New Apple TV ad

[Rocketman]

New Apple TV ad just spotted on CNBC 6:45am pacific.

It mentions on your iPod, now on your TV. Uses "School of Rock" as the playing content.

One of the better Apple ads because it shows BENEFITS not merely imagery.

Apple website uses similar clip:

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

Rocketman

[Rocketman]

I have a 10mb mpg of the commercial. Can I ftp/email it to macrumors.com for mirroring?

Rocketman

[RustyM]

Sweet! It'd probably be easier to through it up on youtube.

[bill4588]

i just saw it on MTV. very nice.

[srobert]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(

":apple:TV" is a no go
"Apple TV" gets you mostly other Apple products or non Apple TV sets
"ATV" gets you mostly stuff about all-terrain vehicles.

[Karpfish]

saw it on espn earlier, tought it was great.

[bearbo]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(

":apple:TV" is a no go
"Apple TV" gets you mostly other Apple products or non Apple TV sets
"ATV" gets you mostly stuff about all-terrain vehicles.

what about appletv?

[psycoswimmer]

i just saw it on MTV. very nice.

I also just saw it on MTV. :) I submitted it to MR if you already hadn't.

[thegoldenmackid]

i just saw it too, it could be my young age, but it seemed like a different commercial, a type that I can't remember seeing from apple.

[Soundburst]

Will anyone post a video of it because us U.K ones don't get any exciting Apple things over in these parts.

[srobert]

what about appletv?

Never thought of trying "AppleTV" all in one word (Apple write it in two words). Gets me lots of interesting results in google. Not so much on youtube. Thanks nonetheless. (Still can't find the ad)

[Peace]

I have a 10mb mpg of the commercial. Can I ftp/email it to macrumors.com for mirroring?

Rocketman

If you have :

Toast
Handbrake
QT Pro :

Do the following :

Use Toast to burn a DVD except save it as a disk image

Double click on the Toast file that was produced.It will mount like a normal DVD.

Use handbrake to export it in MP4

Open it with QT Pro and export as Apple TV

This will bring the size down to about 10-15megs

[Max Payne]

Good ad...

[localoid]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(

"Apple TV" gets you mostly other Apple products or non Apple TV sets


Quotation marks ("<insert search phrase here>") are your friends! (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-39,GGGL:en&q=&#37;22apple+tv%22) ;)

[Rocketman]

I have uploaded the shot I took of the screen to Google videos. At least you can see the whole ad this way. Shot with a SonyDSC-P10 :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3277621145369226962

Sorry for the delay, I had to WORK :(

Rocketman

[thedude110]

So, smooth product integration. And wonderful use of image and music. That's nice.

But I think the general reaction to this ad would be "Why is my TV my computer monitor when it's my TV?"

I'd hope there are more ... clear ads in the offing.

[Soundburst]

Thanks Rocketman , much appreciated. :)

[nagromme]

But I think the general reaction to this ad would be "Why is my TV my computer monitor when it's my TV?"

I didn't understand your question, but I understood the ad :p

Apple TV is a product that needs explaining of the basic concept, so this style of ad makes sense.

AppleInsider has a clip:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/04/09/surprise_ad_for_apple_tv_begins_airing_on_networks.html
(Say.... that clip looks familiar... thanks, Rocketman.)

[longofest]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple has begun airing a new ad for its newly released Apple TV. The ad has not yet been posted to Apple's website, but forum member Rocketman was able to capture the ad using his Sony DSC-P10 camcorder and post it to Google Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3277621145369226962).

Additional reader reports indicate that the ad is airing on multiple networks, including CNBC, ESPN, and MTV.


[ Digg This (http://digg.com/apple/Apple_TV_Ad_Airs) ]

[Irish1978]

I love School of Rock and :apple: TV!!!!

[RedDragon870503]

It is very "un-Apple" like I'd say. ie. no awkward dancing or completely white backgrounds.

That said, it is still a nice simple worthwhile ad.

Drew

[BigPrince]

Quick question:

Did you see the ad already and felt it was coming again or do you regularly have your camcorder on-standby for the off chance there might be an Apple Commercial or how the hell did you know?

[xUKHCx]

Pretty good ad and nice catch. The guys voice is a bit annoying.

[Rocketman]

I love School of Rock and :apple: TV!!!!

Agreed. I am also glad macrumors got the scoop on the ad being shown and viewing it on the internet :)

For the how'd you do that crowd, I have DVR on my satellite box and I replayed it and captured it by a means I consider quite neandratal. I have never even hooked that "ecosystem" to my Mac "ecosystem". There is probably a dirt easy way to do it too.

Rocketman

[jer446]

finally- a decent ad from apple. The apple computer ads are, yea "cute" but thats because i know what they are talking about. Why cant they simply state in a commercial, with this computer, you dont have to worry about viruses etc., and avoid the whole im a mac, im a pc thing. People are stupid, and i feel most people don't understand half of apples ads. This one is better than most of theirs..

[queshy]

Great ad - it really shows how the Apple TV fits into the rest of the product line. When will apple post a higher quality version?

[Anonymous Freak]

It's on your computer. It's on your iPod. Now it's on your TV.

You mean......

I can watch movies and TV shows on my TV now?!?!?!?

What an amazing idea!!!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

[bogg]

Quick question:

Did you see the ad already and felt it was coming again or do you regularly have your camcorder on-standby for the off chance there might be an Apple Commercial or how the hell did you know?

My Guess:

One DVR set up to use timeshift and a rewind button...

[queshy]

You mean......

I can watch movies and TV shows on my TV now?!?!?!?

What an amazing idea!!!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Lol, I suppose you're right. That's not what they meant though.

And Apple TV is pretty much useless for people in Canada.

[Zolk]

For an Apple ad, this is dull and uninteresting.

[jonharris200]

Thumbs up for this one, good ad! :)

[jonharris200]

Thumbs up for this one, it's a simple ad for a sometimes hard to understand product. Well done Apple! :)

[longofest]

Agreed. I am also glad macrumors got the scoop on the ad being shown and viewing it on the internet :)

For the how'd you do that crowd, I have DVR on my satellite box and I replayed it and captured it by a means I consider quite neandratal. I have never even hooked that "ecosystem" to my Mac "ecosystem". There is probably a dirt easy way to do it too.

Rocketman

Thanks for putting up the file!

[psychofreak]

Mmm....wasn't it just a while ago:

Its on your TV, now its on the iTS

[Rod Rod]

And Apple TV is pretty much useless for people in Canada.
No, in Canada you just have to comply with can-con (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content) so the mounties (http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/1982/images/brian-mountie.jpg) don't come galloping (http://www.rcco-ottawa.ca/Convention/ncc-mountie.jpg) after you.

Converting video for the Apple TV works north of the border, so don't worry.

[hob]

I like the ad. I wish the Mac ad's were more like this. "Keep it simple, stupid".

[Kingsly]

I would've faded into the real recording of that song when the :apple: TV is shown... more of a kick to it, places more focus on the product. Staying with Jack Black's solo was a poor move, IMO. :o

[EricNau]

For an Apple ad, this is dull and uninteresting.
I agree. It's not creative, plus, it doesn't do a good job of explaining the product. In fact, from that ad, I'm not even sure what the product is...

That ad will leave most totally clueless.

Apple should have said "stream movies from your computer to your TV, wirelessly" at the end (or something of similar nature).

[chubad]

Keep Chillin'. Apple will post it on their web site soon. :D :apple:

[gkarris]

It's on your computer. It's on your iPod. Now it's on your TV.

Yep, and you all have to watch the same thing at the same time (sort of like digital satellite with one receiver)...;)

[Rocketman]

I agree. It's not creative, plus, it doesn't do a good job of explaining the product. In fact, from that ad, I'm not even sure what the product is...

That ad will leave most totally clueless.

Apple should have said "stream movies from your computer to your TV, wirelessly" at the end (or something of similar nature).

I am going to take the counterpoint on this one.

The recent news that Apple has sold 100,000,000 iPods is a major factor in the "halo effect" to Macs. So it makes sense to "bookend" the successful iPod product with the company's prime product, the Mac, and their newest mass-market product, the Apple TV. It seems the next "bookend" just might be some sort of multifunction device with phone, music, productivity and innovative communication applications installed on it.

Rocketman

[psychofreak]

I think it points out name inconsistency:

iMac, iPod, appleTV

at least it wasn't: MacBook, iPod, appleTV

[diehardmacfan]

notice how apple is making their ads for more consumer products more like other commercials on TV
apple's commericals used to be very simple not using any real footage
apple is switching over to attract the general market of customers

GO APPLE:apple: :)

[bigandy]

It is very "un-Apple" like I'd say. ie. no awkward dancing or completely white backgrounds.

That said, it is still a nice simple worthwhile ad.

Drew

notice how apple is making their ads for more consumer products more like other commercials on TV
apple's commericals used to be very simple not using any real footage
apple is switching over to attract the general market of customers

GO APPLE:apple: :)

Remember the original iPod adverts?

