Apple TV Unboxing and Hands on Video with Streaming and Netflix

[faroZ06]

i believe this can connect to internet via wifi. is there any way to connect a good external wifi antenna to it?

Why is it hard to believe? The old one could do that, too.

What I want to know is if they changed the outputs at all or allowed external HDs without hacking (I hacked my ATV but couldn't install the external HD patch for some reason).

I'm not that reluctant to hack (as long as it's safe) but it's pretty difficult sometimes to install these things. I'm surprised I got so far before getting stuck on this. hacker

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Are you also able to select a remote device in itunes to stream to and choose the apple tv like you would an airport express or am I wrong about that?

In other words you could start to stream a movie to the device without looking at the menu on the TV to make it happen.

 

[Roller]

I just watched the video .... it's exactly the same as the older Apple TV without the hard drive. Nothing new here except the much lower price and lack of a hard drive.

Not really. The addition of Netflix is a pretty big improvement. It also reportedly runs much cooler than the older ATV - mine gets hot enough to cook breakfast.

 

[jsdc2005]

Actually they are great to have if you ever need to return something within the return period. Although Apple's packaging is so simple it isn't really hard to keep track of all the items that came with the box and where they go inside the box. For other products though, I have gone back and watched an unboxing video to see how things were arranged and what came in the box before I returned it to avoid a restocking fee (at certain stores at least).

And I read Playboy for the articles.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Don't forget to hold it correctly:

 

[matrix6028]

Is this a Joke?

This is EXACTLY how the current AppleTV (minus Netflix) works?? Why the video??

 

[roland.g]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

I have a lot of photos synced to my Apple TV and let the floating screensaver run while playing music or set to come on after 2 minutes of idle if a movie it something is paused. With no HDD, is this functionality still present in a buffer or streamed mode?

This is one of our favorite things about the original.

 

[jsdc2005]

So, has anyone actually found out how much storage there is? That's my biggest question.

That is a good question. I assumed it doesn't really have any above what it needs to allow you to pause, rewind, etc. a show you're watching, but I'd love to be wrong on that.

 

[onlycopunk]

I understand the updated hardware, but what I can't understand is the lack of hard drive? I enjoy having my music and various movies and tv shows on my ATV for the fact I don't have to have my computer turned on or make sure iTunes is running to access anything.

The apps will be interesting, but I've already got a PS3 an iPhone and an iPad for apps. If they had included a digital tuner or something they might have been on to something.

 

[roland.g]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

My guess is 8 or 16GB flash. Maybe 4, but most iTunes HD rental movies are over 5.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

I feel your discomfort. I'm fed up with all of these 10.5.6 or greater downloads because I'm stuck at 10.5 (very long story, but I can't upgrade).

SO. FRUSTURATING

"I thought I got an Apple, not a Lemon!"

What's stopping you from downloading the cumulative update for OS X 10.5.x and getting current with iTunes 10?

 

[Freis968]

It comes with the same remote that comes with the new iMac? Hmmm, I guess Apple owes me a remote, I did not receive a remote with my new iMac...

 

[CyberBob859]

This is EXACTLY how the current AppleTV (minus Netflix) works?? Why the video??

I agree that this is pretty much the same "look and feel" of the old TV, but I was impressed by the responsiveness of the interface and how fast the streaming started.

Some of that is probably due to their WiFi connection (I assume that PC Mag won't skimp on bandwidth) but it definitely seems faster than the old version.

I'm still going to hold onto my old TV until it's not supported anymore in iTunes or it dies on it's own, but this isn't bad for just renting movies or shows. Hope Apple gets more networks on board and they allow expansion with apps or channels. That's when I'll bite.

 

[Thanatoast]

iPad games

Hmmm.

Airplay + iPad + App store = default Apple gaming console? Before you scoff, remember no one thought the Touch was a gaming machine when set next to a DS or PSP.

 

[ast03]

i dislike thats you rent videos instead of purchasing them. very dumb.

 

[7o7munoz7o7]

i dislike thats you rent videos instead of purchasing them. very dumb.

buy them on your computer....stream them to the ATV...

 

[DakotaGuy]

I was impressed by the responsiveness of the interface and how fast the streaming started.

Some of that is probably due to their WiFi connection (I assume that PC Mag won't skimp on bandwidth) but it definitely seems faster than the old version.

I would think streaming speed would have everything to do with bandwidth. I am running on a 14 Mbps down cable connection. I am not sure if that is good enough to be able to stream as fast as they can, but I assume it would be adequate.

 

[Avatar74]

I would think streaming speed would have everything to do with bandwidth. I am running on a 14 Mbps down cable connection. I am not sure if that is good enough to be able to stream as fast as they can, but I assume it would be adequate.

