We learned there's more to the Apple TV than meets the eye as we took our first look at the product.

In general, Apple TV is an easy-to-use digital movie and music player for the masses that works well in the living room or home theater. While not flawless, we can confidently recommend it for most people -- especially iTunes users and iPod owners. Because getting non-iTunes video into it is not as straight-forward, it won't meet everyone's needs, especially online video junkies.

Read more for details. 

While Apple recommends an HDTV, in our tests we found it worked with any component-capable TV. The problem is that non-widescreen TVs display a compressed picture that makes everything look tall and skinny. Yes, it works. No, we don't recommended it unless you have a widescreen or HDTV.

When the Apple TV is connected to your TV, it's like an oversized iPod that can also stream directly from iTunes and the Internet.

Who's it for?

The avid iTunes user who doesn't already have a Mac Mini or Media Center PC connected to their HDTV. If you already have an iTunes-cable computer directly connected to your HDTV, there's no benefit in adding the Apple TV to that setup, but it may be great for another room.

In the Box

Apple TV is a relatively small (7.7x7.7x1.1" and 2.4 lb.) device that comes with a power cable (no power brick - woohoo!), user manual and remote control in the attractive minimalist packaging that we've to expect from Apple. It does not come with any audio or video cables. While we'd prefer included cables, with all the possible options, we understand why Apple chose not to. Don't sweat it, you can buy any component, HDMI, HDMI to DVI and optical cable you need for a very low price at Monoprice.com and other outlets including Apple.

Apple TV - Back - power, USB, Ethernet, HDMI, Component, Analog Audio, Optical Audio

Configuration

Video: The Apple TV senses the video connect and accordingly adjusts the picture to match the display.

Audio: Optical and analog connects are simultaneously active. So, no matter how you connect your audio (RCA, optical or HDMI), it will be live.

Apple TV Settings

Network: Apple TV senses whether an Ethernet cable is plugged in. If it is, it deactivates WiFi. If an Ethernet cable is not plugged in, it searches for WiFi networks and allows you to specify which network to connect to under the Settings menu. Apple TV works well with the newer and faster 802.11g and 802.11n WiFi standards. And while it works, I can't recommend connecting an Apple TV to a slow 802.11b network.

When you turn the Apple TV on for the first time, you'll see an Apple logo and a progress bar while it loads the initial configuration and auto-senses your video and audio. Then it will ask you to select your language of choice and then auto-senses your network connections. Apple TV requests you to authorize it in your PC or Mac iTunes software. Jot down the 5-digit number. In the left panel on any iTunes (7.1 or higher) on your home network, find the Apple TV device and click it to enter the number you just jotted down. Now, name your Apple TV. Once you've authorized Apple TV, it has full access to your iTunes library. I recommend you turn off syncing for all content to start and access the content from your shared iTunes under the Sources menu. You can access everything except photos without syncing. With only a 40GB drive (about 33GB available), syncing movies to Apple TV doesn't make much sense.

If you are used to a Mac, you'll be familiar with the interface. It's just like Front Row on the Mac.

Video Playback

Most Apple TV users will start by playing video content from the iTunes Store. iTunes movies, TV shows, movie trailers and video podcasts all play on the Apple TV. With the exception of Movie trailers played directly from the iTunes Store, Apple TV currently requires that the video is completely downloaded to your computer before you can begin playing the video.

In addition to video from the Apple Store, Apple TV will play most of the video content you can play back in iTunes. We did notice some exceptions:

• On the Apple TV, 1280x720 HD content is limited to 24 frames-per-second. However, iTunes will play back 1280x720 HD content that is at 30 frames-per-second. Since there is very little HD content at 24 frames-per-second available, we used VisualHub to convert a 90-second snippet of the open source Elephant's Dream into a 50MB 1280x720 file at 24 frames-per-second. It'll push your Apple TV to its current limits, but we were pleasantly surprised at how good it looked. Even if you don't have Apple TV, you can download the 50 MB sample file we created and add it to your iTunes library to see how much better it looks full screen compared with a standard iTunes Store video. With simple math, we can extrapolate that a 2-hour movie would be about 3.9 GB. I look forward to similar quality from the iTunes store. Missing from the specifications and content is something else I hope to see soon (probably will be supported), and that is AC-3 Dolby Digital support.

Apple TV Playing Elephant's Dream at 1280x720/24fps
• Some podcasts and other video that include RLE animation streams may have problems. For example, some Macbreak episodes that include an RLE stream (e.g. the 800x450 resolution versions of episodes 63 and 61) play mostly black and white with streaky color artifacts on the Apple TV.
  

Video that will not play in iTunes (even though it may play in QuickTime), will not play in Apple TV. This includes .AVI files and some .MOV files that are using codecs not supported by iTunes and Apple TV.

Additionally, despite having the hardware to support 5.1 digital audio (the optical audio output and HDMI connector), the Apple TV currently doesn 't seem to support 5.1 digital audio such as Dolby Digital. No matter how we tried to transcode the open source movie Elephant's Dream, we could not get the 5.1 audio into iTunes or Apple TV.

