Apple TV review

  

   You've been waiting, and it's finally here: the Apple TV review. Months before Steve Jobs announced the new set top box at Apple's annual fall event, we had been reporting on news that the company would strike out again into the TV market, offering a small, low-cost box that had more in common with the iPhone than the iMac. When those rumors came to fruition, we were presented with the completely revamped Apple TV -- a tiny black puck of a device priced at a staggering $99, and centered around a handful of completely new ideas (for the folks in Cupertino at least) about getting content onto your TV screen. The first is a new rental system which allows you to nab brand new TV shows at $0.99 a rental, and HD movies for $4.99 a go (or $3.99 for older titles). And that includes new releases the same day DVDs hit shelves (or Netflix distribution centers). Speaking of Netflix, the new Apple TV also features the rental service's "Watch Instantly" as a wholly integrated component of its offerings, alongside a new function the company calls AirPlay which will allow you to "push" video and audio content from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch with the tap of a button. On top of that, the new ATV streamlines sharing from your home computers or laptops, making getting content you own onto your TV dead simple. So, has Apple finally solved the "second box" problem, or are they still struggling to turn this hobby into a real business? Follow along after the break for those answers (and more) in our full review of the Apple TV!

Play Digital Media Content:

It’s easy to wirelessly sync up the Apple TV to an iTunes account on a Mac or PC to start playing some music from your music library. Imagine listening to those songs and albums on a home theater sound system! Plus, the iTunes LP feature is really cool on the Apple TV (or your Mac or Windows PC); it’s essentially a virtual and interactive version of the album. Play music, watch videos, animation and more, on select albums that have the iTunes LP feature.

One of the coolest things about owning a Mac is how many software apps can help you create content. iMovie lets you edit and share home movies or your own little short films, TV shows and video skits, whether on DVD, online, the iPhone, iPod, iPad or even the Apple TV.

In iMovie, once you’re done editing, go to Share, Export Using QuickTime, then select Export and choose Movie to Apple TV. You can save a video file up to 1280 x 720p HD. This is a great way to watch your video creations.

In iPhoto, you can organize, edit and share your photos; create a slideshow to playback on the Apple TV. They’re organized also by Events or Faces, thus giving you a nice photo browsing experience. You can also access your photos from the Apple TV without having to use iPhoto.

Internet Content:

The Apple TV will playback videos from YouTube and music from a large assortment of online radio stations that cover pretty much every music genre, talk radio, etc. Listen also to podcasts, which were popularized on iTunes and view photos on Flickr and MobileMe.

However, you can’t use the Apple TV to view other videos online, such as those from websites including Vimeo. Pandora and similar internet music streaming sites aren’t supported, either. While some users may not be happy with this, there are still others who won’t mind not being able to use these internet sites.

YouTube is pretty much the biggest on the web for videos, and streaming music from your iTunes library, plus the internet radio stations, more than make up for it. Keep in mind that videos optimized for small computer screens may appear fuzzy on a bigger TV screen, when accessing YouTube. But most of the content we viewed looked and sounded great. Users can also access videos uploaded to their MobileMe accounts.

Help/Support:

The Apple TV is supported on both Apple computers running Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) and under, and Windows PCs running Vista and XP, plus the latest version of iTunes. Keep in mind that a computer isn’t required to set-up and operate the Apple TV, but you can sync your iTunes Store purchases, play movies and music, photos and more.

Apple’s award-winning technical support is by far one of the best in the business, and it definitely shines here with the Apple TV. There is 90 days of complimentary phone support, but after that it will cost around $49 to call Apple again for help. However, for that same price, AppleCare for the Apple TV can be purchased, giving full phone support for two years from the purchase date. We called in and got someone on the phone within a couple of minutes.

If you’re having any issues with the Apple TV and your computer’s iTunes (syncing or backing up), the AppleCare plan will provide support for that, too.

Other types of support include Apple’s extensive FAQs and Knowledge Base found on their website, along with email, a user's manual and user forums.

Summary:

With all the great features, including iTunes Store content, playback of photos, music and videos from your computer and much more, the Apple TV is a fantastic device amongst similar home media servers. It’s easy to use and navigate to find content to watch or listen to.

Key Features

• Dimensions:  3.9” wide X 3.9” deep X 0.9” tall; 0.6 pounds
• Processor:  Apple A4 chip
• Video formats:  H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats. MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.  Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
• Audio formats: HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through
• Photo formats: JPEG, GIF, TIFF
• Compatibility: Compatible with high-definition TVs with HDMI and capable of 720p 60/50Hz
• Ports and interfaces: HDMI, Optical audio, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, Built-in IR receiver, Micro-USB for service and support
• Wireless:  802.11a/b/g/n

          
      Price list for apple tv 

• Price:$99.00

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