Apple TV not up to par.

Recently, the new Apple TV was released and engadget reviewed the item. The new version has many new features and is a smaller unit at a much lower price.

• The hardware consists of many aspects alike to the iPad, iPod, and iPhone. It has around 1GHz like an iPad, the A4 CPU chip like all the iDevices, and it has WiFi compatibility. 

• The remote is small, and has 3 buttons. According to engadget, it is a chore to use. They believe the best way to control the Apple TV is through an iDevice with the "remote" app. 

• The interface is much like the previous version, extremely easy to set up and navigate. One flaw is the on-screen keyboard, since it is not QWERTY. 

• The actual act of renting and viewing a purchase is great, and if you are a netflix user then the iTunes store and netflix are integrated well. 

A few problems: The channels affiliated with apple TV are limited. Also, only M4V, MP4, or MOV files can be read through apple TV. This means one cannot just rip a dvd and upload it. Another issue is the high cost of video on the iTunes store. This brings the competitors that use Amazon direct a step above, for the cost of renting and buying digital content is much less. Sadly, the Apple TV does not really deliver, but that does not mean it isn't good. It just isn't above Roku and the competitors.
-mason