As I mentioned yesterday,  I purchased a new 47″ LED TV for my bedroom and about a few weeks ago, I had gone into the Apple Store and picked up Apple TV for my new planned TV purchase.   Right after I setup my new LED at home, I hooked up the Apple TV. I will start with the pros of Apple TV.   I like the small sleek design, I sort of like the remote control and I like the overall functionality. I love Netflix!
Now here’s what I hate!  No QWERTY keyboard!  Apple should know better, most people these days know how to type on a QWERTY keyboard so why apple choose an alphabetical character notation is beyond me.  The setup of Apple TV is fairly straightforward but tedious.  There is no easy way to cut & paste your WEP encryption key especially if it is very long!
What I really hate is that for some strange reason, the Apple TV will dim my TV too dark for no apparent reason. If there is some sort of ambient light sensor on it, I need to figure out how to turn it off because it is very annoying.   Apple TV seems to go into power save mode too frequently as well!
What’s really missing from Apple TV is the ability to attach or tie in a NAS or external drive to watch personal content and videos. Overall I’m disapointed with the product but I will continue to use it as my Netflix interface.
The Apple TV has no option for a wireless keyboard input, also, there is no ambient light sensor, as far as I know.
As far as the dimming, be sure to use an HDMI cable from the device to the TV.
The dimming only happens when I use Apple TV so that has something to do with it. I have it hooked up via HDMI as that’s the only way to connect it.
Oh well, it works ok for the most part but I’d love to see Hulu available on Apple TV.
From Switched dot com. “Roku HD Streams Netflix and Hulu for Under $60
by Thomas Houston on November 15, 2010 at 11:07 AM
A year has drastically changed the state of streaming video in the home. In late 2009, you had to drop well over $100 to get high-quality streaming video on your TV, or piggyback it on a pricier video game system. Twelve months later, we’ve got multiple dedicated streaming devices for under $100. The budget-priced Roku HD kicks out 720p video and a wealth of content — including Amazon’s Video on Demand, Netflix Instant Watch and, as of this fall, Hulu Plus — that seriously makes us consider cutting our cable subscription. It’s not just video; Roku also lets you stream music from services like Pandora and MOG.
Sure, the $99 Apple TV will integrate perfectly into your iSetup, and Google TV offers promising — and pricey — integration with live TV. But it’s tough to beat the Roku HD’s no-nonsense HD streaming for under $60. Throw down $40 more for the Roku XDS, and you’ve got 1080p streaming and the ability to play video off of local hard drives.”