First Look: New 1080p Apple TV

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014


Alongside the new iPad, Apple released a new Apple TV with updated hardware capable of receiving (via AirPlay) and displaying 1080p video on an HDTV set.



Shipments of the new 1080p Apple TV began today, one day before the new iPad is set to ship to the first wave of preorders.



The diminutive Apple TV retail box is just a bit bigger than the very small unit itself, and it's being shipped within a larger cardboard box.

















Inside the box is an AC power cable (the unit contains its own power supply), an Apple Remote, introductory booklet, and the small black device itself, wrapped in cellophane with a strip of tape around its middle to protect the shiny black finish. Apple doesn't include an HDMI cable for connecting to an HDTV, nor an Ethernet cable (although Apple TV works well wirelessly).



Below, the new Apple TV and its shipping contents are displayed next to the original iOS Apple TV introduced in late 2010.









The original 720p and new 1080p versions of Apple TV are identical in appearance and in ports supplied, with the only external difference being a new model number written in black on black text on the underside.









The new version is more capable in the resolution department (and can also support higher quality AirPlay streams from iTunes 10. and iOS devices), but its core features are available to existing 720p Apple TV users via a free system update, including its larger artwork for featured movies and TV shows and a revised, more iOS-like icon interface that presents Netflix, Vimeo, YouTube and sports and information services more like apps rather than buried menus.
















Apple has added 1080p content to iTunes (which the new Apple TV selects by default), and Netflix is making available 1080p content to users of the new device.



Some existing users might want to upgrade to the latest Apple TV to take the fullest advantage of large 1080p HDTV sets, but the free software upgrade Apple provided for existing Apple TV users makes the new model more attractive to new buyers than a "must have" update for existing users.





[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 55
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Well, the resolution difference is noticeable on my Samsung HDTV. I tested using the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (what? I'm a pig, I admit it), and it really is much better.



    Glad I picked this up.
  • Reply 2 of 55
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.
  • Reply 3 of 55
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    I'm not liking the new Apple TV user interface at all.
  • Reply 4 of 55
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post


    Well, the resolution difference is noticeable on my Samsung HDTV. I tested using the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (what? I'm a pig, I admit it), and it really is much better.



    Glad I picked this up.



    Does the A5 help with the lag experienced while AirPlay gaming?
  • Reply 5 of 55
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.



    I always use my iPhone or iPad for this very reason.
  • Reply 6 of 55
    gustavgustav Posts: 827member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2oh1 View Post


    I'm not liking the new Apple TV user interface at all.



    What do you suggest? The old one was completely unsuitable for all of the features it now has. And consider more will come in the future.
  • Reply 7 of 55
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.



    The first thing I did with my Apple TV was program the Apple remote functions into my universal remote. I haven't touched it since.
  • Reply 8 of 55
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.



    I must admit I do the same. I have to use the iPad whenever I have to enter my user name and password as it takes forever using the remote as I screw up so many times.
  • Reply 9 of 55






    I love the retro-look of the power cord.



    Is the connector the standard size? Or do you need to use Apple's cord?
  • Reply 10 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2oh1 View Post


    I'm not liking the new Apple TV user interface at all.



    I still haven't updated my ATV2 software - every time I see pix of the new interface, such as in this article, I just kind of cringe. It seems like such a step backwards, and so cumbersome (IMHO, given my own use patterns).
  • Reply 11 of 55
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.



    Ditto. Looks great, but poor ergonomics. Reminiscent of the hockey puck mouse.
  • Reply 12 of 55
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    I'm pretty sure it's standard.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post




    I love the retro-look of the power cord.



    Is the connector the standard size? Or do you need to use Apple's cord?



  • Reply 13 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    I sure wish they updated that remote. I have never been able to touch any of the directional buttons without accidentally touching the center button.



    +1



    And I don't like the feel of the click - feels like there's grit under the button.
  • Reply 14 of 55
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gustav View Post


    What do you suggest? The old one was completely unsuitable for all of the features it now has. And consider more will come in the future.



    I suggest giving the ability to rearrange the app-looking icons. That seems like an obvious first step.
  • Reply 15 of 55
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2oh1 View Post


    I'm not liking the new Apple TV user interface at all.



    Seems like an incremental improvement in usability to me.



    I'd like to be able to make certain features/options that I'll never use disappear from the interface.

    I'll never be using MLB or NHL so I'd prefer not to them taking up valuable space.



    I'd also like to move things I use a lot to the top of the interface.



    [And I'd most like my AppleTV to be able to access media off a networked drive (even if it had to be in an iTunes Library,) rather than off my Mac via iTunes.]

    [Also I'm not thrilled with the metadata part of the interface. The AppleTV seems to have trouble reading the metadata from Podcasts and lots of information is truncated, disorganized, and hard to read even on a big screen. Apple needs to take a few choice pointers from the PLEX interface as far as data display.]
  • Reply 16 of 55
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Does the A5 help with the lag experienced while AirPlay gaming?



    Having never used it for that, I honestly can't say.



    I wish I could have helped.
  • Reply 17 of 55
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Does the A5 help with the lag experienced while AirPlay gaming?



    Do you have your Apple TV on ethernet?

    Putting as much as possible on ethernet really speeds things up. Desaturating your WiFi makes the the things that need to be on WiFi work much more smoothly.
  • Reply 18 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DESuserIGN View Post


    Do you have your Apple TV on ethernet?

    Putting as much as possible on ethernet really speeds things up. Desaturating your WiFi makes the the things that need to be on WiFi work much more smoothly.



    Agreed. I recently wired up my home, and the wifi stuff works way better, not just the wired stuff.



    I'll be getting a second Apple TV because we just replaced an old projector and set up a home theater again with a 110" screen. It will make a difference.



    I have to say, though, that blu-ray players are starting to really eclipse it in terms of features that we use. If it wasn't for airplay, I might be skipping it. But who am I kidding. It's $100, we use it daily and when we need to put up info on the screen from an iPad or someone's iPhone, I'd sorely miss it if we didn't have one.
  • Reply 19 of 55
    received mine at work today, cant wait to take it home and try and some of my hd movies on itunes.
  • Reply 20 of 55
    I wonder if the new one has the same bug that my 2010 model is showing with the new software. All my TV shows that are shared from my apple tv are no longer in alphabetical order...they are in the order that they were added to the library. Very unusable.
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