Apple TV

H got me a new AppleTV v2 for my birthday. I was shocked at it diminutive stature even after having seen them in the store. Its tiny size, however, is only one of its charms.
Set up was a piece of cake. I hooked up the HDMI cables, turned on the TV, and pointed it at our wireless network. From opening the box to streaming You Tube videos took about five minutes.
The interface is what you would expect from Apple. A two year old could use it without trouble. Everything is shiny and smooth. It makes my cable box interface feel like traveling back to the days of arcane magic and chanting. The only downside is having to navigate the on steen keyboard with a remote, but that can be easily fixed....
We rented Time Bandits from iTunes and it was almost too easy. The first time I had to enter my iTunes ID and password and it appeared on the TV. we waited a few seconds and starting watching. After the first rental the box remembers your ID and only asks for your password.
Finding content is easy as well. There are search fields just about everywhere. The remote isn't the best typing tool, but it isn't the worst either. I was able to find Chandler Vader on You Tube without much trouble. Finding radio stations was oddly difficult because there you cannot search in the radio interface. Hopefully they will fix that omission.
Streaming content over our finicky G wireless connection provides astonishingly good results. Time Bandits didn't stutter at all. The radio stations we've listened to didn't skip either. Netflix does occasionally hiccup. During an episode of Firefly I had to pause three times to allow the buffer to fill and resume normal playback.
When you pair the Apple TV with an iOS device it really shines. The Remote app smooths out the trouble of typing with the remote because you an use the iOS keyboard. Air Play is also a great feature. While traveling I rented Donny Darko to watch on the plane ride home, but didn't get around to it. Instead of sitting in my living room staring at my iPad's tiny screen, I sent it to my big TV screen. Playback was smooth and trouble free. I did experience one network hiccup, but our network is a little dodgy at times.
Can the Apple TV replace cable? No. Is it a nice addition to our media system? Yes. Is it worth the price? At $99 it isn't too hard to swallow.