Updated Apple TV with 1080p Video Support to Maintain $99 Price Tag

[acidfast7]

Look it up or hook up the hardware to see what is coming out of it. There is a hardware gate built in so that no matter what you feed it (even a blank, one color video at the lowest possible bitrate), what is coming out and flowing to your HDTV is 720p.

When we hook the camcorder directly the the TV and when we flip to the exact same video downconverted to 720p max specs (for what TV can handle) everyone at my house can see the difference. Basically, "as is" for us, there's the "convenient" video apple:TV) and the "good video" (camcorder, blu ray).

1. Nope, there was a German site the demonstrated 1080p resolution and about 33% dropped frames at a medium bitrate. At that point, work stopped on developing more efficient decoding.

2. The difference you are observing is the compression/downscaling used by the camera (or your settings.) If you record everything on the max theoretical settings, you'd have to have a mega-setup to see the difference. Most likely, the default settings, or the max camera settings, or the upscaling/downscaling features in the firmware as set such that one detects a difference between 720p and 1080p.

3. You really need to learn to understand the difference between what's available (technical limitations in your settings/firmware) and what's actually possible (the raw data displayed at 720p vs. 1080p; and what equipment you'd need to have to observe a real difference at the max settings.) You really come across as a person who believes everything they're sold/told, rather than having an actual understanding of the differences.

 

[hafr]

That isn't a task manager, that is a multitasking switcher. A task manager is something to stop processes of an application.

So pressing and holding an icon in the "multitasking switcher" until they start shaking and then pressing the cross to kill the application doesn't really do anything at all?

 

[acidfast7]

If I was that poor, I wouldn't even go on vacation.

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

2. I/we're not poor. We save roughly 50% of our net income, and spend 20-25% on holiday and live with the other 25-30%.

3. When every full-time worker gets 6 weeks paid holiday + 2.5 weeks federal holidays, you have to go on vacation.

 

[RalfTheDog]

1. Nope, there was a German site the demonstrated 1080p resolution and about 33% dropped frames at a medium bitrate. At that point, work stopped on developing more efficient decoding.

2. The difference you are observing is the compression/downscaling used by the camera (or your settings.) If you record everything on the max theoretical settings, you'd have to have a mega-setup to see the difference. Most likely, the default settings, or the max camera settings, or the upscaling/downscaling features in the firmware as set such that one detects a difference between 720p and 1080p.

1. I would love to see a link.
2. Not everyone is limited to a little 56 inch TV.

 

[acidfast7]

Look it up (for example: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/30/confirmed-appletv-can-play-1080p-content-from-itunes-but-still/) or hook up the hardware to see what is coming out of it. There is a hardware gate built in so that no matter what you feed it (even a blank, one color 1080p video at the lowest possible bitrate), what is coming out and flowing to your HDTV is 720p.



When we hook the camcorder directly the the TV and when we flip to the exact same video downconverted to 720p max specs (for what TV can handle) everyone at my house can see the difference. Basically, "as is" for us, there's the "convenient" video apple:TV) and the "good video" (camcorder, blu ray). No doubt that the 720p looks very good, but everyone here sees the difference.

What I hope for- which again doesn't affect you in any way- is a way to blend the two: a new TV3 that can make the "good video" just as convenient.

And frankly, SD vs. 720p is apples & oranges too but you apparently value the beer over that difference. Enjoy your beer and your SD. What makes since for me and mine is just different than what makes sense for you. I find no faults with what works for you.

1. lol that's through iTunes, check out some of the XMBC/PLEX software demos.

2. like i said, apple software constrained it (for obvious reasons), and it is hardware constrained from the perspective of displaying 1080p poorly (which is why apple software constrained it.)

 

[QuiteSure]

For someone who does not like paying for TV (I get free basic cable as part of my internet service which is 16/4) what can I use a Apple TV for? We don't watch much of any TV preferring movies by Blu-Ray or similar.

I get DVDs from Netflix and rip them into m4v format using Handbrake (widely known free AWESOME app). I move the ripped movies from my Movies folder to iTunes, then delete the original ripped file. I can then watch the DVDs on my iPad, iPhone or regular TV through my AppleTV. This is actually my main use for the AppleTV, although I do enjoy streaming Netflix and watching YouTube and many of the other features of AppleTV. If we miss an episode of something that's not on OnDemand we can usually get it on iTunes and watch on AppleTV.

My wife and I sometimes watch the photos that float across the screen as part of the AppleTV's screensaver. We enjoy that too, geekily enough.

 

[RalfTheDog]

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

2. I/we're not poor. We save roughly 50% of our net income, and spend 20-25% on holiday and live with the other 25-30%.

3. When every full-time worker gets 6 weeks paid holiday + 2.5 weeks federal holidays, you have to go on vacation.

3. When you own a minimum of half of every company you work for, vacation is going home by 8:00pm on a Saturday.

 

[QuiteSure]

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

2. I/we're not poor. We save roughly 50% of our net income, and spend 20-25% on holiday and live with the other 25-30%.

3. When every full-time worker gets 6 weeks paid holiday + 2.5 weeks federal holidays, you have to go on vacation.

Sounds like you have a sweet gig. Here in the States we have crazy (and, I think, needless) work pressures. I don't pay much attention to bitrates etc. but I think saving your $$ for long vacations seems like a good idea.

 

[acidfast7]

Sounds like you have a sweet gig. Here in the States we have crazy (and, I think, needless) work pressures. I don't pay much attention to bitrates etc. but I think saving your $$ for long vacations seems like a good idea.

TBH, I would like to work in the US again, but the lack of holiday is a deal-breaker from the outset.

Most places won't even discuss 8+ weeks of holidays in a written contract



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3. When you own a minimum of half of every company you work for, vacation is going home by 8:00pm on a Saturday.

