Apple stores to offer hands-on Apple TV workshops and demos
Apple on Wednesday formally acknowledged the first shipments of Apple TV and said customers can expect wireless streaming media device to turn up at Apple and authorized retail stores "beginning this week."
In a press release, the Cupertino-based company described Apple TV as "an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts."
The device, which easily connects to almost all modern widescreen televisions, lets users quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room from up to 30 feet away using the simple Apple Remote.
?Apple TV is like a DVD player for the Internet age?providing an easy and fun way to play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?Apple TV allows you to wirelessly play your content from your PCs or Macs using your existing WiFi network as well as the newest and fastest version of WiFi?802.11n.?
Integration of Apple TV and iTunes gives users access to over 400 movies and 350 TV shows in near DVD quality; over four million songs; 5,000 music videos; 100,000 podcasts; and 20,000 audiobooks from the iTunes Store.
Users can also watch their favorite movie trailers right on their widescreen TV, listen to their favorite music on their home entertainment system, and view slideshows of their photo albums in high definition resolution.
Apple TV has a 40GB hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each and is capable of delivering high-definition 720p output. It comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort 802.11 wireless networking, Apple TV can alsoauto-sync content from one computer or stream content from up to five additional computers right to your TV without any wires.
Apple TV, which bundles the Apple Remote, will be available beginning this week from the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $299 (US).
Apple retail stores will also offer hands on workshops and demonstrations of Apple TV?s features, Apple said.
In a press release, the Cupertino-based company described Apple TV as "an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts."
The device, which easily connects to almost all modern widescreen televisions, lets users quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room from up to 30 feet away using the simple Apple Remote.
?Apple TV is like a DVD player for the Internet age?providing an easy and fun way to play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?Apple TV allows you to wirelessly play your content from your PCs or Macs using your existing WiFi network as well as the newest and fastest version of WiFi?802.11n.?
Integration of Apple TV and iTunes gives users access to over 400 movies and 350 TV shows in near DVD quality; over four million songs; 5,000 music videos; 100,000 podcasts; and 20,000 audiobooks from the iTunes Store.
Users can also watch their favorite movie trailers right on their widescreen TV, listen to their favorite music on their home entertainment system, and view slideshows of their photo albums in high definition resolution.
Apple TV has a 40GB hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each and is capable of delivering high-definition 720p output. It comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort 802.11 wireless networking, Apple TV can alsoauto-sync content from one computer or stream content from up to five additional computers right to your TV without any wires.
Apple TV, which bundles the Apple Remote, will be available beginning this week from the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $299 (US).
Apple retail stores will also offer hands on workshops and demonstrations of Apple TV?s features, Apple said.
Comments
And do people really have "favorite movie trailers"?
Wow, this device is so complicated, they need to have workshops to explain it to people?
And do people really have "favorite movie trailers"?
think of the workshop as more of a selling seminar. And a lot of people like to see all the features before they make a decision to buy. Its a smart move on Apple's part, to have a 'genius' display its best feature set.
yeah, before Serenity came out, the 1080p trailer was one of my favorites to test out computers to see how they handled it....
Other than that, no.
Seriously though, I appreciate the notice. I'll have to check the schedule and make a time to go see the demonstration.
Any sign of 720p content yet? I just checked iTunes store and didn't see any explicit mention. If the current material was intended for iPod I assume it is way smaller than 720p. Is Apple planning to offer two versions of all movies, iPod only and ATV, i.e. smaller or larger? One would hardly want to wait for a 720p if the iPod was the only intended player but those of us with ATV will want 720p... so many questions! I just read Walt's column and no mention of this and as i say iTunes store has nothing I can see. Anyone have any information?
720p files would be GIGANTIC. I doubt Apple wants to put up the bandwidth for that at the moment. Plus, few people would have the time or hard drive space for downloading such files.
Of course, you could encode your own material at 720p with the newest version of Quicktime. So if you want your iMovies at hi-res, go for it.
I think we'll see HD content on iTunes eventually, but not for a while yet. Apple TV has the capability for future use, not current. Sort of like what they did with 802.11n.
Any sign of 720p content yet? I just checked iTunes store and didn't see any explicit mention. If the current material was intended for iPod I assume it is way smaller than 720p. Is Apple planning to offer two versions of all movies, iPod only and ATV, i.e. smaller or larger? One would hardly want to wait for a 720p if the iPod was the only intended player but those of us with ATV will want 720p... so many questions! I just read Walt's column and no mention of this and as i say iTunes store has nothing I can see. Anyone have any information?
Apple has applied for patents on content scaling systems, where one file can contain more than one resolution. By embedding this technology into iTunes, Apple can easily offer higher res content that will still take up less room when loaded onto the iPod. I don't have any info on whether they've done this yet, as I don't own a video iPod. But someone who does could check by downloading 640x480 res videos from the store, and loading only those files onto the ipod, then checking how much space they take up (or if you can see the individual files listed on the iPod, just enable the "size" view option and compare).
720p files would be GIGANTIC. I doubt Apple wants to put up the bandwidth for that at the moment. Plus, few people would have the time or hard drive space for downloading such files.
