Apple TV Take 2 video walkthrough

Guess who just ordered an apple tv?

Thanks TUAW. Next time keep the focus from going in and out... otherwise decent showing. I was on the fence, and just ordered a 160gb apple tv2.

Please learn to use manual focus on your camera

The update made one seemingly unwelcome change. Before the update, I was able to sync from the iTunes on my Mac and stream from the media content on my external hard drive and switch back and forth easily. Now, it is a more complicated process with having to go through a Connect to iTunes with passkey each time.

Where to begin...

Good news - HD rental download was over 4 GB, so not as compressed as some people seemed to think it would be.

Bad news - HD rental download took over 3 hours on my DSL connection! Not great, but a regular movie should only take an hour and a half.

Further "Bad News", AppleTV Take 2 is even LESS family friendly than AppleTV was! :( C'mon Apple, your asking us to hook this up to our living room TV, which is shared by ALL family members - but how come my wife cannot use it to download a podcast or TV show to HER iTunes library? Granted, I've jsut used it one night, but could find no way to do this. We both share a household Mac, but have separate iTunes libraries for our own collections. The AppleTV is synced to my iTunes, and hers is "shared".

That was fine with the old AppleTV, as we could use "Sources" to select which iTunes library to stream content from (we both stream, I don't really sync anything) - but with the new added rentals, podcasts, etc. there doesn't seem to be an obvious way for her to make purchases, rentals, etc. to HER iTunes library from the AppleTV...

Think family, Apple. You know, Spouses, Kids, etc. The living room is where we all SHARE the TV. :) So lets all be able to all use it!

Besides that, I love the new upgrade (but miss "front row"). The HD movie I rented looked great and played great, and we can already feel the irresistable urge to rent more movies... (damn you Apple!) :)

"My only question: Are there video playlists?"

No, unfortunately, there's not. You're getting closer, Apple, but not quite there yet....

http://www.MacintoshOS.com

I received the release today (around 11:00 CET), and I spent the day playing with my new toy. I give it a 85% positive rating.

The interface is much changed. Not quite so simple as we’re accustomed, but still intuitive. There’s really only 2 new features: but they transform the product’s value. 1) Direct interface to iTunes Store, and 2) Movie Rentals.

The iTunes store on TV works well. I had some trouble accessing my iTunes account, so I had to create a new account on the PC, then reconnect. Not terribly difficult or time consuming. Once in, everything worked like a charm. Buying a song on TV simultaneously downloads it to my PC and AppleTV.

See the full review at http://www.broodingsavage.com/journal/2008/2/13/appletv-upgrade-is-here-review.html

Keith -- I would watch a HD movie on a AppleTV before you buy. Yes, the HD movies are 720p but they will be highly compressed. The HD movies at 720p will NOT look as good as a HD movie at 720p on a Blue-Ray disc (if you can find a BlueRay movie at 720p. Many are 1080p).

I suspect that the HD movies from the Apple Store probably won't look that much better than a regular DVD.

Buying a US iTunes Music Card will NOT work if you live outside the US. The US iTunes Music card only works with a US iTunes Music Store Account. And I don't think you can create a US iTunes Music Store Account unless you have a credit card issued by a US bank. You are in a catch 22.

Basically if you live outside the US, you will be out of luck.

I thought Apple TV was restricted to 720p. The video clearly, (albeit quickly) showed that it supports 1080i resolution. Can someone that has one please confirm. It makes a big difference whether or not I will buy.

The HD movies are still 720p though, I believe.

Gorgeous update Apple.

Now, if only I could rent the videos from your store you would make:
- one customer happy
- some money

Until then I will revert to other, less politically correct methods. But at least I cannot be blamed, for I have no alternative.