# Apple TV



## nepcker (Mar 25, 2007)

*From PC to TV -- via Apple*

*                   By Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret*

                  The race to connect your TV to your computer and the Internet is about to kick into high gear this week when Apple Inc., the company many believe is best positioned to pull off this feat, introduces a slender, wireless set-top box called Apple TV.


                  This silvery little $299 gadget is designed to play and display on a widescreen family-room TV set all the music, video and photos stored on up to six computers around the house -- even if they are far from the TV, and even if they are all Windows PCs rather than Apple's own Macintosh models. It can also pull a very limited amount of music and video directly off the Internet onto the TV.


                         *online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/PJ-AJ876A_pjMOS_20070320194930.jpg                       
           The $299 Apple TV device connects wirelessly to home computers and then with a cable to your widescreen TV.           


Apple TV is tiny, just about eight inches square and an inch high, far smaller than a typical DVD player or cable or satellite box, even though it packs in a 40-gigabyte hard disk, an Intel processor and a modified version of the Mac operating system. And it has a carefully limited set of functions.


                  Yet, in our tests, it worked great, and we can easily recommend it for people who are yearning for a simple way to show on their big TVs all that stuff trapped on their computers. We tried it with various combinations of Windows and Mac computers, with movies, photos, TV shows, video clips and music. And we didn't even use the fastest wireless network it can handle. It performed flawlessly. However, it won't work with older TVs unless they can display widescreen-formatted content and accept some newer types of cables.


                  Like the iPod before it, Apple TV isn't the first gadget in its category. Several other companies have made set-top boxes or even TV sets and game consoles that could link the TV to the digital content that people have on their computers. But none has found a mass audience for this functionality, mainly because they tend to be hard to set up and confusing to use. Apple is hoping that, just as the iPod trumped earlier, but geekier, rivals, Apple TV can do the same by making a complex task really simple.


                  Part of the secret of Apple TV is that, like most of Apple's products, it doesn't try to do everything and thus become a mess of complexity. It can't receive or record cable or satellite TV, so it isn't meant as a replacement for your cable or satellite box, or for a digital video recorder like a TiVo. It can't play DVDs, so it doesn't replace your DVD player. Its sole function is to bring to the TV digital content stored on your computer or drawn from the Internet. Like a DVD player, it uses its own separate input on your TV set, and you have to change inputs using your TV remote to use it.


                  Apple TV isn't for that small slice of techies who buy a full-blown computer and plug it directly into a TV, or for gamers who prefer to do it all through a game console. And it's not for people who are content to watch downloaded TV shows and movies directly on a computer screen. Instead, it's for the much larger group of people who want to keep their home computers where they are and yet enjoy their downloaded media on their widescreen TVs.

We've been testing Apple TV for the past 10 days or so, and our verdict is that it's a beautifully designed, easy-to-use product that should be very attractive to people with widescreen TV sets and lots of music, videos, and photos stored on computers. It has some notable limitations, but we really liked it. It is classic Apple: simple and elegant.


                  In our tests, Apple TV performed perfectly in Walt's house over a standard Wi-Fi wireless network with a Pioneer plasma TV and six different computers -- three Windows machines from Hewlett-Packard and Dell, and three Apple Macs. Setup was a breeze, the user interface was clean and handsome, and video and audio quality were quite good for anyone but picky audiophiles and videophiles. We never suffered any stuttering, buffering or hesitation while playing audio and video from distant computers.


                         *online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/PJ-AJ880_pjMOSS_20070320222302.gif                       
           The Apple TV menu points to content stored on your home computers. 


Unlike any of its rivals, Apple TV can play the copy-protected music, TV shows and movies purchased from Apple's iTunes online store, the most popular legal downloading service by far. (However, it cannot play copy-protected music in Microsoft's formats, even from Windows computers.) It worked great with laptops and desktops alike, with Windows XP and the new Windows Vista operating system, and with newer Macs powered by Intel processors and an older Mac powered by an IBM-built G5 processor.


                  Apple TV's most important limitation is that it can't stream much video or audio directly from the Internet -- yet. The capability to go directly to the Internet, bypassing the computers in your home, is built in, but is initially being used only to fetch feature film trailers and short preview clips of popular songs, TV shows and movies sold on the iTunes store. Apple TV also won't allow you to buy media directly from the iTunes store. You must first download content from the Internet or iTunes on a computer, and then Apple TV will grab it from the computer and play it on the TV.
                  In its usual secretive fashion, Apple refuses to say if or when this direct-to-the-Internet capability will be expanded. But we fully expect Apple to add the capability to stream or download a variety of content directly from the Internet, and that this new capability will be available on current Apple TV boxes through software updates.


                  In our tests, Apple TV is a pleasure to use. Setup was stunningly simple. We just plugged the unit in and hooked it up to the TV with a single cable . The unit found and connected with Walt's Wi-Fi network almost instantly. To link to each computer, we just typed into iTunes on that computer a five-digit code number the Apple TV put up on the TV screen. This needs to be done only once.


