Well, I've had the Apple TV since Thursday. Packaging was beautiful, setup was quick and easy. The user interface is slick and gorgeous (I have the device configured for 1080i on our 32" Toshiba tube-based high-def display).

The way you add content makes it feel like a network-enabled iPod Video, though I highly recommend either getting your network on 802.11n or hardwiring the Apple TV and your main iTunes box...unless you like waiting for stuff to sync.

Existing iTunes shows play as well or better (thanks to the component output, I believe) than using the MacBook Pro with s-video out. Music and photos all work really well (and, again, the interface is slick, including the screen saver).

I have no high-def content to test it with yet (I'm encoding some things now @ 720p) but I did export a camera video of Ian to "Apple TV" format and it plays fine. I can see this as being a great way to keep home movies online and available at the click of a button.

I was disappointed that I could not sync playlist items of "live" content (WHYY - 90.9FM - NPR from Phila live stream), but I suspect this will remedied in a firmware release (too many people want it and it just makes sense). It's ability to elegantly handle podcasts makes up for this in the interim (I sub to a few more NPR ones now).

I was also disappointed at the lack of decent movies in the iTunes store and that none have been re-released in HD. Hopefully Apple has something in the works, or this will really be limited to TV content and/or pirated content and that will almost make this not worth having. The last thing I want to do is re-encode my DVD library (@ 2hrs or more per disc).

The small (40GB) hard drive is also pathetic, since I'd like to store most of my videos (until Apple offers a better way to archive content). It took less than 24 hrs for folks on the Net to violate their warranties and upgrade the HD to 120GB. I won't be doing this, but it shows that other people also have high expectations for Apple's "media center".

I am very happy that I no longer need to dedicate my laptop to playing Lost and Numb3rs episodes, tho.

Overall, it's a great box, a welcome addition to the a/v rack and a good excuse to look for a reciever with optical and coax inputs.