Apple TV - The Low-down
AppleTV is a media hub that sits in your living room. Your computer lives in your office. AppleTV lives in your den. Connect it to power. Connect it to TV. Let the wireless do the rest!
Commercial
What does it do?
Features and Benefits
AppleTV streams. You can bring your iTunes into your living room by streaming stuff from iTunes on your Mac or PC through your AppleTV to your TV set.
AppleTV does HDMI and Component video. If you've got an old TV that still runs with composite connections, you need to think about upgrading to a newer system.
AppleTV has a USB2 and an Ethernet port. Right now the Apple docs say that the USB port is meant for diagnostics and service. But we geeks don't take those kind of footnotes for an answer. If you're looking for speed or don't have wireless, Apple says you can use the Ethernet jack to connect directly to your computer.
AppleTV outputs a variety of resolutions. 1080i, 720p, 576p and 480p. No 1080p, which was pretty much expected. It does not support HDCP.
Cables are sold separately. You'll have to buy your own HDMI or component video cables and any other cables needed for hooking up your Apple TV.
You can play your homebrew videos as long as they play on the iPod. The specs say you'll be able to play "H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): 640 by 480, 30 fps, LC version of Baseline Profile; 320 by 240, 30 fps, Baseline profile up to Level 1.3; 1280 by 720, 24 fps, Progressive Main Profile. MPEG-4: 640 by 480, 30 fps, Simple Profile". Of course, we all want to be able to play any video that plays in QuickTime (including DivX, etc), but the AppleTV will not (out of the box) play any video that is not playable on the iPod. But savvy hackers have a fix for that! Read on!
You can listen to audio and see pictures on your TV. You don't need external speakers for the audio.
It will work in Europe. Apple is very PAL friendly. AppleTV does 576p 50Hz PAL.
You don't have to buy Apple Extreme. Even though the system requirements list Apple Extreme, Apple's docs make it clear that you don't need it. (The system requirements say: "AirPort Extreme, Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n wireless network6 (wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n), or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network")
AppleTV works with a standard Apple Remote. One is included in the box.
AppleTV is small and quiet! The Apple TV won't take up a ton of space like other home entertainment components. It's only 7.7" square and 1.1" high.
AppleTV does HDMI and Component video. If you've got an old TV that still runs with composite connections, you need to think about upgrading to a newer system.
AppleTV has a USB2 and an Ethernet port. Right now the Apple docs say that the USB port is meant for diagnostics and service. But we geeks don't take those kind of footnotes for an answer. If you're looking for speed or don't have wireless, Apple says you can use the Ethernet jack to connect directly to your computer.
AppleTV outputs a variety of resolutions. 1080i, 720p, 576p and 480p. No 1080p, which was pretty much expected. It does not support HDCP.
Cables are sold separately. You'll have to buy your own HDMI or component video cables and any other cables needed for hooking up your Apple TV.
You can play your homebrew videos as long as they play on the iPod. The specs say you'll be able to play "H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): 640 by 480, 30 fps, LC version of Baseline Profile; 320 by 240, 30 fps, Baseline profile up to Level 1.3; 1280 by 720, 24 fps, Progressive Main Profile. MPEG-4: 640 by 480, 30 fps, Simple Profile". Of course, we all want to be able to play any video that plays in QuickTime (including DivX, etc), but the AppleTV will not (out of the box) play any video that is not playable on the iPod. But savvy hackers have a fix for that! Read on!
You can listen to audio and see pictures on your TV. You don't need external speakers for the audio.
It will work in Europe. Apple is very PAL friendly. AppleTV does 576p 50Hz PAL.
You don't have to buy Apple Extreme. Even though the system requirements list Apple Extreme, Apple's docs make it clear that you don't need it. (The system requirements say: "AirPort Extreme, Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n wireless network6 (wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n), or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network")
AppleTV works with a standard Apple Remote. One is included in the box.
AppleTV is small and quiet! The Apple TV won't take up a ton of space like other home entertainment components. It's only 7.7" square and 1.1" high.
Apple TV on eBay
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Popular Hacks for the Apple TV
Within hours of the AppleTV being available to purchase, it's been hacked. Apart from the obvious upgrade of the hard disk from the measily 40Gb upto 120Gb (and higher), a group of guys have got xVid working on the unit. This allows video with far better compression to be played on the unit. But the hacks don't stop there! How about running full blown MacOS on the box?!
Apple TV Harddrive Upgrade Tutorial
2 points
Use your USB keyboard and mouse
2 points
Mac OS X running on Apple TV
2 points
Video Conversion Software
Inexpensive but fantastic software packages for converting almost any video format, including DVDs, for use on your Apple TV.
- DVD to Apple TV Converter for Windows
- DVD to Apple TV Converter for Windows supplies comfortable & fast access to high-quality conversion from DVD into MP4/MPEG-4 format. In addition, MP4Converter DVD to Apple TV Converter, as expected, can convert DVD into audio formats like MP3, M4A(AAC), etc.
- DVD to Apple TV Converter for Mac
- DVD to Apple TV Converter for Mac is smartly designed Mac DVD to Apple TV software for Mac users. It is professional in converting DVD to Apple TV video MP4 or Video iPod and new iPod 30GB and 80GB together with the resolution for 640 by 480. It can not only rip and convert DVD to Apple TV video format but also convert DVD to iPod and Apple TV audio formats like M4A(AAC) and MP3 etc on your Mac directly.
- Apple TV Video Converter for Windows
- Apple TV Video Converter is a multifunctional tool to put almost all audio and video files onto Apple TV, which due to its tremendous power to convert all popular video and audio formats, such as AVI, MPEG, WMV, MOV, MP4, VOB, DivX, XviD, AAC, WMA, WAV, AC3, MP3 to Apple TV supported video or audio formats including MP4, M4A(AAC), MP3 etc.
- Apple TV Video Converter for Mac
- The Apple TV Video Converter for Mac software provides several default Apple TV video profiles, which you can use converting most popular video formats to Apple TV Video MP4 formats. The profiles will help you get the specify video you like such as minimal size video, high quality video, etc.
Books on Amazon
Apple TV For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/12/2009) 
The Apple TV Pocket Guide
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
Apple Training Series: Apple TV Quick-Reference Guide
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
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