                  You can select one computer to automatically synchronize with the Apple TV. Any song, TV episode, movie or photo you download or otherwise add to that one computer is automatically replicated on the Apple TV's internal hard disk for playback on your TV. We tested this synchronization function with both a Mac laptop and a Windows Vista desktop, and it worked perfectly on both.


                  For instance, we imported 376 photos Katie had taken on a recent trip to France to a Mac laptop that was synchronized with the Apple TV. In short order, all of the photos were on the Apple TV and we watched them on the big plasma screen.


                  We also bought some TV shows, movies and songs from iTunes on our synchronized laptop, and they were automatically transferred to Apple TV, where we could watch them. It can, however, take hours to synchronize large files like movies over a slow wireless network.


                  In addition to your single synchronized computer, you can designate up to five other computers as sources for your Apple TV. From these machines, you "stream" the content over your wireless or wired network, instead of actually transferring them, but the music and video shows up on the TV just as if it had been synchronized to the Apple TV's own hard disk.
                  All of these functions are controlled through iTunes on your Windows and Mac computers, just as you would control an iPod through iTunes. (The latest version of iTunes is required.)


                  In our tests, streaming worked just as well as playing content from the Apple TV's own hard disk. Even though Walt's Wi-Fi network is of the older "G" variety, and the Apple TV can handle newer, faster "N" variety networks, every single movie, TV show and song streamed without interruption from both Windows and Mac computers. That even included older or slower computers. This was an impressive feat.
                  The only downside of streaming as compared to syncing is that you can't stream photos. These can appear only through synchronization. Apple plans to enable photo streaming later.


                  On the TV screen, Apple TV presents a simple, handsome list of content for each computer you choose to view. Media is divided into Movies, TV Shows, Music, Podcasts and Photos. You can change among your various computers using a menu called Sources.


All in all, Apple TV is a very well-designed product that easily brings the computer and the TV together.



_The original review can be found at *ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20070321.html. You can contact the author at MossbergSolution@wsj.com_


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 25, 2007)

I knew one of you macboys will post it here soon. Here is an eye opener for those even considering Apple TV, which is so called better then Slingbox or Netgear devices.

 This is what I have concluded from reading everywhere

1) Apple TV plays content only from iTunes, which means only .mp4, .mov, .aac files or those files which quicktime can play. Now, what about avi or divx files? No support for them. You cannot even play your own avi files using it. In the perfect Apple world people buy content from iTunes Store such as TV shows etc & play them on their Mac or TV via Apple TV, but what about TV recordings? What about DVDs? What about DivX movies....Apple TV plays nothing. If you want to play something using apple TV make sure you *buy* it from iTunes only cos nothing else will play using Apple TV.The major flaw is codecs. It’s great that the AppleTV supports h264 all the way up to 720p, yes the quality is excellent. But what about WMV or DivX?

2) To play a DVD\HD DVD on your TV via Apple TV, you first have to encode it to H.263 or H.264 codecs which takes quite a lot of time, so much for "It just works out of the box". Yo, even the simple TV out of a Graphics card in Mac is better then this. I hope users do know how much time it takes to encode something to 720p HD using H.264

3) It only works with Wide screen TVs, with 16:9 Aspect Ratio & not with 4:3 aspect ratio. Umm....not everyone has a Wide screen TV & by the way, the actual TV Shows are aired 4:3. This limits Apple TV to USA & Europe only. * It will not work with normal TVs in India, unless it is a widescreen HDTV or LCD TV*

4) It only comes with 40 GB Hard disk, although user can hack it to upgrade the HD.
You cannot even install your own external HD despite of the fact that it already has a USB port

5) Apple TV is not a DVD Player, it comes without a DVD drive or HD DVD Drive or Blu ray drive but still costs $300 which restricts you to iTunes store only just like many other apple products.

6) It is not a DVR, you will need to buy a separate TV Tuner from Elgato to record TV on your Mac, then copy to iTunes & then watch it on TV. What’s the point then? Just see it on the TV when it airs or user the TV out of graphics card to output it to the TV.

6) AppleTV *only* plays Video encoded for AppleTV foramt, means even you will need to re-encode it to 640X480 pixel resolution with H.264. Milind already told us how awful it looks on a big screen monitor. It will play only HD (720p) trailers from iTunes store, cos remember....iTunes store sales videos at $2/video at 640X480 resolution which is the resolution of your normal SDTV.

7) You cannot download content from iTunes store using Apple TV. Go to your computer, download & then stream to AppleTV.

8 ) Just like all Apple products, it costs a lot more then what it should & guess what, it comes without all the cables. Here is something better for $300 which does all this & lot more.. Or maybe Netgear EVA8000 which is even better. Although it only works with Windows


----------



## Pathik (Mar 25, 2007)

who is milind??


