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

[gnasher729]

as stated in the other thread:

1080p is useful for almost no one, but doesn't hurt most of us, if:

1. no fans are added because of the faster processor
2. no price increase is observed (119€ for EU)

if 1 and 2 are met, it's a nice upgrade for those using PLEX on the ATV2 who want 1080p without frames dropping. however, i don't see anyone with an ATV2 upgrading.

There is one enormous use case for 1080p: There are rumours that Mountain Lion will allow displaying the screen of your Mac on a TV through Apple TV, same as the iPad does today. That would be much better if Apple TV supports 1920 x 1080. It would be even better if it was supported on a MacBook as a virtual monitor, that is operate as if the MacBook had a 1920 x 1080 screen even though it has only 1280 x 800.

 

[acidfast7]

Have you actually seen a Boxee Box up close? Its none of what you what you described it as;

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Its pretty small, you can tell from that picture alone, its 4.5 inches wide, tall and deep since its a cube.

How small do you need it to be? Unless you live in a shack where you share space with a mouse, I don't see why this is even an issue. It sits next to your TV. I personally have a Western Digital TV, and compared to all the stereo decks and DVD players (even the small ones), the thing is tiny.

But the real deal breaker is the file format support. Apple TV doesn't even compare. DivX, Xvid, MKV, x264, etc etc etc.

1. yes, I think the Boxee Box looks like *****.
2. I spent 3k€ on a handmade Danish sideboard from the 50s that I set the TV on top of.
3. if you're 19 and think bright green and 10 wires coming out of the back is nice, then I'm sure the Boxee Box is OK, if you care about aesthetics, ATV2 wins by a huge margin (as do most of Apple's products.)
4. I don't keep "stereo components" nor "Digital TV boxes" stacked up for everyone to see.
5. Also, I don't drink sugary drinks (like Coke) and the Apple TV is just barely large enough to serve as a coaster for a 0.5L German weizen beer bottle
6. To be fair, the last thing I want is a retarded looking green frog smiling at me

 

[OllyW]

I was going to get another ATV2 so an ATV3 for the same price is even better.

 

[acidfast7]

There is one enormous use case for 1080p: There are rumours that Mountain Lion will allow displaying the screen of your Mac on a TV through Apple TV, same as the iPad does today. That would be much better if Apple TV supports 1920 x 1080. It would be even better if it was supported on a MacBook as a virtual monitor, that is operate as if the MacBook had a 1920 x 1080 screen even though it has only 1280 x 800.

I agree with this.

AirPlay Mirroring is the only reason I've seen to upgrade since 10.5.8

I'm actually extremely excited about it, and it works without lag, I'll upgrade all my machines to 10.8

That's said, I think the ATV2 could easily handle "1080p" from a MBP/iMac as the bitrate demand would be quite low.

 

[kotonizna]

usb port?

Will the upcoming apple tv have hdmi and usb port?

 

[DaveN]

They already make that. Its called the AppleTV. No way they'd sell a $39 device that cannibalizes their $99 device's large selling point.

Not necessarily. Update the aTV software to allow running games and other software. Have the dongle to push for iPad and iPod Touch sales along with programming revenue. aTV sells but it isn't a money maker. The money is in the consumables and iPad, iPod Touch and the iPhone.

 

[acidfast7]

Will the upcoming apple tv have hdmi and usb port?

the ATV currently has micro-USB and HDMI

 

[slippyr4]

I never realised the current Apple TV didn't already support 1080p. I thought Apple were supposed to be technology leaders??

 

[Skika]

Will the upcoming apple tv have hdmi and usb port?

Doesnt it already have an HDMI port??

 

[DaveN]

I want an Apple TV as a streamer that also could access files on external HDD via normal USB or even FW/TB interface, no advanced NAS, Airplay via iPhone/iPad, Mac required during playback, or even depends on internet connection for live streaming iTunes movies.

I just want my TV, Apple TV connected to simple and cheap USB external HDD, and audio receiver as the only things that turned on during the show.

Isn't that much simpler than iTunes movie rent live streaming? Not everyone have 20Mbps Internet connection, you know.

But I dont want Roku, Boxee, or WDTV. I want it from a simple $99 box from Apple. Is that too much to ask really?

How about including a SD card slot on the aTV? Small, unobtrusive and you can add significant memory easily.

 

[weckart]

I hope they made some serious tweaks to the GUI and performance, maybe add 3rd party apps.

If its just a resolution update, it's still a no go in my book.

