Apple Introduces Updated Apple TV with Netflix Integration, TV Show Rentals

[smetvid]

I think I know now why the iPad didn't have HDMI out. With a $99.00 Apple TV you don't really need it. Although if you have a Apple TV then why the heck would you even both playing video through a iPad unless it was the only computer you owned. If that is the case and you like to buy movies then your storage is going to fill up very fast with no way of off loading your bought videos.

If you do happen to own another tpye of a computer then why on earth would you want to stream a video through the iPad? Just seems like kind of a useless middleman to me.

The think I could see the point to this whole thing is if you are on a business trip and you want to be able to play "full" HD video from your iPad through HDMI on the Apple TV instead of being limited to 1024x768 VGA. So in essence the Apple TV becomes one heck of an expensive wireless HDMI adapter for the iPad. Well maybe not all that expensive considering the price of $99.00 but still it would have been much better just make a HDMI adapter for the iPad.

The one area where this device may be interesting is with video professionals. Yes it isn't 1080p but as somebody who works for a video production company I find it interesting to render a 720p video from Final Cut and stream it directly to a HDTV in the conference room for a client to see. Kind of saves a bit of time from not having to burn a blu-ray or transfer the file to another system hooked up to the HDTV. I'm not really sure how well the resolution limitation is going to go over however with media professionals to use for this purpose. I think a lot more people would have jumped on board if it had support for at least 24p 1080 material.

 

[ArcaneDevice]

secondly any streaming service is going to compress the video so 1080p streamed isn't going to look as good as 720p standard - seriously go look at youtube 1080 streams and compare them to an itunes 720p; youtube is blocky and slightly blurry. if you want maximum fidelity then you're stuck with blu-ray - and even then somewhat at the mercy of the engineer who encodes it (e.g. gladiator).

Try Vudu HDX. No VOD competition on the market exists in the streaming world that has the same quality.

Better than 720p? Absolutely.

 

[gugy]

no 1080p is really a downer.
Not because of buying content on iTunes but for my libraries of video that are on their native resolution. Also I have a 60" plasma HDTV and 720p doesn't look as good as 1080p. Sorry I can see the difference.

 

[scoobydoo99]

If you download xvid's from torrent sites, then your choice is the WDTV.

why? if u download torrents (in any of a variety of formats), u just run them thru Handbrake and convert to .m4v using the Apple TV preset. Presto! iTunes-compatible content that works great on Apple TV!

 

[ftaok]

How about MPEG-2 and AVCHD??

I can understand the aTV not being able to play MKV, divx, VOB, etc. But would it kill them to allow playback of 720p/1080i MPEG-2 and 1080p AVCHD? If they had this, I would be 100% sold ... as of now, I'm only about 68% sold.

As to why I would like to see MPEG-2 and AVCHD ... MPEG-2 would be useful for watching recorded HDTV shows without transcoding. AVCHD has pretty much become the standard for HD camcorders.

So if the aTV did these two formats, I would have the complete deal. I'd have access to iTunes shows and music, my iPhoto library, my iMovie library (right now, I'm SD), recorded shows via EyeTV. Plus YouTube, Netflix, etc.

It would be great.

NOTE - I guess streaming playback of AIC would be out of the question.

 

[pamon]

no storage, no apps. it's an apple roku it seems. just my opinion.

 

[AnalyzeThis]

HD won???

Was there any wars that everyone just missed? HD won !??? As far as I remember HD was available for almost a decade. What Jobs is talking about?

720p30fps mp4 cr$p only - wow, truly amazing achievement.

Netflix streaming, hm.. I do not remember not to have it for years . Just kidding, but it is very old news... (I have an excess of devices capable of streaming netflix HD, VuDu HDX and bunch of other HD streaming services)

Really strange thing are going on @

WDTV Live HD refurb unit cost me enormous $59 and it work just fine with any HD format out there and hey it streams and screams .

Keep up a good work Steve!

 

[notabadname]

In before tha fail... oops, wait.

I have 90% of all my content in 720p and it looks great on my 136" screen. In my opinion, 1080p ain't worth the extra space.

