Apple TV 2.0 - Download and watch movies, TV shows, YouTube videos without a computer

Posted on February 15, 2008 at 7:32 am

When I first heard about Apple TV a long time back, I was very excited because I thought it was going to be what Apple TV 2.0 currently is! I ended up not buying one simply because it wasn’t that useful! It didn’t come with any cables, it only worked on widescreens, and if you wanted to watch videos you purchased off iTunes, it had to be connected to your PC or Mac. Not what I was looking for!

So is Apple TV 2.0 worth buying? This time around it looks like they did it right! And it’s definitely something every techie person and a lot of other people wouldn’t mind having around. There are a ton of new features in Apple TV 2.0, including a new sleek looking GUI interface! Good ol Apple style!

Image Source: Gizmodo

Of course the major “upgrade” to the system is the fact that you no longer need a computer to watch movies, watch podcasts, listen to music, check out Flickr photos, or watch YouTube videos! It’s all built into the Apple TV 2, which makes it a pretty kickass media capable device!

Firstly the new interface brings in a simpler navigation system with only two columns, one for major categories on the left and the right side for subcategories. As you go to a subcategory, it moves to the left and becomes a major category and shows the next subcategory on the right side. Pretty easy, kind of works like your iPod when browsing through the menu system.

Movies, Podcasts, TV Shows, Photos, etc

So what kind of choices do you have for movies, TV shows, podcasts, etc? Well let’s go through them quickly to give you an idea. When you click on Movies, you’ll see that you can browse by Top Movies, Genres, HD movies, Trailers, or simply search.

You’ll need to type in your Apple user ID and password before you can purchase or rent anything. It costs $3.99 to rent a standard definition movie and $4.99 for an HD movie and you have 30 days to watch it and 24 hours to finish it once you start watching it. Pretty much the same as TIVO, Netflix, etc. They currently do not have a huge collection of movies like Netflix, but they have promised contracts with all of the major studios.

Movie Trailers and Podcasts can be found in the same way. There is a large collection of both including most of the popular ones and of course it’s all free, so you can watch when you feel like it!

For photos, the Flickr and .Mac integration is great. The pictures look fabulous and they have some pretty nifty slideshow software included with fancy transitions and music soundtracks.

As for TV Shows and Music, it’s just like you would on your computer or iPhone. Browse for what you like, purchase it, and it will download directly to your Apple TV, no need for a computer! Lastly, you can browse all of the videos on YouTube and watch anything instantly, great for sharing stupid videos with your whole family

Overall, I’m very pleased with the Apple TV 2 and it’s simply a wonderful way to get movies, music, photos and TV shows into your living room on the cheap! Of course, you might want to wait just a bit longer until you read some reviews where people say that the collection of movies and TV Shows is exceptional. Enjoy! Source Gizmodo

Technorati Tags: apple tv, apple tv 2.0, apple tv 2.0 review, apple