I checked the AppleTV page, and it says that you need a widescreen TV to use it. My family doesn't happen to own a widescreen TV, nor does my family have any plans to buy a new TV anytime soon. Does this mean I won't be able to use the AppleTV?
Jacqui: Is this HDTV only? Does it just scale down if hooked up to a regular TV?
Apple Employee: Yes, HDTV only. Yes, it just scales down on a regular TV.
Yeah, I didnt get this either. It must be true though, otherwise apple would not have written 'widescreen only' ...that is a bummer. I wonder why. I understand the component cables but not all component TVs are widescreen.
I thought that too. Maybe the representative was miss informed thinking it was still HD because it was just being scaled down. It is still sending a signal through the component cables, they might have thought that was an HD signal.
It is a strech... but it could be an easy mistake.
It sounds like a typical sales response. It probably doesn't work properly on SDTV, so that you're either missing video or seeing a lot of black surrounding it.
I had a similar question because I have an SDTV with a component input. It would seem like I could use an Apple TV just not in HD, but I don't want to drop the $300 if this in not possible. Hopefully this is cleared up soon.
It doesn't have composite output, I can't even hook it up to any of my SDTV's, and I don't have an HDTV.
Stupid, stupid move on Apple's part. They offer ZERO content in HD (only photos), but make the streaming device HD only because it can't plug in to a regular TV.