DH and I watch TV occasionally but not enough to justify our cable subscription. I follow two TV shows but that’s about it. Does anyone have Apple TV and what are your opinions on it?
My kid got Apple TV for Christmas but has no use for it in his dorm. And Best Buy won’t let us return it. 
I know this is non-responsive to your question, but it’s frustrating and I just had to put it out there.
Have you checked your favorite shows to see who might carry them? Are they available on the network sites the day or week after broadcast? Are they on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime? Start with that. We have a Chromecast and just cast a few things and could also use an Amazon Fire Stick to do the same sort of thing. Then subscribe to the service that carries what you want to watch.
^Singersmom, I suppose that would be the next step. Honestly, it doesn’t mater whether or not I watch my shows immediately after broadcast. The more I think about it, the more cable seems unnecessary in our house.
YDS, you probably could have resold it online, but the ATV just got a major price reduction. You may want to recycle it for trips, and especially abroad.
The ATV is a bit slower than the Amazon Fire and more expensive that Roku and the Chromecast. The real bargain was the Amazon dongle at 24 dollars before Christmas. The ATV can be clumsy at times. All in all, it is a matter of taste and belonging to the Apple eco-system. I bought the Amazon after the ATV.
What is happening with HBO2GO might make a difference. Might being the appropriate term.
Get one of those HD antennas and see if it works for you (might not depending on your house location) - that could let you watch the regular broadcast channels ( ABC, CBS, PBS, etc)
We have an HD antenna and a Tivo DVR. We stream content from Netflix and Amazon Prime.
D1 has apple TV and since she’s home with us now we use it. We switched from having a DVR to having cable with a different system that I just can’t get my head around. Apple TV is much easier. I use it for most things, even Netflix, because it’s simpler - the remote has maybe 4 buttons. As my close vision gets worse, I can’t even see the complicated larger remotes you use for cable and DVR!
It doesn’t have Starz yet which like for the Outlander series and Black Sails.
I have Amazon prime but again, if I have to use that huge remote, it becomes too cumbersome.
You can easily do a comparison on the net of AppleTV, Roku, Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire Stick (or whatever it’s called).
We have an Apple TV, but we use it with Netflix, HBO GO, and Amazon Prime. I’m not sure how much use it would be without paid services. It was not very useful wirelessly (always had to re-login and our wireless password is long). It’s much better with a wired connection.
Amazon Prime is not native on the Apple TV.
Correct, but you can do something with an iPad to display it on the TV.
Can you use Apple TV instead of a cable box?
It is indeed doable and not too difficult, but it remains an important distinction for people who have Prime. People should also know that the ATV technology is showing its age and that is not as agile as the Roku3 and the Amazon gadgets. There is a good reason why Apple dropped the price and is clearly indicating that Apple will not spend vast resources in updating the current device. I think that they will develop something more competitive to the market, and this with the Apple-like typical closed ecosystem.
Regardless of the HBO deal, the ATV should not be the best buy at this time.
We watch Netflix and Hulu plus through our Wii and daughter has a roku that we got for $30.
I love my AppleTV. Not only does it natively have Netflix, HBOGO, Showtime, FXNow, FoxNow, but I have it networked to my external hard drive. This allows me to easily watch things I’ve downloaded. Also, using my iPad I can stream Amazon Prime content.
I say for people who have apple products, iPad, Airport, etc, it’s a fantastic option.
Sadly, until I can legally get my live sports outside of cable, I’m stuck.
People who get Roku seem happy with it.
Fwiw, you can stream Netflix & HuluPlus (not sure about Amazon Prime) on a cheap blu-ray player or on a game box (xbox, wii, etc).
The main reason my H won’t cut cable is to watch sports. I’d be ok just watching streaming stuff.
^ Roku is probably the best option today:
http://www.cnet.com/news/chromecast-vs-apple-tv-vs-roku-3-which-media-streamer-should-you-buy/
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Simple answer: Just buy the Roku 3 Despite Apple TV's new price of $69 and its exclusive access to HBO Now through July, we still like the $79 Roku 3 better. <<<
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My take? In an age of 100+ cable bills, why not get a couple --if not all-- of them and decide which one you like the better for different users. Some are slower but have a better remote. Some people like the tiny ATV remote and others are not impressed or lose it all the time.
As always, it boils down to living in the bubble of the Apple ecosystem or keeping an open mind. I rather not spend too much time agonizing over it and get all the choices. 