Well I have a smaller 70 inch screen, and the difference is very clear. Doesn't mean 720p looks horrendous, but it is absolutely discernible to any novice that I have demoed the difference to. And are you comparing 720p downloads to 1080p downloads? Since most blu-ray titles, for most of the product life have been mastered in 1080p, you must be comparing streamed/digital download 720p to physical 1080p media on blu-ray (unless you already have Vudu HXD- because 1080p downloads have not generally been available until recently). And that difference (between 720p downloads and 1080p blu-ray) is actually dramatic due to the compression artifacts, especially in action/motion, that comes with 720p downloads. HD Broadcast peak transfer data rate, the FCC standard, is 19.3 MBPS, blu-ray is 36 to 48 MBPS (Megabits per Second) average - capable of up to 54 MPS. It's hard to see how you don't see the difference between 720p and 1080p from those likely sources, especially on that size screen. That is like saying their is no audio difference in 128kbps versus 256kbps. Perhaps for you there isn't, but that doesn't make it a general fact. When I have made comparisons, due to the lack of 1080p downloads historically, it has been between a 720p Direct TV recording and the same movie (or program in the case of Blue Planet) on blu-ray. I guarantee anyone can pick the higher quality out, 100% of the time. Now that Direct TV has 1080p movies available, I have been able to make those comparisons too, and 1080p wins, especially in action scenes. If it is a slow movie without lots of action, the difference is narrowed until something starts moving or blowing up. Maybe we just watch different types of films.

 

[SkippyThorson]

1) You can still do it on your Mac and stream them. (Get off the couch for 30 seconds!)

Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You Thank You

 

[gugy]

I think the reason AppleTV doesn't offer 1080p is because it could cannibalize the sales of MacMini for folks that want to use it as HTPC. Sucks!

 

[harley3k]

Hint of an iOS future...

I noticed how you could go into wiggle mode and move the favorites around like you do with icons on an iPod/iPhone/iPad...

Adding iOS apps in the future makes so much sense.
Pandora
Hulu
etc....

I'm betting in the mean time the iPod/iPad versions of these apps could integrate the airTunes feature and basically give you the same thing.

 

[ericinboston]

Apple TV
Price: $99
Resolution: 720P
Includes: Netflix, YouTube

Support Video Formats: M4V, MP4, MOV

Supported Audio Codecs: HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through

Built in Wi-Fi N


WD TV HD Live Plus
Price: $109
Resolution 1080P
Includes: Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, Pandora

Supported Video Formats: AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9

Supported Audio Codecs: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS

Wi-Fi only available through extra purchase.



So tell me again, how the Apple TV can compete with the WD TV HD Live Plus and other devices?

Why does Apple come out with a great design, superb UI, but ruin the functionality?

I must admit I'm a bit new to AppleTV and WD...but I am quite the techie.

So does the WD allow me to play (and navigate) all my dvds (ISO files or can they be the VOBs in correct directory structure) that are sitting on my 1TB hard drive? That would be absolutely killer...I've been looking for a "jukebox" to load up my hundreds of dvds so I can sit back and click a button rather than go hunting for the dvds.

I could also stream them, I think, over WIFI but not sure how great WIFI streaming is on G network.

Thanks in advance for any answers on my questions.

-Eric

 

[elmo151]

Boooo to Apple!

Streaming only on the AppleTV? Why, oh gawd, why?

I want storage! Why you may ask? So I don't need to have my main Mac online just to serve up a movie!

.

+1

I got a ROKU [$99] a year ago [to add to my apple TV]. It can stream Netflix, amazon videos, and a half dozen other "apps".

Google and Amazon are going to be introducing their own hardware. Apple may have blown this one

BTW I ordered one for my bedroom TV

 

[DougB541]

Its a good deal for the casual person jsut getting into HTPC i think.

Good price as well.

I mean, i have a xbox360 that handles my streaming needs (and more) so i'm not interested.

But they have the right idea with the changes they made.

 

[Northgrove]

I'll be interested if it comes to Sweden with subtitle support on movies and TV shows.

 

[dashiel]

Yes there is,I just gave you that what Apple says in its Specs

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

you're right. missed it hiding under the hdmi plug

 

[penx]

There are almost 200 episodes of 24 between seasons 1-8. Why would I watch them more them all more once. I can understand watch a few key episodes twice, but not whole seasons. For many people, Apple's solution would be the cheapest by a wide margin.

In comparison, the featured film on Apple's site - Bourne Ultimatum:

Buy on Amazon.com - $8.99
Buy RRP - $15

Rent once: $3.99 44% of Amazon price, 27% of RRP
Rent twice: $7.98 89% of Amazon price, 53% of RRP

So iTunes movies are much more reasonably priced than TV shows in my opinion.