Of course, you could encode your own material at 720p with the newest version of Quicktime. So if you want your iMovies at hi-res, go for it.
I think we'll see HD content on iTunes eventually, but not for a while yet. Apple TV has the capability for future use, not current. Sort of like what they did with 802.11n.
Thanks but I am in the business I know how to make my own from my 1080i material. My questions were specific to iTunes store. I have to think you are wrong. Apple have to provide 720p material for sale or at least 540p. iPod material blown up to any large HD TV would look horrible.
Apple has applied for patents on content scaling systems, where one file can contain more than one resolution. By embedding this technology into iTunes, Apple can easily offer higher res content that will still take up less room when loaded onto the iPod. I don't have any info on whether they've done this yet, as I don't own a video iPod. But someone who does could check by downloading 640x480 res videos from the store, and loading only those files onto the ipod, then checking how much space they take up (or if you can see the individual files listed on the iPod, just enable the "size" view option and compare).
OK, thanks. There must be something like this going to happen. I was amazed Walt Mossberg's column didn't touch on this.
-Clive
720p files would be GIGANTIC. I doubt Apple wants to put up the bandwidth for that at the moment. Plus, few people would have the time or hard drive space for downloading such files.
Actually 720p files are not THAT huge, I have a lot of tv Shows like LOST in 720p (XVID in AVI files). They are about 350 MB per episode and take a few hours to download.
720p files would be GIGANTIC. I doubt Apple wants to put up the bandwidth for that at the moment. Plus, few people would have the time or hard drive space for downloading such files.
Of course, you could encode your own material at 720p with the newest version of Quicktime. So if you want your iMovies at hi-res, go for it.
I think we'll see HD content on iTunes eventually, but not for a while yet. Apple TV has the capability for future use, not current. Sort of like what they did with 802.11n.
No they wouldn't be. 720p content, compressed, takes up about 2.5x what 480p content takes up.
I bet the iTS will have 720p by October, probably around the same time the widescreen video iPods will come out.
Of course, you could encode your own material at 720p with the newest version of Quicktime. So if you want your iMovies at hi-res, go for it.
.
Remember don't 'go for it' without thinking ... you have to start with material that is already HD and at least 720 x 1280 or higher. This advice might make some think you can magically make HD out of SD by encoding at 720p. GIGO remains true. So for example - SD DVD once ripped is not worth encoding at 720p.
Thanks but I am in the business I know how to make my own from my 1080i material. My questions were specific to iTunes store. I have to think you are wrong. Apple have to provide 720p material for sale or at least 540p. iPod material blown up to any large HD TV would look horrible.
Apple doesn't 'have' to do anything, as they've proven in the past. Many people have been hooking up minis in their entertainment areas (and apple has touted it as such), and yet that never propelled them to make the content better. You would like to think that if they're going to promote 720p, that they'd actually offer content at the res. But, then, I wonder how much it'll cost ya? Will they up the price to satisfy the studios? (not that the current prices are anything to shout about, so raising them just makes it even worse). And will the studios offer the content. They're the ones who have to provide the video in that format in order to get it converted into apple's format.
Wow, this device is so complicated, they need to have workshops to explain it to people?
And do people really have "favorite movie trailers"?
I do! Batman Begins is really cool. And I really like the ratatouille trailer. And Ocean's 13 is pretty high up there as well.
Not only does it tell us the same things we've heard for the last two months, but it does it multiple times in the same article!
Forget about the fact that there's NO additional information in the article about the subject line except for the fact that Apple said it.
For the love of all that's holy, at least change the subject line to something more like:
"AppleTV officially shipping; retail availability and hands-on demos announced."
Holy crap, Kasper! This article reaches a whole new level of SUCK for AI! You should be ashamed of yourself if you wrote it or take more editorial control over your "staff" (a.k.a. circle of buddies).
Not only does it tell us the same things we've heard for the last two months, but it does it multiple times in the same article!
Forget about the fact that there's NO additional information in the article about the subject line except for the fact that Apple said it.
For the love of all that's holy, at least change the subject line to something more like:
"AppleTV officially shipping; retail availability and hands-on demos announced."
Chill
Apple doesn't 'have' to do anything, as they've proven in the past. Many people have been hooking up minis in their entertainment areas (and apple has touted it as such), and yet that never propelled them to make the content better. You would like to think that if they're going to promote 720p, that they'd actually offer content at the res. But, then, I wonder how much it'll cost ya? Will they up the price to satisfy the studios? (not that the current prices are anything to shout about, so raising them just makes it even worse). And will the studios offer the content. They're the ones who have to provide the video in that format in order to get it converted into apple's format.
Maybe you are right maybe you are wrong. We will have to wait and see. As to the argument that Apple didn't provide any HD content when people hooked up Mac Minis ... that seems a stretch to me... why should they? I use My Macs for all sorts of things - it doesn't mean Apple have to do something to make my life easier!
However I totally agree with you on one thing, shipping Apple TV does kind of make Apple need to supply HD material and I for one expect them to. My local ISP just upped our speed to 15 Mb/s download speed and I pay less than I did for 3 Mb/s. In a year or two it will be 50 Mb/s, file sizes thought to be large now will not be an issue soon for large numbers of users.