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Apple TV Take 2 is now LIVE!

Avatar74 said:
I don't recommend LCD at all. I'm a Trinitron CRT guy myself (absolutely nothing beats them on color, clarity and contrast) but seeing as how Sony discontinued WEGA HDTV CRT's, I would strongly suggest you look at the Sony SXRD series... particularly the XBR SXRD if you have the dough.

The SXRD is a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projection set. It is not a flat panel, but a projection TV like DLP. However, unlike DLP, it uses an array of liquid crystals instead of micromirrors to directly generate the projection image. This allows supporting resolutions well above 1080p so that the image at 1080p is itself quite stunning.

I still find the 70" SXRD XBR inferior to the now-discontinued Trinitron WEGA HD, but it is the damned closest I have ever seen. And judging from how vastly better my Trinitron image of even upscaled SD appears off AppleTV, you would be very likely not to set foot in a movie theater ever again.*


*(I'm saying this as a guy who used to watch 100 movies a year on average, about 250 movies in 2005, in the theater)
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Man, this is fortunate timing. To jump off topic here, I have a 40" wega crt hdtv that I've been very happy with. However, I have the opportunity to get the Panasonic TH-42PX75U 42" 720p Plasma HDTV for an extremely good price. I don't really have a problem with my tv (the size if adequate for my small living room, although it's 4:3 which is sometimes annoying and reduces the size for widescreen content) and would really just be getting this new tv b/c of the price. Any advice you'd like to give ? :)
 
Avatar74 said:
I don't recommend LCD at all. I'm a Trinitron CRT guy myself (absolutely nothing beats them on color, clarity and contrast) but seeing as how Sony discontinued WEGA HDTV CRT's, I would strongly suggest you look at the Sony SXRD series... particularly the XBR SXRD if you have the dough.

The SXRD is a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projection set. It is not a flat panel, but a projection TV like DLP. However, unlike DLP, it uses an array of liquid crystals instead of micromirrors to directly generate the projection image. This allows supporting resolutions well above 1080p so that the image at 1080p is itself quite stunning.

I still find the 70" SXRD XBR inferior to the now-discontinued Trinitron WEGA HD, but it is the damned closest I have ever seen. And judging from how vastly better my Trinitron image of even upscaled SD appears off AppleTV, you would be very likely not to set foot in a movie theater ever again.*


*(I'm saying this as a guy who used to watch 100 movies a year on average, about 250 movies in 2005, in the theater)
Click to expand...

Just read in Consumer Reports that Sony is dicontinuing this category of TV's as well and is going to focus only on LCD TV's.
 
Kevin,

Thank you for all your postings! A few questions.... I know all of us here have been holding back on backing up our owned (key word since it makes it legal) DVD collections to put them on our ATV's.

1) is AC3 sent over HDMI if we are using HDMI?
2) do we have to use HDMI and the toslink? (i have the onkyo 805 so it can handle the hdmi only).
3) is the AC3 pass through (receiver/processor decodes it)?
4) any plans for linear PCM for the audio?
5) any chance we can use the USB port for an external hard drive (i'd love one you can stack onto the top of the ATV that has same look and feel).

Anything you can provide would be helpful. I can't wait to get back from work and see what the update looks like.

Thanks.
 
jmorrison0722 said:
Okay, I must admit that I'm not a fan of the Apple TV. I'm trying to understand why it's worth buying, but I just don't see it. 90% of what I watch is network broadcast TV...and the Apple TV does nothing for that. What would I do, switch back and forth when I want to browse on Apple TV, then switch back to watch TV? What's the typical Apple TV setup look like?

In the Apple Store I worked in, we hardly ever sold an Apple TV, including to the employees. Can someone educate me on what's so cool about it other than to charge me for entertainment that I already pay for with Cable/Satellite?
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Pardon my straightforwardness but you worked at an Apple Store and you don't understand the concept?

The idea isn't for :apple:TV to charge you for entertainment you already pay for Cable/Satelite. The idea is that you can now cancel your cable/satellite.

I cancelled mine. I used to pay about $100 per month on cable for just a few shows I liked to watch on a regular basis. I now pay $0 to cable and the tv shows I watch come up to a grand total of $30 bucks per month.

In addition to paying less and only getting the programming I want to watch, YouTube and Podcasts fulfill a whole new niche I didn't have on cable and it's free.

When I got my :apple:TV after the keynote, I immediately cancelled my cable but still missed live tv because I couldn't "do it all" from my couch. I still had to get to my computer to search podcasts, add tv shows, etc.

Things change completely with Take2. I'm actually kind of overwhelmed by all the new content I have access to.

Bye bye cable bills!
 
Thataboy said:
Thanks, keep us updated! Dying to know if Handbrake encoded files will be 5.1 :)
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Well there is no mp4 file format that supports DD5.1. Handbrake will make an .MKV format file with the AC3 DD5.1 passthru sound track the problem is that iTunes will not install them as a movie so you can't get them to your AppleTV.

I do hope there is some hack-free way we can make our own DD5.1 soundtrack movies and install them on the AppleTV via iTunes -the difference between a real center speaker track and the similated one of Pro Logic II is too great to accept.
 
BobVB said:
Well there is no mp4 file format that supports DD5.1. Handbrake will make an .MKV format file with the AC3 DD5.1 passthru sound track the problem is that iTunes will not install them as a movie so you can't get them to your AppleTV.
Click to expand...

I use handbrake for mp4 and keep dolby digital sound. My xbox plays the dolby digital just fine. so I dont understand how u say there is no mp4 that supports dd5.1
 
Now one question that I have. Is the UI on ATV T2 coming to Front Row? I would love the ability to purchase rentals on my Mac mini though Front Row.
 
ok, in the UK we pay a standard tv licence which is £160 / year....

