Acknowledging that the Apple TV has “never been a big hit,” CEO Steve Jobs has introduced the latest and greatest version of the living room device, bringing more of Hollywood movies and TV shows in HD to your home theatre.
Claiming that people who own them love their Apple TV, Steve Jobs laid out a list of what those buyers want from their boxes: Hollywood movies and TV shows in HD, lower prices for content and no syncing with a computer, not to mention silent, cool and small.
And small it is! The new Apple TV is 25 percent the size of the previous model which has been sold for the last four years, and has flip-flopped from white to black. You can literally hold the box in the palm of your hand now! In addition to the new diminutive size, the latest Apple TV does away with downloadable content purchases in favor of streaming right to the box -- no iTunes sync required.
First-run HD movies from Hollywood are $4.99 with regular SD rentals starting at $2.99 and catalog HD rentals starting at $3.99. As predicted, TV show rentals have been added at long last and will be 99 cents per episode -- and commercial free. ABC and Fox are first on board as reported by The Wall Street Journal only last night, and Apple hopes to have other networks on board in the near future.
In keeping with other recent rumors, Netflix streaming is now part of the Apple TV package (Netflix subscription required) as well as YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe photos. iOS is a no-show, however -- the interface remains mostly unchanged from the current Apple TV. Steve Jobs calls the Apple TV edition of Netflix “by far the best implementation” -- although it doesn’t appear that you can add to or edit your Instant Queue from the brief demo shown today, so that remains to be seen.
Other features in the new Apple TV include filmography data for actors as well as Rotten Tomatoes reviews, right on your screen. On the hardware side, the new, smaller Apple TV features HDMI, digital optical audio and an Ethernet jack, leaving out analog connections for older televisions.
The new Apple TV is all about streaming -- no more syncing huge media files from iTunes, now everything streams wirelessly to the box for click and play simplicity. You can fast-forward through opening credits, pause for a popcorn break or even replay a hilarious scene, just like before.
Apple has also introduced AirPlay, which allows iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users to stream their handheld content -- including music, photos and video -- right to the new Apple TV with the push of a button. Start watching a move or TV show on your iOS device, tap the AirPlay icon and choose the Apple TV and like magic, whatever you’re watching will instantly begin streaming to your HDTV.
The new Apple TV is priced at only $99 and will be available in six countries to start. Preorders begin today and the device ships in four weeks.
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danielestrela
September 01, 2010 at 1:25pm
Apple(.com) states that its possible to add movies to your instant-watch queue on Netflix, as shown:
Even more flicks with Netflix.
From classics to recent Hollywood favorites, Netflix on Apple TV puts even more movies and TV shows within reach of your remote.3 Apple TV smartly organizes the huge Netflix catalog of HD and SD titles so you can find exactly what you’re looking for in a matter of clicks. When you find something you like, watch it right away or add it to your instant-watch queue. Since Apple TV lets you access your Netflix account directly from your HDTV, you can ditch all the computer-to-TV adapters and skip straight to the part where you press Play.
ilikeimac
September 01, 2010 at 12:26pm
I think this version of the Apple TV will be much more palatable to non-hackers and will do better than the original. Personally I love my HTPC MacMini with the oh-so-pretty Plex software (http://plexapp.com), but I think this device has a price and features that less-obsessed folks will find nicely complements their expanding array of Apple devices.
mrreet2001
September 01, 2010 at 11:29am
Great they lowered the price to $99. Big woop because now we have to buy a dedicated computer to host the files. Old Apple tv: Wife takes the laptop, no big deal you have 30+ gigs of content. New Apple TV: wife takes the laptop, you are SOL unless you buy some new movies, music or shows. Oh did I say buy, you can't even do that you have to RENT. So this is basically just a little black box that sucks on the bandwidth pipe all day.
