Now there's no computer required - you can now rent movies directly on the Apple TV in your choice of DVD quality or HD + dolby 5.1 surround sound. Podcasts are available in audio and video format, as well as photos from Flikr and .Mac and sync with iTunes. AppleTV allows you to preview movies from the interface, and see what other users who have rented that movie have rented. Photo screensavers can be retrieved from .Mac web galleries. Music can be purchased from the iTunes Store from within the AppleTV.
The update is available as a free software update that should be available in two weeks for current AppleTV owners. Entry price for the AppleTV also drops from $299 to $229.
HD rentals are $4.99, with 100 titles available today.
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I hope Apple is planning on adding the iTunes store interface and on-screen movie rental functionality to FrontRow. That would be a big oversight if they don't.
Anyone know what the USB port is for on the Apple TV?
Solid update that is enough to convince me to buy one.
Still won't buy this thing because still can't attach external harddrives to it. And, still can't record TV.
My point is that in the public mind in the UK, 1080p is the standard. Almost any new TV you can buy is 1080p. All the marketing in the shops reflects this and anyone looking for a new TV wants 1080p (regardless of whether they know what it is). So why would Joe Public they think a 720p AppleTV is a good match for their 1080p TV?
As far as I know - the AppleTV is supposed to be a mass-market consumer TV device, not especially for computer monitors.
Am I reading this right? The movie will have been in Blockbuster and on Netflix for an entire MONTH before I can access it w/ an Apple TV?
*sigh* Seriously, you have a MONTH to press play. If don't have the time within a 24 hour period to watch a 2 hour movie, I don't think those extra 6 hours are going to make or break the deal.
Maybe they will give you a refund for the pixels you didn't see!![]()
Solid update that is enough to convince me to buy one.
Me too. Mmm... $199 refurbs. (Should have been the new price, but oh, well.. can't beat free shipping either!)I agree.
What do you mean, "what if"? They are the same. Most iTunes video content is full frame at present.Some of the rentals on iTunes are in full screen format. Obviously, the HD downloads will be widescreen but what if the regular downloads onTV are the same as the iTunes fullscreen downloads?
Meh. Some people prefer the faster download and smaller file sizes... as horrifying as that might sound.Someone reported on another thread that 300 is indeed WIDESCREEN. So looks like iTunes has a glitch in their product info. Thank goodness. And theTV versions will be DVD or HD quality. Pretty good. Hopefully the iPod is updated to DVD quality sometime in the near future and iTunes is updated as well. No excuse to still have less than 720 horizontal lines at this point.
What do you mean, "what if"? They are the same. Most iTunes video content is full frame at present.
I'm not sure I see where you're trying to go with this factoid, unless you're concerned about aspect ratio of viewing--Apple TV adds the boxes to the sides, or you can change the output mode to 480p or play with the zoom settings of your TV.
Really? Never knew you could add Video_TS folder to itunes, let alone VOB files.
Everyone arguing about the benefits of various resolutions is missing the point--the most important thing is how cute the girl in the ATV guided tour is:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/guidedtour/index.html?size=medium
Holy cow.
I can't shake the feeling that Apple looses touch with their clients more and more...
Playing the same music in three rooms in synch is a great feature but why only in the AirPort Express? This so keeps me from buying an Apple TV...
I'm still disappointed that they didn't give AppleTV internet radio .
Yes, that's true. But that's not what you said. You said some iTunes rentals are in full screen. Then you asked, "what if they're the same on the Apple TV?" There is no 'what if'. If they are full frame rentals, they're full frame rentals.Most iTunes content? I take it that you're referring to TV shows eh? Well I'm talking about movies. Most movies released in the last oh 40 years or so are in widescreen and most of them on iTunes are released in widescreen format.