Thursday, April 5, 2007
Apple TV's Pretty, but Xbox 360 Delivers Where It Counts
Posted by Jeremy Charette in "ARTICLE" @ 08:30 AM
"I compared the Apple TV to Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console, which can more or less do the same things, acting like a bridge between a Windows computer and an HDTV set. After having my eyes gently caressed by the Apple TV's menus, the Xbox interface is like a slap in the face. It's garish and confusing, and you have to press more buttons to get where you want to go. However, the Xbox does your HDTV justice. Microsoft's Xbox Live marketplace has some movies in HD, and these look absolutely stunning -- better than most broadcast HD, and almost indistinguishable from HD DVD or Blu-ray discs, which provide the best video quality available to consumers right now. Even the standard-definition fare on Xbox Live looks much better than iTunes movies, despite nominally being the same resolution. They look almost as good as DVDs."
This is exactly what I've been telling people for the past couple of weeks, when asked what I thought of the Apple TV. For the same price ($299 for the Core), you get a box that outputs high definition, that you can buy content directly off of, that streams videos and music from your other PCs, that plays DVDs, and...that you can play games on. The Xbox Live Video Marketplace content looks fantastic, even in SD. Sure, unlike the Apple TV, it doesn't come with a remote. Big deal, buy one for $20. Did I mention that the 360's remote also controls the volume? :lol:
This is exactly what I've been telling people for the past couple of weeks, when asked what I thought of the Apple TV. For the same price ($299 for the Core), you get a box that outputs high definition, that you can buy content directly off of, that streams videos and music from your other PCs, that plays DVDs, and...that you can play games on. The Xbox Live Video Marketplace content looks fantastic, even in SD. Sure, unlike the Apple TV, it doesn't come with a remote. Big deal, buy one for $20. Did I mention that the 360's remote also controls the volume? :lol:
