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TV on a new level? The new Apple TV
Posted by
Basti756
,
04 September 2010
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Unfortunately I kind of missed the presentation of the new Apple TV yesterday. So now I’m going to provide you with some details about the new model and the new movie pricing system.
The hardware
The most obvious change besides the color is the form factor. The new Apple TV is a lot smaller than its predecessor which had the size of an older Mac Mini just a little flat. You might get it when comparing Steve Jobs’ presentations introducing both Apple TVs:
So the new Apple TV is about the size of a palm which might let it get lost in some TV racks. The color is black but it’s somehow shiny like chrome – there is Zippo lighter with a color called “black chrome”. That’s what it looks like. The guys over at Engadget have a nice hands-on gallery of the Apple TV where I took this picture from:
Now for the interesting part. The old Apple TV had USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11g Wifi, HDMI, component video out, analog audio out and optical audio output. The new Apple TV locks those old analog fellaws out because Apple deleted the component video and the analog audio outputs from the list. So we’re left with USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11n Wifi, HDMI and optical audio output.
The power supply has been shoved into the new Apple TV while the old one had an external one. So Apple did the same to the Apple TV like they did to the Mac Mini. The hard disk is no longer present inside the new Apple TV so it’s a streaming client only.
The Operating System
The old Apple TV was running a customized version of Mac OS 10.4. Actually Mac OS was running in some sort of kiosk-mode. The new Apple TV is running iOS but as of now there are no details known about the version or any differences between this iOS and the iOS for mobile devices.
New pricing
Apple changed the pricing of movie rentals as well as for buying the hardware. The new Apple TV is 99$ (129€ in Europe). Movie rentals starting at 0.99$ (Europe: 2.99€). While rentals via Netflix are available in the US, Europe is locked out on this one. Youtube and flickr are available in any location – for free.
Summary
I think Apple kind of went the wrong way with the new Apple TV. Sure it’s smaller and more beautiful but they left the analog outputs behind which is a total no-go for me as I hesitate to buy a new HD TV unit until my hold PAL TV leaves for good. But that’s my personal point of view.
The new pricing model and not putting a HDD into the Apple TV keeps you from actually owning a movie. You’d have to rent it again if you want to watch it a second time. Sure there’s AirReplay but that’s going to be another article.
Source
The hardware
The most obvious change besides the color is the form factor. The new Apple TV is a lot smaller than its predecessor which had the size of an older Mac Mini just a little flat. You might get it when comparing Steve Jobs’ presentations introducing both Apple TVs:
So the new Apple TV is about the size of a palm which might let it get lost in some TV racks. The color is black but it’s somehow shiny like chrome – there is Zippo lighter with a color called “black chrome”. That’s what it looks like. The guys over at Engadget have a nice hands-on gallery of the Apple TV where I took this picture from:
Now for the interesting part. The old Apple TV had USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11g Wifi, HDMI, component video out, analog audio out and optical audio output. The new Apple TV locks those old analog fellaws out because Apple deleted the component video and the analog audio outputs from the list. So we’re left with USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11n Wifi, HDMI and optical audio output.
The power supply has been shoved into the new Apple TV while the old one had an external one. So Apple did the same to the Apple TV like they did to the Mac Mini. The hard disk is no longer present inside the new Apple TV so it’s a streaming client only.
The Operating System
The old Apple TV was running a customized version of Mac OS 10.4. Actually Mac OS was running in some sort of kiosk-mode. The new Apple TV is running iOS but as of now there are no details known about the version or any differences between this iOS and the iOS for mobile devices.
New pricing
Apple changed the pricing of movie rentals as well as for buying the hardware. The new Apple TV is 99$ (129€ in Europe). Movie rentals starting at 0.99$ (Europe: 2.99€). While rentals via Netflix are available in the US, Europe is locked out on this one. Youtube and flickr are available in any location – for free.
Summary
I think Apple kind of went the wrong way with the new Apple TV. Sure it’s smaller and more beautiful but they left the analog outputs behind which is a total no-go for me as I hesitate to buy a new HD TV unit until my hold PAL TV leaves for good. But that’s my personal point of view.
The new pricing model and not putting a HDD into the Apple TV keeps you from actually owning a movie. You’d have to rent it again if you want to watch it a second time. Sure there’s AirReplay but that’s going to be another article.
Source
