The AppleTV is out and about, having been formally released by Apple last week and having begun landing in press rooms, tech labs, and living rooms around the country within a few days. The highly anticipated new TV-to-computer bridge device from Apple has had analysts waiting with baited breath for a while now, and technology enthusiasts and Apple fans alike wringing their hands to find out whether or not the AppleTV would live up to its promise to unify the content on my PC or Mac (or both!) with my television. If early reviews are any indication, it most certainly has.
The AppleTV synchronizes with the first Mac or PC you pair it with, wired or wirelessly over your home network – it copies the contents of your iTunes library to the built in hard drive, and constantly updates based on that library, so if you subscribe to podcasts or video podcasts, the AppleTV will automatically update the new content when its downloaded to your computer. You can also hook up the AppleTV to stream from up to 5 more computers on your home network, beefing up the amount of content you can get on your TV set through the AppleTV. The AppleTV has all of the ports you would expect, from HDMI to component, and while it can’t display true high-def, it already has the ability to connect to any high definition television. The device is so far easy to use, simple to set up, an excellent bridge from your computer to your television, and how well you’ll use it and how much you want one probably has to do with how closely iTunes is to the center of your digital life; that is, if you download a ton of videos from iTunes like Battlestar Galactica or Starsky and Hutch and want to watch them on your living room big screen, the AppleTV is the device for you.
For more information, check out this review from PCMag:
And this review (with video!) from David Pogue, technology editor for the New York Times: