News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

February 18, 2008

apple_tv

Another take on Take Two

Posted Feb. 18, ’08, 11:59 AM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | Apple TV

appletvTT1.jpgI was supposed to write up an Amazing, Comprehensive, And All-Around Enlightening Review of Apple TV, Take Two…last week. But, uhm, I wound up watching movie after movie after movie, and by the time I was done four days and a dozen bags of popcorn were gone, and all I had written in my notes was “Rentalz r sweet.”

And they totally are.

It’s strangely satisfying: flipping through available movies right on the TV, reading the description then watching the trailer, and renting it with a simple click. And on my cable connection, it literally is ready to play in under 30 seconds, and quality of all of the movies are good enough that the condition of their quality never crosses your mind during playback. Which, for most people, is ultimately all that matters.

Selection is a bit disappointing, but that’s obviously only a temporary problem. And in the meantime there are plenty of movies to keep you occupied. Plus, it’s got Clue, arguably the best demonstration of board-game-turned-movie ever.

One of my favorite new features, though, is the little-known ability to broadcast music to Apple TV directly from iTunes, a la Airport Express. I’ve wanted this from the start — perfect when you want to quickly play a song and you don’t want to have to scroll for it on the Apple TV. And perfect for lazy folk like me who want to play music through his home-speaker-system without having to get up and point the remote at the box itself. (Paul Kafasis wrote up a great analysis of this feature.)

So again, instead of writing an in-depth review like everyone else on the interwebs, I’m going to open the floor to questions — assuming anyone still has any — and I’ll do my best to answer them, either in the comments or in a new post. Also, be sure to check out Chris Breen’s video review of the Take Two update for a visual run-down.


6 Comments

Andarkon said:

How well does the closed captions work on the Apple TV?

February 18, 2008 1:03 PM
Walt Author Profile Page said:

Something I was hoping to get fixed would be some stupid alerts. But that didn't make the cut. For example, I buy an album that has an interactive booklet (like my Dream Theater Systematic Chaos Album). Apple TV ought to be smart enough to either A.) show the stupid interactive booklet on my TV, or, B.) just tell me once and for all that "hey, I can't play this shite - get over it." Don't show me the "things have gone seriously awry" symbol every time it syncs. I just remove the interactive booklet from the library to fix it. But still. What if I had actually *wanted* it?

February 18, 2008 1:17 PM
fletcher Author Profile Page said:

The ability to broadcast music to the Apple TV would be useful.

I usually play music now through a Mini I have hooked up to some speakers. I screen share over and start the music from my shared iTunes library. This works okay, but it would be nice if I could control the playback from my machine and use the Mini as an AirTunes destination.

February 18, 2008 1:46 PM
Wassabe said:

Do shared volumes have to exist on a local network, or could you share to a remote (Back to My Mac) volume? I could see initiating a rental from work and watching it when I get home. It would be a pain to transfer content back and forth.

February 18, 2008 5:38 PM
Kelmon said:

Ah, Clue, now there was a great movie. You can't go wrong with putting Tim Curry in a film and asking him to perform a manic role. Genius.

February 18, 2008 11:34 PM
Dave-O said:

@fletcher, the Apple TV is an AirTunes receiver. In fact, you can control the music streamed via AirTunes with the Apple TV remote. Check out this Rogue Amoeba post.

February 19, 2008 1:08 PM

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