With at least 20% overhead bandwidth (2.8Mbps on a 14Mbps connection) that still leaves you with plenty of bandwidth for direct streaming to the device from Apple. The SD files stream at about 1.5-2.5 Kbps and the 720p HD files stream at about 4-5 Mbps. I have 30 Mbps cable but I previously had 15 Mbps FIOS and it did fine... especially if you're running 802.11n wifi on your LAN, you've got no bottleneck issues also.

Right now, with my 30 Mbps cable, on the 1st gen AppleTV my rentals start streaming within 5-10 seconds... on the 15 Mbps FIOS it was 20-30 seconds. Compared to going to the rental store or waiting for Netflix in the mail, or even VOD, that's still pretty freaking awesome.

 

[jol45]

If I have Mac OS X 10.4.11 can I go into a store, purchase and download Mac OS X 10.6.3 without any problems?

 

[outphase]

If I have Mac OS X 10.4.11 can I go into a store, purchase and download Mac OS X 10.6.3 without any problems?

only if you have an Intel CPU

 

[jimsowden]

Does it have a new intro video?

 

[akrantz]

Great, another mechanism for fat Americans to use to distract them from their miserable lives. Seriously, this doesn't even offer anything new. Can't even handle 1080p? 5 years late and still flawed. Let me guess, it fails to play any format that Apple hasn't found a way to monopolize yet? Mkvs and m2ts are ignored, Apple can burn in hell!!!

Bit of an overreaction isn't it? Seriously though I wont be buying one either. I have the current Apple TV and it just collects dust. One of these days when I have the time i'll hack it to do more i suppose. The truth is that ever since I purchased a ps3 there really is no value in it my appleTV anymore.

Initially I had hoped my wife might use it but she doesn't like it. She doesn't like to to rent movies through it because most of the time the one she wants is for sale but not for rent (not apples fault but a problem just the same) and she hates how long it takes to download them. The download time for movies seems to vary widely, sometimes it can take 5 minutes and other times 45 minutes. Which makes it hard to plan around. Also for people with busy lives (like us) having to finish the movie within 24 hours of renting can be a pain. in the end there just isn't really any benefit to having an appleTV over netflix and the PS3 combined for our household. Especially considering the new appleTV does even less because you can no longer store your media (photos) on it.

Dont get me wrong, I understand that not everyone can afford netflix and a ps3, and $99 is pretty affordable. I guess this product is for people with a limited budget looking for a plug and play set-up. People who just want to rent the occasional movie and aren't that picky about what they rent or the resolution of it and are fine to watch it right away. People who don't mind not having a browser or their photos etc etc...that's just not me, or really anyone I know.

 

[AidenShaw]

Still messing around as a hobby product. Needs a DVR before it can be a serious product. Too bad, so close but still crippled. Maybe now that Zucker has been fired from NBC Apple will have a little less resistance to DVR's...

You have to fire Jobs as well...

With Tim Cook going to HP, it becomes ever more obvious that Apple needs to move to the "post-Jobs" era.

From Apple TV specs page: "For streaming media from a Mac or PC: iTunes 10 or later; iTunes Store account for Home Sharing"

Bloat is required....

It's already hacked

Is there any IOS product that doesn't need to be jailbreaked to access basic functionality?

"I thought I got an Apple, not a Lemon!"

 

[DakotaGuy]

With at least 20% overhead bandwidth (2.8Mbps on a 14Mbps connection) that still leaves you with plenty of bandwidth for direct streaming to the device from Apple. The SD files stream at about 1.5-2.5 Kbps and the 720p HD files stream at about 4-5 Mbps. I have 30 Mbps cable but I previously had 15 Mbps FIOS and it did fine... especially if you're running 802.11n wifi on your LAN, you've got no bottleneck issues also.

Right now, with my 30 Mbps cable, on the 1st gen AppleTV my rentals start streaming within 5-10 seconds... on the 15 Mbps FIOS it was 20-30 seconds. Compared to going to the rental store or waiting for Netflix in the mail, or even VOD, that's still pretty freaking awesome.

Thanks for the information. I have been streaming Netflix content without any issues, but most of it has all been SD content. I was not sure how fast of an Internet connection you would need so you didn't have to wait forever to start viewing, but I guess I am ok. I don't know if I will get an Apple TV or not since I am happy with BD and Netflix, but I will keep it in mind.

 

[juicedropsdeuce]

AppleTV Fail: Part 2

Now that the $50 Roku will have Hulu Plus for $10/mo. Apple's box looks worse and worse.