Digg

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Apple TV new "Take 2" features, pics, more

tuaw.com — All the new screens, rental options and new features of the Apple TV update. Mmmm... waaaannt.

Bury

MikeTRose 164 days ago, made popular 164 days ago

579 diggs
digg it

baramunchies, on 02/13/2008, -4/+4anyone got an idea how to get all these offers from outside usa? is a us registered credit card enough?
- ttntyler, on 02/13/2008, -2/+8You can register for a US account without a credit card using US gift cards. I'm from Canada, every time I go down to the states I pick up a bunch of cards from the Apple Store, I'm now using the US store exclusively. It's great.
- aceuk, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1If you don't have a US registered credit card your best option would be to get a virtual credit card from either EntroPay (http://www.entropay.com/) or WireCard (https://www.wirecard.com/wirecard/).
- xportz, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1I just use Graboid. It's got way more HD content than Apple TV, and is available internationally.
BenBenMan, on 02/13/2008, -19/+12If you're excited about this, you'll ***** your pants when you discover Xbox Media Center.
- Joshuarr, on 02/13/2008, -6/+7I'm sorry, what's that? Oh hey, there's a big red ring on the phone for you...
  - BenBenMan, on 02/13/2008, -2/+5I didn't know first-generation Xboxes got red rings?
  - TaeBoX, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1They do, but it's completely harmless.
- MetisElara, on 02/13/2008, -3/+1You suck.
- sammykeyes, on 02/13/2008, -1/+2I've been using WMC via my Xbox 360 extender for awhile already, and it's still better than the ATV.
  
  But it's a nice attempt. Hopefully, this pushes MS to do more on their WMC platform.
chrisutley, on 02/13/2008, -13/+6I still don't get it... You pay Apple $230 (or more) for a box, that allows you to pay them $4-$5 to rent a single movie. This seems like a tremendous ripoff compared to Netflix, not to mention Netflix will rent me a Blu-ray disc in many cases which is much better than the degraded so called HD content from Apple. I have spent thousands of dollars on Apple crap over the last 20-years, and if Apple TV was remotely interesting I'd be a prime target for the thing. It just seems so terribly flawed in terms of what you get for you money - over priced movie rentals of questionable quality.
- virtualball, on 02/13/2008, -6/+7Different strokes for different folks. You're forgetting that Netflix won't play your music and videos onto your TV. Also, $4 to rent an HD video is AMAZING! Not only do you not have to fuss with players but you also don't need to pay the $30 price tag for the DVD if you're only going to watch it once.
  - Giga, on 02/13/2008, -1/+0"You're forgetting that Netflix won't play your music and videos onto your TV."
    Any decent DVD player will, and if you don't have one of them, why are you using Netflix?
    - cameronio, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2You're missing the difference between "can" and "will". Yeah, I'm just going to burn all the movies on my computer on DVD-Rs because it's so damn convenient.
      
