by PortableOne | Saturday, November 22, 2014 | 0 comment(s)

Five reasons why Apple TV is still a great gift

Two years without any significant updates, might seem like a long time for any Apple product. We have been in trepidation for the Mac Mini and the iMac, until the fashionably late release of their impressive 2014 versions, but still, no 2014 Apple TV on the horizon.

Does it matter? Yes and no. On the one hand, Apple TV is a very basic product in itself, and still one of the most versatile out there. Yet, Apple TV’s competition is slim, as few devices allow for similar capabilities: a fact that makes Apple TV a very desirable device still.

The price tag

Apple TV is still quite affordable, compared to similar devices by functionality and quality. At $99, Apple TV delivers high-quality streaming, an intuitive and fluid experience and a wide range of apps.

Home Sharing

iTunes users are the ones who will benefit the most from Apple TV. Home Sharing offers an incomparably streamlined way of accessing music, TV shows, movies and photos, while still offering access to third party apps and subscription services, such as HBO GO, Netflix and Hulu Plus.

AirPlay

One of the best Apple features, AirPlay allows to broadcast content from iOS devices and Macs, in a similar way as Google Chromecast, but with the advantage of Apple TV being its own device, working independently.

This means, Apple TV users can use big screen TVs as mirrored Mac displays, or play games on iPhones and iPads.

Best thing to happen to TiVo users

Thanks to the Roxio Toast Titanium software, which allows to download recorded shows from TiVo straight to a Mac, Apple TV becomes a “TiVo-saver”, by allowing to save DVR space while using iTunes to store and stream recorded shows.

And the best is yet to come

It’s very unlikely that Apple will give up on Apple TV, especially now that the company is investing so much in home automation and entertainment. With the official release of the Apple Watch next year, we can expect the ability to control Apple TV through a range of future wearable iOS devices. Whether it means big things in store for Apple TV (Apple Smart TV, anyone??), the existing unit is something worth having, just for its ubiquitous properties and ability to interact in so many ways, with so many different devices.