HDTV Magazine
(Not logged in)  Sign In  |  Register  |  HelpHelp
Free HDTV Magazine Daily:
The HT Guys HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #318 - AppleTV Update
By The HT Guys
Braden Russell and Ara Derderian
Posted on October 9, 2008
Category: General Interest
 Add to NewsvineNewsvine Add to Del.icio.usDel.icio.us Email ArticleEmail

Receive instant notification of new episodes: Register Now to receive notification of new episodes of The HDTV Podcast via email as soon as they are published.
Digg This
advertisement
iTunes
Listen Now - mp3
RSS
Website


Today's Show:
AppleTV Update (160 GB HD $325, 40 GB HD $225)
 
Apple recently released a firmware update for its AppleTV to add support for HD TV Shows. On today's show we talk about the update and our latest experience with the AppleTV. The latest firmware brings the version to 2.2 and, according to Apple, it promises to provide bug fixes, improve stability, and add a feature or two. The following Table is from Apple:
 
HD TV shows Purchase the leading HD TV shows directly from the iTunes Store. (US only)
Movie browsing by actor and director Browse movies on the iTunes store by actor and director. Select “More” on the movie page and browse the actor and director list on the left to see other movies for that individual.
Chapter selection, alternate audio and subtitles While playing a movie, press and hold Play/Pause to access chapter selection, alternate audio and subtitle display. The display shows the options available for the current movie.
Movie description Press Up when playing a movie to display a description of that movie.
Genius playlists To create a Genius playlist based on the currently playing song, press and hold Play/Pause to bring up the contextual menu and select Start Genius. Note: The Genius feature must first be enabled in iTunes 8.0.1 and synced with Apple TV.
On-The-Go playlists To add the currently playing song to the On-The-Go playlist, press and hold Play/Pause to bring up the contextual menu and select Add To On-The-Go.
Music videos in playlists Make playlists in iTunes combining your favorite music videos and songs. Play them back on Apple TV and let them play continuously.
Apple TV standby mode From the main menu, press Play/Pause for about three seconds (or go to Settings >Standby).
Security fixes Details are available in this article.

 

The latest update rocks! It brings us closer to what the ultimate movie server should be. With that said there are a few items that we'd like to see added. Many of these come from an article titled "What the AppleTV Needs" (Thanks to Brad T for the link).

  • Add a DVD or Blu Ray Drive/Player
  • Provide a "Back Up" utility that can archive and playback DVDs from a network drive or an external drive connected via USB
  • Provide Hulu, Netflix, ABC.com, etc right from the GUI, This is unlikely so how about an all you can eat plan.
  • Support for the HD Homerun and turn the AppleTV into a DVR. You could attach an external drive via USB or even record to a NAS device.
  • AppleTV App Store - just like the iPhone, there are very creative people out there that can make this device do some amazing things. We'd like to see:
    • A weather App
    • Headlines, Sports, and Stock Ticker
    • Facebook or MySpace
    • Games
 
Tell us what you'd like to see added hdtvpodcast@mac.com

Posted by The HT Guys, October 9, 2008 11:19 PM

Reader Commentary

See Forum Topic: HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #318 - AppleTV Update (0 replies)
Showing only excerpts from 0 out of 1, Read More

More from The HT Guys

About The HT Guys

The HT Guys, Ara Derderian and Braden Russell, are Engineers who formerly worked for the Advanced Digital Systems Group (ADSG) of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ADSG was the R&D unit of the sound department producing products for movie theaters and movie studios.

Two of the products they worked on include the DCP-1000 and DADR-5000. The DCP is a digital cinema processor used in movie theaters around the world. The DADR-5000 is a disk-based audio dubber used on Hollywood sound stages.

ADSG was awarded a Technical Academy Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2000 for the development of the DADR-5000. Ara holds three patents for his development work in Digital Cinema and Digital Audio Recording.

Every week they put together a podcast about High Definition TV and Home Theater. Each episode brings news from the A/V world, helpful product reviews and insights and help in demystifying and simplifying HDTV and home theater.