Apple had some fantastic adverts before the whole silhouette thing. Which was a phase - they're already slowly moving away from it, by the introduction of colours/etc.

I don't think this is "like other consumer product ads", or "un-Apple".

But, yeah, like all ads they do, it's good :)

[torero]

The ad points out how un-revolutionary the appletv is, but hopes the ipod craze will make people think they need it.

A movie on your tv? How about showing us something new? Like Youtube on your tv, or streamed movie rentals to your tv, or an email receive alert on your tv... all very basic stuff that truly moves the computer to the living room.

[TheSlush]

One of the better Apple ads because it shows BENEFITS not merely imagery.

Funny... that's the very thing that, to me, makes this Apple ad feel more "normal" and less memorable than usual for Apple.

Years from now, people will still remember the iPod silhouette commercials and the "Think Different" ads (no product benefits mentioned). But I doubt that they will remember this commercial.

[matticus008]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(
...the Apple TV website is the first result in Google.

EDIT: you should always use quotes around product names when searching for information on them. In this case, it doesn't matter, because the website is first either way.


But I think the general reaction to this ad would be "Why is my TV my computer monitor when it's my TV?"
That's not part of the ad; that's part of Rocketman's house. The commercial was filmed on a camera, not captured as output.
I agree. It's not creative, plus, it doesn't do a good job of explaining the product. In fact, from that ad, I'm not even sure what the product is...
Odd. Seems painfully obvious to me. It's iTunes on your TV. iPod commercials don't need to show people syncing their libraries over cables for people to understand.
Apple should have said "stream movies from your computer to your TV, wirelessly" at the end (or something of similar nature).
Well, "stream" is a word that lots of people don't understand, and you don't have to do it wirelessly. Adding that statement would detract from the commercial. It's really very simple. "If it's on iTunes, it's on your TV" gets the job done pretty well. You need a network of some sort and at least component input, but people will figure that out when they start researching it. It's an ad, not a users' guide.

[psychofreak]

The ad points out how un-revolutionary the appletv is, but hopes the ipod craze will make people think they need it.

A movie on your tv? How about showing us something new? Like Youtube on your tv, or streamed movie rentals to your tv, or an email receive alert on your tv... all very basic stuff that truly moves the computer to the living room.

There is already an RSS hack...hopefully Apple will take that onboard, make it official and improve on it...

[Darkroom]

No, in Canada you just have to comply with can-con (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content) so the mounties (http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/1982/images/brian-mountie.jpg) don't come galloping (http://www.rcco-ottawa.ca/Convention/ncc-mountie.jpg) after you.

Converting video for the Apple TV works north of the border, so don't worry.

uh... i think what the previous member meant about AppleTV being useless for Canada is that here in Canada we can't buy movies / tv shows from iTunes...

[kuebby]

I agree, this commercial isn't as memorable as other Apple ads, but that's not the point. At this point they want people to understand what this does. They didn't start in 2001 with the dancing iPod ads, they waited until it was recognizable by anyone watching tv.

[TC2COOL]

I think it points out name inconsistency:

iMac, iPod, appleTV

at least it wasn't: MacBook, iPod, appleTV

The question should be, Why should Apple make all their products 'iThis' or 'MacThat'? Stepping away from the 'iPrefix' may not be so bad; iVariety.

[nichos]

uh... i think what the previous member meant about AppleTV being useless for Canada is that here in Canada we can't buy movies / tv shows from iTunes...

uh...i think rod rod was making a joke, laugh:D

[marvinsum]

I agree, this commercial isn't as memorable as other Apple ads, but that's not the point. At this point they want people to understand what this does. They didn't start in 2001 with the dancing iPod ads, they waited until it was recognizable by anyone watching tv.

It doesn't really explain how it works, does it? I think most consumers will be left scratching their heads wondering what it actually does.

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Not positive if someone here already asked but...

...is that Jim from The Office speaking!?!?!?!?

[Rod Rod]

uh... i think what the previous member meant about AppleTV being useless for Canada is that here in Canada we can't buy movies / tv shows from iTunes...

uh...i think rod rod was making a joke, laugh:D

Yup, it was a joke! I'm sure it matters for some people in Canada that they can't buy movies or TV shows on iTunes. However, the Apple TV is not useless in Canada.

Most people find it easy to convert their music for iTunes (and the iPod). Converting video for iTunes (and the Apple TV) is easy too.

The vast majority of the 100 million iPods sold have never played a song from the iTunes store, even in countries where the iTunes store operates. Being precluded from an online store does not kill the usefulness of the device.

[Rocketman]

It doesn't really explain how it works, does it? I think most consumers will be left scratching their heads wondering what it actually does.

Again the counterpoint.

The "market" for Apple TV is iTunes users, 99% of which are (now fully trained) iPod users. The marketing pitch for Apple TV is simple for a reason. The market for Apple TV is those (now fully trained) iTunes users who want to view video content on their TV or Biga$$ TV.

Since they now sell the aforementioned TV's in Wal-Mart, I find it believable to presume the market for Apple TV is at minimum larger than the market for Macs (800,000 per quarter), and at maximum, 40% of the 100,000,000 iPod installed base.

Rocketman

[twoodcc]

pretty cool ad. hopefully it'll be on apple's website soon...

[EricNau]

Odd. Seems painfully obvious to me. It's iTunes on your TV. iPod commercials don't need to show people syncing their libraries over cables for people to understand.
The problem lies in the last sentence: it confusing. Perhaps Apple's statement should be "It's on your computer. It's on your iPod. And now you can play it on your TV." Not, "Now it's on your TV," because in reality, most of the content available through iTunes was "on my TV" before it was on iTunes.

Most consumers will probably watch this ad, scratch their heads, and say "of course LOST is on my TV - it always has been." :confused:

[penter]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(

":apple:TV" is a no go
"Apple TV" gets you mostly other Apple products or non Apple TV sets
"ATV" gets you mostly stuff about all-terrain vehicles.

how do you make the apple symbol???

and yes, i did think that this would generate an issue, since the name is apple(SYMBOL)TV, and not Apple(NAME)TV. I guess it will eventually work itself out, tho.

[RedDragon870503]

*not like the Apple ads we've seen in the past several years.

[Avatar74]

The question should be, Why should Apple make all their products 'iThis' or 'MacThat'? Stepping away from the 'iPrefix' may not be so bad; iVariety.

This is an excellent observation. With the saturation of me-too "i"-this and "i"-that products, there exists the potential for the branding to become meaningless and easily confused.

Today, every facial tissue is called "Kleenex" by the public. This is good and bad. When someone thinks of Kleenex, there's only a fraction of a chance that they're going to buy that actual brand at the store. They may buy any number of inferior brands.

This type of association is great for products that are 2nd or 3rd in the marketplace, but never good for products that dominate since there's nowhere for that association to pull them but down.

Apple shouldn't want their products to be lost in the sea of "i"-everythings... it's time to move on and in a way, the :apple: branding is a means of differentiation that no one else can copy. Not only is the logo convenient for truncating the name for easy mention in advertising and other mentions, but it's an extremely smart protection on Apple's part. There are many ways a company can call a product "Apple" something since the word itself is not trademarkable...

However, the bitten-Apple logo IS a trademark, and no product can copy it legally. This type of branding strategy ensures that their product will be remembered as a uniquely Apple, Inc. product and guarantees that no me-too products will be able to dilute the perceived brand value.

Last, the :apple: logo reinforces in every mention on an ad, on a blog, in a news piece, etc. the identity of the company that brings these technologies to the consumer. Sure, it's inconsistent with iPod and iMac, but if Madonna's career in the 80's is any proof of the power of constantly re-inventing one's identity, then it should be evident that Apple, whose product introductions keep setting competitors behind 5 or more years, is taking a direction to keep five steps ahead in the branding game. Given that Apple's name is readily identifiable as the single most admired brand across all product categories and is identified by the general public as synonymous with quality and ease of use, differentiating their corporate brand identity is a very critical component in their ability to command the kind of margins they do and continue to be extremely profitable despite economies of scale.

[psychofreak]

The question should be, Why should Apple make all their products 'iThis' or 'MacThat'? Stepping away from the 'iPrefix' may not be so bad; iVariety.

This ad is aided by the 'halo effect', and using the same prefix emphasises that...

[weev]

Is that Rock School?

It looks bloody funny, I think I gotta go rent that.

My verdict on the ad - nice and quirky.

[matticus008]

The problem lies in the last sentence: it confusing. Perhaps Apple's statement should be "It's on your computer. It's on your iPod. And now you can play it on your TV." Not, "Now it's on your TV," because in reality, most of the content available through iTunes was "on my TV" before it was on iTunes.
Yeah, and most of the audio content on iTunes was on your stereo before it was on an iPod, which gets plugged right back into the stereo. So what? The iPod content still comes from iTunes, just like the AppleTV's video content comes from iTunes.

You didn't have iTunes files on your TV before. Now you can, without having to resort to an iPod or a full computer in the living room. Yeah, you could always watch it on your TV in the first place--but then you wouldn't be watching iTunes content.

