Apple TV quietly discontinued

The 40GB model, that is.

Without much fuss, Apple stripped the 40GB Apple TV entry from its online store and placed the 160GB model in its place price-wise. If you've been waiting to get this iPod-for-your-HDTV, now might still not be the time to buy it anyway. Why?

Because a new model will most likely be announced in the near future. Maybe a software update at the least as no visible changes were made to the lowered 160GB model.

Help Choose: Apple TV or Popcorn Hour

Ever since I've made the jump to the world of torrents, I've been downloading feature films non-stop, and even though the iMac's screen is very much adequate for movies, movies are watched at least in a TV. And additional free Hard Drive space is always appreciated.

Burning DVD's is a different matter. Unreliability of the end product for one. I mean, if you burn a DVD, there's always the chance of having a skipping picture. So I've decided to research on HDTV receivers (where you can put movie files and play in HD, since my dad has an HDTV already), and I'm stuck with two solutions: Apple TV and Popcorn Hour. If you can help me determine the better of the two, then I'd be so grateful.

Apple TV

It has a lot of room for improvement, but every time it does improve, it becomes a lot more attractive to buy. Plus, the improvements are free. They say it's painless to set up, and if you want file format support, you can just hack it (but it will void the warranty).

Unfortunately, the Apple TV doesn't come with HDMI cables, I'm afraid to hack it so I can play my AVI files uncompressed (my movie files are mostly AVI files) and you have to re-encode your movies (and inevitably suffer quality loss). Picture quality loss that's not significant isn't that much of a loss for me, but we're talking about a big screen here.

I predict that Apple will inevitably bring out an update that brings support for all the formats Quicktime supports, but it doesn't seem as if it will happen soon. But anything could happen in MacWorld in January.

Still, Wi-Fi is built-in so you can stream straight from YouTube, Flickr, or the iTunes Store (I like watching trailers... in HD!) and the hard drive is already built-in unlike in Popcorn Hour where you have to shell out extra cash. Additionally, the minimalist style is very much appreciated and it's extremely n00b-friendly. To reiterate, enhancements are also very much free, so the product's life will be pretty darn long and replacement would have to take very long.

The quality may not beat Blu-ray, but I don't really care, because the iTunes integration (from multiple computers so anyone dropping by to watch a file in his laptop with you can watch it on TV instead) is a pretty big sell.

The price for 160GB which I'm eyeing on, is supposed to be 16000 pesos when converted from its US dollar price, so I'm expecting that price in Greenhills. Still, you'd also have to buy your own HDMI cables which are pretty expensive unless you look.

Popcorn Hour A-110

Anything you set beside an Apple product comes out unattractive, and while not very ugly, the Popcorn Hour looks like such in comparison. Still, it's the features that matter, and features it delivers.

First and foremost, the file format support. Any format you put in it is very much supported so I don't have to suffer long encoding times, and so that the movies I download are gonna be very much untouched (and thus, may be able to even beat Blu-ray). Additionally, it has a built-in torrent downloader, but it would have to depend on how dependable it is. Plus, you can go beyond YouTube and even view Metacafe videos, etc., etc.. And it's effing cheaper (P10000 when converted from USD).

But it wouldn't be that effing cheaper when you consider the additional stuff you'd have to buy. In fact, it would be extremely close (maybe even slightly more expensive) to the price of the USD-converted price for the 160GB Apple TV. For one thing, the Popcorn Hour doesn't come with a Hard Drive. 

While you can select the capacity of Hard Drive you want, it would bring the Popcorn Hour's price up to par with the Apple TV's (that doesn't include the HDMI cables). And if you want to sync the Popcorn Hour with a PC or Mac, you'd have to format that Hard Drive into the conventional FAT32 or NTFS.

 BUT, the torrent downloader becomes unusable because the Popcorn Hour can't write into FAT32 or NTFS drives (or so they say) thus the torrent downloader becomes unusable.

Additionally, if I want to stream videos wirelessly from the Internet (aka, thru Wi-Fi), I would have to buy yet another accessory! I'm not sure how much it costs, but even without it, it would still cost as much as the Apple TV in hindsight. Plus, the interface isn't as n00b-friendly, so I wouldn't dare leave it to my youngest brother to operate. Of course, that is unless you'd opt for using a USB flash disk as a poor substitute for the hard disk drive.

