If you’d like to jump into the Apple TV game for under $200, Apple’s online store has refurbished 40GB units going for $199, which includes free shipping and a one-year warranty. That’s $30 off of the price of a new one, so that may or may not be a good deal depending how you feel about refurbished stuff.
Refurbished Apple TV with 40GB drive [Apple Store] via dealnews
…at least in patent-world. AppleInsider found a patent related to an AppleTV DVR interface for picking programs to record. Since it was filed in October 2006, this might have been a feature they left out because all of Apple was drunk the week they made the Apple TV and left out the DVR part — that’s just my guess, seeing as how the thing has pretty much sucked on wheels until firmware 2.0 and even then it’s no great shakes.
Anger at being force to still use my SD TiVo aside, it seems like a cool addition to the wee box but would definitely require a hardware refresh.
Apple TV DVR interface revealed in patent filings [AppleInsider]
No one’s downloading movies from the Internet. “No one,” here, means about 1 percent of adults with broadband connections. That hardly bodes will for Apple TV and the like.
A recent survey conducted by research outfit the Diffusion Group found that only 1 percent of adult with broadband frequently download movies (legally) from the Internet from places like iTunes and Vudu. A more respectable 9.5 percent of the same demo have downloaded at least one movie once. I’ve downloaded plenty of movies, just, uh, not using those services; other, less mainstream ones are significantly cheaper.
What could possibly explain why people appear to be so hesitant to make the plunge? For one, people like watching movies on the big screen, that is, their TV. (Unless we’re talking cellphones, where some 2 percent said watching a movie there would be an important ability to have.) When you’ve got to shell out X Amount to buy an Apple TV (or equivalent device) just to be able to watch a movie on your TV, people get turned off. And hardly anyone thinks stringing an HDMI cable the computer to the TV is practical.
Looks like this whole “movies on your computer screen” isn’t quite figured out yet.
A Tough Sell: Movies on Small Screens [New York Times]
Today marks the first update to iTunes 7.6, which brings it up to 7.6.1, promising better compatibility with Apple TV’s “Take Two” software and bringing special 99-cent Move Thursdays, where a movie may be rented for less than a buck Thursdays through Mondays, with a new featured movie each Thursday. Cool!
Regular readers will recall my frustrations with iTunes 7.6 on Leopard and how it worked with my Apple TV. This update appears to fix that problem. I’ll be trying it out this weekend, and I’ll let you know how it goes.
iTunes 7.6.1 lands along with 99-cent movie rental specials [Ars]
Looks like you can now get Safari going on your SSH-enabled Apple TV with nothing more than a couple clicks. I’m not sure I want to be on the web in such a weird way, but it’s nice that it’s available; that’s one more reason to get one these little suckers. So when are they going to bring multitouch to my clicker?
Safari HD is now available [Apple TV Hacks]
So I had to wait an extra day for some reason, but last night I got my Take Two upgrade for my Apple TV up and running. I rented an HD movie (The Simpsons, for those who’re curious) and it looked and sounded great. The 5.1 Dolby Surround was flawless and the video looked just amazing, far better than what I get with Comcast HD.
The update itself took just 7 minutes from start to finish. My Apple TV itself now works great. But then I ran into a problem that took me hours to fix.
There are reports of people getting a “purplish” screen after installing the “Take Two” update for the Apple TV. Don’t worry, it’s just your Apple TV reverting to it’s default video output mode. It’s sending YPrBr to your TVs RGB input. Go into the settings, change it to RGB, you should be all set.
I’ve got my Apple TV all ready to go. I want to update for the “Take Two” upgrade that will grant me HD movie rental, fulfilling the promise of the Apple TV/iTunes duo. But no. I go to update and it’s telling me I’m up to date. Which, of course, I’m not.
Other owners: Success? Failure? Movie rentals? Beers?
It’s here! Hot damn, it’s here! I don’t own an Apple TV but I saw one in an Apple store once. It looked so awesome. Anyway, the new update is here. Check for the Software Update option under the Settings menu. Once everything churns and wiggles, you’ll be able to rent iTunes movies and access Flickr and .Mac photostreams. Enjoy!
Apple TV ‘Take Two’ update now available [Macworld]
It looks like the Archos TV+ came out in Europe before here, what with every British tech site having already given their first impression. The little device is a media server and comes with either an 80GB or 250GB hard drive. Wi-Fi takes care of the wireless streaming of music, movies, photos and the sort. If it sounds similar to the Apple TV, that’s because it is similar to the Apple TV. Only iTunes-DRM’d content won’t play on this.
It supports, with the help of plugins, MPEG4, WMV and H.264; no DivX support (yet?).
T3 has an unembeddable video of the interface, while Pocket-lint has all sorts of photos. Godspeed.
Video: Hands on with Archos TV+ [T3]
Archos TV+ in pictures [Pocket-lint.co.uk]
Welcome to the Unreasonable Stance, where our own Devin takes the minority opinion on a tech matter and defends it with convenient data, spun numbers, fanboyism, and insults until he proves, without a doubt, that those that disagree with him are filthy mouth-breathers.
You’re probably thinking I’m crazy. Well, maybe I am. But that’s just because I have crazy love for HD DVD and have faith that it will end up on top of this little format scuffle. The “coup” by Blu-Ray has inspired some interesting, if misguided satire (Godwin alert), and convinced the easily swayed masses of critics that yes, it’s over. But it’s far from over — and this was only a glancing blow. HD DVD will bounce back for the knockout punch.
At the Stevenote a couple weeks ago, Steve mentioned that within “a couple weeks” those of us with Apple TVs would have the ability to rent movies directly from iTunes on our set-top boxes.
