Jon's Tech Talk

The AppleTV has been out for a few years now, but always considered to be Apple Inc.’s ‘hobby’. The device is literally a thinned down Mac, that runs a dedicated and special version of Apple’s Front Row software available on the Mac OS. This review (as my others) is not to be a run down of all the features and specs, but more of how we use ours, and what I really think.

My wife purchased the 40GB model for me as a birthday present. We have ours hooked up to a Samsung 40” TV, set to run at 1080p. The device can’t actually play 1080p content (it tops out at 720p), the menu system can be displayed at 1080p. After using the Boxee Beta quite a bit on our iMac, I thought it would be nice to have a set top box that would allow us to do very similar things in our ‘media room’ (I will be writing about my AppleTV/Boxee experience soon, but for a short answer – don’t do it). I started doing some research about the actual machine. Some of the tech specs of the device are:

• 1.0 GHz Intel processor
• 256MB of RAM
• 40GB or 160GB Hard Drive
• Custom version of Mac OS X 10.4
• HDMI, Component Video Out, Optical Audio Out
• AppleTV Software -Version 2, also called ‘Take 2’, created a new UI/UX, including: iTunes Store integration (including rental and purchases), enhanced iTunes Sync/Stream functionality, A new interface, more resembling a menu-driven design similar to an iPod

The device is set up to sync video podcasts to its local hard drive, but stream everything from my iTunes Library. I have created a few special playlists specifically for the AppleTV, like Party music, Work music, etc. The streaming/syncing capabilities of the Take 2 firmware works flawlessly. The interface is less focused on the source, but your entire library, no matter where this is. The device by default doesn’t segregate content depending on where its located, only on its type (like Video, Audio, etc). I haven’t tested this yet, but in theory, I could host my video content off another library on another computer (like our Windows machine/File Server), host my Music off of our iMac, and see both on the AppleTV.

We have yet to rent or purchase anything from the iTunes store on the AppleTV, but have browsed the listings a few times to see what content is available. You get to see the trailers (in HD if available), details about content, and possible types of content (HD or SD). The interface is different from the iTunes store, but the content is obviously identical.

Podcasting has been one of the most used features (other than music streaming) that we have used on the AppleTV. Your able to browse iTunes vast and growing podcast collection, and stream or subscribe to podcasts that you enjoy. This allows us to store various new content in a ‘DVR-like’ environment, to watch when we get a chance and can’t find anything on TV (which happens more and more these days). For example, I will carry audio podcasts with me on my iPhone, but only video podcasts on the AppleTV.

Overall, the device is nice, but not for everyone. If you have a portable Mac (or any Mac really), you have most of all these features available to you already. The only benefit you get with the AppleTV is a much nicer interface for ‘surfing from your couch’. While the device is limited if you have a small iTunes library, I have already started downloading and storing a lot more content recently to watch on this device. With the continuous degradation of content on standard/cable TV, being able to choose what I want to watch, when I want to watch, is a big benefit. I also enjoy being able to enjoy content developed more for watching on a TV than a computer screen from the comfort of our couch!

Check back soon, as I plan on writing up a review of Boxee on the AppleTV, as well as various other hacks available for the device as well.