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Apple Announces Apple TV (Formerly 'iTV')

andyblac said:
Note quite true, did you not know that you can import AVI's into iTunes. allthough you need QuickTime Pro & the necessary codecs, all you have to do is open your AVI in QuickTime Pro and go to "Save As" chose "self-contained movie" this will put a QuickTime (.mov) rapper around the AVI so iTunes can see it. then just add as a normal mov file. and your done.
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Perhaps, but I DON'T have to do this for any of the 10-or-so direct competitors that I can buy on the shelf today at Fry's.

The only advantage this has is being able to play iTunes-protected content, and I've decided that until I can burn those to DVD, I will not be purchasing new videos (I had been buying a TON of TV episodes). Guess I'll just stick with lower-res Tivo...
 
Diatribe said:
Without surround sound that is...
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ha ha. yes, what would be the point be in ripping your DVDs to hard-drive and then putting them on your AppleTV... you'd lose a lot of video quality, you wouldn't have the chapters/menus that have on the DVD, it would take a while to rip...

When you've already got a a DVD player and the DVD... just watch the DVD...
 
one major bummer with aTV is the fact that it does not serve as a wireless router.

but one hope you can have is that aTV might have some extra function with Leopard when Leopard comes out. plus a significant drop in HD price may allow Apple to give customers free upgrade to HD like they did with Macbook Pro.
 
Missed the Boat? No, just bought the cheap ticket instead...

I think Bill Gates was close with his statement. I was dreaming that they would include DVR functions similar to Tivo but as far as I can tell, and most of you seem to agree, this is just hardware to bring your iTunes to the TV. I will say that the price point seems to be inline with similar products such as the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Wireless Multimedia Player. I may pursue this but just have a lot of open ended questions. Then again, the Phone announcement depressed me a bit to. A multi-year exclusivity contract with Cingular?

:(
 
bilbo--baggins said:
It has analogue video out. See the tech specs: composite video. That's how I connect my MacBook to my TV.
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That's component not composite, both analog, both use RCA jacks, but they're not the same. aTV doesn't support composite and requires a widescren TV with HDMI, DVI or component inputs.

B
 
bankshot said:
long post...
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For Video_Ts playback in front row...sort of try DVD Assist. I think it should work nicely for you.

I think the aTV is a step in the right direction, but not quite what I was hoping for. Unfortunately there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered before i will consider buying this.

I was planing on build a windows MCE pc for archiving music, DVD's, Photos, and the like. This aTV product would be fine but it lacks a few things.

In future revisions I would love to see:
1. 1080p support as my sweet new Westinghouse LVM-37w3 does 1080p over component.
2. A slim DVD drive built in so that i don't have to buy a DVD player.
3. 5.1 surround sound support for all the major formats.
4. Some way to play back Video_ts file that is not messing (this is the questionable one because of all the restrictions.

Now I do have a few questions. can the USB port on the back be used to attach an external drive?? If so that would be great, but then we need a way for the aTV to see anything stored on the external. Ideally, I would love to see a company come out with something in the shape of the aTV with a huge HD in it and a slim DVD drive. Put an optical connection out the back of it for hooking in audio to a surround sound system. Then make it a hub so other thing can be plugged in. Kinda like the miniStack from NewerTech but with a few other add-ons. The key thing will be getting everything to play nice with each other.
 
Will Apple TV support 1080i output? (specs are unclear)

Hi,

As an owner of a 480P/1080i-only CRT-based HDTV, I'd love to confirm that Apple TV supports 1080i output. On the Apple site there is a (carefully worded, IMHO) area about supported TVs, and it's stated that (to paraphrase) TV's "providing" 1080i support, are, well, covered. Now, in the video specs, an H.264 resolution corresponding to 720P output is listed...does this mean that the max source video file resolution supported is the profile corresponding to 720P, but the unit itself will support 1080i? I can't see that if the Mini will handle 1080i output that Apple TV won't...

Please somebody confirm so I can order this puppy! :rolleyes:

Thanks!
 
diadem said:
Yes its an old idea we have been doing it for years with media center pc. Iv had my Xbox doing it and that cost me very little.

Its not going to take of at that price.
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The same X-Box 360 that costs $399?

The Apple TV isn't too bad, considering traditional UPnP Digital Media Adapters (which don't have hard disks or powerful CPUs) cost around that much.
 
jobs blew it on the apple tv

not many of you people standing up and cheering on this product! why? for $300 it should have:

- at least an 80 GB hard drive (more like 100)
- support 1080i
- 5.1 surround sound

- and to really make it a killer appliance: recording ala tivo

anyway, who wants to watch itunes resolution/bitrate material on a high def tv???
 
ok so i have bought the iTV but my iMac is within reach of my TV.......can anyone tell me how to connect my 24" iMac effectively to a tosh 27wl56?

