Filed under: Software, Video, Internet Tools, Apple TV
Image Gallery: YouTube on Apple TV
Now that YouTube has arrived on the Apple TV, an image gallery of all the new features seems only fitting. Apple has done quite a nice job with the debut of this custom YouTube UI, and it is surprisingly feature-packed. In terms of video quality, I can comfortably say that most videos that started out in a decent quality to begin with (TV show clips, CG videos from design students, etc.) look *worlds* better in YouTube on the Apple TV (re-encoded to H.264 from the original, mind you; Apple thankfully doesn't put up with the dreadful quality of Flash video) than YouTube online. If you can't get to an Apple TV to take a ride for yourself, check out our YouTube on Apple TV image gallery to get a decent idea of what's in store for this clever new Apple TV feature.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Simon Arch said 12:41PM on 6-20-2007
Is it possible for non-AppleTV users to access the h.264 video? That'd be frickin' sweet, because I'm tired of re-encoding everything I download from YT.
As for the "dreadful quality of Flash video" I think you'll find the finished product is only as good as the source. I've seen flash videos which look fantastic and h.264 videos which look like crap. In addition, everything that goes into YouTube gets crunched down to 320x240, like it or not. I can't see how that will change with the new codec.
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bmoney said 12:44PM on 6-20-2007
Brandon from MacCentric Solutions here...A few observations from the Settings menu:
There's an iTunes Store section, all you can currently do is select your country.
You can use iPhoto slideshows for your screensaver
There are Parental Controls that allow you to have a password to lock the ATV.
I've noticed that volume control still isn't part of the package, but you get some "no" audio feedback when you press up and down on the Apple remote.
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Bratling said 1:08PM on 6-20-2007
In Flash's defense, Flash video can be truly superb. YouTube just compressed the heck out of it before so that the quality really dropped.
(This isn't to say that H.264 isn't better, just that it's not Flash's fault per se. Something better, though more CPU-intensive, came along -- as always happens every couple of years.)
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Michael said 1:35PM on 6-20-2007
Could someone who's using the AppleTV update please check on something for me...
When you go into the "Pictures" section from the main menu does it still just display the Photo Albums you've synced with AppleTV or can you view the folder structure you've created in iPhoto? I have tons of images (12,000+) and I'm waiting for AppleTV to sync folders and sub-folders so that I don't have to scroll through hundreds of albums.
I know it's unlikely that they updated this but I figured it'd be worth checking on. Thanks!
-Michael
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Dave Chartier said 1:44PM on 6-20-2007
#3: While it is certainly true that Flash video compression *can* be done well, seemingly no one does it. The *culture* around using Flash video seems to predominantly be one of 'save bandwidth by throwing out every inkling of quality possible.'
So maybe my gripe centers more around the *users* and the *culture* of Flash video. However, there is certainly a reason that both the high definition DVD camps (Blu-ray and HD-DVD) have chosen H.264 as the codec for the next generation of high definition content.
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iDarbert said 2:33PM on 6-20-2007
>However, there is certainly a reason that both the high definition DVD camps (Blu-ray and HD-DVD) have chosen H.264 as the codec for the next generation of high definition content.
I thought BR used MPEG2 and HD-DVD some weird MPEG4/WMV hybrid... I know the first from a demo I saw at an electronics shop where it compared the BR to the (standard) DVD, and they both had MPEG2 as the codec, just with a higher BitRate.
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Dave Chartier said 5:21PM on 6-20-2007
#6: I'm not sure what was going on there, but everything I've read and heard in presentations says H.264 was chosen for both new HD-DVD standards, primarily because of its excellence in scaling. AFAIK, H.264 excels at producing incredibly high quality video in very compressed, lean files whether it's at full 1080p resolution or scaled down for tiny cell phone displays.
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Jan Lunddal Larsen said 4:44AM on 6-21-2007
#6 Both Blu-ray and HD DVD support MPEG-4 (h.264), MPEG-2 and VC-1
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iDarbert said 3:28PM on 6-21-2007
Ah, thanks for the information :)
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