Apps for apple tv (itv)

Wonder if the old units will get this. AppleTV turns into iTV, loses 1080P but gains Apps | 9 to 5 Mac

no way it wouldnt support 1080p, no one would buy it

Apple-Tutorials said:

no way it wouldnt support 1080p, no one would buy it

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Thats what was said about the iPad.

I really enjoy my Apple TV. I have been holding off on buying another in the hopes an upgraded version would be released. I'll hold judgement back for when/if this variant actually appears. I'm not thrilled with the idea of an iPad that connects to my TV for movies. Then again, my current ATV runs pretty hot so perhaps the A4 processor would help with that. There's also the question of whether Boxee and XBMC would run on it. Even if it stinks, there could be deals to be had on "older" ATV's. That would be a win in my book as well. Anyone know if two ATV's can connect to one iTunes library simultaneously?

XJ-linux said:

I really enjoy my Apple TV. I have been holding off on buying another in the hopes an upgraded version would be released. I'll hold judgement back for when/if this variant actually appears. I'm not thrilled with the idea of an iPad that connects to my TV for movies. Then again, my current ATV runs pretty hot so perhaps the A4 processor would help with that. There's also the question of whether Boxee and XBMC would run on it. Even if it stinks, there could be deals to be had on "older" ATV's. That would be a win in my book as well. Anyone know if two ATV's can connect to one iTunes library simultaneously?

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Most Apple products seem to work well when shared is checked but if the rumor of $99.00 is correct I will find out.

osxx said:

Thats what was said about the iPad.

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Agreed but then you need another selling point if you do not have 1080p. We all know what features the ipad has and it does not need 1080 to be honest. Cause of the small screen size. But cause these days people expect 1080p I think it should come with it. I think just 1080p video playback and the rest (like the app store and apps) can be 720p or whatever. That would work if the A4 can handle 1080p video playback.

But this whole thing reeks of one thing. Apple whoring out their App store. in the past to get Apps from the app store you had to own an iphone/touch then came the ipad and now the 2nd Generation-TV. It makes me think either the App store is doing poorly and they want more sales from it. Or it's going great and they want to milk it.

And if they are going to have the app store on it I would much rather the app store be part of a fully functional iOS on the TV device. Because I can see this being the best way to get iOS into the home for use. Sure you can use the ipad at home but why would you if you could put them on your 1080p TV. Mind you the apps would have to be re-designed in 2 ways.

1. UI. Cause when you use an ipad the thing is really close to your face but most people sit quite a distance from their TVs.
2. User interface. TV's are not touch screen yet. Well you can make them but there's no point. No one would talk all the way to their TV just to touch the screen. There'd have to be some Apple remote used to access and fiddle with the Apps. That or an even better option would be a wireless bluetooth option. Keyboard would work but I think just something like the Magic trackpad with it's multitouch would work very well.

Frankly, I don't keep much on my ATVs HDD and pretty much stream everything from my Desktop Mac. This would b excellent for me, including the $99 price tag. Not really all that interested in the Apps but it wouldn't b a show stopper....

I'd have to say not having 1080p would not be a show stopper for a $99 device that can stream directly from your computers and especially if it does so wirelessly.

All the HD content from iTunes is only 720p and it all looks pretty darn good on both my Panny plasma TVs at 42" & 58" and on my 65" Toshi.

At only $99, I'd have to rethink my derision of the current Apple TV, especially for use on my 2nd theater set up in the MBdrm. If it can stream from my Win Home Server? We'll see when it comes out.



And people purchase electronics because of what they do, not because of what they don't do. What I mean is, will this $99 device handle the majority of your streaming needs without the need for a $600-$1000 HTPC? Only with the release of the device will we know.

Apple-Tutorials said:

no way it wouldnt support 1080p, no one would buy it

Click to expand...

I think you're way overestimating the importance of 1080p to the average consumer. I would venture to say 90% of them don't care as long as the device says it's "HD".

I'd also venture to say Apple would not be targeting the hardcore home theater market with this new device either. So again, I'm not so sure the normal person would care...or honestly even notice a difference...between 1080p and 720p.

schweb said:

I think you're way overestimating the importance of 1080p to the average consumer. I would venture to say 90% of them don't care as long as the device says it's "HD".

I'd also venture to say Apple would not be targeting the hardcore home theater market with this new device either. So again, I'm not so sure the normal person would care...or honestly even notice a difference...between 1080p and 720p.

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I agree since some stations especially the ones that are sports oriented use 720p exclusively such as ch 13 and 26 in Houston and I believe the rest are
1080i which is just fine because most modern displays scale to their native
1080p anyway.

I think the normal person would care, because it will become a massive topic discussed on every technology forum. Anti Apple people would have good fuel to mock this device and the general consensus out in the wild would be this thing doesn’t have proper HD and that is what the general public will hear.

On the other hand, I think it’s a great idea especially with Apps. I have heard people say why do they need Apps for their television, but I can think of endless things. Besides games (hey, why not), there will no doubt be specific TV viewing apps for specific channels or services, TV guide Apps, Streaming apps such as Air Video (great to get films from your PC to your iPhone, and now perfect straight to TV). Photo Apps to stream your images straight to your lovely 110cm monster. The idea’s are endless.

But, without 1080HD it would be a bit silly.

To me, out of the blue, this screams gaming console. I mean, sure it sounds rather farfetched- but think about it. Apps..media entertainment…maybe it's an implementation of iOS..maybe not. Who knows for sure right now.

Looks like no iOS or apps. The integrated Netflix seems pretty cool though. They say it runs cooler as well, which is saying quite a bit (these things are really hot to the touch). Still, if an update to the current AppleTV includes Netflix then I might pass. I'm not sure I would give up boxee and XBMC for the other features. I TiVo TV series so 99 cent/24 hour video rentals will be something I rarely use. The size is nice for travel though.

I don't use the HDD on my ATV much, all I really want is streaming my rather large video library from my Mac to my TV. ATV does it but could do it better. For $99 I'll buy a new one and evaluate it to see if it works any better than the old one. My real issue isn't with the ATV though, it's with how iTunes handles librarys with over 30,000 items (it slows to a crawl). Streaming perfomance suffers becasue of this.

Looks like it kept the ATV name though, no "iTV"...

I'll be interested in know your impressions of it. I could definitely use a device that doesn't get hot enough to warm my coffee!

The one drawback i see if you have a legacy receiver such as I with no HDMI 1.3 inputs
then no 5.1 audio out for shows and movies looks like I will hang on to my old one.

osxx said:

The one drawback i see if you have a legacy receiver such as I with no HDMI 1.3 inputs
then no 5.1 audio out for shows and movies looks like I will hang on to my old one.

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It has digital audio out right on the back for surround sound.
See the link here showing the 5.2 info
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv?mco=MTM3NTM1Nzk
Should work great in my HT room! The only thing I dislike is the no HDD part, though, I guess it's probably not a big deal if it can communicate faster with the libraries than before.

I do wish it had other video outputs though.

idrinorbarsaku said:

It has digital audio out right on the back for surround sound.
See the link here showing the 5.2 info
Apple TV - Apple Store (U.S.)
Should work great in my HT room! The only thing I dislike is the no HDD part, though, I guess it's probably not a big deal if it can communicate faster with the libraries than before.

I do wish it had other video outputs though.

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I stand corrected thought HDMI was only mentioned but I see on the website
it has optical out may have to purchase one.

I think I may buy one. I have a first year original and connect via HDMI and streaming anyway. I think I'll keep the spare synced to my laptop for travel over the holidays and connections to the older TV in the basement. Powering down the original to extend it's life seems like a good idea.