There's no material difference between the two phrases. It's absurd to pick apart a 30 second advertisement when the message is simple and clear.

Your iTunes library, on your computer, is now available on your television. Just like you can put it onto an iPod, you can put it on an Apple TV. That's it.

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Is that Rock School?

It looks bloody funny, I think I gotta go rent that.

My verdict on the ad - nice and quirky.

School of Rock!

[EricNau]

Yeah, and most of the audio content on iTunes was on your stereo before it was on an iPod, which gets plugged right back into the stereo. So what? The iPod content still comes from iTunes, just like the AppleTV's video content comes from iTunes.

You didn't have iTunes files on your TV before. Now you can, without having to resort to an iPod or a full computer in the living room. Yeah, you could always watch it on your TV in the first place--but then you wouldn't be watching iTunes content.

There's no material difference between the two phrases. It's absurd to pick apart a 30 second advertisement when the message is simple and clear.

Your iTunes library, on your computer, is now available on your television. Just like you can put it onto an iPod, you can put it on an Apple TV. That's it.
Funny, you mentioned iTunes quite a bit, yet for some strange reason the ad never says iTunes.

[queshy]

Converting stuff for the apple tv would be a pain though, people in the US have it way easier (i.e. buy an episode from the itunes store)

[matticus008]

Funny, you mentioned iTunes quite a bit, yet for some strange reason the ad never says iTunes.
And commercials about the Internet tend not to mention web browsers. Again, it's not a user manual. You've got content on your computer (if you've got a Mac, it's in iTunes; if you have a PC, there's still a strong chance it's in iTunes), you've got content on your iPod (how did it get there? iTunes). iPod commercials don't talk about iTunes anymore because people already understand how iPods work.

If you don't understand iPods, what are the chances you've got a widescreen TV and lots of media on your computer? Commercials about digital cameras don't have to explain plugging in your camera, launching the photo software, importing, and then clicking print. They tend to show people taking pictures and printers spitting them out. People learn the "how" and the caveats when they do research on the products.

[AliensAreFuzzy]

Just saw it on Discovery Channel. I thought it was pretty good. Different from most Apple ads.

[LtRammstein]

I don't know if it has been mentioned, but I saw the ad on Discovery Channel.

Steve

Edit: HAHA! Wow, what great timing, eh? Is it me or does Discovery Channel have some great commercials, mainly Deadliest Catch and Planet Earth?

[Object-X]

How am I ever supposed to see the AppleTV add on my AppleTV? ;)

[EricNau]

And commercials about the Internet tend not to mention web browsers. Again, it's not a user manual. You've got content on your computer (if you've got a Mac, it's in iTunes; if you have a PC, there's still a strong chance it's in iTunes), you've got content on your iPod (how did it get there? iTunes). iPod commercials don't talk about iTunes anymore because people already understand how iPods work.

If you don't understand iPods, what are the chances you've got a widescreen TV and lots of media on your computer? Commercials about digital cameras don't have to explain plugging in your camera, launching the photo software, importing, and then clicking print. They tend to show people taking pictures and printers spitting them out. People learn the "how" and the caveats when they do research on the products.
So, Apple should hope everyone in their target audience is clever enough to read between the lines? ...Sure, most may be able to, but should Apple take the chance of loosing a few sales?

What is the downside to being slightly more descriptive? ...There are even ways Apple could have given a better message in the same amount of words:

Instead of saying "It's on your computer..." they could have said "You bought it off iTunes." ...A simple change such as that makes it much clearer. It answers the question of "What's on my computer and how did it get there?" and describes exactly what the AppleTV does without complicating the ad.


Sure, the ad works as it is now, but it could have been much better.

[Rocketman]

Funny, you mentioned iTunes quite a bit, yet for some strange reason the ad never says iTunes.

It doesn't have to. It presumes it.

Is your "hobby" activity just as presumptive?

Rocketman

[Rocketman]

What is the downside to being slightly more descriptive? ..

This is about as descriptive as they have ever been. They at least showed real products in real use and closed with an image of the primary promoted product.

Rocketman

[05elstonc]

Not positive if someone here already asked but...

...is that Jim from The Office speaking!?!?!?!?

It sure does sound like him. Not sure. I would love for him to be the new voice of apple. Better than Jeff Goldbloom.

[Phobophobia]

You bought it from from iTunes, and then synced it to your ipod from your computer using a USB cable. Now you can put it on your tv through your network and play it from the Apple TV's hard drive and watch in amazement as the picture is magically transferred through cable connected to the back of the apple tv. it costs 299. buy it. go to the store and buy it. apple made it. apple the company. not literally an apple.

If forum members did Apple's advertising.

[boxandrew]

solipsism over on AppleInsider has suggested that this ad may be the start of an overall increase in marketing designed to coincide with the introduction of more HD content (tomorrow?) to the iTunes store.

Although it's pretty speculative, I like this idea. Could it be true...?

[lazyrighteye]

One of Apples best ads to date.

Stylistically, very different for them.
Illustrates some complicated information in a very digestible way, while leaving the viewer curious. Not an easy task and done (here) about as well as anyone I've seen.

What agency did Apple work with?

Thanks.

[nagromme]

You bought it from from iTunes, and then synced it to your ipod from your computer using a USB cable. Now you can put it on your tv through your network and play it from the Apple TV's hard drive and watch in amazement as the picture is magically transferred through cable connected to the back of the apple tv. it costs 299. buy it. go to the store and buy it. apple made it. apple the company. not literally an apple.

If forum members did Apple's advertising.

Nice :D You're onto something! To REALLY please MR's ad execs, the ad must also attempt to illustrate OX's finely detailed user interface despite the limited time and the low resolution of TV broadcasts.

[05elstonc]

Apple's Agency of Record is Chiat/Day.

[thedude110]

That's not part of the ad; that's part of Rocketman's house. The commercial was filmed on a camera, not captured as output.

Yes. My point is that the ad transfers a moving image directly from an iMac to a TV. Which I think will likely leave the uninitiated thinking "Why is my TV my computer? I want to watch TV on my computer, I don't want to watch my computer on my TV." etc.

[swingerofbirch]

Could anyone else tell if that was John Krasinki narrating the commercial?

It kinda sounded like him, but just going from the google vid sound is hard to tell, he narrated Ask.com commercials a while back.

[PODshady]

I just saw it on CBS (KMOV - St. Louis)

[rtdunham]

You bought it from from iTunes, and then synced it to your ipod from your computer using a USB cable. Now you can put it on your tv through your network and play it from the Apple TV's hard drive and watch in amazement as the picture is magically transferred through cable connected to the back of the apple tv. it costs 299. buy it. go to the store and buy it. apple made it. apple the company. not literally an apple.

If forum members did Apple's advertising.

well done! :)

[Luigi239]

Not to act like a nub, but what the heck is that song? I have been trying to remember the name of it all day.

[matticus008]

Not to act like a nub, but what the heck is that song? I have been trying to remember the name of it all day.
Smoke on the Water.
Yes. My point is that the ad transfers a moving image directly from an iMac to a TV. Which I think will likely leave the uninitiated thinking "Why is my TV my computer? I want to watch TV on my computer, I don't want to watch my computer on my TV." etc.
I really don't think people are that stupid. The same movie being carried across without losing any time is a visual effect meant to evoke the "seamlessness" of it all. It's well established in marketing and advertising, just like those HP commercials with the white picture frames or the old Intel commercials that showed little people walking around in a microprocessor city inside the computer.

It really is just an ad--a piece of audiovisual artistry meant to make people aware of the product. It's not necessary to explain how it works or what the requirements are or to hand-hold Luddites.

It's meant for people who have iPods and HDTVs already and understand how to use them. Any third grader can figure it out.

[dante@sisna.com]

Great Ad -- Really Leverages the iPod Brand.

This will really get the AppleTV engine cranking.

I need to find the funds to buy one.

[wordmunger]

I need to find the funds to buy one.

Well, first I need to save up for a wide screen TV. Then I'll have to decide whether it's worth it to pay $10 for movies I can get for $3.99 on my TiVo. I think I'll pass.

[msandersen]

I have a 10mb mpg of the commercial.
If you have :
Toast
Handbrake
QT Pro :

Do the following :
Use Toast to burn a DVD except save it as a disk image
Double click on the Toast file that was produced.It will mount like a normal DVD.
Use handbrake to export it in MP4
Open it with QT Pro and export as Apple TV

This will bring the size down to about 10-15megs
All that work for nothing :D

[Swarmlord]

It's a good ad. Microsoft only wishes that their product tied things together as seemlessly as that. :)

[keys]

Just saw the ad on Discovery Channel. What brand of widescreen TV are they using for the ad?

[Rocketman]

It's a good ad. Microsoft only wishes that their product tied things together as seemlessly as that. :)

I do believe this is the very first ad that ties together the majority of the Apple product line. Has Steevie given in to the "man"?

Rocketman

[EricNau]

I do believe this is the very first ad that ties together the majority of the Apple product line. Has Steevie given in to the "man"?

