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If you ask anyone on the Internet (and why would you do that?) about the success of the AppleTV, the majority of people will tell you that the product is a complete and utter failure. If you happen to ask me (and why would you do THAT!?!?), I would tell you that it’s probably one of my favorite/most-used gadgets next to my iPod.

Yes, the AppleTV gets a bad rap around the web but I’m here to tell you that I love it. If I weren’t dependent on HBO Sunday nights (and some other guilty pleasures), I seriously would be thinking about scrapping all things cable/satellite and would be saving myself close to $100 a month. So now that you know that I love my AppleTV, does that mean that you would too?

The AppleTV is not for everybody (yet)

I strongly believe that Apple is on the verge of releasing an video rental service through the iTunes Store (hopefully in HD). Do I have proof of that? Um, no. I do think that is/was the intention for making the device HD only (it only had HDMI/Component Outputs on the back). I also think that the functionality that they are going to release on the new iPod Touch (and an update to the iPhone) where users can purchase items directly from the iTunes Store will make its way into the video side of things (very similar to “on-demand” functionality). This would really make the AppleTV more attractive and easy to use.

I’m not the only one online who is thinking about these concepts. 9to5Mac.com just wrote a post about Apple getting into the Movie Rental business. It really makes sense and would be the kick-in-the-pants that the AppleTV needs.

So what do I watch?

Yes, I’m somewhat geeky. I’m proud of that fact and not afraid to admit it. I’m the kind of person that is constantly checking email and my RSS feeds. With that said, I guess I’m lucky in the fact that I have access to more video content with a nerd-slant than I could ever watch. There’s also a bunch of other stuff that even my wife watches tolerates.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite video podcasts (in no particular order):

- DiggNation (yes, a geek-ish show but definitely entertaining if you keep pace with Kevin and Alex on “beers”).

- ForkYou (their tagline is “Food with Philadelphia Charm”. You may recognize Scott McNulty’s wittiness from The Unofficial Apple Weblog.)

- Washington Post HD Podcast (put that HDTV to good use. awesome looking documentaries from the Washington Post.)

- Tom Green Live (yes, THAT Tom Green. he puts out an hour+ long show every weekday out of his living room. awesome/real guests and dial-in video/calls through Skype. this show is raw and my favorite.)

- Tiki Bar TV (if you’ve been online for any time, you’ve caught Tiki Bar TV before. looks awesome on the big screen.)

tags: television, tivo

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2007 at 1:51 pm and is filed under apple, television, tivo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.