My Thoughts on the AppleTV

ByMike Moffit

When Steve Jobs announced the new AppleTV on September 1st, 2010 I looked at my wife and said “My first free $100 is going directly to that!”  It was pretty much a no-brainer for me to get this device. I am a bit of a home theater nerd.  I am the guy people call when they need something added to their system or their TV is on the fritz.  It is a not-so-secret secret of mine that I get too excited about things like the AppleTV and SPL meters (that is a whole different article…). So, naturally, when this device was announced, it was right up my alley.

A Little Bit of AppleTV History:
The original machine was a small computer. It was cumbersome, but had a lot of the bells and whistles a computer had. It could store content on it’s hard drive and be used as what some would call a Home Theater PC.  Some problems with it were that the physical footprint of the device and the syncing that needed to go on for you to enjoy the content on your computer on your television. Also, the original AppleTV went through two versions of the user interface, a Front Row style menu system and then the more current “Take 2” menu system. Suffice to say, the first AppleTV was definitely a “hobby” for Apple.

AppleTV: The 2nd generation:
The new generation of AppleTV is not a HTPC (home theater PC), it is a streaming link between a few different sources, locally and off the web. This separates it from the previous model in a hardware and software sense. This model is about 1/4th the size of the previous generation, largely due to the lack of a hard drive and a reduction in the amount of ports on the back. It is incredibly slim and uses about 6 watts of electricity when it is fully running. That is the same as most standard CFL bulbs. The ports on the back of the device are limited to five. The inputs are only an Ethernet port and a mini-usb port, while the outputs are only HDMI and Optical Audio. There is also a power adapter port on the back to plug into your surge protector. This is a long way from the three different connection types on the previous model. Customers wanted High Def and they got it with this device. Apple also got rid of purchasing content from the AppleTV to own. Everything is rental now from that store. More on this later. The remote responsibilities are handled by a little silver remote that fits well in your hand and is incredibly easy to use. I personally like using the Remote App from the App Store (it’s free and any card carrying iDevice owner should’ve it on their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad), to control my AppleTV because when I need a keyboard it gives me a keyboard and I do not have to scroll through the whole alphabet to search of anything.

Content for the device comes from sources from the internet and locally. From the internet you can get the entire iTunes Movie Library in HD or SD for rental only. The rentals range from $2.99 to $4.99, newer releases are always going to be the higher price point. Also, you can currently rent HD television shows from ABC and Fox for $.99. Now, this is my one gripe about the AppleTV. Not all of their shows are for rental. Modern Family is not there and right now, it is one of the best shows on television. You can also stream from Netflix, with the appropriate monthly service, and from YouTube. Netflix is worth the money just based on the television series it has on streaming alone, but it becomes incredibly user-friendly on the AppleTV. The best part about it’s connection to YouTube is that it automatically goes to the highest possible resolution for your television. So instead of some of the terrible (visual) quality YouTube videos we might see on a daily basis, the AppleTV knows you want to see the best and it displays it for you. Watch the Tron: Legacy trailer in 720p on a 42” television and tell me it doesn’t look awesome (the quality, but the movie is still going to be cool too). You can also access Flickr, a picture sharing site, the great Podcasts from iTunes and all of the internet radio stations that you would find on the iTunes Radio menu.

Where I think this AppleTV really shines is it’s ability to stream all of your iTunes content from a computer using iTunes 10 to your television. With Airplay taking over for Airtunes, Apple has worked it out to get all of the TV Shows, Movies, Music and Photos from your computer onto your big screen. So even if you can’t rent the show and you want purchase it from the iTunes store, you can still watch it on your television. Alas, until the other networks jump on board, this is how we are going to have to wait to watch shows using only our AppleTV, instead of the dreaded cable companies. The next big thing about this AppleTV is the addition of Airplay to the iDevices. Anything that you can play on your iDevice that is running iOS 4.2 (releasing sometime this month) is going to be able to be streamed directly to your AppleTV. This is not just iTunes content, but also web video. The possibilities are almost endless with the amount of web content out there that will be able to be steamed to your TV with this new feature.

The best test in the world was when my wife was home alone one day and she wanted to be able to watch a movie we had on our computer. She didn’t even need to call me because she figured out the AppleTV pretty quickly and was on her way to streaming all kinds of great content to our living room. I can see a lot of great possibility out of this little device, especially with the ability to stream content from your devices to your television. It also makes me wonder what exactly could be down the road for the 2nd generation AppleTV, because with it’s iOS roots there is a ton of development possibility. I would highly recommend this device to anyone that wanted to quickly and simply add a lot of great functionality to their television.