Rocketman
Don't forget about the first iPod ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ve8LxTpXQ

[eXan]

Yup, it was a joke! I'm sure it matters for some people in Canada that they can't buy movies or TV shows on iTunes. However, the Apple TV is not useless in Canada.

Most people find it easy to convert their music for iTunes (and the iPod). Converting video for iTunes (and the Apple TV) is easy too.

The vast majority of the 100 million iPods sold have never played a song from the iTunes store, even in countries where the iTunes store operates. Being precluded from an online store does not kill the usefulness of the device.

Agree

[ibook30]

You bought it from from iTunes, and then synced it to your ipod from your computer using a USB cable. Now you can put it on your tv through your network and play it from the Apple TV's hard drive and watch in amazement as the picture is magically transferred through cable connected to the back of the apple tv. it costs 299. buy it. go to the store and buy it. apple made it. apple the company. not literally an apple.

If forum members did Apple's advertising.

Nicely said.

"not literally an apple." I never thought of it that way. Yer right. Some of these machines could have come from another fruit tree.

[Epicurus]

What brand of widescreen TV are they using for the ad?

its one of the newer Sony BRAVIA LCD sets

[D3LM3L]

Sorry if someone has already posted this, but Apple updated their homepage now with a short clip saying thanks.

http://www.apple.com/

[briansolomon]

eh, its alright. quick and uninspiring, but really what can you do to evoke emotion from an apple tv?

[summero]

WOOOO! I just saw the commercial on MTV haha.

[polishmacuser]

nice commercial but i just wish the video quality was that good on the tv or better

[Westside guy]

Seemed rather boring, and not compelling at all. Looks like they're targeting those people my age that listen to "classic rock" and are afraid of anything that's too new and different. :D

It just didn't feel like an Apple commercial to me...

[sminman]

nice commercial but i just wish the video quality was that good on the tv or better

Maybe Apple will start selling HD movies and TV shows tomorrow on iTunes?

One can only hope...:rolleyes:

[iMacZealot]

Just saw it on the Tonight Show on KUSA - 9News. Odd because I turned my head to the TV about half a second before it came on.

Cool iPod thing on the homepage, too. I might have to make it my avatar because the PowerPC thing was funny at first, but it's a little boring now.

[yg17]

So far I've found :apple:TV is one of the hardest brand name to querry on the internet (google, youtube, etc) so you get relevant results. :(

":apple:TV" is a no go
"Apple TV" gets you mostly other Apple products or non Apple TV sets
"ATV" gets you mostly stuff about all-terrain vehicles.

Huh? What search engine are you using? I googled "Apple TV" and the very first result was Apple's site. Every other result on that page was relevant to the :apple:TV

[filman408]

It's nice to hear a familiar voice - John Krasinski.

[Renovatio]

Good ad! Glad to see more Apple advertising during prime-time!

In case anyone is interested in seeing better resolution than YouTube I have captured a full 1920x1080 HD version of the ad and uploaded it here:

http://www.eaglegfx.com/AppleTVCommercial.mov

Enjoy :cool:

[imacdaddy]

And Apple TV is pretty much useless for people in Canada. There's no iTunes Store in Hong Kong but I find many great uses for the ATV. Five uses actually.

1) Thousands of photos I have on my Mac can now be viewed on my TV.
2) Will rip all my DVD collection and sell the originals to free up cabinet space.
3) Stream all my music to my home stereo in the living room instead of listening to them on my Mac in another room. I use to hook up my iPod but that solution has made the iPod battery life worse! I've ripped all and got rid of boxes of CDs.
4) Encode all my Karaoke dvds/vcds and have them in a complete and organised list. It's much better than to keep changing disks to the songs you want to sing. Keeps the mood alive. I hope Apple will update the iTunes/ATV to allow TV Episode Playlists. If it's there, I haven't explored it.
5) Helps me manage my content wisely and efficiently my Mac. Before the files were "just there". Now they come to life.

[Multimedia]

Good ad! Glad to see more Apple advertising during prime-time!

In case anyone is interested in seeing better resolution than YouTube I have captured a full 1920x1080 HD version of the ad and uploaded it here:

http://www.eaglegfx.com/AppleTVCommercial.mov

Enjoy :cool:Thank you. Would you mind sharing how you recorded and converted it - i.e. your workflow with what software please?

Man that is PERFECT work. My EyeTV Recording is 60MB. Excellent quality and only 26.4MB.

[dante@sisna.com]

Well, first I need to save up for a wide screen TV. Then I'll have to decide whether it's worth it to pay $10 for movies I can get for $3.99 on my TiVo. I think I'll pass.

I won't Pass -- I have no TiVo. Want to cancel my Cable and prefer to own my movies.

Factoring all this in, no late fees, no monthly subscriptions (like the Netflix I NEVER used) and AppleTV is for me.

[eXan]

There's no iTunes Store in Hong Kong but I find many great uses for the ATV. Five uses actually.

1) Thousands of photos I have on my Mac can now be viewed on my TV.
2) Will rip all my DVD collection and sell the originals to free up cabinet space.
3) Stream all my music to my home stereo in the living room instead of listening to them on my Mac in another room. I use to hook up my iPod but that solution has made the iPod battery life worse! I've ripped all and got rid of boxes of CDs.
4) Encode all my Karaoke dvds/vcds and have them in a complete and organised list. It's much better than to keep changing disks to the songs you want to sing. Keeps the mood alive. I hope Apple will update the iTunes/ATV to allow TV Episode Playlists. If it's there, I haven't explored it.
5) Helps me manage my content wisely and efficiently my Mac. Before the files were "just there". Now they come to life.

1. Yes, photos would be nice for too, I'm not sure though if :apple: TV supports Aperture library
2. I dont have many DVDs, but I do have about 15-20 GBs of movies (700MB-1.3 GB each), so being able to play them on TV without hassle can help :). But I use my iPod for this purpose now, I keep 3-5 most recent movies on it and watch them on my SDTV (my iPod is docked near my TV-stereo system).
3. I use AirPort Express now for this. Used to play music through iPod, but stream it now when we got another APE. Why did your battery got worse? You dont have iPod pluged in to power while playing music?

:)

[aLoC]

It's a bad ad I think. At no point does it mention the fact that the "it" that was on your computer and iPod and is now on your TV is iTunes. People will think "Oh, video on my TV? How revolutionary. Scoff."

The Apple TV should have been called the iTunes TV in the first place, to lessen confusion.

[MrSmith]

To me that ad screams, "You, too, can have a dysfunctional family". Whatever happened to the family watching a movie together?

[Evangelion]

Yup, it was a joke! I'm sure it matters for some people in Canada that they can't buy movies or TV shows on iTunes. However, the Apple TV is not useless in Canada.

Most people find it easy to convert their music for iTunes (and the iPod). Converting video for iTunes (and the Apple TV) is easy too.

How do people rip music from CD's to iTunes? I don't recall the exact procedure, but isn't it basically just few mouse-clicks away? Does iTues offer similar method for ripping movies from DVD's? No it does not. You need to use third-party tools. And the actual ripping and conversion takes hours (correct?), whereas ripping music takes just minutes. Also, it should be noted that ripping those movies is illegal. And, ripping music produces a copy that is almost 1:1 identical to the original. How about movies? does the copy contain the DVD-menu's, subtitles etc.?

No, ripping movies to iTunes is nowhere near as easy as ripping music to iTunes. Music-ripping is something anyone could do. Ripping movies goes well beyond the means of many computer-users.

Being precluded from an online store does not kill the usefulness of the device.

No it does not. Especially if we are talking about music. But movies and tv-shows? Geeks might enjoy ripping their DVD's to iTunes. Joe Sixpack would not enjoy it. The process is nowhere as easy as ripping music.

[nagromme]

To me that ad screams, "You, too, can have a dysfunctional family". Whatever happened to the family watching a movie together?

That's what I thought from the YouTube clip--three people not on speaking terms. But thanks to Renovatio's HD clip, I can see it's the same guy in every scene. The message is more, "You too can despair alone in a big empty house with your toys, never glancing at the sunny world outside."

[Evangelion]

To me that ad screams, "You, too, can have a dysfunctional family". Whatever happened to the family watching a movie together?

Well, I really like Shaun of the Dead but the Mrs. hates it. I also like Star Trek, but the Mrs. hates it. Bladerunner? Same thing. Band of Brothers? Same. Monty Python? No-go. Black Adder? Nope.

Notice a pattern here? Yes, there are movies and tv-shows we both enjoy. But there are loads of movies and tv-shows that only one of us enjoys. And sometimes I might just want to watch something she's not that interested in (and vice versa).

And no, me and Mrs. liking different movies and tv-shows does not mean that we are "dysfunctional family". since when does the taste in movies and tv-shows imply the "functionality" of a family? Does watching television together imply a "functional family"? Are we supposed to define a functional and dysfunctional families through their television-habits? Yes, gathering around and passively sitting in front of a screen is a clear sing of a "functional family".

