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Chris Lanier's Blog

AppleTV (iTV) Details (Yeah, It Sucks)

Via Engadget

AppleTV (iTV)

  • 720p HD
  • USB 2.0, Ethernet, HDMI, etc.
  • 40GB hard drive
  • 802.11b/g/n
  • Works with video, music, and photos
  • Auto-sync content from your PC
  • Stream content (wirelessly) from up to 5 computers
  • Take’s 10 most recent unwatched movies and automatically stream in the background to Apple TV and be stored on the hard drive.
  • Theatrical trailers streaming from Apple.com
  • Hmm…That’s it.

This thing sucks, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Media Center user.  It just doesn't do much of anything that can't already be done with other products that have been out for years!  Why cache on the HDD?  Is your network not fast enough with 802.11n to get that done?  No PVR functionality.  Tops out at 720p.


Other than Mac support, I don't think this offers anything new.  Sure, it's really the first device to play video purchased from iTunes, but that's about it.  The file format question still wasn't answer, but I'm hoping when The Apple Store gets back online it will have more information.  $299.  Ships in Feb 2007.


You buying this?  Why or why not?  Anyone feel like dropping Media Center to go to AppleTV?  Or is your $299 going to an Xbox 360 or like DMR?

Update: They posted the file formats it supports.  Sadly, it's even more limited then v1 Extenders.  It only support H.264 and MPEG-4.  It only supports Simple Profile for MPEG-4, which means it does not support DivX or XviD (they are both ASP).

Video formats:

  • H.264:
    • 640x480, 30 fps (LC version of Baseline Profile)
    • 320x240, 30 fps (Baseline profile up to Level 1.3)
    • 1280x720, 24 fps, (Progressive Main Profile)
  • MPEG-4:
    • 640x480, 30 fps, (Simple Profile)

Audio formats:

  • AAC (Protected)
  • MP3
  • Apple Lossless
  • AIFF
  • WAV

Photo formats:

  • JPEG
  • BMP
  • GIF
  • TIFF
  • PNG

Published Tuesday, January 09, 2007 1:14 PM by Chris - Moderator

Comments

 

Pixelz said:

I'm disappointed with Apple TV.  I love the small form factor and the silence, but anything less than 1080i + surround sound for movies doesn't justify a place under my HDTV.  Plus in the UK we can't buy movies from the iTunes store yet.

Trouble is, I'm not motivated to upgrade to Vista either, so i looks like making do with MCE2005 for a while longer.  If only it could decode MPEG4 TV broadcasts !
January 10, 2007 8:17 AM
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Creating a Digital Home Entertainment System with Windows Media Center brings the experience and expertise of The Green Button with author Michael Miller!

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