Getting Other Video into Apple TV

For video that is not specifically created for iTunes and Apple TV, you may need to convert it from another format. Depending on the size, length and quality of the video, plus the speed of your computer, this can be time consuming. Using a tool like VisualHub (see below) you may want to queue up a few videos overnight. The key is to get the video into one the following formats:

1. H.264 encoded MP4: Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps or 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps).
2. MPEG-4 encoded MP4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps)

Examples of tools you can use to convert the video into an Apple TV supported format include:

• VisualHub

  An excellent Mac-based (sorry, no Windows version – see SUPER below) video converter that can convert to and from most any video files. As of version 1.23, VisualHub gives you an Apple TV option in the iTunes format. Be aware, however, that if you are converting from a file that is 1280x720 or larger and more than 24 frames-per-second at 1280x720, you must used the advanced button to force VisualHub to convert it to the maximum of 1280x720 at 24 frames-per-second. If you have more than one Mac in your house, VisualHub supports Xgrid. By turning on Xgrid on each computer and setting up the VisualHub computer as an Xgrid controller, you can have each processor on each computer in your network simultaneously participate in converting videos. For example, if you have a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini Core Duo, four videos can be converted at the same time. A very cool feature. At less than $24.00, VisualHub is well worth it.

Visual Hub Settings for Apple TV (main screen)

Visual Hub Settings for Apple TV (advanced screen)

• SUPER

  A free, Windows-only software that provides a GUI that can convert to and from most video formats. While very capable of converting most formats, the interface is a bit daunting for some.

• QuickTime Pro

  While QuickTime is free, QuickTime Pro lets you encode video and costs $29.99. The latest update of QuickTime includes an Export Movie to Apple TV option.

• Handbrake

  Handbrake will rip DVD content. Using HandBrake to rip encrypted DVDs violates the DMCA and is against U.S. law. Even writing about how to use Handbrake rip encrypted DVDs you own is a violation of the DMCA – don't get me started about stupid laws. However, Handbrake can also be used to rip DVDs that are not encrypted. The settings I recommend you use to do this are the MP4 file format and the AVC/H.264 Video/AAC Audio code with Aspect Ratio checked and Anamporphic unchecked. Generally, 1000 to 2000 kbps is sufficient depending on how much action there is in the video.

For YouTube, DailyMotion, Google Video or other similar content, there are converters available such as TubeSock (my favorite) that can get video into a format such as MPEG-4 or h.264 -- both supported by the Apple TV.

The point of Apple TV is no-effort configuration, not hacking, and this review isn't an Apple TV hack how-to. That said, it's worth noting that the Apple TV has already been hacked to support Xvid using Perian. This nacent hack clearly violates the Apple TV warranty and may even risk making the Apple TV unusable. However, for brave souls only, you may be able to get XviD/DivX and other file formats with 5-channel audio to work on the Apple TV.

Audio Playback

AppleTV will play most audio file formats supported by iTunes. Included are:

• AAC (16 to 320 Kbps)
• Protected AAC (from iTunes Store)
• MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps) and MP3 VBR (variable bit rate)
• Apple Lossless
• AIFF
• WAV

Absent from support is the Audible audio book format.

Usage

Apple TV has two primary methods of operation, streaming and synced content.

Synced content shows up in the Apple TV main menu with sub menus of Movies, TV Shows, Music, Podcasts, Photos, Settings and Sources.

Apple TV Main Menu

Streaming content shows up in the menu and is available after you choose a different source as shown below. Note in this menu there is no Photos option – you can't stream photos.

Apple TV - Switching Sources from Locally Stored Content to iTunes Streamed Content

Apple TV - Streaming iTunes-stored Content

Apple TV feels very zippy. We found it felt faster than Front Row on a Mac Mini. Streaming movies start fast and don't stutter when on an Ethernet network or 802.11g/n WiFi. We really love the simplicity of Apple's remote and the Front Row interface. The excellent Apple TV interface is elegant and easy to use and requires zero learning curve.

Pros

• Easy to use.
• Decent pricing for HD video and digital audio.
• Very attractive package.
• Easy to configure.
• Wireless streaming works very well – no stutters.
• Power cable with no power brick.
• Well integrated with iTunes – Apple TV remembers where iTunes and iPods pause which is great for watching video and listening to podcasts and audio books.
• Limited remote functions, makes programming a universal remote that much easier – see con.
• Decent upscaling, although not as good as VLC.

Apple TV - TV Shows

Cons

• No movie rentals at the iTunes Store. All movies are purchase only.
• No HD content at the iTunes Store, in fact not really DVD quality either.
• Can't order movies directly from iTunes store – must use PC or Mac.
• No apparent software support yet for 5-channel digital audio such as Dolby Digital - but the hardware is there.
• Hard drive too small for syncing video.
• Wireless (even 802.11n) too slow for video syncing.
• Fast forwarding and rewind doesn't rubber-band back a la TiVo.
• Remote will not control volume (must use TV or receiver volume control).
• No support for Audible audio books.
• No photo streaming (must sync photos for photo slide shows).
• Remote provides limited function.
• Upscaling not as good as VLC or other software solutions on Macs and PCs.
• No video or audio cables included. Very minor inconvenience. Component, HDMI, HDMI to DVI and optical cables are available for a very low price at stores like Monoprice.com.

For iTunes and video podcast junkies, Apple TV is a no brainer. If you are inclined to have lots of DivX content, want to browse with the web, then we think a Mac Mini with a Gyration mouse is probably a better solution (although about $400 more). Xbox 360 owners might want to try out the Xbox movie rentals until we see a rental model from Apple.

Overall, we like it for most people who like what iTunes has to offer.

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Zhondra said:

Great review. I'm really interested in how to use xgrid with visualhub. Any help?????

March 25, 2007

Wilson B. said:

Yeah, I'm interested in xgrid too!

March 26, 2007

Ian said:

There's an excellent xgrid tutorial in the visualhub user guide.

April 25, 2007

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