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Apple Unleashes A “Perfect Storm” Of Updates

Written on November 21, 2008 by Bob Rudis and 1 person has commented

Apple TV 2.3 was not enough. They could not stop at iPhone OS 2.2. Apple had to introduce the perfect storm of updates to impact users of all their systems and devices by unleashing Quicktime H.264 Compatibility Update (now at version 7.5.5) and iTunes 8.0.2 (plus the required download of the new iPhone SDK to [...]

Boxee Update Now Plays Hulu

Written on October 20, 2008 by Weldon Dodd and 9 people have commented

The latest alpha release of boxee, released today, has added support for streaming shows from Hulu and CBS. In fact, I’m watching the season opener of Heroes on my Apple TV right now. Very cool stuff.
If you haven’t seen it yet, boxee installs on your Apple TV (via the patchstick method) and adds a new [...]

Apple Developing Networked LCD HDTV/Apple TV Hybrid?

Written on October 13, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 6 people have commented

Perhaps tired of notebooks hogging the spotlight lately, Apple TV is the subject of new rumors that surfaced this past weekend.
Jason Calacanis is making claims that Cupertino is developing a line of network-ready HDTV’s with built-in Apple TV functionality.  The TV’s would offer the same feature-set as the current Apple TV peripheral, but would cut [...]

Techspansion Shutting Down Development of VisualHub/iSquint

Written on October 06, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 11 people have commented

Techspansion developer Tyler Loch, maker of the incredibly useful multimedia manipulation tools VisualHub, iSquint and AudialHub, has announced he is discontinuing all further development.
“…After much soul-searching (it’s not you, it’s me), for personal reasons, Techspansion is closing its virtual doors. The Support Forum and Support E-mail will be available for a while longer to [...]

Apple TV Authorization Server Problem Causes Mass Factory Restores

Written on October 04, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 6 people have commented

I was in the process of attempting to install the Apple TV 2.2 update and then rent a movie for the family tonight when my Apple TV began a loop where it would get through the introductory Apple TV movie and then start to load the main screen but end up in a cycle between [...]

Apple TV 2.2 Wish Lists = Fail

Written on October 03, 2008 by Matthew Bookspan and 4 people have commented

Yesterday, Apple released both an iTunes (8.0.1) and Apple TV (2.2) update. The Apple TV update has some great new features:

Support for the Genius
Support for HD Television Shows
Numerous bug fixes

One unmentioned feature change is how Apple TV now handles Wish Lists. In the previous release (2.1), you could click through to the movie you wanted [...]

Netflix “Watch Instantly” Coming to Mac

Written on October 02, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 3 people have commented

I don’t know about you but my favorite corporate blogger is now Brent from Netflix – or as I like to call him – “The Bringer of Good News.”
Netflix announced on Wednesday the addition of 1,000 movies to its “Watch Instantly” collection, which on its own is a welcomed announcement. But at the end [...]

The Perfect Apple for the Living Room

Written on September 29, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 2 people have commented

Apple dominates music and consumer mobility. The MacBook is selling in record numbers. But despite making consumer-friendly products for the whole family, Apple has failed in an increasingly important market that includes TV, movies, music and gaming, and will soon encompass videoconferencing, education and more: The living room.
If Apple wants to be the digital hearth, [...]

My Idea for an Apple Living Room Experience

Written on April 18, 2008 by Arvin Dang and 24 people have commented

The question for the past few years has been simple: who’s going to make it into the living room first. The market is growing, features are being added, but no clear victor has been declared.
I think I may have come upon a conclusion that appeases almost everyone. Bear with me, it’s a bit loopy. I [...]

Blockbuster vs. AppleTV

Written on April 11, 2008 by Jethro Jones and 5 people have commented

I use Blockbuster Online, and I love it. Apple TV and downloadable rentals that I can transfer to my iPod sounds even better than getting DVDs in the mail, but I don’t own one. The Blockbuster subscription plan works well for me and is cheaper than the $229 required for the Apple TV. I have [...]