[eXan]

How do people rip music from CD's to iTunes? I don't recall the exact procedure, but isn't it basically just few mouse-clicks away? Does iTues offer similar method for ripping movies from DVD's? No it does not. You need to use third-party tools. And the actual ripping and conversion takes hours (correct?), whereas ripping music takes just minutes. Also, it should be noted that ripping those movies is illegal.

Ripping music is also illegal, you know? Go read the text on the back of any legal CD box.

[Renovatio]

Thank you. Would you mind sharing how you recorded and converted it - i.e. your workflow with what software please?

Man that is PERFECT work. My EyeTV Recording is 60MB. Excellent quality and only 26.4MB.

No problem ... took a little trial and error to get a compressed+good quality clip ... here was my process:

• EyeTV Hybrid recording exported to "MPEG Program Stream"
• Opened the MPEG file in MPEGStreamclip
• Export to Quicktime Movie:
- Compression: H.264
- Limit Data Rate: 6000Kbps
- Unscaled frame size
- Deinterlace video

All in all took about 15 minutes on my 3Ghz Mac Pro (probably less if I was babysitting it) Funny because exporting with the H.264 codec and 80% quality with multipass took three times as long and the video looked like crap.

Hope that is helpful :)

[Renovatio]

Ripping music is also illegal, you know? Go read the text on the back of any legal CD box.

Not to start a debate about the legalities ... but I believe when Evangelion referred to movie ripping being illegal it is because you are actually breaking encryption in the DVD-ripping process ... which is black and white illegal.

CD's are a bit more fuzzy because the only thing that is technically "illegal" is the "copying and distribution of copyrighted content" ... meaning that if you are ripping the CD to your own library you are not doing anything wrong ... which is why Apple can provide support for it in iTunes without record company lawsuits.

So essentially the only difference is the encryption-breaking vs. not. If movies did not have encryption, I am sure we would have better access to convert them to our private media libraries because such a process would not be illegal.

I could be totally wrong, and I am not a lawyer ... but this is my best interpretation of the law.

[Evangelion]

Ripping music is also illegal, you know? Go read the text on the back of any legal CD box.

Nope, don't see anything there. Besides, most CD's don't have copy-protection, whereas all DVD's do.

[psychofreak]

Nope, don't see anything there. Besides, most CD's don't have copy-protection, whereas all DVD's do.

Not all...

I have a DVD of my school play and guess what, its copy-protection free...

[surferfromuk]

This Ad indicates to me an’ emergency reaction scenario’ has been invoked within Apple - probably initiated by Steve - to jump start the Apple TV sales.

I’m thinking this is like the original Mac all over again in that it’s trying to ‘create’ or jump start a market rather than satisfy one that already exists. That’s why this ad is just so ‘we can’t spell it out any simpler than this - this is what it does’ - except already it suggests, superficially to me, that it’s ‘for mac users only’ - oh and mac users with an LCD Widescreen TV...

Things I’d still like to see to make this product fly ;

1: Black text over a nice textured white linen style backdrop maybe?. Can't one of my photo's be a 'TV backdrop' ??? Where are the kind of screen overlays and animation that appear in iDVD that make you go ‘wooh’. The graphics not as fun and varied as they should be for an Apple device. It wants a DOCK not a menu!!!. The dock is the best way of making ‘woooh’.

2: It needs a CD/DVD player. Most importantly it’s so you can actually REPLACE/(justify) a new piece of kit under your TV!. I'm going to be playing my DVD's for at least a decade yet!.

3: $50 cheaper but with 80gig HD. Yes, I know it’s a ‘streamer’ but people like to hoard stuff on their HD - why else do they buy ipods over cheap flash players...not everyone want to boot the mac to watch a movie..

4: Needs to support ordinary TV’s with a built in Scart or S-video out and clearly indicate 5.1 optical out!. Simple as that. It could be 10 years before the last SD TV get’s put in the junkyard...before that as the ‘living room’ TV get’s replaced the current CRT widescreen will be sent to the kids room and they are more likely than anyone to want an Apple TV, especially if it’s a cut down ‘mac-hack’ fun centre. HD is great but even Apple aren’t HD ready.

5: Full direct access to all of Apple Trailers (including legacy), Youtube and a ‘best of the web’ Apple hosted ‘made for TV viewing’ pick of the internet. Top 1&#37; of entertainment sites sort of thing ‘tweaked’ on the fly for TV viewing using the ‘web clips’ widget they’re developing.

6: logo the WORD name 'APPLETV' as one word to fix the google black hole before Apple TV get's sucked into it!. Suffix the product as an 'iStreamer' just in case that takes hold instead of Apple TV

If it has all this stuff I’d buy one ; and I’m a Mac and an ipod user.

...and the next Ad needs to show a mixed house - Mac and PC's streaming...a) to remove idea's of mac elitism b) to proove it's possible c) to awaken the PC users that this is something they might like

[Evangelion]

Not all...

I have a DVD of my school play and guess what, its copy-protection free...

Well excuse me, but I was talking about proper commercial DVD's, not some home-projects and the like. Sheesh...

[psychofreak]

Well excuse me, but I was talking about proper commercial DVD's, not some home-projects and the like. Sheesh...

Proper commercial and All are hugely different things...

[Evangelion]

Proper commercial and All are hugely different things...

You are hair-splitting. Seriously. Hair-splitting does nothing to improve your argument. Just because there are some home-projects and the like that do not use encryption, does not make my argument any less valid. Or do you think that people are buying AppleTV's solely to watch their home-videos on it? I doubt it.

Seriously: give it a rest already.

[stomachdoc]

I love my aTV; the only link missing in the chain is the poor selection of movies from iTunes; how can the almighty iTunes store be so far behind Amazon in terms of the number of movies it offers?

[sminman]

Thank you. Would you mind sharing how you recorded and converted it - i.e. your workflow with what software please?

Man that is PERFECT work. My EyeTV Recording is 60MB. Excellent quality and only 26.4MB.

I was recording a show with my Elgato EyeTV and the Apple TV commerical came on and so I decided I would just have the commercial.

I saved the recording and then opened it up in iMovie and cut out all the rest of the recording and just left the commerical. After doing that, I then exported it to Quicktime in CD-Quality.

Then YouTube.

Simple as that!

[pilotError]

This Ad indicates to me an’ emergency reaction scenario’ has been invoked within Apple - probably initiated by Steve - to jump start the Apple TV sales.

I disagree. I think he put it out there to get the reaction and real world experience from the press and the Apple Faithful. Now that the press has calmed down and there's no serious issues with the basic product, they've started launching their ad's. This is to build mindshare, not market.

There's more coming, probably to coincide with NAB.

I've always thought it was odd that they put it out and didn't market it at all. No print ads, no TV ads, nadda, zip, zero, ... well you get the idea.

The commercial just points the consumer in a general direction. Most consumers don't know that you can do this type of thing, only the more technical among us.

I see it taking shape and feeding a little more about the product a little at a time. It does movies... hey great, and by the way, you can view your photos... oh and one more thing, you can send your music collection to your stereo. Simple messages for a consumer oriented product.

It has to be part of a bigger promotion, if the content isn't there, this is going to die a very painful death.

[MrSmith]

Well, I really like Shaun of the Dead but the Mrs. hates it. I also like Star Trek, but the Mrs. hates it. Bladerunner? Same thing. Band of Brothers? Same. Monty Python? No-go. Black Adder? Nope.

Notice a pattern here? Yes, there are movies and tv-shows we both enjoy. But there are loads of movies and tv-shows that only one of us enjoys. And sometimes I might just want to watch something she's not that interested in (and vice versa).

And no, me and Mrs. liking different movies and tv-shows does not mean that we are "dysfunctional family". since when does the taste in movies and tv-shows imply the "functionality" of a family? Does watching television together imply a "functional family"? Are we supposed to define a functional and dysfunctional families through their television-habits? Yes, gathering around and passively sitting in front of a screen is a clear sing of a "functional family".

Yes, yes, but the idea of each member of a family with their head buried in a different screen as conjured up by the ad is not a good image IMO (though I didn't realize it was all the same guy). I agree all members watching the same TV is nowhere near as good as a conversation, but still better than individual screens.

[Evangelion]

Yes, yes, but the idea of each member of a family with their head buried in a different screen as conjured up by the ad is not a good image IMO

Why not? Do you think that in order for a family to be labeled as a "functional family" they are required to spend every waking moment together? Now, we all know that reality does not work that way. teenagers spend large amounts of their time in their own room, doing whatever they like doing. Or they spend time with their friends. and that's considered perfectly normal. And yes, spouses often have different interests that they like doing. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Why is it OK for a kid to go read comics in his own room? Or a book? Or listen to some music in his own room? But if he instead decides to watch a movie on his Mac/iPod it suddenly means that the family is "dysfunctional"? Yes, each member of the family might be watching their own movie on their own screen. So? Each member of the family might also be reading their own book, or reading their own magazine, yet no-one would start labeling them as "dysfunctional". Yes, they would be doing the same thing (reading/watching a movie etc.), but that doesn't mean that the action could be shared. Like I said, one member of the family might enjoy a movie that others do not, should they still share the experience of watching that movie?

