Apple TV review

In a day where everyone (including us) expects their gadgets to do everything, Apple again bucks the trend and releases a product that does a few things, but tries to do them very well. From day one the Apple TV wasn't expected to be the right for everyone -- especially not many of the gadgetrati that patronize our fine publication. It does have a specific target audience (namely, those happy to live in the iTunes ecosystem), but will it be the gateway device to bring digital video to the living room? What's more, will "the iTunes adapter" still pass muster with the ever-scrutinizing CE enthusiast crowd? Learn everything we think you'd want to know about this thing (except how to upgrade the drive) our full-on Apple TV review.

The hardware

Yes, the unit looks like a smushed Mac mini -- except it got wider. Unlike the mini and the new Airport Extreme (both of which are 6.5-inches square), it has a 7.7-inch footprint. It's almost the same thickness as the Airport Extreme, though, at 1.1-inches. While the Apple TV's design indubitably looks good in almost any home theater, we can't help but wish it was stackable with the rest of Apple's equipment. The fit and finish lives up to Apple's reputation for solid hardware, and nothing feels cheesy. It's got a bold metal bezel and a very strong, sturdy-feeling chassis. You won't find a power button -- just plug it in. Compared to a other media streamers and the Xbox 360, this thing is small and quiet. So quiet, in fact, we could hardly hear it when not directly next to it.

The frontal LED and IR pickup is similar to the mini, but it gave us some trouble since we used an IR distribution system (so we can stash our gear in the closet). The Apple TV just refused to work with it. To make sure it was the Apple TV, we put our MacBook Pro in the closet and the same IR blaster fine to control Front Row. Since these IR systems are not the norm, we did all of our testing with the Apple TV on top of our TV instead. Ah well. (We pinged Apple, and they said prior to launch they tested with a variety of IR blasters, extenders, etc., and haven't ever had any problems -- so maybe it was just our rig.)

Requirements - When purchasing the Apple TV, the Apple employees were very clear about the requirement for an HDTV. That and video cables -- the ATV doesn't come with any. Apple seems aware of how this is going over with the public and wants to set expectations before people leave the store, or they could just be trying to sell their own cables. Either way, it's kind of annoying, the same way it was annoying when the PS3 didn't come with an HDMI cable.Remote - The remote is very familiar to anyone with a new Mac or iPod dock, it is simple and works well. Still, a couple more buttons might make it a little easier to use for simple things like volume control (which the Apple TV can't do) or turning the unit off without having to hold the pause button down for a little while. One interesting bit about the remote is you have the option to pair it with your Apple TV. Each Apple Remote has a unique ID that it sends out in IR before its command (yes, this is learnable for smart remotes). If you have multiple Apple Remotes, you can make sure you don't accidentally wake your computer when using your ATV. Definitely a nice touch.

Setup

Setup was as easy as anyone can ask for. Power is internal, so you don't have to fuss with a power brick, which helps keep the clutter down behind your rig. Plug in your unit, plug in your video cables, and you're off; one can use component or HDMI, but the test TV we used (not pictured) was older so we also tried out an HDMI to DVI cable. Although it worked just as well as component on our TV, the DVI is obviously easier in setup, and the Apple TV was able to automatically configure the maximum supported HD resolution (something component connections can't do). Despite Apple's warnings, the Apple TV will work with any TV with component inputs and a widescreen mode. Should you plug in an HDMI cable, that connection takes priority; the component output is seamlessly disabled and switches on the fly.

More: Engadget