----------



## aryayush (Mar 25, 2007)

1. Apple TV supports most formats supported by iTunes. It is not necessary that they be bought from the iTunes Store. You can import other videos into your iTunes library and play them via the Apple TV.

3. It works with standard televisions too.

4. If it came with a two terabyte hard drive, you would be saying "It only comes with 2 TB Hard disk".

5. A combination of the first and second point with the price included.

6.2. Apple TV-formatted videos created by QuickTime, and recent 640x480 videos purchased from the iTunes Store, look great on a television connected to Apple TV. Few people will be able to tell the difference between 640 pixel-wide videos on Apple TV and 720 pixel-wide DVDs (The third point.)

7. And that is supposed to be a problem?

8. The last thing we need to hear is an anti-Apple tirade.

If you had numbered them properly and copied another one of your points again, you would have actually reached double figures.


Having said all that, it is important to note that the Apple TV is not for everybody out there. It is for people who have a good HDTV and a lot of high definition content on their computer. I myself have a very crappy old television so I won't even think of the Apple TV at present. But if I buy a high definition television in future, it will be a good option. 
__________


			
				pathiks said:
			
		

> who is milind??


goobimama


----------



## goobimama (Mar 25, 2007)

> Having said all that, it is important to note that the Apple TV is not for everybody out there. It is for people who have a good HDTV and a lot of high definition content on their computer. I myself have a very crappy old television so I won't even think of the Apple TV at present. But if I buy a high definition television in future, it will be a good option.



Yep, right now Front Row is good enough eh!

And that is if and when Apple decides on releasing this product in India, a place where the iTunes Store isn't even available...


----------



## aryayush (Mar 25, 2007)

Actually, Front Row is pretty much useless for a person who has a notebook and only watches videos using VLC anyway.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 25, 2007)

1) 





> You can import other videos into your iTunes library and play them via the Apple TV.



Try importing an avi video in iTunes.* iTunes only playes mov, mp4,m4v,m4a or aac files which severly restricts it to iTunes music store

*2) Plz do play a 640X480 H.264 Video on a 24" Monitor or an even big TV


----------



## aryayush (Mar 25, 2007)

1. Oh, and I suppose it is impoosible to get videos in those formats from any other place apart from the iTunes Store. Right! 

2. I just quoted someone who did play it and gave you a link to the original article. Now if you expect me to buy "a 24" Monitor or an even big TV" just to test this thing, you must be seriously touched in the head.


----------



## nepcker (Mar 25, 2007)

> knew one of you macboys will post it here soon. Here is an eye opener for those even considering Apple TV, which is so called better then Slingbox or Netgear devices.
> 
> This is what I have concluded from reading everywhere
> 1) Apple TV plays content only from iTunes, which means only .mp4, .mov, .aac files or those files which quicktime can play. Now, what about avi or divx files? No support for them. You cannot even play your own avi files using it. In the perfect Apple world people buy content from iTunes Store such as TV shows etc & play them on their Mac or TV via Apple TV, but what about TV recordings? What about DVDs? What about DivX movies....Apple TV plays nothing. If you want to play something using apple TV make sure you buy it from iTunes only cos nothing else will play using Apple TV.The major flaw is codecs. It’s great that the AppleTV supports h264 all the way up to 720p, yes the quality is excellent. But what about WMV or DivX?
> ...


1) Yes, Apple TV can't play DivX or WMV files but you can find free encoders which should convert them to a supported format.

2) Apple TV is simple, and has only one function - to enable you to enjoy your media on your big screen TV. It's not a replacement for your DVD player. Apple TV isn't for that small slice of techies who buy a full-blown computer and plug it directly into a TV, or for gamers who prefer to do it all through a game console. And it's not for people who are content to watch downloaded TV shows and movies directly on a computer screen. Instead, it's for the much larger group of people who want to keep their home computers where they are and yet enjoy their downloaded media on their widescreen TVs.

3)You don't need HDTV to run Apple TV - any TV with a HDMI connector and 480p will work, you just won't enjoy it to the fullest.

4) You can stream from up to five computers, be it a PC or Mac. Heck, you can even stream live from apple.com.

5) I've said it before - Apple TV is not a DVD player. And you are *not* restricted to iTMS - you can very well play DRM-free music and movies.

6) The "TV Shows" means the episodes of TV shows downloaded from iTMS. And no, you don't need an extra TV-tuner card to watch TV shows.

7) As I've mentioned earlier, Apple TV can stream from upto 5 computers, you don't need everything to be stored on the hard drive. And without any encoding, you can watch 640x480 movies on your Apple TV, stored on you compure's hard drive, wirelessly.

8) Yes, it would have been *much* better if we could download directly from Apple TV, but it would just confuse people. Remember, Apple TV is not the first set-top box. The earlier set-top boxes were not successful because they were *way* too complicated. Apple TV has a minimalist design so that no one will be confused of its interface.