Similar Posts

  • iPad Goes Pro!

    Apple has released the iPad Pro and some of the first reviews are in. I haven’t had a chance to play with one yet but I think this new iPad pushes Apple into two markets for iPad that it has only brushed before. One is the enterprise market and the other is the creative market. My good friend Dave Sellers, is an architect and I often see him with yellow tracing paper sketching up new designs for whatever harebrained scheme he might be working on. I told him about the new iPad Pro and the Pencil and I know I will want to get that into his hands as soon as possible to see if that old guy can do some magic on this new technology. The business or enterprise market for iPad is blossoming with Apple’s partnership with IBM and Cisco and the iPad Pro is going to push that window even further.

    When Apple announced the iPad Pro with its A9X chip, they stated that it would be faster than 80 percent of the PCs that shipped this year. It appears to be true and the $799 base model iPad Pro is faster and more powerful than the $899 Microsoft Surface Pro 4. But speed is not the whole picture. With 5.6 million pixels the 12.9 inch Retina display is the highest resolution of any iOS device. It is a fully laminated display with anti-reflective coating and technologies like Photo Alignment and Oxide TFT to deliver rich contrast, stunning color and deeper blacks.

    One would expect the first generation of the iPad Pro to be a bit clunky in size but at just 6.9mm thick and about a pound and a half, it is a very thin and lightweight powerhouse. The iPad Pro features four speakers which will give you amazing sound and more than three times the sound output of any iPad. The speakers are orientation savvy so whether you are in landscape or portrait mode the low frequencies play on all four speakers and the higher frequencies play for the top.

    iOS 9 was built for the iPad Pro and this new iPad takes advantage of the multitasking, split view, picture-in-a-picture, Siri and Spotlight search capabilities of iOS9. Touch ID makes your new iPad Pro more secure and easy to use and with iSight and FaceTime cameras those of you that like to take photos with a giant iPad can do so.

    The Smart Keyboard is probably the feature that might make this iPad replace a Mac for some. It is a full size keyboard that is water and stain resistant and very thin. It does not require Bluetooth and connects via the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector. This provides a connection for both power and data. It is not just some third-party keyboard paired to the iPad Pro; this Apple-designed keyboard is fully integrated into the iPad Pro and iOS9. Steve Jobs once said that he saw no need for a stylus because we all have ten pointing devices, called fingers. I don’t think he rolled over in his grave when Apple introduced the Pencil because it is not designed to be a pointing device but rather as a drawing device. It is weighted but won’t roll off the desk and the Pencil is sensitive to both tilt and pressure allowing your creative impulses to flow from the thinnest line to deep shading. I am no artist but I can’t wait to see some of the digital art produced with the combination of the iPad Pro and the new Pencil.

    I hope to give you some first-hand feedback soon on this new member of the iPad family!

  • Seven Siri Tricks

    Siri is great for resolving trivia disputes, setting reminders and even texting or sending email but Siri is also a talented assistant. Here’s a few of the more non-intuitive tasks Siri can accomplish:

    1) Split up that restaurant bill and add a tip

    Ask Siri “What’s a 20% tip on a $105 bill split among 3 people and Siri will not only tell you what the total tip would be but also how much each of the 3 owes.

    2) Flip a coin

    Siri will bail you out if you do not have a coin to flip if you ask her to flip a coin. Or if you are killing time and want to play dice, ask Siri to “throw the dice”.

    3) Counting Calories

    Siri can help! Ask Siri how many calories are in that Big Mac and Siri will tell you that you are consuming 520 calories.

    4) Take a Selfie

    Ready to take that selfie and find yourself looking for the camera app? Just tell Siri to take a selfie and boom!, the camera app will open. Siri isn’t smart enough, yet, to ensure you have the front facing camera active so you might have to click that first.

    5) Name that Tune

    Siri integrates with Shazam to listen to the music. Ask Siri “What is this song?” and with some help from Shazam, Siri will let you know and if you click on the result it will play that song if you are a subscriber to Apple Music.

    6) Find your Friends

    If you use the Find My Friends app you can ask Siri to find them by asking “Where’s my wife?” and assuming that your wife has agreed to share her location in the Find My Friends app, Siri will let you know where she is.

    7) Convert Currency

    If you are traveling out of the country you can use Siri to make those currency conversions. Asking Siri “What is 100 euros worth?” today reveals it is worth $112.49.

  • Use Old iOS Devices as Security Cameras!

    Are you one of those people who have old iOS devices laying around your house just waiting to be brought to the recyclers or given to a friend in need? I have always kept my old devices as a backup in case I ever need to send my new one out for repair.

