Macworld: Apple's New Apple TV

The star of Macworld is Apple’s new iPhone, but its companion, formerly referred to as “iTV,” was also revealed in full detail, and assigned a February release. Alongside the new Apple TV is a revised AirPort Extreme basestation.

Apple demonstrates the new Apple TV’s menus on its website, showing off the device as a hardware extension of iTunes to play Movies, TV shows, podcasts, music, and photos.

It can also display a “screensaver” built using a photo library, but will not play iPod games, as I’d hoped for in the series Why Apple Will Change TV. Other applications, including games, may come later.

Of course, Apple may change TV by bringing it to a personal handheld device in the iPhone, which can do everything outlined:

Five Ways Apple Will Change TV: 1 On Demand Content

Five Ways Apple Will Change TV: 2 Personal Content

Five Ways Apple Will Change TV: 3 Interactive Content

Five Ways Apple Will Change TV: 4 Alternative Content

Five Ways Apple Will Change TV: 5 Original Content

Syncing, HD and New Content

The unit syncs from iTunes on demand or automatically based on user settings in iTunes. With its 40 GB hard drive, the unit can store up to 50 hours of video.

Apple also announced a new movie partnership with Paramount, bumping its movie lineup up another notch and signaling its intention to continue moving new content online.

Rather than pulling TV off the air like a TiVo or other DVR, it downloads podcasts or content purchased from the iTunes Store, or any other video users have uploaded into their iTunes library.

Of course, using a Mac DVR, one can already put broadcast TV into iTunes, and its also trivial to move DVDs into iTunes. That leaves the Apple TV a universal device, as I had suggested in Apple’s iTV & The Case of the Missing DVR.

As long as videos in iTunes fit one of the basic video standards supported, it will just work. In addition to standard iPod video, the Apple TV can also playback HD video (1280 x 720 resolution at 24 frames per second, progressive scan).

Price

Apple TV is $299 and is slated to be available in February.

Macworld: Apple’s New AirPort Extreme

This Series

Tech: Apple & the Media

What do you think? I really like to hear from readers. Leave a comment or email me with your ideas.