9) $299 for Apple TV is justifiable. Just think what comes built-in with it - 40GB HDD, 802.11(b+g+n) Wi-Fi networking, and a lot more. Besides, Xbox is more expensive than Apple TV (around 50%), has a smaller hard drive, you cannot auto-sync with your computer, neither you can stream, not it has 802.11(b+g+n).

Go buy an Apple TV now, and you'll realize how great it is.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 25, 2007)

> 1. Oh, and I suppose it is impoosible to get videos in those formats from any other place apart from the iTunes Store. Right!


 
 Plz do check yourself for an HDTV rip of Heroes in MP4 Format via torrents



> 2. I just quoted someone who did play it and gave you a link to the original article. Now if you expect me to buy "a 24" Monitor or an even big TV" just to test this thing, you must be seriously touched in the head.


 
I just quoted that 640X480 Videos look awful on a big screen as confirmed by Milind here, I hope you will listen to him.



> 1) Yes, Apple TV can't play DivX or WMV files but you can find free encoders which should convert them to a supported format.


 
Ofcourse it can, obviously. It's just that to convert a 1hr HDTV rip to H.264 will take just 4 hrs  . & Obviously Apple TV users will gladly wait for 5 hrs to watch a video. They will download an AVi or WMV or buy a DVD, then they will wait for 4 to 5 hrs so that it is converted to H.264, they will pay for Quicktime Pro ($30) + Quicktime mpeg2 encoder ($20), life is so good when u have tons of money to pay, right. It is a perfect Apple world, wher you are restricted to iTunes music store *only*



> it's for the much larger group of people who want to keep their home computers where they are and yet enjoy their downloaded media on their widescreen TVs.


 
As far as I know, the much larger part of people do not use .Mp4 or .mov to store there TV recordings, or DVDs. Which media are you talking about, iTunes only na


> 3)You don't need HDTV to run Apple TV - any TV with a HDMI connector and 480p will work, you just won't enjoy it to the fullest.


 
All TVs with HDMI are *HDTV.  *have u seen a 6 years old LG TV with HDMI.



> 6) The "TV Shows" means the episodes of TV shows downloaded from iTMS. And no, you don't need an extra TV-tuner card to watch TV shows.


 
 then how do u watch TV on a computer?



> 7) As I've mentioned earlier, Apple TV can stream from upto 5 computers, you don't need everything to be stored on the hard drive. And without any encoding, you can watch 640x480 movies on your Apple TV, stored on you compure's hard drive, wirelessly.


 
Ya, you can. In the perfect apple world it is so good. But what about the existing DivX\Xvid\Mkv content? Why don't you write that Apple TV can play content only bought from iTMS & just mp4\mov



> 9) $299 for Apple TV is justifiable. Just think what comes built-in with it - 40GB HDD, 802.11(b+g+n) Wi-Fi networking, and a lot more. Besides, Xbox is more expensive than Apple TV (around 50%), has a smaller hard drive, you cannot auto-sync with your computer, neither you can stream, not it has 802.11(b+g+n).


 
1) iTMS is not available in India

2) I don't have a HDTV, & Apple TV won't work with my LG Flatron TV

3) I don't have a wifi card in my PC

4) It doesn't streams videos as they are. I am not going to wait 20 days just convert my exisiting collection to h.264. Also, I m not going to download a DivX\Xvid video & then reconvert it just to play on Apple TV. Why should I wait when the hardware is capable but its apple's restriction that i can't play any video.



> Go buy an Apple TV now, and you'll realize how great it is.


 
Troll alert.....why? Whats the poing of buying it. It doesn't streams DVDs. it doesn't streams DivX, it doesn't streams MPG, it doesn't stream wmv.......tell me a point that you see it worth buying.


----------



## goobimama (Mar 25, 2007)

Quicktime can export any video (save for those in MKV containers, the plugin for mkv is really bad) to a format suitable for apple TV. And if you run one of them Automator scripts, you can convert your entire video collection (after much time) to a format suitable to be imported into the iTunes library. almost ANY videos including divx, xvid, and all those put together.


----------



## aryayush (Mar 25, 2007)

gx_saurav said:
			
		

> 2) I don't have a HDTV, & Apple TV won't work with my LG Flatron TV
> 
> 3) I don't have a wifi card in my PC
> 
> 4) It doesn't streams videos as they are. I am not going to wait 20 days just convert my exisiting collection to h.264. Also, I m not going to download a DivX\Xvid video & then reconvert it just to play on Apple TV. Why should I wait when the hardware is capable but its apple's restriction that i can't play any video.


You do not have an HDTV, nor do you have Wi-Fi. Why do you want to watch your videos on your TV then? Watch them on your computer and be happy.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 25, 2007)

Size of my monitor = 17"

Size of my TV = 25"

Can apple TV work = no

Is the advice to buy Apple TV by nepcker worth it = No


----------



## goobimama (Mar 26, 2007)

A sure thing is geeks who like to tinker around a lot and drain every drop of juice would NOT be comfortable using the Apple TV. It is for those people who have no idea of codecs, or don't have time to tinker, or are more towards the mac-side, and would like to watch the shows they downloaded from iTMS, on their new HDTV. 