That's my point. I'm not limited to a 56" TV. I choose to work less, make less and enjoy my life more (and it's hardly scraping by). time is valuable; TVs, not so much.

 

[GenesisST]

Ha, that .00030009 really hurts that bottom line.

I can afford the 20$... I complain out of principles.

That being said 20$ is NOT worth the hassle of driving 100ish km south or ordering through US, custom s, etc.

So I will end up paying it anyways if I upgrade.

 

[monaarts]

hold down on one of the icons and you can kill them...

No... You can remove it from showing up. ;-)

 

[DaveN]

55 inch is small for 1080p. Most of us, who are excited about 1080p have 65 or larger. (Insert mine is bigger than yours joke.)

My reality is bigger than your reality!

 

[GenesisST]

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

I've done London and Laos. Both were great but really different! India, not for me... I'm a bit of a misanthrope and I might loose it with too many people...

Bottom line: to each his own.

 

[QuiteSure]

TBH, I would like to work in the US again, but the lack of holiday is a deal-breaker from the outset.

Most places won't even discuss 8+ weeks of holidays in a written contract

In the US 4 weeks is really stretching it. Then you've got ambitious guys (like on this thread) who can't get out of work before 8pm on Saturday. These are all different and valid lifestyle choices. But while you can always make more money, you can't ever get back the time you've spent. To me, 8+ weeks of holiday sounds like a great way to live your life.

Of course, you could be a schoolteacher. They get summers off.

 

[D.T.]

3. When you own a minimum of half of every company you work for, vacation is going home by 8:00pm on a Saturday.

Funny comment (probably doesn’t mean much to folks who aren’t business owners). On my 3rd (just brought on as an equity partner on another).

My only difference is working out of a home office, so my edit would be “... shutting by 8pm on Saturday”

 

[acidfast7]

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

I've done London and Laos. Both were great but really different! India, not for me... I'm a bit of a misanthrope and I might loose it with too many people...

Bottom line: to each his own.

Actually, I found SE Asia (Thia/Cambodia/Vietnam/Laos) quite nice. Didn't have time for Burma but I met some Danes traveling for 18 months (on unemployment and study money, no less) who said it was great. I also have a colleague who got an job offer from the uni in Hanoi (he's French) and the salary was quite good 1500€/mo for that region. He went back to Paris though

 

[hafr]

1. Poor/cheap vacations are better. I'd rather be on a bus in India or in the villages north of Hanoi than in Paris/London again.

Does your favorite destinations happen to be in countries with a lower general price level, or is the general price level an important factor for you?

2. I/we're not poor. We save roughly 50% of our net income, and spend 20-25% on holiday and live with the other 25-30%.

Okay, so you're just cheap as ****? Yeah, pennies make pounds, but counting quarters and translating it into beers during your everyday life seem a bit over the top. Especially considering the fact that you're actually spending money on things like Apple products...

3. When every full-time worker gets 6 weeks paid holiday + 2.5 weeks federal holidays, you have to go on vacation.

Of course you don't.

 

[Ayemerica]

I can afford the 20$... I complain out of principles.

That being said 20$ is NOT worth the hassle of driving 100ish km south or ordering through US, custom s, etc.

So I will end up paying it anyways if I upgrade.

I was on your side. Apple has to pay a high tax in Canada I think.

 

[ftaok]

Regarding the idea of the Airplay HDMI dongle ...

Lets say that Apple wants to get iOS onto input-1 of your TV. What does it have to replace? For most folks, it's the cable/sat box connected via HDMI. I don't think Apple has the contract/agreements in place with Hollywood to replace the cable box, otherwise we'd have heard about it by now.

So how can they get iOS onto input-1? How about an HDMI dongle that allows for pass-thru? I didn't think this was allowed within the HDMI spec, but google does this with GoogleTV (or at least I thought they did) on the Logitech Revue.

By allowing pass-thru on input-1, people don't have to switch inputs when they want to use Airplay from their iPads, iPhones, iPods touch (or is it iPod touches???). The device would be smart enough to transition from your cable box feed to iOS Airplay as soon as it detected an active Airplay source. When done, it would seamlessly transition back to your cable box.

Perhaps this is the $39 B82 item. Perhaps not. I'm not sure whether the hardware required (e.g. 802.11n, HDMI ports, RAM for buffer, etc) for this type of Airplay dongle lends itself to a sub-$50 pricetag.

As for the issue of cannibalizing sales of the $99 aTV2 ... it doesn't matter. Apple has no issues with cannibalizing their own products, as long as your buying Apple gear.

 

[Kid Red]

But will the AT3 play MKVs so I can return my WDTV Live?

 

[essential]

Hopefully with the ability to play 1080p, the mod community will take a larger role in getting an easy direct boot solution to XBMC or Plex. If I could easily install a full support XBMC or Plex I'd buy 3 of the new ATV's and have one on each TV in the house all networked to my movie drive.

 

[satcomer]

it's the new smart cover

What are you smoking?

It most likely an add-on for controlling Apps bought for the ATV.

 

[MannieSolo]

I just want the Apple TV to be able to run Apps. It would be perfect if they can just figure out how to do that

 

[GenesisST]

I was on your side. Apple has to pay a high tax in Canada I think.

That might be so, I don't know much about corporate taxes. But I do find weird that some products have the same starting price on the US and CA online stores. Some not...

iPods: same
Mini: same
iMac: same
iPad: +20
aTV: +20
Mac Pro: +100
air: same
mbp: +50

Kind of inconsistent. But like I said, I'd rather pay up that go through hoops and loose time. My time is worth more.

I just like complainin'... :-D

 

[M3qx]

It would be nice if it had thunderbolt