.....lets call that 50p/day, thats 1$/day for you americans.

and for that amount of money i have access to 36 channels, most of which are very bad. but of the good ones, every evening i can find something to watch for about 2 hours.

if apple TV could ever offer (ad supported) tv content that could compete with the 1$ / day tv here, then, and only then would i buy apple TV as a replacement for normal TV.

as for films, we dont know the UK prices yet, but UK DVD shops sell them for about £4/48hours for new ones, and £2 for 7 days for old ones.... if apple could do new ones for £2.99, and old ones for £1.79 then i would be happy.
 
Avatar74 said:
I don't recommend LCD at all. I'm a Trinitron CRT guy myself (absolutely nothing beats them on color, clarity and contrast) but seeing as how Sony discontinued WEGA HDTV CRT's, I would strongly suggest you look at the Sony SXRD series... particularly the XBR SXRD if you have the dough.

The SXRD is a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) projection set. It is not a flat panel, but a projection TV like DLP. However, unlike DLP, it uses an array of liquid crystals instead of micromirrors to directly generate the projection image. This allows supporting resolutions well above 1080p so that the image at 1080p is itself quite stunning.

I still find the 70" SXRD XBR inferior to the now-discontinued Trinitron WEGA HD, but it is the damned closest I have ever seen. And judging from how vastly better my Trinitron image of even upscaled SD appears off AppleTV, you would be very likely not to set foot in a movie theater ever again.*


*(I'm saying this as a guy who used to watch 100 movies a year on average, about 250 movies in 2005, in the theater)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Sony has discontinued their SXRD RPTVs also. I think Panasonic/Pioneer plasmas are good with color fidelity.
 
tothelimit said:
please let me know how long it takes to DL!!

and if you begin to watch it before the DL is complete... please post if there is any interruption in the playback while its downloading.

Thanks!
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I was able to start watching the movie when it hit about 2% which was about a minute or two. Great picture and sound quality. :) No stuttering whatsoever. Smooth as silk.
 
MACsimus19 said:
I've got a 1080p Panny Plasma and its awesome but if you have to have the best, you've got to get a Pioneer Kuro.

If your viewing distance is far enough, I'd suggest rocking a 50 inch 720p Kuro. They can be found for under $2000 which is a great deal. 5080HD is the model number, reviews are absolutely incredible. If you've got some extra dough I'd suggest the 5010FD which is their 1080p model (future proofing purposes).

On the Panny front, I'd wait till April as their new lineup of models are coming out. The replacement (800 series) for the already impressive 700u series might actually be comprable to the blacks on the Kuro. If glare is an issue and you want that 1080p flavor, the PZ77u model is a great solution offering many of the Plasma benefits with the glare-reduction of an LCD.

All things considered equal, the BEST LCD still can't touch the BEST Plasma...that's not opinion, its fact.
Click to expand...

X2

I have purchased 3 HD TV's in the last 2 years and have educated my self to the Nth degree on all things Hi Def and I couldn't have said it better myself.

1) Pio Kuro either 720P or 1080P. Great picture, incredible blacks
2) Pany 700 Series (720P or 1080P) Best bang for the buck.
3) LCD
 
Please tell me that they've remembered to include a "group compilations when browsing" option for music this time.
 
Mindflux said:
Do you have any basis for this or pure speculation? I just bought an Express (for the reason of segmenting my N network from my B/G for speed increases on my iMac and AppleTV).
Click to expand...

I could call it "educational speculation." :)

Basically, it seems like the obvious transistion. The current Airport Expresses have been out for a couple of years with no changes. For the last year or so apple has been including 'N' in all of their desktops and laptops (at first without even telling people it was included... a free upgrade if you will(except that it was a $2 upgrade))

Anyway, all macs are now 'N' the Airport Extreme is now 'N', so the next item to become 'N' will obviously be the Express. It is just common sense. Based on what I've seen, I would guess that it will change to 'N' sometime in the next 6 months or so. It would seem logical to me anyway...
 
BobVB said:
Well there is no mp4 file format that supports DD5.1. Handbrake will make an .MKV format file with the AC3 DD5.1 passthru sound track the problem is that iTunes will not install them as a movie so you can't get them to your AppleTV.

I do hope there is some hack-free way we can make our own DD5.1 soundtrack movies and install them on the AppleTV via iTunes -the difference between a real center speaker track and the similated one of Pro Logic II is too great to accept.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert about these things, and maybe I'm confusing the surround technologies... but I believe Apple is offering H.264 rentals with DD5.1.
 
fivepoint said:
I could call it "educational speculation." :)

Basically, it seems like the obvious transistion. The current Airport Expresses have been out for a couple of years with no changes. For the last year or so apple has been including 'N' in all of their desktops and laptops (at first without even telling people it was included... a free upgrade if you will(except that it was a $2 upgrade))

Anyway, all macs are now 'N' the Airport Extreme is now 'N', so the next item to become 'N' will obviously be the Express. It is just common sense. Based on what I've seen, I would guess that it will change to 'N' sometime in the next 6 months or so. It would seem logical to me anyway...
Click to expand...


With AppleTV allowing "AirTunes" and already having N wouldn't that maybe put Apple in a position to discontinue the Express in favor of those looking for something to stream audio content to their entertainment center?

I'm not sure how many people buy an Express for the purpose of sharing the internet with the household since most people prefer Wired to Wireless if they can help it.

Even if they update to N I wonder if there's a chance to pay a fee (like the Airport cards) to update your Express to N? Now that'd be something.
 
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