This product is NOT for gx_saurav and others who can very well go out and buy one of those streaming things which just about plays everything but needs some IP settings here and there n all that.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 26, 2007)

goobimama said:
			
		

> This product is NOT for gx_saurav and others who can very well go out and buy one of those streaming things which just about plays everything *but needs some IP settings here and there n all that.*


Correction, those "Other" devices are also not hard to use or configure, unless you are a total noob. Any user who can set his Computer to sync to AppleTV isn't a noob for sure & can configure these "other" devices too.

Just go & check at the forum of netgear. It works flawlessly. I would have actully bought one from netgear, if I needed it.

Personally, i prefer using my Geforce FX TV out port to connect TV to my computer during parties etc or watching a movie with friends.

& yeah, as u said, this product is for apple loyals only.


----------



## aku (Mar 26, 2007)

Serious mistake commited by the fruit selling company, eh apple, wateva.
And guys, this isnt the first time.
In short, you pay 300usd just to wirelessly transfer iTunes content to your HDTV?
I bet, now they are gonna accuse m$ if this crappy product fails.
After all this is what happens when you put all your creativity into making commercials.

Seriously guys this not even half a % innovative.


----------



## aryayush (Mar 26, 2007)

gx_saurav said:
			
		

> Correction, those "Other" devices are also not hard to use or configure, unless you are a total noob. Any user who can set his Computer to sync to AppleTV isn't a noob for sure & can configure these "other" devices too.
> 
> Just go & check at the forum of netgear. It works flawlessly. I would have actully bought one from netgear, if I needed it.
> 
> ...


He did not say that. He said it is not for you and people like you. And he is correct. I said exactly the same thing.

And configuring an Apple TV is far more simple than the NetGear product you are talking about. Even NetGear engineers admit it and have promised to look into it for the next software update. The Apple TV requires no configuration at all. You turn on the Wi-Fi on your computer and launch iTunes and then you turn on the Apple TV. Done. It will do the rest automatically.


----------



## nepcker (Mar 26, 2007)

Actually, Apple TV doesn't need a HDTV. Check out *www.tuaw.com/2007/03/23/apple-tv-works-with-standard-square-tvs/. "I have the AppleTV working on my Sony XBR CRT. This is a standard definition television with component inputs. It works just fine. I have the Apple TV set up for 480i. All of the other resolution settings result in no picture. The movies look good, the photo look like you might expect and of course having control of my iTunes without having to walk across the house is a real treat.", says my friend at the US.

You also don't need a Wi-Fi card on your computer, an ethernet port should suffice.


----------



## aryayush (Mar 26, 2007)

Cool! You do not live in India. Where do you live?


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 26, 2007)

Here is the Part 2 review of Anandtech for Apple TV. Looks like it is flawed even before mass acceptence. I m just quoting the pros & cons for those considering buying Apple TV anywhere.

Pros



> As expected, Apple TV is absolutely brilliant if all of your content (music, movies, TV shows) is purchased from the iTunes Store





> The interface is very fast, clean, and to the point. The device itself is small, quiet, and setup couldn't be easier. From a usage standpoint, it does serve as a good way of getting MP3s to your TV, albeit an expensive one at that. Our real concerns come into play once we start dealing with other, non-iTunes content.


 Cons


> Apple TV will not play content that's not in its requisite .m4v format





> Apple TV will only play H.264 or MPEG-4 encoded video, with bit rate, resolution and frame rate restrictions (we'll get into the specifics later); there's no native support for DivX, XviD, MPEG-2 or WMV.





> Not only is Apple TV picky about the file format and codec of videos, there are bit rate and resolution limitations. According to Apple, H.264 video is supported only at bit rates up to 5Mbps. For H.264 content, the maximum
> supported resolution is 1280 x 720 at 24 fps or 960 x 540 at 30 fps. The bit rate limitations explain how Apple is able to get away with playback on a 1GHz Pentium M (even with the help of the GeForce 7300). Keep in mind that H.264 content on Blu-ray and HD-DVD is much higher resolution (1080p) and often has scenes with more than 4 times the bitrate of the maximum that Apple TV can handle.





> Apple does provide some support for playing other file formats on Apple TV, through transcoding of course. The latest version of QuickTime Pro will let you export any video you can play in it to the exact format Apple TV needs. There are no settings for quality or resolution, there's just one option: Export to Apple TV. The export option simply transcodes your movie file from whatever format it's in to an Apple TV supported H.264 format. The problem is that even on a fast system, this is a time intensive process.