I thought the only real value in this product was the ability to jailbreak it and install XBMC on it. That seems to be the driver behind decisions to purchase it on the non-Mac specific forums I frequent. Even Apple haters are buying it for precisely that ability.

If it can be jailbroken, I might consider one to replace the WDTV I currently have as that heats up even when not switched on and its gui is slow as hell.

 

[unobtainium]

Will the upcoming apple tv have hdmi and usb port?

the ATV currently has micro-USB and HDMI

He's probably wondering whether or not it will be possible to attach an external HD by USB and play movies off an external drive. Apple seems very committed to the streaming philosophy, so I'm not holding my breath for this unfortunately.

 

[wikus]

1. yes, I think the Boxee Box looks like *****.
2. I spent 3k€ on a handmade Danish sideboard from the 50s that I set the TV on top of.
3. if you're 19 and think bright green and 10 wires coming out of the back is nice, then I'm sure the Boxee Box is OK, if you care about aesthetics, ATV2 wins by a huge margin (as do most of Apple's products.)
4. I don't keep "stereo components" nor "Digital TV boxes" stacked up for everyone to see.
5. Also, I don't drink sugary drinks (like Coke) and the Apple TV is just barely large enough to serve as a coaster for a 0.5L German weizen beer bottle
6. To be fair, the last thing I want is a retarded looking green frog smiling at me

I can't tell if your trolling or being serious...

 

[thejadedmonkey]

1. yes, I think the Boxee Box looks like *****.
2. I spent 3k€ on a handmade Danish sideboard from the 50s that I set the TV on top of.
3. if you're 19 and think bright green and 10 wires coming out of the back is nice, then I'm sure the Boxee Box is OK, if you care about aesthetics, ATV2 wins by a huge margin (as do most of Apple's products.)
4. I don't keep "stereo components" nor "Digital TV boxes" stacked up for everyone to see.
5. Also, I don't drink sugary drinks (like Coke) and the Apple TV is just barely large enough to serve as a coaster for a 0.5L German weizen beer bottle
6. To be fair, the last thing I want is a retarded looking green frog smiling at me

So then use 2 wires, an HDMI and a power cable? Just because you blow your nose with $100 bills doesn't mean everyone else shares your taste...

 

[Tech198]

clean up

neat...

What would you steam in 1080p ? Only thing would, probably be, Blue-ray, and even then ATV would have to jail-broke in order to get the media in correct format maybe.

This would really take off when Itunes Store & Netflix start streaming in 1080p.

Itunes offers HD rentals, but I doubt its 1080p.

 

[acidfast7]

I can't tell if your trolling or being serious...

I am being serious. The ATV looks quite nice and I think the Boxee Box looks like ax XBox that's half-way smashed.

If you care about interior design, the ATV makes prefect sense as it's not obtrusive at all.

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So then use 2 wires, an HDMI and a power cable? Just because you blow your nose with $100 bills doesn't mean everyone else shares your taste...

Don't take it personally and I didn't look down on anyone else's opinion.

I just think the Boxee looks like crap (or like something a 16-year old would want). The ATV is quite classic and sleek. The MacMini would be optimal, but I think it's too expensive at 599€.

That's why people push the ATV2 to get the most out of the hardware.

Being totally silent is extremely nice as well (no fans is very nice.)

 

[kyjaotkb]

I'm really hoping Apple will add Apps to the AppleTV.

My 2010 €120 Philips blu ray player can play 1080p from a usb thumbkey/HDD, has 2 USB ports, Wifi, DLNA and supports a wide variety of formats, from blu-ray to WMV9(!), including DivX, XVid and h264 MKV.
But I don't use it except for Blu-ray cause I'm not a pirate.
And there is no interesting applicative environment for me to buy/rent hi quality films on the netTV platform.


So that is where the Apple TV needs to play. Apps, software.
The 1080p spec bump is just playing catch up imho. That's the minimum upgrade.
I think even the A4 could play reasonably good 1080p but they held of because of the lack of available contents.

I got a 50" Panny plasma so YES 1080p (at a good bitrate, of course) is better than 720p.

So I'm buying this new Apple TV if it offers streaming EST (without the need to turn on my mac and consume that precious SSD space with movies) in hi-bitrate 1080p, Apps and a tad more interoperability. I'm thinking Ultraviolet, which would nicely compliment my blu-ray collection.

 

[siritalks]

Hoping for more TV options for users in the UK. BBC iPlayer, iTV Player, 4OD, SkyAnytime etc would be cool. Can take or leave the 1080p upgrade. I just want more functionality out of the box.

 

[fpnc]

So, if they are incorporating Bluetooth 4.0, what are the actual uses for that (asides any new remotes)? They must be building it in for a reason?