For rewatchability, I think you have a point that TV episodes that aren't as valuable to keep as films are, but...

A friend of mine owns most of the 24 DVDs. I own a load of Seinfeld and The Wire etc etc. We all borrow each other's DVDs - I don't think that's unusual! Each episode of my friend's 24 DVDs have probably been viewed around 5-6 times.

So it's not just about personal desire to rewatch an episode (though I have watched the first 2 seasons twice).

As such, I think a rental being 61% of the Amazon price is a complete rip off. Each to their own, I'm sure 61% suits people who are sure they will only want to watch the material once in their lifetime and don't want to lend to friends. Just saying I would love to get rid of my physical media in favour of a system like this, but it would have to be a fraction of the price.

 

[legalnut]

Can we access the net?

Apart from YouTube, MobileMe etc does the new AppleTV allow users to access the net with Safari? Been waiting for this forever...

 

[notabadname]

Try Vudu HDX. No VOD competition on the market exists in the streaming world that has the same quality.

Better than 720p? Absolutely.

+1

Why do people assume that the 1080p file would be the same size as the 720p file, and therefore have more compression to make it so it looks worse than the 720p? This argument agains 1080p has been made multiple times. As this poster alludes to, Vudu HDX 1080 files are twice the size and require twice the download speed to stream. And yes, I agree, absolutely look better than 720p. (and even more so on larger screens approaching 50 inches and more)

 

[eazyway]

Apple TV really sucks for..

the technie nerds but for the mainstream it will be a god send.

No set up.
It will just work as it supposed to.
No wireless connections to make (ie WD need at least a USB cable to hock up.)
Simple search menus.
Stream stuff from you networked devices.

My bet is that this device which is being laughed at by your average techie will sell like will be scooped up by the average person.

 

[Shoesy]

For non geeks the bonus of this is ease of use. Most people don't want a huge selection of tv shows stored on a lump of electronics. They want to choose a show they havnt seen before and watch it.

A cheap option to cherry pick shows you want to watch for cheaper than a cable subscription is great news for the kind of people that don't care what divx or mp4 is.

Would my mum buy an appletv for and encode videos onto it for £200? Nope. Would she buy a box she can rent a show on for 99p? Maybe.

Me? Just hoping appletv old school will get an update for some tv rentals...

 

[guytoronto]

Streaming works pretty darn close to 100%...

If I could plug in a USB hard drive, I wouldn't have to worry about 'pretty darn close'.

I have an old G4 PowerMac in my basement I got for free with a few external drives plugged into it streaming to my tv upstairs.

Unfortunately, that means A) extra computer running 24/7 and B) not-portable. As is, we haul the iPad with movies when we visit the grandparents for the weekend. The kids can watch their Disney movies on the TV, but it means the iPad is tied up just serving video.

I would have LOVED it if the AppleTV had a functional USB port. Heck, I have an 8GB Flash Drive on my keychain. That's enough for a dozen movies (at SD quality for the kids).

Hell, throw on TWO USB ports! One for a CD drive (like the one they sell for the MacBook Air), and one for portable storage. Give the little box EXPANSION options. As is, it is way to limiting.

P.S. I am fine with 720p.

 

[SiskoKid]

I was ready to run out and buy one of these but Apple failed by not adding Hulu Plus to this new unit. My PS3 has Netflix, Hulu, and can stream from my iMac. Not wanting to buy another PS3 or bluray player for the bedroom I was really anticipating this feature.

Unless Hulu is coming down the line, Apple really disappointed me on this one.

Your PS3 doesn't have Hulu + unless you have Playstation Plus which is an additional $50 a year.

Also, Apple never said things won't update in the future. As Hulu + didn't exist on many platforms when it was announced, so too will be the case on Apple TV.

Relax.

 

[gugy]

the technie nerds but for the mainstream it will be a god send.

No set up.
It will just work as it supposed to.
No wireless connections to make (ie WD need at least a USB cable to hock up.)
Simple search menus.
Stream stuff from you networked devices.

My bet is that this device which is being laughed at by your average techie will sell like will be scooped up by the average person.

That's probably true.

 

[justperry]

you're right. missed it hiding under the hdmi plug

No worries