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Poll: How do you like your movies? Optical disc, or downloadable?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Home Entertainment, Movies,
With the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war being over, the new “war” if you will is the one between digital delivery of movies, versus good ol’ optical media. We want to know how you feel about this. Do you prefer buying movies using Apple TV, thus avoiding a trip to the local Target? Or are the type of person who prefers all the bells and whistles that something like a Blu-ray disc has to offer (7.1 lossless audio, pure 1080p video)? I think it is safe to say that we are moving towards a digital download lifestyle, but with current broadband speeds in the USA, we think that it might be a while before it can compete with optical. Your thoughts?
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Movies now purchasable through Apple TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Broadband, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
Apple has quietly made a subtle change to the Apple TV movie experience. Previously, you were able to rent standard definition and high definition movies through Apple TV, and obviously, those rentals would expire if left unwatched for 30 days, or within 24 hours of you starting the movie. However, people have been asking for movie downloads since Apple TV Take 2 launched. Well, all that has changed, as Apple has come to an agreement with movie studios that will see new movies available for purchase and download on the same day that they are released on DVD.
The downside to all this? Well, for starters, you can’t buy the HD versions of these movies, despite the fact that you can rent them in HD. If you have an HDTV, we are guessing that you prefer your movies in HD. Also, for a similar price, you could just buy the movie on disc, and get all the extra special feature videos that are lacking on the iTunes download. Oh well, I guess we should just be happy that we are seeing progress.
iTunes 7.6.1 released
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Movies, Music, Software,
With iTunes 7.6, we got movie rentals, among other things. We also got nice, tight integration between iTunes and Apple TV Take 2. Today, Apple released a small point upgrade in iTunes 7.6.1, which focuses on “several” bug fixes as well as an improving compatibility between iTunes and Apple TV 2.0 software. Here is the full scoop from Apple themselves:
Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.
Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes.
iTunes 7.6.1 includes several bug fixes and improves compatibility with Apple TV software version 2.0.
Anything that eliminates bugs sounds good to us. Fire up Software Update to pull in the new version.
Apple TV Take 2 finally released!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Broadband, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Software,
If you are like me, you’ve been waiting for Apple TV Take 2 to hit for just about a month now. When it was delayed two weeks ago, I stared at my Apple TV in disgust. In it’s current form, it was nothing more than a YouTube viewer, and sometimes, a nice picture screensaver. However, the wait is no more. As part of today’s Tuesday updates, Apple has finally released the Apple TV Take 2 software, and it is available now for download. Aside from a freatly enhanced UI, here are some of the features:
- Movie rentals in both high definition and standard definition
- Flickr photo browsing and slideshows
- .Mac photo gallery browsing and slideshows
- Purchasing of items from iTunes Store from Apple TV
- Browse and view podcasts in iTunes Podcast directory on Apple TV
If you have an Apple TV, fire up Software Update on the device to get the new hotness, and let us know what you think.
Read More 
| Apple TV Take 2 Guided Tour
iTunes 7.3 Now Available, Features iPhone Support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
Apple has just made iTunes 7.3 available this morning, which is the version you need to be running if you hope to activate your iPhone after getting it home. Here are the details of the download, straight from Apple:
With iTunes 7.3, you can now activate iPhone service and sync it with your music, TV shows, movies and more. Also, you can now wirelessly share and enjoy your favorite digital photos from any computer in your home with Apple TV.
So there you have it, you get both iPhone functionality, as well as the ability to view digital photos on Apple TV from any computer on your network.
Read More | iTunes
YouTube on Apple TV Image Gallery Walkthrough
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Home Entertainment, Internet,
So yesterday we let you know that YouTube is now on Apple TV. We decided to put together a gallery showing off the slick YouTube interface that Apple put together to turn YouTube into a living room experience. We show you everything, from downloading the update, to the menu system, to our YouTube username (hint: it’s gearlive - subscribe to us!). As we said yesterday, YouTube videos on Apple TV are encoded in H.264 format, so they are very watchable - even in the ten foot experience. Click on for the full gallery, which includes 15 images.
Read More | Gallery: YouTube on Apple TV
Gallery:
YouTube Arrives on Apple TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software,
Steve Jobs announced it at All Things D, and earlier today Apple released the first software update for the Apple TV, which included the addition of YouTube to the device. As we noted previously, YouTube has begun to encode videos in the H.264 codec, and these are the videos you are able to see on Apple TV. This should result in higher quality visuals, and YouTube plans to have 10,000 videos encoded by June 29th, and will continue adding more each week. If you have an Apple TV, be sure to fire up software update for YouTube functionality.
Video: Steve Jobs All Things Digital Interview Highlights
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop, Videos,
Earlier today, Walt Mossberg interviewed Steve Jobs about all things Apple, including the name change, the iPhone, DRM-free music, and YouTube coming to Apple TV. Brightcove is hosting a few video clips of the All Things Digital conference, and we thought we might share the Steve Jobs interview highlight with you. There is some good information here, plus you get a look at the Apple TV YouTube interface. Give it a look, and let us know what you think.
The Bleeding Edge In High Resolution Now Available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements,
For all you fans of our award-winning video show, The Bleeding Edge, we wanted to let you guys know that we have created a high resolution feed for your viewing enjoyment. This is perfect if you want to stream the shows over your network to an Apple TV or Xbox 360. You can subscribe to the high resolution version of The Bleeding Edge in iTunes, or you can download them episode-by-episode in the show notes of any previously posted show. Enjoy!
Unboxing Apple TV: Gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
Our bad! When we put up our Apple TV Unboxing Gallery, maybe you would have appreciated it if we actually let you know it was there. So, here we are to redeem ourselves, with what we think is a not-too-shabby look at the Apple TV unboxing experience. If you are curious about what comes in the box (not much, really) as well as what is lacking (video cables?), you may find our gallery of some use to yourself. Once again Apple has done a fantastic job of making a device possibly feel more special than it is simply by the way they packaged it—although, with their failure to pack in any sort of video cable, be it digital or analog, they managed to also make you feel like something is missing at the same time. See for yourself in our Apple TV unboxing gallery.
Read More | Apple TV Unboxing Gallery via Unboxing
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