Thinking that family is "dysfunctional" because of things like that is way too simplistic

[failsafe1]

Thought the ad was well done. Hope Apple actually used a clip that matches the res and quality of what you will see when you purchase School of Rock so no one can claim "simulated picture".

[ready2switch]

I thought it was a great ad. Very unlike Apple's other current ads, which I think made it even better.

And to reply to a few other comments, since I'm getting here late:

I don't think "people" will be confused about something they originally watched on their TV being on their TV again. I watched the original iPod commercial that someone posted, and while it does show the song ACTUALLY moving from the computer to the iPod, as someone said, people are past that. They know how all of that works now. Those people that are watching video content on their iPods already will understand. I'd think they'd be relieved that their iPod videos aren't "stuck" on the computer/iPod anymore. Personally, I'd go blind watching a video iPod. Anyway...

I also don't think the point of :apple:TV is to bring up the whole "copy protected DVD" debate. Apple wants you to not rip your movies (though many will). Apple wants you to BUY your movies for your :apple:TV from iTunes. :D I know, I know, why would you buy a movie you already own. People asked the same thing going from VHS to DVD, and recently when going from DVD to HDDVD. You may not want to, but you will.:p

Oh, and that's a great clip to have used in the ad. I love that movie and it made me want to go buy it from iTunes, and I don't even have an :apple:TV or video iPod!

:p

[casik]

No, in Canada you just have to comply with can-con (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content) so the mounties (http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/1982/images/brian-mountie.jpg) don't come galloping (http://www.rcco-ottawa.ca/Convention/ncc-mountie.jpg) after you.

Converting video for the Apple TV works north of the border, so don't worry.

believe it or not, but we actually have police cars up here too. oh, and we are made up of provinces, not states, and no, snow does not instantly start at the boarder.

yes the apple TV does have purpose up here tho!

[MrSmith]

Why not? Do you think that in order for a family to be labeled as a "functional family" they are required to spend every waking moment together? Now, we all know that reality does not work that way. teenagers spend large amounts of their time in their own room, doing whatever they like doing. Or they spend time with their friends. and that's considered perfectly normal. And yes, spouses often have different interests that they like doing. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Why is it OK for a kid to go read comics in his own room? Or a book? Or listen to some music in his own room? But if he instead decides to watch a movie on his Mac/iPod it suddenly means that the family is "dysfunctional"? Yes, each member of the family might be watching their own movie on their own screen. So? Each member of the family might also be reading their own book, or reading their own magazine, yet no-one would start labeling them as "dysfunctional". Yes, they would be doing the same thing (reading/watching a movie etc.), but that doesn't mean that the action could be shared. Like I said, one member of the family might enjoy a movie that others do not, should they still share the experience of watching that movie?

Thinking that family is "dysfunctional" because of things like that is way too simplistic

Of course we do our own things. I just think that anything that encourages children to spend even less time together with their family is not a good thing. And the ad (I thought) suggested that now you can all watch the same movie, but in your own rooms. I'm not tied to my wife's apron strings, but I wouldn't let my children have TVs in their rooms. If you don't have children perhaps you don't see where I'm coming from.

[m-dogg]

I like the ad. Now if only apple would add one or more of the following:

Ability to RENT movies through iTunes.
DVD drive (so I can replace my DVD player under the TV).
DVR functionality.

[Rocketman]

I like the ad but there are some easter eggs. For one when the shot pans from room to room the end of the set wall is unfinished or irregular. :)

Rocketman

[Willis]

Cool advert... digging the school of rock too :D

[kalisphoenix]

Of course we do our own things. I just think that anything that encourages children to spend even less time together with their family is not a good thing. And the ad (I thought) suggested that now you can all watch the same movie, but in your own rooms. I'm not tied to my wife's apron strings, but I wouldn't let my children have TVs in their rooms. If you don't have children perhaps you don't see where I'm coming from.

I don't have children, but I see where you're coming from. My wife and I don't plan to have cable TV ever (I've only had it for a couple months in my life, and she's done without for about five years now), let alone in our kids' rooms.

That being said, I figure the kids will have computers, whether they're old (by then) iMac CDs or new iMac CGs (Core Googol). I don't forsee an easy way (or a good way) of keeping them away from the Internet, which is simultaneously a thousand times better and a thousand times worse than cable :)

[Ibjr]

I agree. It's not creative, plus, it doesn't do a good job of explaining the product. In fact, from that ad, I'm not even sure what the product is...

That ad will leave most totally clueless.

Apple should have said "stream movies from your computer to your TV, wirelessly" at the end (or something of similar nature).

Adv 101: Talk about benefits not features. If you don't reveal how it happens (streaming) and people wonder they will look it up online and increase mindshare.

[Ibjr]

This Ad indicates to me an’ emergency reaction scenario’ has been invoked within Apple - probably initiated by Steve - to jump start the Apple TV sales.


No, see NAB


2: It needs a CD/DVD player. Most importantly it’s so you can actually REPLACE/(justify) a new piece of kit under your TV!. I'm going to be playing my DVD's for at least a decade yet!.


You already have a DVD player why increase the cost of Appletv? You also would get into nextgen (blueray) vs traditional DVD.


4: Needs to support ordinary TV’s with a built in Scart or S-video out and clearly indicate 5.1 optical out!. Simple as that. It could be 10 years before the last SD TV get’s put in the junkyard...before that as the ‘living room’ TV get’s replaced the current CRT widescreen will be sent to the kids room and they are more likely than anyone to want an Apple TV, especially if it’s a cut down ‘mac-hack’ fun centre. HD is great but even Apple aren’t HD ready.


Not true in Apple's target market.


6: logo the WORD name 'APPLETV' as one word to fix the google black hole before Apple TV get's sucked into it!. Suffix the product as an 'iStreamer' just in case that takes hold instead of Apple TV


No one cares about the google blackhole.


...and the next Ad needs to show a mixed house - Mac and PC's streaming...a) to remove idea's of mac elitism b) to proove it's possible c) to awaken the PC users that this is something they might like
[/quote]

No you already said it works w/ computer, ipod, and and tv. Apple is working hard to make the Apple a PC, showing both would just set back their work.

[Mac Fly (film)]

Here's the Apple TV AD in 1080p (http://media35b.libsyn.com/podcasts/249a1b469444791214f4a9bbb487767c/461bb1ed/ues/AppleTVCommercial.mov)

[RumMunkey]

...is that Jim from The Office speaking!?!?!?!?

Why, yes. Yes it is (http://www.smugmug.com/photos/136251817-L.jpg).

[GanleyBurger]

I know what would make my family happy... :)

Getting a new 24" imac or a new 17" MBP so that I would stop using thier crappy PCs!!!:eek:

Where are the new products???:mad:

[Anonymous Freak]

Here's the Apple TV AD in 1080p (http://media35b.libsyn.com/podcasts/249a1b469444791214f4a9bbb487767c/461bb1ed/ues/AppleTVCommercial.mov)

Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Uragon]

I have uploaded the shot I took of the screen to Google videos. At least you can see the whole ad this way. Shot with a SonyDSC-P10 :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3277621145369226962

Sorry for the delay, I had to WORK :(

Rocketman

thanks alot.

[twoodcc]

Here's the Apple TV AD in 1080p (http://media35b.libsyn.com/podcasts/249a1b469444791214f4a9bbb487767c/461bb1ed/ues/AppleTVCommercial.mov)

thanks, very nice :) how did you do that?

[Renovatio]

Here's the Apple TV AD in 1080p (http://media35b.libsyn.com/podcasts/249a1b469444791214f4a9bbb487767c/461bb1ed/ues/AppleTVCommercial.mov)

Already posted over a page ago ... oh well :rolleyes:

[Renovatio]

Here's the Apple TV AD in 1080p (http://media35b.libsyn.com/podcasts/249a1b469444791214f4a9bbb487767c/461bb1ed/ues/AppleTVCommercial.mov)

Hey! What's up with that? Not only was an HD version posted earlier ... but that's the *exact* same file that I posted! Is the server you uploaded it to faster than mine?

Would have at least been appropriate to credit the original source. :rolleyes:

[Dean812@msn.com]

So, smooth product integration. And wonderful use of image and music. That's nice.

But I think the general reaction to this ad would be "Why is my TV my computer monitor when it's my TV?"

I'd hope there are more ... clear ads in the offing.


Ummm.........what? Didnt get that question, ( if it was a question) at all.

[Rocketman]

Stats of the video I uploaded.

[nitynate]

I thought it was dumb.

A movie that you usually watch on a TV now ON a TV!!!!?


I dont get it.

[glennyboiwpg]

I thought it was dumb.

A movie that you usually watch on a TV now ON a TV!!!!?


I dont get it.

The point is, that you can have the movie on the computer, and see it on the tv.

WHy would I want to do that? how about, downloading the movie instead of renting? (no late fees?) Or instead of buying? Yes I know people like to hold dvd cases in their hands, I do too, but do you have to hold EVERY dvd in your hand? Yes, your favorite movies of all time, you'll continue to buy in best buy, but those movies that you enjoy but just enjoy, can sit in your computer. Cheaper to buy, less packaging, take up less room.