      Not to mention Apple TV has Flickr photos, YouTube video, podcasts, etc. And if a friend brings their laptop with iTunes over, you can play stuff off that too.
- cameronio, on 02/13/2008, -3/+7What virtualball said. And: you don't have to wait for it, Netflix takes a couple days, and AppleTV is instant gratifacation.
- veloscaper, on 02/13/2008, -3/+6netflix has unlimited downloads and the cheapest plan is $8/month.
- ketha, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3When has being an Apple fan boy been about saving the pennies. We don't mind paying for ***** hot quality and usability. M'kay?
firstpost, on 02/13/2008, -5/+6Anyone know if the price will drop in Europe too?
It's €299 here, that's $435, which is almost twice the US price.
I would like to buy it, but not while feeling that I get screwed twice.
- ketha, on 02/13/2008, -0/+6Doesn't sound like it. I imagine we'll see a price drop when they lauch rentals in Europe... you can pick them up second hand on ebay fairly cheap.
- judgeFire, on 02/13/2008, -0/+3The US prices are stated without tax, whereas the European prices always include it. Depending on your country, the tax can add a lot to the price.But even considering that, there should still be room for a price drop.
Joshuarr, on 02/13/2008, -5/+15I just rented and watched a HD movie on the new system. I have to say I was blown away. It was ready to watch in a minute or so, and never once froze. The only thing I don't like about it is only having 24 hours to watch the film once you start it. Other than that, it was easier than changing the order of my Netflix account. Which I just canceled.
virtualball, on 02/13/2008, -5/+13A lot of people gloss over the aTV when they are on their rant about how Apple is being "like M$" and making you pay $20 for iPhone apps and such. They're giving away the updated OS which brings a lot of amazing new features to previous owners of the aTV. They could've easily said "Thanks for buying our *****, now ***** off!" But they gave it away as a free download. Just saying.
- Rekutyn, on 02/13/2008, -6/+4They're sorta banking on the rental fees.
  - Joshuarr, on 02/13/2008, -6/+3Ya think!?
  - streak, on 02/13/2008, -4/+8Yeah, I thimk. Apple explicitly amortizes revenue from the aTV and iPhone over 2 years because these devices are considered to be "subscription-based." That's how/why Apple adds new features to them without charge.
    - node3, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1Digg "streak" down if you want, but he's right.
    - talonh, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1Sorry don't pull out the tired old GAAP and SOX argument. It's been discounted from day one
- drakethegreat, on 02/13/2008, -5/+4Xbox 360 updates are free, including the one that enabled DivX streaming from computers. Just saying.
chrisutley, on 02/13/2008, -12/+6It's like buying a 200K Ferrari, and then driving it to Ameristop and filling it up with Regular. I mean if you have a 2K plus 1080p capable HDTV, why in the World would you settle for the garbage that Apple is going to feed you over the Internet? We have an entire generation of people that don't realize the difference in real CD quality vs. the garbage they get from iTunes. Now we are going to have the same thing with video? Not me and my HDTV, we won't be settling for that garbage.
- kelly, on 02/13/2008, -4/+9You apparently haven't tried Apple's HD download yet
  - jabberwolf, on 02/13/2008, -3/+1You appearantly dont understand Apple does have 1080 HD ... they call it 720 HD.
    
    But then, as always, mactards never READ !!!!
- colincornaby, on 02/13/2008, -3/+4So you're saying the average consumer is buying a 2k plus 1080p TV? Somehow I doubt that.
  - ricksite, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2He is also saying that we are buying Ferraris!
- streak, on 02/13/2008, -3/+4Well, for image quality, Apple HD *might* be a shade better than DVD, but it's no Blu-ray. On the other hand, it's far more convenient than any removable disc, while seemingly being greener.
- MetisElara, on 02/13/2008, -1/+0It's all about the innovative content delivery system. People have always imagined some futuristic computer server with every movie on it capable of coming through the wires in your house and now it's real. (run-on?) And besides, not everybody is a video or audiophile. That said, The quality isn't half bad. And Podcasts in HD kick ass. I can't wait till Apple picks up small and independent studios so we can have obscure and foreign movies to rent.
- SickofSects, on 02/13/2008, -1/+1Yet another guy spouting off about quality without even having looked at a rental. If you are such a "videophile", don't you owe it to yourself to try it before you decide it sucks? Have a look at what the real videophiles that you so aspire to be like who hang out at avsforums are saying:
  http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13 ...
EricVKX, on 02/13/2008, -7/+4I'm not sure how to feel about this update. I don't like how it's focused around the iTunes store rather than your library (like the old system was). Also, still no video playlist and AAC 5.1? Lame.
- MightyE, on 02/13/2008, -0/+0I agree, it's lame to have to scroll through 7 iTunes offers to get to my media. They could change that by simply putting the "My Movies," etc at the top of the menus instead of the bottom. I suspect that will never happen though, Apple is becoming more and more of a monetizing giant, they used to care the most about having a good user interface. Now they want a good user interface after you get through their attempt to sell you something every single time you use it.
pearcey, on 02/13/2008, -2/+3Sigh.... looks really nice, only wish you could rent movies and TV shows in Australia.... :-(
- etandrib, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2Have someone get you a US gift card then you can create a US account and enjoy all the features. :)
shanemichael, on 02/13/2008, -4/+5Gotta say, nothings perfect, but I am trying it out now, and the pros outweigh the cons, for sure. The navigation is no problem, it remembers your previous selection, so if all you're doing is viewing your own content, there ya go. The "720p garbage" so many people are bitching about, for little reason, actually looks quite good. All in all, this is pretty awesome, I'm enjoying every second of it.
Auzy, on 02/13/2008, -10/+4Still doesn't look like it fixes the underlying problems:

1) The fact only america has rentals so far, so as far as the world concerned, Apple TV is still a dud
2) No TV recording
3) Still a rediculous price for a small amount of space.

