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(More customer reviews)Disclaimer: I am a huge (but no longer kool-aid-drinking) Apple fan.
It's good enough, and the rest of the reviews here attest to that, but now having my own, I have to touch on a couple of things that nobody has mentioned yet.
1) There is no way to shut it off. It sucks 18-22 watts down at all times. 22 watts when playing a movie, 18 watts in "hibernate" mode (which is obviously not the laptop-style hibernate mode one would think... I think it merely turns off the video output). You literally have to unplug it to get it to stop. There is no "shutdown" option or power switch. This I find a little ridiculous. Especially because they bothered to put in a neat startup movie- Did they expect you to watch it only once?
2) It runs very hot (no fan), even when it is "hibernated", and thus cannot be covered by anything or you will affect heat dissipation.
3) It is laggy sometimes. The worst offense an interface can have is to be laggy. If it's busy syncing, fine... just prioritize the user interface, please. (Edit: Even after syncing, it gets laggy sometimes.) A few times I'd hit a few buttons, wait 20 seconds, and then the audio feedback kicks in and does what I had commanded a half minute ago. This is pretty unforgivable. (Perhaps it's because it only has a half gig of RAM.)
4) No 1080p. Just to let you know. 1080i, yes. 1080p, no.
5) If you intend to hook this up to any sort of computer display via a HDMI>DVI cable, be aware that you will be unable to watch rented movies because your computer display will not support HDCP and you will get an error. Why it is still quite feasible to rent the very same movie on a computer via the iTunes Store and watch it on a non-HDCP computer display is left as an exercise to the armchair IP lawyers out there.
If you can get past those things, it's a nice little device.
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With the Apple TV, you'll have instant access to a whole world of entertainment. Whether you want to rent HD movies, buy HD TV show, listen to your iTunes music collection, or show off your photos, Apple TV will bring all of it into your living room and onto your television without any computer required.
Put more HD on your HDTV. HD movies. HD TV shows. HD podcasts. With Apple TV, they\'re all on demand. You get instant access to newly released Hollywood hits and popular classic and library titles, including the largest selection of on-demand HD movies. And now you can also purchase and watch your favorite TV shows in brilliant HD one day after they air.
The largest selection of on-demand HD movies. Apple TV gives you instant access to the largest selection of on-demand HD movies. Choose a movie, and in minutes, you\'re watching the opening credits with theater-like Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. HD rentals start at $3.99, and you have 30 days to start watching. Hit Play, and it\'s yours to watch as many times as you want in 24 hours.
Rent or buy standard-definitionmovies. Choose from the most popular Hollywood titles, from comedy to drama, romance to classics, independents to thrillers. Standard-definition movie rentals are $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases. Short films — including popular Pixar animated shorts — are only $1.99. And if you like the movie you just rented, you can make it a permanent part of your digital collection. Movie purchases start at $9.99, and most titles are available the day they\'re released on DVD.
Play your music through your hometheatersystem. With Apple TV, iTunes syncs wirelessly to your TV, so all the music you\'ve collected can now be played on the best speakers in your house. The new Genius feature studies your iTunes library to automatically create a playlist of songs that go great together. You can also browse and buy music videos on the iTunes Store. And sync songs and videos purchased on Apple TV to your computer and iPod oriPhone.
Now appearing on HDTV: Your photos. YouTubevideos.And podcasts, too. Your photos deserve a bigger stage. And Apple TV puts them on your widescreen TV, where everybody can see them in stunning high definition. Select My Photos to browse photos that are on your Mac or PC. You can also access your Flickr or MobileMe galleries. And you no longer have to gather around a computer screen to see YouTube videos and podcasts — Apple TV plays them big and bold on your TV\'s spectacularscreen.
Lots of Features in a Small Package The Apple TV features a 160GB hard drive for storing content locally, and has an HDMI port, component video, optical audio, analog RCA stereo audio, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, USB 2.0, and 802.11n wireless networking. All this in an elegant box that measures just 7.7 by 7.7 x 1.1 inches (WxDxH). A remote control is included so you can navigate all your choices from the comfort of your couch.
System Requirements Apple TV requires a Mac (running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or 10.4.9 or later) or PC (running Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2) or Vista), iTunes 7.6 or later (iTunes 8.0.1 recommended), and either an Airport Extreme, Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g or 802.11n wireless network (wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n) or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network.
Apple TV is backed by a one-year warranty.
What's on the Box Apple TV, remote, power cord, documentation.
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