Do you get "it" now?

[nateDEEZY]

Could have at least been appropriate to credit the original source. :rolleyes:

Do you mean Apple, or the network that aired the commercial? :p

[Baja2k]

Sorry I haven't gone through all 7 pages of posts yet... Don't know if someone else menitoned this.
I was trying to determine the brand on the actual TV used in the commercial..... It looks very "apple-ee"

[Renovatio]

Do you mean Apple, or the network that aired the commercial? :p

lol ... point taken :p

As for the network ... my HD version was caught on CBS/WSBT-affiliate.

Sorry I haven't gone through all 7 pages of posts yet... Don't know if someone else menitoned this.
I was trying to determine the brand on the actual TV used in the commercial..... It looks very "apple-ee"

It looks like a silver Sony Bravia. The floating glass frame gives it away. Pretty sweet looking TV's but too much for my budget ... I prefer the black myself.

In any case, it's a magical TV that communicates with the AppleTV wirelessly. No component or HDMI cables needed ... just the ATV power cord ... lol :p Totally kidding ... but look at the commercial and there are no cables beside that power cord.

[Baja2k]

It looks like a silver Sony Bravia. The floating glass frame gives it away. Pretty sweet looking TV's but too much for my budget ... I prefer the black myself.

In any case, it's a magical TV that communicates with the AppleTV wirelessly. No component or HDMI cables needed ... just the ATV power cord ... lol :p Totally kidding ... but look at the commercial and there are no cables beside that power cord.

No... I want to start a rumor. I think it's a new Apple TV.... uhhh I guess I mean Monitor and it also has built in wireless... Yeah that's the ticket... :p

[corywoolf]

Nothing beats the PowerMac G5 Ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wbbX0nLbk)!

[nagromme]

I thought it was dumb.

A movie that you usually watch on a TV now ON a TV!!!!?


I dont get it.

You don't get it because you don't have movies on iTunes. Apple TV is aimed at people who do (or who will)--and very few others.

You're right, that's a small market :)

It's still a strategic step--however small--that Apple needs to take towards future products which will have broader appeal. (Like high-def content on iTunes. And get rid of those 4:3 TV shows that should be widescreen! The new Battlestar Galactica is widescreen... except the miniseries that starts it they have converted to 4:3! Annoying.)

[surferfromuk]

It has to be part of a bigger promotion, if the content isn't there, this is going to die a very painful death.

I have faith Steve will find a way to make this work. He will just keep hammering away at it until it breaks through. :)

[CmdrLaForge]

IApple TV is a product that needs explaining of the basic concept, so this style of ad makes sense.


I guess you are right, even so I don't think that this is a very special add. Definitely not one of Apple's highlights. But as you said - they have to get the concept to the masses.

my 2 cents

[jimsowden]

Link the the "Apple HD" version of the ad. (http://pages.emerson.edu/students/j/james_sowden/appletvcommercialweb.mov)

[psychofreak]

Nothing beats the PowerMac G5 Ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wbbX0nLbk)!

Nice...we barely see the Apple ads over here...

[CTYankee]

I would've faded into the real recording of that song when the :apple: TV is shown... more of a kick to it, places more focus on the product. Staying with Jack Black's solo was a poor move, IMO. :o


I agree...the drums and rhythm guitar are good, but his playing is just awful. Leaves me with a negative feeling. Not good for advertising. Even though it has nothing to do with the actual product, you never want to give your consumers a reason to not like your product/brand/ad. Bad guitar playing at the critical point in the ad isn't what I call a great way to make your pitch.

[Whistleway]

Just when you think Apple is on the rebound, they do something totally stupid like ATV. This thing is the next newton. Atleast as the current version. And Apple wasting its resources and energies and betting on the wrong market again.

I wish Apple would just get it right and focus on the right things than these gimmicks that won't fly by.

[Rocketman]

... but that's the *exact* same file that I posted!
Would have at least been appropriate to credit the original source. :rolleyes:

"skoops" posted my video to youtube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWBv0SFLe4I

And didn't credit me. I am not upset but I admit I did notice :)

It had a pretty good hit rate. 2,419 views. Not nearly as good as the original at 54,181. :)

Rocketman

[Rocketman]

Nothing beats the PowerMac G5 Ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wbbX0nLbk)!

I agree. They should revisit that ad and insert an 8-way PowerMac so all those folks with more money than brains can run out and buy one to browse websites and read email!

It is a really good ad.

The AppleTV ad is on pretty heavy (off-prime channel) rotation BTW.

Apple has posted it here 24 hours after I posted mine :)

http://www.apple.com/appletv/ads/hd.html

Rocketman

[valdoropics]

That sounds just like John Krasinski (AKA: Jim Halpert for the Office) narrorating. i swear it sounds like him. I checked imdb.com and the commercial was not on his resume.

[Maccus Aurelius]

I don't see what everyone's problem with the ad is. It's pretty straight to the point to me. Would you all rather see the :apple: TV guy standing next to the DVR guy the Tivo guy the Elgato guy the cable guy and the XBox guy trying to insult them all at the same time? Or would you rather see a silhouette commercial showing people dancing around their television with pastel colors to the sound of Flathead?

[ortuno2k]

I'm sorry folks, but who cares about the :apple: TV? iPhone?
I've had enough with these.

Talk to me about new Macs, iPods, Leopard & the rest of the software suite.

[psychofreak]

I'm sorry folks, but who cares about the :apple: TV? iPhone?
I've had enough with these.

Talk to me about new Macs, iPods, Leopard & the rest of the software suite.

The rest of the forum is for that, just stay away from this section, is that so hard?

[juniormaj]

That sounds just like John Krasinski (AKA: Jim Halpert for the Office) narrorating. i swear it sounds like him. I checked imdb.com and the commercial was not on his resume.

It does a little bit, especially when he says "Now, it's on your TV".

[aLoC]

I thought it was dumb.

A movie that you usually watch on a TV now ON a TV!!!!?


I dont get it.

Neither do I. And that's the problem with it, it doesn't explain that the movie on the TV came from the Internet.

So people will think the Apple TV doesn't let them do anything more than they already can, and won't see the need to buy it.

The ad should show someone sitting in front of the TV with their laptop. The laptop screen shows a big fake message like "Downloading School of Rock..." and then then the movie appears on the TV screen.

Fade in Apple TV.

[Maccus Aurelius]

Boy, it looks like some of you people want an AppleTV infomercial. :rolleyes:

[MLeepson]

It's now on Apple's website (http://www.apple.com/appletv/ads/).

[MacFly123]

finally- a decent ad from apple. The apple computer ads are, yea "cute" but thats because i know what they are talking about. Why cant they simply state in a commercial, with this computer, you dont have to worry about viruses etc., and avoid the whole im a mac, im a pc thing. People are stupid, and i feel most people don't understand half of apples ads. This one is better than most of theirs..

Sorry but IMHO I think this is the least impressive of all of the recent Apple and or iPod ads. I don't really have anything against it, but it really just didn't do it for me. It's too much like some comercial anybody else would do, not Apple.

[EricNau]

It's also interesting that Apple didn't choose to narrate "Apple TV" into the ad (for those of us who rarely watch commercials - we just listen) or have the words "Apple TV" appear at the end. ...Someone who's never heard of the product may be unsure what to call it (or what to search for on the internet).

[MonkeyClaw]

I dunno, I kind of like it, its simple, easy to understand (IMO) and clean. Gets the point across and I think will present this thing to the public nicely.

[gusapple]

The rest of the forum is for that, just stay away from this section, is that so hard?

Yep it is positively John Krasinski just look at this (http://www.officetally.com/john-krasinski-apple-tv). This is cool two of my favorite things in one! Apple AND somebody from the Office!:apple: :apple:

[Renovatio]

"skoops" posted my video to youtube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWBv0SFLe4I

And didn't credit me. I am not upset but I admit I did notice :)

It had a pretty good hit rate. 2,419 views. Not nearly as good as the original at 54,181. :)

Rocketman

lol ... too funny. I'm by all means not upset either ... find it somewhat amusing actually. Eventually Apple will post the video to their site and who will care then ... lol ... well except that Apple only posts theirs in 720p.

*edit* and it looks like Apple has posted it online already ... so there ya go :)

[Renovatio]

I dunno, I kind of like it, its simple, easy to understand (IMO) and clean. Gets the point across and I think will present this thing to the public nicely.

I have to agree. Being in video production myself, I think this is a very well thought-out and produced commercial. I think Apple's goal was to introduce Apple TV to people not currently aware of it ... how do you introduce Apple TV to someone who has no idea what it does? They accomplished that goal very well.

Sure, some of us more hard-core Mac followers would have loved something a bit more ... but once Apple TV becomes a bit more mainstream we might see some more clever commercials.

If Apple introduced the iPod for the first time and had dancing silhouettes on their very first commercial people would have no idea what the heck that was all about. But since iPod and iTunes are such household names they can afford to be a bit more abstract in their current commercials.

