What is an Apple TV

Serban said:

Im new with this device so, i understand that you can use it with your TV for internet/photos/movies/music, but my question is can you use to watch tv channels?

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No, not exactly. It is not like a cable box, but you can watch many popular TV shows through iTunes, Netflix and Hulu on the device.

It's a streaming appliance like Roku. The Apple TV works with iTunes and certain other internet streaming services and outputs to your TV. Basically, you rent/buy the content and it plays through the ATV. Older models had onboard storage and was more the size of the Airport Extreme. The current model is cheaper, smaller and has no internal storage.

OllyW said:

But check for availability of these services in your country before buying.

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Good point. One I hadn't thought of.

You can also airplay from any your Mac or iOS device (although not older ones). This is what I use mine for. Streaming content rather than buying it. Also useful for sharing photos with relatives when they come round.