As far as I'm concerned, all it fixes was the bugs in AppleTV 1, which never should have existed on the first place (which dozens of our customers complaining), namely the constant skipping of frames issues. Apple took a year, to fix issues which should have been fixed months ago.

And lets be brutally honest here. As a consumer looking for christmas presents, would you buy:
a) A wii (which is much cheaper), and you could set up a PC to share via web videos.
or b) a external harddisk that only does 720p still for starters, only works on some TV's, and is only marginally less expensive then the cheaper 2nd hand mac mini's which can do much more? (AppleTV)
c) An PC based DVR
d) A proper computer

If you answered B, you fail at life!

The AppleTV is for sales people, who do not know how to upsell to a Mac Mini. And new software wont change the fact, that we maybe only sold 8 or 10 since release, because customers have simply found the lack of TV recording (so it can be wirelessly transmitted to ipods for instance), lack of features (you cant easily browse the web which customers found great), and lack of point not worth it. And, its also for Myer salespeople, who happen to be Apple employees, and they need to dump stock.

The only customers we sold it to successfully, were ones I felt at the time would have been better off with something better (but I didn't sell it, it was a newbie), people who just bought anything apple (they are the same people saying they will buy the macbook air now, even though I know that lack of DVD playback and CD playback with crap them), and those who made a serious mistake.

Very disappointed with the update. Even with the update, its still unlikely it will sell well at least here in aus (even when rentals are available), because here in aus, we don't get much bandwidth before getting capped, so the online components are useless, and I know people will rather spend their money on blu-ray players, for true HD playback.

And yeah, any customer who bought this off us was rich out of their mind too, so they coughed up thousands of dollars for a TV set. Most of them ended up buying both a mac mini AND AppleTV, so it goes to show that even most the buyers of the AppleTV, probably aren't using them much.
- Matrixsjd, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2One question, Why do you say the Wii is much cheaper when it retails for $250 and the AppleTV is $239? Plus it's still really hard to find a wii without having to buy a bundle with games that will set you back another couple hundred dollars. Get your facts straight. The Wii is a video game system anyway, and the AppleTV is for videos, they're two different products.
itchytooth, on 02/13/2008, -1/+5Someone needs to hack together a Netflix "Watch Now" plugin for this thing.
blankoboy, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1That's all good and well but when are we going to see a new revision of the Mac Mini already?! 45nm CPU, larger HDD, 4GB memory support!
Ireland, on 02/13/2008, -1/+2You can now log in to Youtube on Apple TV, next up iPhone friggin Youtube login, rate, read comments etc.
bakura, on 02/13/2008, -1/+7What are the comments about 720p all about? This update adds the ability set the video settings in Apple TV to 1080p.
- drakethegreat, on 02/13/2008, -6/+3Maybe the video is only downloadable at 720p and then upscaled... Just a guess since I wouldn't waste my money on this (waits for the apple army to bury me into submission).
- jabberwolf, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1BAKURA ,, Where does it say that on Apple's site? It says it can be played on a 1080 TV ( duhhhh) but it's 720p content!
  - conrail, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1180 TVs play 720p content natively. You make 720p material sound like EP VHS.
paul7986, on 02/13/2008, -4/+2Does this offer a web browser too? Id like to watch Joox and Hulu through it!
- paulsmith288, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1dont know why you have been dugg down. Valid comment
- etandrib, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Yeah, it would be cool to watch hulu shows or even be able to browse to ABC and stream LOST in HD.
ProAm500, on 02/13/2008, -2/+5Admittedly, I havent used this product and it does look intruding, especially for the fact that you dont to have a computer to use this, but I just started using VMC with a tuner and the 360 extender, and I have to say that with its other shortcomings, I'm VERY impressed with Vista Media Center......Unless Apple (which they won't cause it would undercut Itunes) some how adds a DVR into the mix, I cant really see this being better than VMC and/or 360 extender...
- etandrib, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1I don't see Apple adding a tuner but if Apple opens some sort of API or widget development for Apple TV third parties could offer DVR functionality - like El Gato. They have a USB DVR that would be cool to have on the Apple TV.
- jabberwolf, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1I used a media center as a test box for awhile then reloaded the image and used it. So far I havent seen anything better then Vista Media Center and have seen Apple TV. And why bother with 720P when you can download from cinemanow in 1080 ?
  Yes Apple dumbasses read the fine print - their "HD" is NOT 1080 !!!
  - betasp, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1It does not matter is it is 720 or 1080, both are compressed to *****.
drmckenna0, on 02/13/2008, -6/+0http://tracker.com:12345/announce?info_hash=579CC4 ...

