Steve Jobs announced an update to the Apple TV.  The new stuff  for Apple TV includes:

• new matte black color
• 1/4 of the size
• added HDMI and digital audio outputs
• NO internal storage—only rentals from the iTunes Store
• day-of-release HD movies rent for $4.99; HD TV shows rent for $.99
• $99 price tag
• includes the remote

Of course, I am not sure what the “old stuff” was on the original Apple TV since I didn’t have one.  Jobs said that people “don’t want to manage storage… they just want to watch movies and TV shows.” And that whatever hardware we have has to be “silent, cool and small.”  I more or less agree! I hate to admit it, I am into the “cool factor.”

I currently pay for some premium channels with my cable subscription, and only watch them now & then.  If I really think about it, likely a waste of my money, I am wondering if it would be cheaper to just have basic cable and an Apple TV.  It is important to note that my 82 year old parents live with me, so, I do need basic cable  for Mom & Dad.  Maybe I could cut my cable bill in half with just having basic cable, buy Apple TV  for me in my room and do the pay as I go thing when I wnat to!!  That is something to think about.  I have training my folks to use their cell and just eliminated my land line!  So we are moving forward.  I even have my dad reading the USA Today on my iPad!

You can subscribe to Netflix streaming for $8.99 a month on the new Apple TV, and stream from MobileMe, YouTube and Flickr.  That all sounds good, but Flickr? That would mean I should take better advantage of my Pro-Flickr account.  MobileMe, no doubt I do not take full advantage of my $99 a year price tag (which is pretty steep) and I looked into streaming Netflix a while back, and there was not much there I cared about watching, has it really improved that much?

AirPlay, replaces AirTunes, which I have also never used.  AirPlay allows streaming from a device to Apple TV—for example, from your  iPad to your new Apple TV.  Jobs demonstrated this by streaming a movie from his iPad to an Apple TV using Wi-Fi.  Hmm, this sounds interesting, still not sure it is something I would really take much of advantage of yet.  Boy I am full of “yets.”  Maybe an Apple TV really is in my future.

When Apple TV is available in October,  ABC and Fox will offer their HD shows for rental at the 99 cents.  RENTAL, what the heck?  Altough I would just pay for what I watch. Can I subscribe to a series?  Will it be cheaper if you buy the season rather than 99 cents per show?  99 cents each could get pretty expensive for a full season of your favorite show!! That scares me just a bit.  Although, I do love the no commercial thing!!

And what about all the other networks, I like ABC & Fox, but come on, I want all of them?   I don’t think pre-ordering is in the cards for me, although it is only $99.00. But it seems that I have to pay for everything I watch. I just can’t wrap my brain around it.  Kinda think it might equal out to lots more money than cable in the long run, might just be me and my poor math skills.

It doesn’t appear as though I could eliminate cable completely just yet, and when I do want to watch TV, I just want to watch TV, not have to plan for it!!  So, the jury is still out on Apple TV for me at least.  I think maybe I must be living in a different world when it comes to TV entertainment than Steve Jobs!  Maybe there is more FREE stuff out there that I can stream and I just don’t know about it.

Clearly, I better do more research before I make up my mind. How about you, what are your feeling about AppleTV?, Where do you stand?  Please comment!

More Information

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html

Purchase Apple TV: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv

Apple September 2010 Music Event-The All New Apple TV Media Streamer