> we transcoded a 702.1MB Xvid video (640 x 352) to the Apple TV format on a 3.0GHz Mac Pro. The entire process took 55 minutes at a rate of about 0.213MB/s. H.264 encoding performance





> The Apple TV only works via HDMI, component or DVI outputs (the latter through an HDMI to DVI converter). *Apple doesn't provide you with any cables other than the power cord, so your choice of output will be met with an additional expense to buy the cable*


(This further increses the cost of AppleTV)



> *There is no on/off button on the Apple TV* itself, although you can put it in standby mode by holding down the Play button on the remote for 6 seconds.* If you want to completely power cycle the unit, you'll have to yank out the power cord.*


  not much of a problem, we do it already.



> The only major complaint we had with Apple TV's music playback was that if you went too far back in the menu structure (back to the main menu), your music would stop. The same is true for any other sort of media playback with Apple TV; go back to the main menu and everything stops. It's not really designed as a multitasking oriented platform, unfortunately. It's not like we're asking for the ability to do much: just keep playing music while we are navigating through other branches of the menu tree





> There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it: Apple TV will not play content that's not in its requisite .m4v format





> Once again we have a complaint about the way the interface deals with navigating up the menu tree while you're playing content. If you're playing a video and hit the menu button, perhaps to see what else you have available to watch, video playback stops completely. We'd prefer a Media Center-esque solution where we get a menu overlay on top of the video, or simply a smaller video window while we navigate through the menu


(This means stop, not pause)



> The only other complaint we had was that there's no volume control on the Apple TV itself, so you'll unfortunately need to keep another remote around for that purpose.





> Mac users can sync their iPhoto albums to Apple TV, while PC users have the option of using Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0, or later*only*


From what I see, Apple TV is made for users of Mac, ipod & iTunes only. if you have other videos or use a PC you will be mostly restricted with it. It seems like another attempt from Apple to bind u to its own closed device & technologies when it can easily do much more.

P.S. - Apple TV requires a Mac to hack so that it can play DivX. However this this is yet to be confirmed. AppleTV is not a DVD\BD\HD DVD Player as it comes without a drive. it is more like a media extender for your existing computer. You can either use an AppleTV or plug your computer to a TV via TV out.


----------



## nepcker (Mar 27, 2007)

You can buy the required cables from any Apple stores. This isn't exactly the same situation of Apple leaving the power supply out of iPod boxes in order to save money (and make money by asking people to purchase them separately). The Apple TV can connect to your gear in a variety of ways. To cover all the bases, Apple would have to include HDMI-to-HDMI, HDMI-to-DVI, component video, analog audio, and digital audio cables. That's a lot of cables to include when someone is likely to use only one or two of them. And just *why* do you need to have a On/Off button? You can just disconnect the Power cable

And you don't need to purchase everything from iTMS - If it's on iTunes, it's on Apple TV. iTunes can play many DRM-free music and videos.

*Update:* You can demand that the Apple TV take a long nap by pressing and holding the Remote's Play/Pause button.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 27, 2007)

nepcker said:
			
		

> You can buy the required cables from any Apple stores. And just *why do you need to have a On/Off button*. You can just disconnect the Power cable.



 now what to say



> And you don't need to purchase everything from iTMS - If it's on iTunes, it's on Apple TV. iTunes can play many DRM-free music and videos.


DRM Free Music = mp3s, yup it will play

DRM Free movies = anything but m4v, but DivX which is DRM free Video is not supported by AppleTV

I m not wrong when i said AppleTV binds you to iTMS *only*


----------



## nepcker (Mar 27, 2007)

You *can* buy DRM-free movies. Even if it's on the DivX format, you can encode it to a supported format using free tools available. If you feel lazy to encode every movie yourself, you can use Apple Scripts to automate the process.

So, in no way, you are restricted to iTMS.

The Apple TV can play video encoded in MPEG-4 format (and its variant, H.264). It can play all the audio file formats that are compatible with iTunes (AIFF, WAVE, MP3, AAC, and Apple Lossless). There are a variety of utilities that let you transcode media to formats compatible with the Apple TV. For example, you can rip commercial DVDs using HandBrake. IYou can rip a number of DVDs at bit rates as high as 2,500kbps and they will play perfectly well on the Apple TV (and look darned good, to boot).

Apple TV supports these video specifications:

    * H.264 up to 5Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160kbps with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720 at 24fps or 960-by-540 at 30 fps.
    * MPEG-4 up to 3Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160kbps, with a maximum resolution of 720-by-432 at 30fps.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 27, 2007)

nepcker said:
			
		

> You *can* buy DRM-free movies. Even if it's on the DivX format, you can encode it to a supported format using free tools available. If you feel lazy to encode every movie yourself, you can use Apple Scripts to automate the process.





			
				anandtech said:
			
		

> we transcoded a 702.1MB Xvid video (640 x 352) to the Apple TV format on a 3.0GHz Mac Pro. The entire process took 55 minutes at a rate of about 0.213MB/s. H.264 encoding performance





			
				anandtech said:
			
		

> Apple TV will only play H.264 or MPEG-4 encoded video, with bit rate, resolution and frame rate restrictions


Yeah, it looks so easy & fast. The only software which can encode to AppleTV is Quicktime pro for $30




> There are a variety of utilities that let you transcode media to formats *compatible with the Apple TV*. For example, *you can rip commercial DVDs using HandBrake. You can rip a number of DVDs at bit rates as high as 2,500kbps and they will play perfectly well on the Apple TV* (and look darned good, to boot).