Still, the file format support is the big sell here. But I'd also like to stream the occasional online video through the Wi-Fi connection we have here without having to expend more.

Which one?

These devices may have already received some sort of upgrade already when we actually get to buying one of them, but being able to decide on a definitive streamer would be very appreciated.

More II-1 DVD announcements

It's not a mandatory purchase, but if you want you can pay me P130 for the thing because I will buy the DVDs using the money you gave me at CD-R King. Yes, it's a bit expensive, but here's a breakdown of why it is in the first place:

Dual Layer DVDs (8.5GB) - These types of DVDs are only one-sided, so that means more content on one disc, however, the price is more than double a mere 5 peso 4.2GB DVD-R. (P50x2)

DVD Case - One DVD case in CD-R King (or according to its website) is 5 pesos. So right now, the subtotal is 105 pesos.

Labor - It's only 5 pesos for my hard work :D (As well as the other providers, namely, Sandra, Yna and Nuevo)

Teachers - Use common sense, people. Wouldn't it be rude to make singil to the teachers? After counting a bit, the sum you have to pay for the teachers is P20, because it's inconvenient to pay P19.25 and give change. Of course, the ones who won't be buying will still have to pay this 20 peso fee. Why? 20 pesos times 40 is 800 which is the sum of the DVDs + cases for the teachers. Now if one of you (who has no intention of buying) is reading this in outrage, why don't you go near every teacher and get him or her to pay that fee? I dare you.

And if that breakdown was too long for you, here's an even shorter version:
100 pesos goes to the purchase of 2 8.5GB DVDs which have double the capacity of ordinary DVDs. 5 pesos goes to the DVD case, and another 5 for the Labor. 20 pesos is mandatory for the payment of teachers' copies, yes, EVERYONE WILL PAY. Including the ones WHO DON'T WANT TO BUY.

Just one thing:
Ahh, looking at all these videos... make me feel warm inside. This hasn't ever happened before, and maybe that's because this is the section I feel most attached to in a surprising way. I was always raving like, grabe parang ayaw ko matapos ang year na to, e ang mga tao rito kasi ang saya, or, Gago, mahal ko kaya ang II-1, when I talk to other people. Now... I feel like shit. But I thought, Little Orphan Annie always raved about tomorrow, and how things are better that way, which is maybe why people who raised their hand when Nuevo asked if tomorrow people will be acting like, wala lang, because maybe they feel that everything will be forgiven and forgotten. But then again, I also have a pessimistic side, which is why I think that this will not happen, and all that hope is futility and vanity. Still, this also made me reflect about why my part in making the class closer was, which was almost near to nothing. Yes, videos, so what? If people feel like going somewhere else, it's like the times we've had with the people who wanted to leave are... you know, parang going with the flow lang sila. And with that in mind, the videos, when I re-watch... feel so fake now. But as I said earlier, we've 2 days left to patch up and clean up our act, and this time, I'll try my best to help. Hopefully, you will too, reader (that is if you're a II-1 classmate as well).

Actually, I've considered cutting off this DVD thing, but still, as someone I was talking to said, this DVD will at some rate prove who are and aren't taking this thing seriously, or if they don't care. But it wouldn't be accurate, I feel, if people are forced to buy this. But as I said earlier, the purchase is not mandatory, only the teachers' fee.

Early "donations" include Michelle, Sandra, and... me. But I wouldn't blame the others, they may not have enough money for pamasahe or something, or maybe they just don't care and are expressing it because they don't want to be plastic (someone else said that to me. And no, I won't name anyone because it will definitely cause more turmoil.).

But then again, I am also to be blamed for the happening on Free Time because I was the one who told Nuevo to announce the DVD thing, and because he had the opportunity to announce something, he put the Last Day thing in too, though I kind of think that it was also a right move to also put the Last Day thing in so we can plan early.

SIGH....

Kinda feel better now though. Oh, and I'm gonna post a flyer pala tomorrow.

The Update
Thanks for bearing with my venting, and you'll be seeing the real deal tomorrow when I actually have time to put the stuff in (My mother's copying Enchanted DVD right now eh, baka bumagal.)