Apple might use the Bluetooth 4.0 High Speed mode so that you wouldn't need a WiFi basestation to send audio and video from your iPhone 4S or iPad 3/HD to your Apple TV. In theory it would make the setup and use of the Apple TV even easier -- you'd just need an Apple TV and one of the newer iOS devices.

However, if you wanted access to any of the internet-based content you'd still need a way to connect to your ISP, so I'm not certain why anyone would want to have an Apple TV without a local network (wired or WiFi).

Of course, Apple is putting Bluetooth 4.0 into all of their products so it may just be along for the ride. They might use it to simplify the setup on the Apple TV and perhaps for a new remote control (which might be introduced at some time in the future -- not necessarily as early as tomorrow). As for remotes, I suspect that Bluetooth would make it easier to use the touch screen on your iOS device as a direct input control for the Apple TV.

In any case, what I'd really like to see (along with everyone else) is apps on the Apple TV. If they did that right (ease of setup, decent performance, and hold the line on prices) then I think the Apple TV could really take off.

 

[Stelph]

Will be glad if this is the only update to the ATV3, my TV is a 720p Plasma so a 1080P ATV is not required, so hopefully the 720p version will be sold off referbished/second hand at bargain prices

Similar for the Ipad 3 as well I guess, second hand prices have already driven down hard, hopefully other than the screen its such a minor update (like the 4s) that I can get a budget iPad2 with similar features for a lot less of the cost

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Hoping for more TV options for users in the UK. BBC iPlayer, iTV Player, 4OD, SkyAnytime etc would be cool. Can take or leave the 1080p upgrade. I just want more functionality out of the box.

TBF if you have an iPhone/iPad you can airplay the video from the apps to the appleTV so having an app on the appletv isnt essential, although I agree it would be preferred.

 

[kotonizna]

He's probably wondering whether or not it will be possible to attach an external HD by USB and play movies off an external drive. Apple seems very committed to the streaming philosophy, so I'm not holding my breath for this unfortunately.

Yeah i mean a usb and firewire port for external hard drives I live outside the US, movies and tv shows in iTUNES are blocked from my country and i just dont wanna use the apple TV just for music and extension of my mac.

 

[DenisAuermann]

HAha

it drops at "high bitrate" 720p, not normal 720p. 1080p is pretty much a no go, unless the bitrate is low enough to not be better than 720p.

for one, a Boxee Box is big, clunky and looks like crap (might as well buy an XBox at that point). It's heavy, makes noise, and takes a lot of space. It's also much more expensive (170€ or so).

i want a simple, elegant design that's not intrusive to play whatever TV I can't get over here.

to be honest, a MacMini is prefect for the this, but at 599€ it's not easily justifiable.

I just looked up the boxee box and wow that thing is fugly.

 

[acidfast7]

I just looked up the boxee box and wow that thing is fugly.

I am a pompous ass, who likes nice interior design to a fault, but that has to be one of the worst designs I have seen for a consumer electronic device in a long time.

 

[proximity]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Looks like only 1080p eople will give a crap about this Apple TV update.

Makes sense to do 1080p since it's the largest resolution on most TV's, and you need all the resolution you can have when Mountian Lion ships, which Apple annocunced with AirPlay (mirroring) support.

 

[DaveN]

Dongle idea...

With a dongle, all the software is in the iPod/iPhone/iPad/Mac so imagine this:

Apple makes an aTV application for your iDevice that incorporates Siri. The current interface for getting movies, etc. on aTV is awful and is based on the gumstick remote. Get rid of the gumstick remote. Your remote is an iDevice. You open the aTV application on your iDevice and tell it you want to watch a good old western to which Siri asks "Anything specific?" "No" you say. "Give me some options." and Siri lists several options. You pick "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and your iDevice asks if you want to watch it on your iDevice or your tv. You say TV and it plays on your tv. Because the user interface is on the iDevice or Mac, you have a lot better experience than the move right, left, up, down options in the current aTV which is limited because of the need to support the gumstick remote. Even the Remote app for your iDevice is clunky.

Now a video call comes in on your iDevice. The number is displayed and you can choose to answer or ignore. You answer and your show is automatically paused and resumes when you complete your call.

With the above set-up you aren't shouting at a distant tv giving commands. You talk naturally into a handheld device. Other advantages are that the iDevices have storage for watching movies later and if you don't have high speed internet at home, you can download a movie at a nearby hotspot for watching later at home. That would be a great option for those who live in the countryside who may have local in-town hotspots but have limited options at home.