LINK!
charlesdavisIII, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1i don't know about anyone else but im not a fan of the new update I just don't like how they organize things now it makes it hard to navigate to the show i want to watch
OGla, on 02/13/2008, -1/+2OK, but when will we get movies and tv shows in Europe (Sweden anyone?).
- judgeFire, on 02/13/2008, -0/+32008.
rossfly, on 02/13/2008, -2/+1Still not as good as WMC, but I love the competition. This will make MS work harder to make WMC better.

Nice stuff, Apple.
jabberwolf, on 02/13/2008, -3/+1ENOUGH! READ THE FINE PRINT ! APPLE HD IS 720P NOT 1080! GOT IT?!!
It can be played on a 1080 TV ( kinda stupid to point out that on their site but I guess Apple was trying to dupe the stupid)

Now saying that for those in their own distorted apple reality, why bother when you can get stuff from other places in 1080 ?!
So far most Apple fanatics have not tried MS media center and/or xbox 360. This is Apple's second attempt and still falls short of others out there. The non 1080 content is sad because 3rd parties are even coming out with this quality. But I guess because MS was so far ahead, Apple had to put at least something out there.
- betasp, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3Let me repeat myself as you have from above. 720 and 1080 mean nothing, it is just a pixel count. Compression is what matters. It does not matter if Apple streams in 720 and cinemanow streams in 1080, what is the compression?
  - conrail, on 02/13/2008, -1/+1720p can be encoded at a higher quality level due to the (gasp) smaller file size. Of course, most of the detractors are just screaming 1080p like this is some sort of dick measuring contest. Bigger is automatically better.
    Yes, 1080p is technically the better format, and when you have a delivery method where file size doesn't matter (blu-ray) , there's no excuse for not using it. If you're buying a new TV, you should definitely future proof yourself by getting a 1080p set with multiple HDMI ports.
    But there a lot of 720p sets being sold. And you have to remember, streaming at this point is a solution, not THE solution. It's not for everyone.
- kilofox, on 02/13/2008, -2/+31) I dont want to purchase a box that runs WinBlows to get Media Center capabilities.
  2) I have owned a 360..... I dont want a god-dam leaf blower running in my living room. That's right a leaf blower, because that is how much noise the 360 makes. Its just great watching a movie in surround-sound with the 360's fans howling in the back-ground.
- MightyE, on 02/13/2008, -1/+0If you have other video sources which are 1080p, it can play those too. Any 1080 TV can show you 720 content scaled to 1080, so they'd have no reason to offer output at 1080 unless it could show you content at 1080.
  
  It's just the stuff from the iTunes music store which is 720p, if you have other video sources at 1080p, it plays them at full resolution. I get some of mine free online with Muro. The astronomy stuff is fantastic.
- jabberwolf, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1AND if many of us do have 1080 (and that was the point) Why bother with Apple TV ?!?!?
  So stop calling it HD when it isnt . Not compared to everyone else's standards!
  
  And ***** mactards, STOP MAKING EXCUSES AS ALWAYS!
Holocaust, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Torrents > aTV
- Joshuarr, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2t + aTV = :)
ByronSurfer, on 02/16/2008, -0/+0NO MOVIES OR TV SHOWS IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE USA

The biggest problem with Apple TV is that if you don’t live in the USA you are locked out of accessing the iTunes store when trying to buy movies or TV shows.

Movies and TV shows are only available through the US iTunes store and only if you have a credit card with a US billing address.

You can set your system to access the US store and see what's available, but your attempts to download or "rent" will fail -- probably because Apple has not bothered or not resolved copyright issues in making the movies available to other copyright jurisdictions.

So all the hype about Apple TV upgrades offering movie downloads seems to be completely false if you live anywhere but within the USA.

Set your Itunes store to your own country on Apple TV or iTunes and you will see that the movie menu options disappear completely, so this is not unintended but allowed for in the programming.

Not good.
donna1234, on 07/18/2008, -0/+1All the new screens, rental options and new features of the Apple TV update
http://www.bestipodtips.info/
http://www.t7000.info/
http://www.highpr.net/
http://www.e-uuu.com
Login or register to add a comment

Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.

Apple TV new "Take 2" features, pics, more

Login or register to add a comment