Plz do not make gussess. So, you prefer to buy a DVD & rip it (illegal) to watch on AppleTV which doesn't play even a DVD File by default



> Apple TV supports these video specifications:
> 
> * H.264 up to 5Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160kbps with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720 at 24fps or 960-by-540 at 30 fps.
> * MPEG-4 up to 3Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160kbps, with a maximum resolution of 720-by-432 at 30fps.



In Quicktime 7.1.5, there is an option "Export to AppleTV" with no user changable settings. So if someone wants to use AppleTV, he should make sure that he converts all his video collection of DivX or MPG or DVDs to AppleTV format first in 10 days & then start using. gr8 & very nice to use


----------



## nepcker (Mar 27, 2007)

> The only software which can encode to AppleTV is Quicktime pro for $30


 There are other applications to do it too. Here are some of the freewares:
[URL="*www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/AppleTV/"]www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/AppleTV
[/URL]www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/dvd_to_apple_tv_software
www.freedownloadscenter.com/Multimedia_and_Graphics/Animated_GIF_Editors/Xilisoft_DVD_to_Apple_TV_Converter.html



> So, you prefer to buy a DVD & rip it (illegal) to watch on AppleTV which doesn't play even a DVD File by default


 Unless you watch it only yourself, it's not illegal to rip the DVD and watch it on Apple TV.



> In Quicktime 7.1.5, there is an option "Export to AppleTV" with no user changable settings. So if someone wants to use AppleTV, he should make sure that he converts all his video collection of DivX or MPG or DVDs to AppleTV format first in 10 days & then start using. gr8 & very nice to use


 I couldn't agree more - all Apple softwares (and hardwares) are great and easy-to-use. (Though I don't like QuickTime Pro very much.)


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 27, 2007)

nepcker said:
			
		

> Unless you watch it only yourself, it's not illegal to rip the DVD and watch it on Apple TV.


 
:ROFL , boy go talk to RIAA, MPAA...whatever. You just gave the lamest excude to rip a DVD



> I couldn't agree more - all Apple softwares (and hardwares) are great and easy-to-use. (Though I don't like QuickTime Pro very much.)


 
You don't even understand what I was saying. I meant you cannot use any setting of your own in "Export to Apple TV". What were u reading? 



> You can buy the required cables from any Apple stores


 
ofcourse we can, by paying additional money.


----------



## aryayush (Mar 27, 2007)

Yeah, because no one is going to give them away for free and they do not entertain beggars.

And ripping DVDs is not illegal as long as you keep them to yourself. Are you really this dumb of you just pretend to be!


----------



## nepcker (Mar 28, 2007)

> boy go talk to RIAA, MPAA...whatever. You just gave the lamest _excuse_ to rip a DVD


Even the Rich Idiots' Association of America doesn't says it is illegal to rip a DVD for personal use. It will be illegal if you either *distribute* or *sell* it.



> You don't even understand what I was saying. I meant you cannot use any setting of your own in "Export to Apple TV". What were u reading?


Why do you need to have custom settings for the "Export to Apple TV" option. QuickTime will do all the details for you, and will give you the best output possible. And if you're geeky enough, you can have your own custom settings without selecting the "Export to Apple TV" option. There's no custm settings for the "Export to Apple TV" option because this would only confuse the user.



> _of course_ we can, by paying additional money.


As I've said before, the Apple TV can connect to your gear in a variety of ways. To cover all the bases, Apple would have to include HDMI-to-HDMI, HDMI-to-DVI, component video, analog audio, and digital audio cables. That's a lot of cables to include when someone is likely to use only one or two of them.


----------



## gxsaurav (Mar 29, 2007)

nepcker said:
			
		

> Why do you need to have custom settings for the "Export to Apple TV" option. QuickTime will do all the details for you, and will give you the best output possible. And if you're geeky enough, you can have your own custom settings without selecting the "Export to Apple TV" option. *There's no custm settings for the "Export to Apple TV" option because this would only confuse the user.*


Ever heard of User options. It is not about simplysity that a user just needs to select "Export to AppleTV". There are many times that users have low resolution mpeg or DivX Videos & while exporting to Apple TV they are interpolated to higher resolution totely changing the aspect ratio & size.

What do u mean, is it made for noobs only.



