lots of features when combined with Vista Windows Media Center * Better picture quality (at the expense of file size) * Plays games * DVD drive (and the option of HD DVD) * Includes cables [/QUOTE] [FS] arstechnica.com (2 pages)

[commandersafi]

hahaha, I'm loving the game playing "feature" that the 360 has and it actually includes cables....who would have thought

Seriously though.....Why are they even comparing Apple TV to a 360, yeah they have some things in common media wise, but they are completely different products

This post has been edited by commandersafi: Mar 11 2008, 07:06 AM

[rezonat0r]

Of course a third option is to get a Mac Mini and use Xbox Media Center for OS X.

[TheIrishLad]

Of course a third option is to get a Mac Mini and use Xbox Media Center for OS X.

I suppose, but it is much more expensive than either option. You might as well buy a PS3 at that price.

[Shallow012]

When you deal with Ars you are dealing with the people who think they are smarter then you and anyone else no matter the argument or the outcome. Seriously, think about the source. If you truly have a brain and value youre sanity dont fight these fucks, they are the scientologists of the internet.

[metalcoat]

Apple TV

* Better integration with the iTunes store

Really, who would have thought?

These comparisons always give stupid advantages to other companies and most of the time it's apple. I'm not saying that the Xbox 360 is any good in this comparison, I just can't believe how they rate things.

[Gmc]

They also lack to mention the 360 can play DivX/XviD files - which is reason enough for me...

[vengeancegoon]

I suppose, but it is much more expensive than either option. You might as well buy a PS3 at that price.

I have a PS3 and a Mac Mini. The PS3 is pretty awful for video. The Mac Mini rocks and does 1080p and has handled everything I throw at it. It sometimes takes a few seconds to start the movie/clip but once it gets going, it is awesome.

The 360 also works great for the ifoedit trick of converting PAL DVDs, the PS3 chokes on them, another strike against it.

[eeboarder1984]

The fan noise of the 360 turns me off completely for any type of media capabilities. Also, isn't it like $180 for a 120 GB hard drive on the 360? The DVD player on the 360 is absolutely horrid, too.

The AppleTV is silent, elegant, and gorgeous. The turn off for me was the lack of ability to play my Xvid compressed library and the small 40 or 160 GB drive. To fix that, I soft modded it to accept an external hard drive with the USB port. I now have a 1TB local drive. I also got it to play most video formats with Perian. It's a pretty sweet machine. Oh yeah, the warranty is still intact. Never had to open the case.

http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/


Bottom line, 360 is a gaming machine, AppleTV is a media center.

[Merkaba]

another simple feature that everyone seems to overlook is the option to use a remote or controller on the 360.

[Base8]

I read this article a couple days ago, wasn't bad even though they didn't come to a conclusion. I think a media center pc/mac is your best bet though.

[jdsony]

* DVD drive (and the option of HD DVD)

HD DVD ahahahaha

[spinr34]

The fan noise of the 360 turns me off completely for any type of media capabilities. Also, isn't it like $180 for a 120 GB hard drive on the 360? The DVD player on the 360 is absolutely horrid, too.

The AppleTV is silent, elegant, and gorgeous. The turn off for me was the lack of ability to play my Xvid compressed library and the small 40 or 160 GB drive. To fix that, I soft modded it to accept an external hard drive with the USB port. I now have a 1TB local drive. I also got it to play most video formats with Perian. It's a pretty sweet machine. Oh yeah, the warranty is still intact. Never had to open the case.

http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/
Bottom line, 360 is a gaming machine, AppleTV is a media center.

the fan noise? are you serious? do you put the 360 right next to your head or live in a cubicle? seriously. even the dvd drive during video playback is quiet enough. turn up the speakers or something, sheezus, fan noise.

[robert74]

The fan noise of the 360 turns me off completely for any type of media capabilities. Also, isn't it like $180 for a 120 GB hard drive on the 360? The DVD player on the 360 is absolutely horrid, too.

The AppleTV is silent, elegant, and gorgeous. The turn off for me was the lack of ability to play my Xvid compressed library and the small 40 or 160 GB drive. To fix that, I soft modded it to accept an external hard drive with the USB port. I now have a 1TB local drive. I also got it to play most video formats with Perian. It's a pretty sweet machine. Oh yeah, the warranty is still intact. Never had to open the case.

http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/
Bottom line, 360 is a gaming machine, AppleTV is a media center.

Perian will work with SD videos but not HD videos. AppleTV just doesnt have the CPU power to watch HD content.(except quicktime of course).

[eeboarder1984]

Perian will work with SD videos but not HD videos. AppleTV just doesnt have the CPU power to watch HD content.(except quicktime of course).

It WILL work with HD, but it won't with *.MKV. If you reconvert it to a *.AVI container using Xvid or Divx, it works great. It's the only way I watch videos. Unfortunately, you lose the MKV metadata, but you still get the full resolution of HD.