TubeTV – A Handy Little App for Saving Your Videos

Written on March 19, 2008 by Jethro Jones and 11 people have commented

Chimoosoft created this fantastic little donationware app called TubeTv. With this app, you can save video files from YouTube and other sites and make them playable on your Mac, iPod, or Apple TV. There are of course other ways to do the same thing, but a standalone app that grabs your URL from your default [...]

Close But No Remote Disc

Written on February 19, 2008 by Arvin Dang and 9 people have commented

The Apple TV’s new found friends may have brought it up to par with several of its competitors, but does it compare to Apple’s own standards?
With a completely redesigned UI and a slew of new features, the Apple TV seems a new breed of set top box. One, oddly enough, in the same packaging we’ve [...]

Apple TV ‘Take 2′ – Post Upgrade Melancholy

Written on February 12, 2008 by Bob Rudis and 6 people have commented

For the past 24+ hours RSS readers around the globe have been awash with OS X 10.5.2 update news and notes on the ancillary side updates. The Cupertino software barrage continued today, including the Apple TV “Take 2″, which added access to iTunes rentals, Flickr/.Mac photos/movies and HD trailers.
I started the download before my evening [...]

Using Your Mac Wisely: Video Content

Written on January 25, 2008 by Arvin Dang and 27 people have commented

When it comes to harnessing your Mac’s power for video encoding, you’re left with two choices: digital or physical.
Digital
Handbrake is the go to source for creating digital copies of your video. With Handbrake you can pop in a DVD and select the appropriate preset. You can encode straight to iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. Handbrake [...]

Reflections on another Tuesday at Macworld

Written on January 17, 2008 by Eddie Hargreaves and 11 people have commented

This is the fifth year I’ve attended Macworld Expo on the day of the keynote, and it definitely wasn’t as exciting as 2007. But after last year’s introduction of the long-rumored iPhone, how could it be?
Of course, another big difference is that I didn’t get into the keynote this year. There’s always a disconnect between [...]

AppleTV – Take 2

Written on January 15, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 10 people have commented

Today Apple released it’s second version of it’s AppleTV product.
To go along with the new iTunes movie rental service, Apple’s new version of the AppleTV has had a nice update.
A quick feature rundown:

No computer required
Rent movies directly from the AppleTV (HD movies for $3.99; $4.99 for new releases)
DVD quality and HD quality + Dolby 5.1
Buy [...]

iSquint Gets .AVI to Apple TV, iPod

Written on December 31, 2007 by Louis Gray and 14 people have commented

The Apple TV and iPod are often maligned for being proprietary. Designed to work with all the content you’ve acquired and ripped into iTunes, they work primarily with music, TV shows, and films you’ve acquired from the iTunes store, or with your iPhoto library. But step outside these file formats and you’re pretty much out [...]

Apple, Fox to Strike Movie Rental Deal?

Written on December 28, 2007 by Louis Gray and 1 person has commented

After months and months of Apple TV owners, including myself, decrying Apple’s lack of an iTunes movie rental strategy, which would add great value to the device, it appears the company is going to get the users what we want. According to the Financial Times, Apple has struck a deal with 20th Century Fox that [...]

Apple TV, the third cousin once removed?

Written on December 05, 2007 by Arvin Dang and 14 people have commented

Everyone still seems hot and bothered that the Apple TV remains nothing more than a “hobby.” But if you consider a couple years ago, Steve Jobs assured us that Apple is listening, and that they understand user demands. What has this translated to us over time? Amazing products that usually go beyond our considerations, namely [...]

Leopard Is Coming, and I Want It

Written on October 22, 2007 by Louis Gray and 9 people have commented

As you may know, Apple has posted a guided tour of Leopard to the company’s Web site, giving us the most in-depth preview so far of the latest operating system upgrade, which hits stores this Friday. After taking the 20+ minutes to watch the video in full, I can unequivocally say I am very impressed, [...]