I heard there was a better AppleTV out that had better AirPlay and video mirroring. Let me be honest, I wasn't looking to play movies from my iPad or use the AppleTV apps for Netflix & YouTube. There is a lot of streaming content out there and I wanted to play it on my TV. I was disappointed.
First, AppleTV is best as a delivery mechanism for rented or purchased movies & TV shows that you pay Apple to watch. They are aces at generating money and this is no exception.
Content owners at HBO Go for example won't allow AirPlay to show their programming over AppleTV, only audio across. Gee, thanks.
Next I tried mirroring. This is where everything on the iPad is mirrored on the TV. That worked for more apps and content, but not in full screen. The picture was shortened in both directions.
And wireless bandwidth starts to become an issue. First the content is streamed from the internet to the iPad and then transmitted again to AppleTV. Result is some pauses and skips.
AppleTV is severely lacking the apps and channels that Roku has. More than anything, it lacks its own real browser. The problem is fixable with money; a Mac Mini would solve this problem. I'm just reluctant to spend $600. An alternative might be the Logitech Revue with GoogleTV.
In the meantime, AppleTV went back to the Apple Store, but I didn't walk out with the $100. I needed a BT keyboard and cover for my iPad. Fair trade.
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