[eXan]

Nope, don't see anything there

Its illegal to copy anything from the CD, it is written on any legal one. Look harder.

Not to start a debate about the legalities ... but I believe when Evangelion referred to movie ripping being illegal it is because you are actually breaking encryption in the DVD-ripping process ... which is black and white illegal.

CD's are a bit more fuzzy because the only thing that is technically "illegal" is the "copying and distribution of copyrighted content" ... meaning that if you are ripping the CD to your own library you are not doing anything wrong ... which is why Apple can provide support for it in iTunes without record company lawsuits.

So essentially the only difference is the encryption-breaking vs. not. If movies did not have encryption, I am sure we would have better access to convert them to our private media libraries because such a process would not be illegal.

I could be totally wrong, and I am not a lawyer ... but this is my best interpretation of the law.

I guess its ok to copy music to your own library, but (logicaly) I dont think movies should be any different. I dont know why they have encryption on DVDs when even such free apps like MediaFork can bypass it :confused: . I mean I'm not copying a movie from my (or somebody elses) DVD to sell it later, just to add it to my library so I can watch it not only on the stationary DVD player.

[MonkeyClaw]

I have to agree. Being in video production myself, I think this is a very well thought-out and produced commercial. I think Apple's goal was to introduce Apple TV to people not currently aware of it ... how do you introduce Apple TV to someone who has no idea what it does? They accomplished that goal very well.

Sure, some of us more hard-core Mac followers would have loved something a bit more ... but once Apple TV becomes a bit more mainstream we might see some more clever commercials.

If Apple introduced the iPod for the first time and had dancing silhouettes on their very first commercial people would have no idea what the heck that was all about. But since iPod and iTunes are such household names they can afford to be a bit more abstract in their current commercials.

Bingo, its very clean and to the point. And I think that there is enought vaugness to provoke curiosity but not frustration and annoyance. It tells you what the basic idea is but leaves enough unsaid to cause one to do further research.

[matticus008]

Its illegal to copy anything from the CD, it is written on any legal one. Look harder.
No it's not.
I dont know why they have encryption on DVDs when even such free apps like MediaFork can bypass it :confused: . I mean I'm not copying a movie from my (or somebody elses) DVD to sell it later, just to add it to my library so I can watch it not only on the stationary DVD player.
The problem isn't with the idea, it's just the approach. There's no reason why there can't be legal DVD ripping tools that don't bypass encryption (but preserve it) or why networked media players can't support ISO files (which are exact copies of the disc, simply stored on a hard drive).

All the tools out there "conveniently" remove the region coding and encryption, which is what makes them problematic. If they preserved these traits, the software would be as uncontroversial as iTunes importing. Problem is that cutting out extras and reducing file size requires the encryption to be removed (but it could easily be put back on at the end of the process).

[idkew]

interestingly enough, just as i read the post, the spot came on TV. :rolleyes:

[kymac]

It's funny that in the beginning of the School of Rock clip, you can see iMac g4's on the desks behing the students.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2876/ironyys9.jpg

[Renovatio]

I guess its ok to copy music to your own library, but (logicaly) I dont think movies should be any different. I dont know why they have encryption on DVDs when even such free apps like MediaFork can bypass it :confused: . I mean I'm not copying a movie from my (or somebody elses) DVD to sell it later, just to add it to my library so I can watch it not only on the stationary DVD player.

I have to agree with you there ... I think it is more the letter vs the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law just makes it illegal to break the encryption with the intention of distributing it to others, and I would like to think the studios wouldn't have a problem with you backing it up for your own use as long as you keep your original. However, unless the letter of the law provides an exception for this, technically it is illegal.

The movie studios probably can't sue you for backing up your own media ... but unfortunately it means that iTunes can't have such functionality because of the legal implications.

Unfortunately I have to say this is another case of punishing the vast majority of honest citizens for the actions of the dishonest. An example of this is HDCP with High-Definition DVDs ... all I want to do is hook up my Blu-Ray player to my Apple display. But I can't because of this most recent attempt to curb piracy. The dishonest citizens will *ALWAYS* find a way around such measures ... it is only a matter of time ... while the honest citizens are punished with inconvenience.

[surferfromuk]

Apple TV won't alter the social habits ( ie core values) of any of these groups.

a) Those who rip to sell.
b) Those who buy or acquire ripped media for personal use.
c) Those who generally always buy genuine media.

Theft and protection against theft is a social issue not a technology issue.

[Rocketman]

Stats of the video I uploaded. Day 2.

[Unspeaked]

I guess its ok to copy music to your own library, but (logicaly) I dont think movies should be any different.


The ONLY reason CDs weren't brought to market with encryption and region control (the way DVDs were) is because it hadn't occured to the record companies to develop the technology.

If they could have, they most certainly would have, and they've been kicking themselves ever since.

Heck, if they'd forseen the coming of CD-Rs, they'd have developed another technology altogether! They were just too eager to make everyone upgrade their music collections from vinyl to CDs that they rushed out a new technology before they fully understood it.

(Some great info on all this can be found in the excellent book "Playback" which covers everything from the earliest Victrola to the release of the iPod - highly recommended.)

[Rocketman]

Here are today's stats for the youtube outlet of the video.

[twoodcc]

Here are today's stats for the youtube outlet of the video.

those are some pretty good stats there :)

[PDubNYC]

I like the ad but there are some easter eggs. For one when the shot pans from room to room the end of the set wall is unfinished or irregular. :)

Rocketman

A) That is not what an Easter Egg is
and
B) They are trying to make it feel like you are moving through the walls, thus seeing their interior. It's not lilke you caught them with an unfinished set.

This commercial is being WAAAY overanalyzed, even by mac fan standards.

[Rocketman]

#3

[BenRoethig]

This is the best Apple's had in a while. It's to the point, shows the product and what it does, and doesn't waste doing with childish mudslinging. if only the Mac ads could be like this.

[Rocketman]

Stats of the video I uploaded - Day Three "The last gasp" #69 with a bullet (downwards).

[ViperX]

I don't think anyone noticed this (or maybe you did, but it didn't occur to you), but the computer, AppleTV, and iPod are all watching the same thing at the same time.

A preview of things to come?

[psychofreak]

I don't think anyone noticed this (or maybe you did, but it didn't occur to you), but the computer, AppleTV, and iPod are all watching the same thing at the same time.


That is the point of the ad :)

[ViperX]

That is the point of the ad :)

I meant the fact that all three devices are watching the exact same movie at the same point all at the same time...(hint: wireless streaming to the iPod)

Only because how many people will realize that it's all the same guy in the 3 scenes...

[sccrrich]

I don't know how many people really looked closely at the ad when they pan to the TV. But if you look very closely, the TV has a stand not dissimilar to that of the new iMacs. I was wondering if this is in fact a real TV or if this is perhaps a preview into some new type of Apple display/TV? Just thought I would point it out!:D

[kymac]

I meant the fact that all three devices are watching the exact same movie at the same point all at the same time...(hint: wireless streaming to the iPod)

..Or that they wanted the commercial to flow, and have them all continuing from one to the next. I dont get why they would do anything else. i feel that the ad has no meaning for future features.

[Evangelion]

Of course we do our own things. I just think that anything that encourages children to spend even less time together with their family is not a good thing.

Parents drag their offspring to soccer-practice, or boy-scouts or something else along those lines, and it's perfectly acceptable, even though they are not "spending time with their family". And I would say that measuring the functionality of a family by the time they spend together is very superficial. Some people are naturally more introverted than others, but that does not mean that they are somehow "dysfunctional". That way of thinking results in the scheduled "quality-time". IMO you can't designate certain time-periods as "quality-time". Such way of thinking is an indication that there's something wrong with the family and the way they manage their time. In those cases, spending time with the family becomes a required duty, instead of something truly enjoyable. Instead of spending time with the family because you want it, you spend time with the family because certain time-slots in the calendar are marked as "quality-time with the family".

And besides: you guys are simply reading WAY too much in to the ad.

And the ad (I thought) suggested that now you can all watch the same movie, but in your own rooms.

No it doesn't. It suggests that you can watch your movies wherever you want to watch them, that's all. You can watch your movies on your Mac. And when you head out the door, you can watch them on your iPod. And you can watch them in the living-room. Nowhere does it say that "now you can ignore your family!".

[Evangelion]

Its illegal to copy anything from the CD, it is written on any legal one. Look harder.

Nope, you are quite mistaken here.

I guess its ok to copy music to your own library, but (logicaly) I dont think movies should be any different.

Music is not encrypted, movies are. Bypassing encryption is illegal.

I dont know why they have encryption on DVDs when even such free apps like MediaFork can bypass it :confused: .

Well, when DVD's became available, it wasn't that easy to bypass the encryption. The encryption was broken by DVD-Jon, and since then, bypassing the encryption on DVD's has become a childs play. That still doesn't mean that it's illegal to do so.

I mean I'm not copying a movie from my (or somebody elses) DVD to sell it later, just to add it to my library so I can watch it not only on the stationary DVD player.

You are breaking the law when you rip the DVD.