The aim of the Apple TV is to unite your computer and its digital content with your widescreen TV using your home network. Forget any ideas of recording TV or any other kind of video content on an Apple TV: with no TV tuner or video inputs, the Apple TV needs its content to be on your Mac for Apple TV to transmit it.
You set the Apple TV to sync with a Mac. It grabs everything in iTunes and iPhoto that it can and lets you display it on your TV. You can also stream video and audio content from five other Macs or PCs.
In practice, everything doesn't work quite so smoothly. The Apple TV does have a simple, attractive interface that's very similar to Front Row's, which means any Mac owner with a recent model will already know how to use it. It's highly responsive, although there are a few kinks that take some time to get used to, such as the way the forward and reverse functions work, the way the Apple TV sorts content and displays information about it, and the occasional difficulty getting wireless streaming clients to pair up with it.
Music playback is excellent, although photo playback is limited to simple slideshows, and you can't display any movies you might have stored in iPhoto. The Apple TV also produces an excellent picture from video content when it's given sufficiently detailed files to work with.
However, as mentioned, the Apple TV's problems are twofold. First, there are those inflicted by Apple itself. The Apple TV's 40GB hard drive means the true media junkie will already have lost the easy seamlessness expected of an Apple device in favour of having to choose which of their many files they want to have on their claustrophobic Apple TV.
The connection choices - component video and HDMI instead of phono or Scart - mean that only those with a modern and relatively expensive TV are going to be able to use the Apple TV easily, with everyone else having to resort to adaptor cables. At least for audio, you have the options of optical or RCA stereo and/or expensive converter boxes.
The video formats supported by the Apple TV are by no means the most common, with only H.264 and Mpeg-4 movies of specific resolutions passing the entry requirements. In all likelihood, that means time-consuming conversions of your video content before it can get anywhere near the Apple TV, something the intended audience probably won't have the skills to do. The fact that iTunes has a conversion system is of no use in a program that won't manage a video unless it's a QuickTime movie or an Mpeg-4 already. Of course, the Apple TV is primarily designed as a means of watching movies and videos downloaded from the iTunes store on your TV, but with precious little content available in the UK, even that's not an option.
The lack of a proper automatic labelling system for imported movies, such as that available in Myth TV via IMDB or in iTunes itself via Gracenote for music, also means tiresome manual data entry is now mandatory if you want to avoid a hunt through a rabbit warren of files.
The problems of networks aren't Apple's fault, though, but the ambition of the Apple TV means those problems are an Apple TV owner's as well. If you don't mind trailing cables, you can get by with a wired network. Wireless is a different matter. After initially testing the Apple TV with an 802.11n wireless network - something that was more than acceptable and better than Ethernet in practice - we downgraded to 802.11g and instantly regretted it: like syncing an iPod over USB 1.1, it's just not a good option in practice. Initial syncing over an 802.11g network can take a good few hours, and video streaming just isn't possible with any reliability or guarantee of quality. If you're thinking of buying an Apple TV, factor in the cost of 802.11n wireless base station as well, because you'll need it.
The Apple TV is a beautifully constructed device that's easy to use and synchronises more or less seamlessly with iTunes. However, Apple's choice of connection options, hard drive and video compatibility means it requires someone with a deep pocket and not inconsiderable technical skill to get it to be more than an expensive photo album and MP3 player.
Verdict
Needs iTunes 7.1 + Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later + AirPort Extreme, Wifi 802.11b, 802.11g or 802.11n wireless network (wireless video streaming requires 802.11g or 802.11n), or 10/100Base-T Ethernet network
Author: Rob Buckley
MacUser Online