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Apple's iTV: yet another device in the home theater arsenal to mess with?

This CNet article is right on regarding the concerns about the iTV. The problem is, no matter how much the MPAA and the RIAA blame struggling sales on piracy, Americans are getting fed up with the decreasing entertainment value and quality of movies and music and with the increasing prices. The bottom line is: the entertainment industry has to make money. You can have all the stars going on screen and deliver a heartfelt, passionate plea not to download movies, but really, is anyone going to feel sorry for their millions chopped by a few percents?

The problem with the device is not the device itself as much, but the industry providing the content for it. iTV will appeal to all the home theatre and Apple enthusiasts, but still, the qualified or interested target audience is limited. Furthermore, I can grab my iPod and listen to it or watch it anywhere; it does not depend on being attached to a computer for operation. The iTV is now yet another device that is added to the already extensive home theater arsenal, defeating the idea of convergence.

A Mac Mini can do the same thing the iTV can, albeit at a higher price. You can find numerous how-to pages all over the Web helping you set up a Mac Mini as the center of your home entertainment. Wait, it also has a CD/DVD player, you can attach a TV tuner to it, it runs fairly quietly, consumes low levels of power, and is compatible with the Apple Remote. You can also surf the Web on it. With all those features, and if I can download iTunes content onto it, then I am having a hard time buying into the iTV idea. It is basically a bulkier, non-portable iPod.

Do a better job selling this one to me, Apple.