The input choices are HDMI or Component (RGB)

Thanks

EDIT: Oh and to be able to use front row on the TV
 
leekohler said:
I'm bummed. I was hoping to be able to record as well- like a DVR. Let's hope that comes next. As is, it just doesn't do enough to justify the price.
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Well, it ships in February (which is in "Spring"); maybe Leopard will introduce something that makes this device a little more practical (such as the ability to record TV on your computer and stream it to the aTV).

...Although I'm seriously starting to doubt it. :( :mad:
 
janstett said:
The same X-Box 360 that costs $399?

The Apple TV isn't too bad, considering traditional UPnP Digital Media Adapters (which don't have hard disks or powerful CPUs) cost around that much.
Click to expand...

No, probably either the $299 base Xbox 360 or (more likely) an original modded Xbox that costs about half that.

Andrew Beard
 
bommai said:
Media Central and eyeTV software allow for true surround sound formats. Quicktime still does not!!
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Actually, quicktime does support surround sound, you just don't see content with it much. And what makes you so sure that the appletv doesn't output surround sound via the optical or HDMI?

geiger167 said:
Correct me if I am wrong please but do you have to actually sync with your itunes and wait for the movie to transfer to your appletv box hard drive before you watch it, rather than stream (like you can do on the xbox360 for example) Am I reading the apple store site correctly on this point ? Doesn't seem a very ellegant solution at all to me.....
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You can stream if the wireless connection is fast enough to keep up (or if it's not fast enough, you can start watching before it's done syncing, you just need enough of a head start). Does the 360 stream HD (and does it do it wirelessly)? Does it include wifi, or do you have to buy an additional network interface? And is N or G required for HD streaming?

benpatient said:
If it streams from connected computers and on the fly, storing the files on the 40gb drive, then that's one thing, but it doesn't say that anywhere on apple's site that I can find. It's an error of presumption on the part of this news post. I really, really hope I'm mistaken, because a 40gb library cap is a deal-breaker for me.
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"Apple TV streams as well as it syncs, so you can pair up to five additional computers and let friends and family stream their iTunes libraries to your TV. Apple TV stores up to 50 hours of video, ready to watch when you are. And if iTunes is still syncing what you want to see — or if you don’t want to sync at all — you can watch a stream from your computer right away."

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

The hard drive is just a buffer in case your wireless connection isn't fast enough.
 
aTV needs a HD tuner or two in it to be worthwhile. Plus a large HD to store recordings. Streaming from my mac is all well and good, but i use a DVR more.
 
For Christ's sake people. If you can tell the difference in picture between 720p and 1080i then you're eyes must be better than 99% of humans in America! Secondly Apple has looked at the data which can be supported on wireless G and obviously didn't think that 1080 would work with 802.11g.

Secondly. Why do you want this to play dvd's??? Think about it, do you have a DVD player already? Exactly.... And if you don't you can buy a progressive player for $30.

Also I wanted to say that from a business point of view the majority of consumers are going to buy this because it looks good. Most Apple consumers are not as technologically informed as all us MacRumor users.

Oh another thing, I think the 40 gb is going to be great for people that want to share pictures or videos. Just take your little aTV with you to a friends house and bam, you're sharing the love...
 
Did anyone notice that the Music section of the iTV description says "Stream up to 9,000 songs"?????

9,000?? Are you kidding? What if I have more on my computer...???
 
eyemacg5 said:
Wouldn't for an extra $20 it be worth to get an xbox 360 core and Connect 360?

Because the 360 can do same as the apple tv and more for $20 more.
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Doesn't the $299 version of the 360 not include a hard drive? And does either version include wifi (much less N version)?

pale9 said:
not many of you people standing up and cheering on this product! why? for $300 it should have:

- at least an 80 GB hard drive (more like 100)
- support 1080i
- 5.1 surround sound

- and to really make it a killer appliance: recording ala tivo
Click to expand...

OK, I'll bite. Give me a link to the box I can buy that does recording, 1080i, 5.1, and has an 80 or 100G hard drive, for $299?

bearda said:
No, probably either the $299 base Xbox 360 or (more likely) an original modded Xbox that costs about half that.
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Does either xbox do wireless streaming? HD (with or without HDMI)?
 
milo said:
OK, I'll bite. Give me a link to the box I can buy that does recording, 1080i, 5.1, and has an 80 or 100G hard drive, for $299?
Click to expand...

Give me a link to a box that does this and what the aTV does for any price and i'll consider buying it.
 
tringo said:
Secondly Apple has looked at the data which can be supported on wireless G and obviously didn't think that 1080 would work with 802.11g.
Click to expand...
Actually 720p and 1080i were chosen for the broadcast standards as they could both use the same over the air bandwidth in ATSC. Now, it could be that 1080i ends up larger in H.264, but I doubt it would be much of an effect.

B
 
I just dont see the point until it has the capability to be a DVR as well. 200 bucks to do what? The same thing i can do by plugging my laptop into the tv?
 
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