The AppleTV has a digital audio out. It does shut down, at least I get the impression that the hard drive has gone to sleep because its initial startup after not being used for awhile is always a couple of seconds, whereas while in use the feedback from the remote is instantaneous. I understand that the hard drive has to spin up just like in a computer hard drive that has gone to sleep while in power saving mode.
Be careful about reviews. The AppleTV has gone through several firmware updates since initial release and you need to make sure you are looking at a recent review. Older reviews won't help you because they were based upon out of date firmwares. I have the AppleTV and my review is that it works great. No complaints at all. It does what it says it does, and no configuration issues. It works with my computer, it works standalone, it works with my iPod Touch. It looks great on my HDTV, it sounds great on my stereo system. It is easy to control the AppleTV with the included remote. Now that my iPod Touch (or iPhone) includes the new "remote" application, it is even better. Don't need the TV on or even connected to choose what music to listen to. As far as Logitech's response to this, I have seen wishlists on this forum that have mentioned a squeezebox with built-in harddrive. That would be a serious competitor. Thus no need for your computer to be on, no need for the configuration issues of an NAS. That is what AppleTV gives you. That is what Logitech may need to meet this challenge. And to take this even further, with the continual fall in price of laptops, e.g. the Asus Eee PC, you could just hook up a laptop directly to your stereo system and use an iPod Touch to control your music and other services. There is an evolution occurring that is blurring the lines in the conjunction of a standalone music device and an all-purpose computer. I am sure Logitech is not standing still and is taking note of these developments. My own observation is that if Logitech wants to break out of the hobbyist niche and into the mainstream, it has to focus on ease of use. That means eliminate the need for configuration issues, just make it work right out of the box (of course it can keep this option for advanced users). Anything that makes it hard to use a product builds in resistance to its adoption for the general consumer. This is where Apple excels. It has its own ecosystem of hardware and software that talks to each other flawlessly and easily. -- mortslim ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mortslim's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=11039 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=49790 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