    For those of you planning on upgrading your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch soon, you might rethink selling or recycling it, and instead, turn it into a home security system. Huh? Yes, you heard me.

    With a new app by “*People Power*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/presence-by-people-power/id618598211?mt=8 you can easily make an old iOS device your new home security system. The system supports the iPad 2 and newer, iPod touch (5th gen.) and newer and iPhone 3GS and newer.

    The app is called “*Presence*;”:http://peoplepowerco.com/products/ it’s free and it has some seriously great reviews. All you need to do is download the app on at least two devices, connect over Wi-Fi and set up your device in the desired spot you wish to watch. You can then set up specific alerts for when motion has been detected.

    The alerts might be for when your kids get home from school, if someone breaks into your apartment, or maybe you have elderly parents who you’d like to make sure are up and moving that day. Throw a waterproof case on the phone and you can set it up outside and get video clips to see what kind of animal is eating your freshly sprouted blueberries.

    People Power will soon have a subscription, allowing you to upgrade to Presence Pro for more storage and added features. Even if you don’t feel the need to monitor any activity going on, it might be fun just to play around with the app since it is free, and who knows, you may just find a cool use for it!

  • The Safety and Security of your Personal Information

    With all the headlines these days about data breaches, hackers, and spyware it is understandable that the safety of your information in cyberspace is on everyone’s mind these days. When we hear about companies such as TJ Maxx, Target and, most recently, TurboTax (hmm…companies that begin with the letter “t”…) getting hacked and potentially losing critical customer information, it can make consumers hesitant to use a lot of this brilliant new technology.

    Here are a few ways Apple ensures the safety of your information and a few tips on how to protect your information:

    Passwords, passwords, passwords…they can be the bane of our existence and are so hard to remember: “What password did I use for this site?? Is it case sensitive?? Did I use letters or numbers?? Holy cow that’s a lot to remember. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!?!? That’s the same combination I have on my luggage!!!”

    The strength of your password goes a long way towards protecting your information. As you might imagine, a password like “password1234” is not a very strong password. As time goes by, the requirements for passwords have become stricter and stricter as criminals devise more and more ingenious ways to steal your information. I personally recommend using a name and a year to begin with. This ensures its an easy password to remember, but not easy for someone to guess. Make certain it’s at least 8 characters. Add a capital letter and a special character to your password to make it even stronger! For example “Jenny5309!” is an example of a strong password. It has more than 8 characters, a combination of letters and numbers, a capital letter and a special character. It would be difficult for anyone to guess (unless they happen to have a family member named Jenny who was born in September of 1953.) It’s easy for you to remember because you do!

    Oh and FYI, nobody at Apple, or Small Dog Electronics has access to your passwords. If anyone ever calls or emails and asks you to give them your passwords, please feel free to refuse that information to ANYONE. That goes for any other password you use, whether it be for your email or your bank account.


    Ahh, the iCloud, is it up in the sky? Where exactly IS this cloud and will it follow me around dropping rain on me wherever I go??

    Here’s a great source of information on iCloud.

    Our main concern here is the security of your information. The iCloud uses a minimum of 128-bit encryption and as much as 256-bit to safeguard your information. What is encryption you ask? In the simplest of terms, your computer uses your password like a key to unlock your information. In the case of 128-bit encryption, your computer has THE single key to unlock ONE lock out of a possibility of 6 trillion locks. That’s trillion with a T! As you can imagine, that is a great number of locks to try to pick. Major financial institutions, the government and the military also use between 128 and 256-bit encryption.

    One of the major benefits of owning an Apple computer rather than a PC has always been they are less susceptible to viruses, trojans, malware, and other nasty bugs out there. This is still true, however some still slip through. These programs can wreak havoc on your system and cause general headaches all around.

    “Lets be careful out there.” This applies to the internet as well as the mean streets. Use strong privacy settings on social media sites. Use caution when entering financial information online. Look for a tiny picture of a padlock in the bottom right hand corner of the page you are on. Another way to tell if a site is secure is the web address. Sites with a web address that begins with https let you know the site is secure. Make sure your operating system stays up to date and your firewall is active.

    If you start to get pop ups, advertisements, and other annoyances don’t fret; there is an easy fix. Follow these steps to rid your computer of theses hooligans by following these steps to the letter.

    Woof, arf, woof! (Don’t forget to have fun!)

  • Here come the controllers!

    When I’m playing a game on my iPhone, there are times where I’m thinking, “you know what?” “actual buttons would make this game…