> As I've said before, the Apple TV can connect to your gear in a variety of ways. To cover all the bases, Apple would have to include HDMI-to-HDMI, HDMI-to-DVI, component video, analog audio, and digital audio cables. That's a lot of cables to include when someone is likely to use only one or two of them.


How about this. Wnen you buy an AppleTV you can buy a cable for it free from the same shop. Just one cable, if u want more then one buy the other one. Oh wait, Its Apple.

In other new, Apple is now either remotely disabling AppleTV hack by invading the privasy, & going after the AppleTV modders. Wow, so now they won't give a feature & won't even let the user have it. I do understand modding is illegal but hey, moding voids your warrenty & the user will get no support, isn't that enough already


----------



## nepcker (Mar 29, 2007)

> Ever heard of User options. It is not about simplysity that a user just needs to select "Export to AppleTV". There are many times that users have low resolution mpeg or DivX Videos & while exporting to Apple TV they are interpolated to higher resolution totely changing the aspect ratio & size.
> 
> What do u mean, is it made for noobs only.


QuickTime is intelligent enough. Try using that option for a low-res file and watch it on your big-screen TV (using AppleTV) and you'll know that QuickTime's done the geeky work for you and you don't have to do it yourself.



> How about this. Wnen you buy an AppleTV you can buy a cable for it free from the same shop. Just one cable, if u want more then one buy the other one. Oh wait, Its Apple.


I didn't actually get the point. Why do you need more than one cable if one is sufficient?



> In other new, Apple is now either remotely disabling AppleTV hack by invading the privasy, & going after the AppleTV modders. Wow, so now they won't give a feature & won't even let the user have it. I do understand modding is illegal but hey, moding voids your warrenty & the user will get no support, isn't that enough already


Apple shouldn't have done this but you can try blocking your Apple TV from the internet and changing your password -- this would mean no more 30 second samples of the iTMS's top 10, but hey, you can't have *everything* your way, right?


----------



## aryayush (Mar 29, 2007)

gx_saurav said:
			
		

> Ever heard of User options. It is not about simplysity that a user just needs to select "Export to AppleTV". There are many times that users have low resolution mpeg or DivX Videos & while exporting to Apple TV they are interpolated to higher resolution totely changing the aspect ratio & size.
> 
> What do u mean, is it made for noobs only.


QuickTime leaves the lower resolution at their native sizes and just changes the format if need be. And anyway, no one is stopping you from having your cutom resolution and format when encoding a video. Apple just makes sure that there is an easy and fail-proof way to get things done. And they take care of the details for you so you don't have to.



			
				gx_saurav said:
			
		

> In other new, Apple is now either remotely disabling AppleTV hack by invading the privasy, & going after the AppleTV modders. Wow, so now they won't give a feature & won't even let the user have it. I do understand modding is illegal but hey, moding voids your warrenty & the user will get no support, isn't that enough already


No, they are doing no such thing. The original posters assessed the situation wrongly. The Apple TV is just scheduled to run scheduled cronjobs and repair file permissions etc. to make sure that it works properly.



			
				nepcker said:
			
		

> Apple shouldn't have done this


It is a shame that of all the people in the world, you found only this guy as a reliable source of Apple related news. Please look up the facts on Google in future before believing him! Or better still, just assume that the opposite of whatever he says is true.


----------



## goobimama (Mar 29, 2007)

> just assume that the opposite of whatever he says is true.



I like that. I think that'll be my mindset when reading _his_ posts...


----------



## nepcker (Mar 30, 2007)

> It is a shame that of all the people in the world, you found only this guy as a reliable source of Apple related news. Please look up the facts on Google in future before believing him! Or better still, just assume that the opposite of whatever he says is true.


Now I'll cross-check before believing in what he says!


----------



## aryayush (Mar 30, 2007)

gx_saurav said:
			
		

> There are many times that users have low resolution mpeg or DivX Videos & while exporting to Apple TV they are interpolated to higher resolution totely changing the aspect ratio & size.


To quote The Macalope, please do not talk "_out of orifices that were not meant for such purposes_"! (Advice to you, just skip this, it needs a marginal grasp of the language to understand it.)

Anyway, two images are attached to this post. You can see the properties of the original file and the properties of the file it is converted to using QuickTime's simple option. And I purposely did it using Windows to avoid stupid comments like "oh, but it not work well widnow".

I know it might be a bit difficult to comprehend, but it is fairly easy. The second last line on both images (the one that reads "Normal Size") gives you the resolution of the file. A resolution is the number of pixels the video constitutes of on both dimensions. A pixel is... well, you can use a website called Google to know about it. (You have to bring that small thing called a mouse over the word Google and press the button on the top left.)

As you can see, the resolution of both files is the same which means that QuickTime has not been made by Microsoft. In other words, the minutest details have been taken care of and it does not interpolate the video to a "higher resolution totely changing the aspect ratio & size."

Hope it is about halfway clear now. I am sure I can make you understand it fully once you have posted this same thing repeatedly in fifteen different threads.


----------