This uncertain day has surely passed, and last week Apple said we’d have to wait at least a couple more weeks, as things weren’t ready. That’s ok, though, because we have the Internet, and we’ve got other ways to watch vids on our nice flat panel TVs. Here’s a how-to on getting the latest shows onto your Apple TV.
The brave new age of talking to your loved ones on the TV is finally here. Brandon Holland created a native Skype plugin for the Apple TV. It will take a bit of doing to get it on there, but it apparently lets you make calls and obtain your contact list.
This plugin is basically an Apple TV front end for the Mac version of the Skype Application. It uses Skype’s powerful and well documented API to obtain information, set preferences, make calls, ect.
To Do:
-Add Contact Controller
-Search Contacts Controller
-File Transfer Controller
-History Controller
-Chat + SMS Controllers
-View Profile Controller
-Contact Avatars when the API supports it
*Login + Downloader Controller maybePlease contact with me with any ideas or bug reports.
Not sure where/how you put in the microphone, but this isn’t even out of Alpha so don’t expect miracles.
iPod Observer recently spoke with someone at Apple and was able to get a little more information about renting HD movies using the new Apple TV software. The basic gist is that HD movies can only be rented, not purchased. Standard definition movies can be purchased, but high-def movies can’t.
The movies are streamed directly from Apple’s servers and displayed on your TV. Nothing is downloaded to the Apple TV’s hard drive or your computer, if you’ve got one connected. This is most likely to prevent piracy, according to the site. “It’s likely that these conditions were set by the studios to protect HD movies from ever residing digitally on the Apple customer’s Apple TV, being unlocked, and possibly pirated.”
Apple Clarifies HD Movie Rental Operations [iPod Observer]
Steve Jobs right after the iPhone’s launch in June:
We’ve got two strong legs on our chair today — we have the Mac business, which is a $10 billion business, and music, our iPod and iTunes business, which is $10 billion. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day Apple TV will be the fourth leg.
With four million sold and an SDK on the way, the iPhone has turned out well for Jobs and Co.
What of the fourth leg, Apple TV? Does Apple have a chair yet?
Both Microsoft and Apple want to be your go-to home entertainment brand. But, right now, Apple is charging a little less for the privilege.
Let’s say you want to be able to [legally] download movies then watch them on your big screen HDTV. You can go with the Microsoft model, that is, buy a 20GB Xbox 360 Pro or 120GB Elite (since the Arcade doesn’t have the out-of-the-box storage capacity to make a fair comparison) for $350 or $450, respectively, and rent HD movies for $6 a pop. Or, you can go with the Apple model and buy a 40GB Apple TV for $230 or a 160GB model $330, with HD movies going for $5.
The cheapest Microsoft-based system costs $356, $350 for a Pro and $6 for a single HD movie.
The cheapest Apple-based system costs $235, $230 for an Apple TV and $5 for the single HD movie.
Either way, you’ll be able to watch HD movies on your big screen far more easily than how I do it.
iTunes HD Movie Rentals $1 Less Than XBL [1UP.com]
Granted, Apple may have dropped the price of its Apple TV while simultaneously adding much needed features (like HD support), but I have a less expensive alternative you might enjoy.
Head over to Monoprice, and buy a cable that’s compatible with your computer’s video out port. Connect that cable from your computer to your TV and you’ll be watching movies, HD or otherwise, on your big screen, all for the fraction of the cost of an Apple TV. (I have an iMac, which uses a mini-DVI port, so I needed this mini-DVI to DVI adapter before getting an cheap DVI-to-HDMI cable.)
Total cost: around $15 (I was able to buy the adapter for my iMac using a Best Buy gift card). $15 vs. $230?
Combine your setup with a little BitTorrent action and every night can be movie night, or The Office night or Lost night or…
Shocking low cable prices [Monoprice]
Apple TV has been a bust thus far, but Apple hasn’t given up on the concept yet. Here’s what Jobs just announced during his MacWorld keynote.
• It’s a free software update. No having to buy Apple TV V2 or anything.
• Most importantly you no longer need a PC/Mac to use Apple TV. You’ll be able to rent movies, including high-def movies for $4.99, right from the device itself. You can also buy music right from the device. Note that Jobs said he’ll never let iTunes have a music rental service.
• Apple TV now supports Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
• Apple dropped the price from $299 to $229.
Yeah, just stuck an LCD on there somewhere. Naw, doesn’t matter where.
Apple TV with an LCD screen? Small iPhone memory upgrade? Apparently the Goldman guys have been snorting a bit too much nose candy at their holiday parties and are spouting all sorts of nonsense about Apple’s 2008 plans. Their first prognostication?
Among them is a second-generation iPhone currently in the “final design phase,” the analyst said. The handset is expected to “have a similar form factor as the current version although it could have a different look and will probably include 3G capability.”
Hokey smokes! Stop the presses. Then they’re suggesting that the Apple TV will get an LCD screen and the ultralight will not appear, citing “design issues.” Most importantly, Apple is now a buy according to Goldman, so give them a call and send them some red-hot brokerage fees.
Second-gen iPhone in final phase; Apple TV update planned – report [AppleInsider]
If rumors from Apple Insider are to be taken as truth, next year will see two new iPhones from Apple. The first will be a minor upgrade, likely nothing more than a storage bump from 8GB to 16GB, matching the iPod touch.
Later in the year, though, will see the iPhone 2, which will offer the lacking 3G and likely have an updated design. To both of these, we must give a qualified “No duh”.
In addition, the Apple TV, a fantastic device that Apple seems to have forgotten it makes, will be updated, likely with an LCD display. While we don’t see the need for that, more storage seems a natch, so there’s no news there either.
In summary, in 2008 Apple will update stuff. The end.
Second-gen iPhone in final phase; Apple TV update planned – report [Apple Insider]
