Apple TV is a small device which plugs into your HDTV via an HDMI port and allows you to stream music, movies, television shows, and photos wirelessly. Movies and television shows are streamed from the Internet, while music and photos are streamed from your computer. It is very small, 80% smaller than the previous generation. The dimensions of it are .9″ x 3.9″ x 3.9″. It is also energy efficient and silent. There is no fan to create a whirring noise, and does not get hot. It is so energy efficient because it is Energy Star qualified. Inside of it is the A4 chip which is a processor designed by Apple. The processor makes it so you don’t experience a frozen screen or stuttering when viewing content. Images are seen in crisp and clear 720p and are heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Apple has made set-up simple. Plug the device into an outlet, and plug it into your HDTV via an HDMI cord (not included). The Apple TV works wirelessly, so that is all you need to get things going. The design of the device is minimalist, so there are not many ports on it. The power port, an HDMI port, an ethernet port if you want to hard wire it, and an optical audio output is all there is. It comes with an Apple remote so you can control the device without the aid of a computer or manual button pressing on the device itself. If you don’t want to use the Apple remote there is another option. If you have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch then download the Remote app which gives you full control of the Apple TV.
When it comes to movies, there are a few ways you can get them. If you have a Netflix account you can stream Netflix through the Apple TV. This version of Netflix allows you to access your queue and also search for titles. The other way is to shop in the Apple Store to rent them. The Apple Store makes new releases available sooner than other streaming content providers, often on the same day they come out on DVD. Since there are only digital copies they don’t run out of stock, and you can rent as many as you want at a time. You can search for movies in the Apple Store by top titles, genre, and title. From a movies page you can read reviews, watch a preview, and see what rating Rotten Tomatoes has given it. When you’ve found what you want, rent it for $2.99 in Standard Definition and $3.99 in HD. You have 30 days to start watching the movie, and once you do you can watch it as often as you want for 24 hours. The movies (as well as TV shows) act just like a DVD. You can fast forward through the credits and parts you don’t like. You can pause to take a bathroom break, and you can replay parts you missed or just really like.
With Apple TV you can also buy or rent television shows. Most shows are available the day after they originally air. If there is a show that you like, you can track it so that it tells you what you’ve watched and where you’re at in a particular season. It will also tell you what episodes you haven’t seen. Buying Standard Definition shows are $1.99/episode and HD are $2.99/episode. You can also rent them for 99 cents. If you rent them, you have 30 days to start watching the show, and once you start watching it you have 48 hours to watch it as often as you like. For shows that you’ve boughten, they are not stuck on your Apple TV device. You can download them to an iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and computer because they are linked to your Apple Store account.
Beyond these methods of streaming content you can also access YouTube, Vimeo and flickr as well as Internet Radio and podcasts. If you have a subscription to MLB.TV you can access it through AppleTV. Choose between home and away broadcasts for live games or watch previously played games through their archive of regular season games. You can also check out the standings, real-time scores, and statistics. If you have a subscription to NBA.com League Pass Broadband you can stream that as well. This gives you access to live regular season games as well as an archive of previously played games. Non-subscribers can access real-time scores, statistics, standings and highlights.
Apple TV lets you access the photos from your computer and view them in HD on your HDTV. You can view them individually or play a slideshow with a soundtrack. If you want to listen to your music you can wirelessly stream it from your iTunes music library and play it through the speakers of your entertainment system.
Sources:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/
http://reviews.cnet.com/apple-tv-review