The Apple TV was never something I found interesting. I didn’t really see the point of shelling out over $200 for something that Apple repeatedly said was just a ‘hobby’. I’ve only had a few hours with the new Apple TV and I must admit that it’s piqued my interest.
(More:
Complete List of What’s Currently Available For the New Apple TV)
We’ll have a review tomorrow but here are my first impressions:
• It’s incredibly tiny and can easily get lost amongst bigger peripherals in your home entertainment system but that’s not a bad thing. In true Apple fashion, the Apple TV is minimalistic and I think we can all appreciate less clutter.
• The UI is incredibly easy to navigate.
• If only there were some way to hook up a keyboard for searching. You can, however, link your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad via the freshly updated Remote App to navigate.
• Apple’s Netflix UI is super clean and one of the best we’ve seen on any set top box, including Roku and Xbox 360.
If you have any burning questions, please leave them in comments. Before you do, check out the following list of questions and answers that we know most of you will ask.
• How many movies will it hold? There is no hard drive on the new Apple TV. Content can only be rented from iTunes or streamed from your home computer via iTunes.
• How long will rentals last? You have 30 days to watch a movie or TV show from the time you initially rent it. Movies must be consumed within 24 hours of starting it, while TV shows have a 48-hour window.
• What networks are available? Apple currently has deals with Fox, ABC and the BBC, which includes 20th Century Fox, ABC, ABC Family, ABC News, BBC America, BBC Earth, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Fox.
• How’s the picture quality? Most movies and TV shows are in HD. Previews appear to be in SD. We’ll have a comprehensive list of what shows are available later today.