I do have an external receiver connected to a sound bar and speakers. The Apple TV is connected to the TV via HDMI, and I use the optical out of the TV to feed the receiver. All this time, this setup has worked out. As an interim solution, I changed the sound settings of the Apple TV to stereo. It’s good enough for now, but I have a feeling more changes are coming when and if my AV setup is complete. My current (non-HDMI) Dolby surround receiver won’t be able to handle the protected signals so will eventually need replacing.

But I have read up on HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) to see if this will fix things.

Can the AppleTV stream this content natively? Seems like the best option so far is to Airplay the stream from a computer or iOS device to an AppleTV. Gotta keep looking…

And add to your vocabulary the word “Balkanize:”

to break up (as a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units

I checked the movie section on the AppleTV, but it didn’t show the rented movie. Maybe if I select the movie rental from the just released section, the device would know I already purchased a rental. No go, it asks if I want to rent the movie. So where the heck is the movie?

Stuck in iTunes on my Mac. I found this Apple Support article that says you have to move the movie to a device (iPod, iPad, iPhone, AppleTV, etc). Now that’s confusing. You would think that a simple sync would be good enough. Not so, dear AppleTV user.

Apple, how about fixing this in the next versions of iTunes?

The AppleTV joined the other Apple goodies like the Mac, MacBook, iPod, and iPhone. Hmmm, does the Mini count as an unique Apple device?

So far, I’m liking the AppleTV to access my music, movies, and pictures stored on my Mac. So much more convenient to watch movies and view pictures on the living room television. I might switch over to Boxee, but for now, I’ll roll with the goodness of the AppleTV.

Technorati Tags: Apple, AppleTV, Macintosh

Tommy Herr was the switching hitting second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals back in the mid-80s. For whatever reason, when I saw the AppleTV in action, I thought of Tommy Herr. Let’s discuss…

The Cardinals of ’85 featured a run-scoring batting lineup starting with Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, and Herr.

But before we get to Tommy Herr, we have to lead off with 1985 Rookie of the Year, speedster Vince Coleman who swiped a league best 110 bases. Vince’s job was to get on base, cause disruption, steal some bases, and score runs. Does Vince’s job remind you of the origin of the iPod?

Apple’s iPod wasn’t the first music player on the market. But once released, it surely caused disruptions in the music player industry. It stole market share and boy, it’s still scoring runs ala its sales figures.

Once Coleman was on base, next up was Willie McGee. The 1985 National League MVP, McGee could do everything. He could hit (.353), steal bases (56), and roam the outfield, but his main task was to advance Coleman on the base path. Sound a little bit like iTunes?

iTunes (and the iTunes Store) does a little bit of everything. Music, videos, television shows, movies, audiobooks, podcasts, and games are all there with iTunes. But the main function of iTunes is to advance the iPod in the marketplace.

Now we come to Tommy Herr batting third for the Cardinals. Herr was not a power hitter, but he sure could drive home the runs. In 1985, Herr hit .302 and drove in 110 runs while only hitting 8 homeruns. Driving runs home but yet not a power hitter… ahhh, the AppleTV…

The AppleTV is not a power hitter in Apple’s lineup but is designed to bring the runs home straight to your living room. Like Herr, the AppleTV makes contact and keeps the iPods and iTunes content moving towards home.

And like the rest of the Cardinals lineup, Apple’s product line is flexible enough to change up the batting order and star different players. Andy Van Slyke, Terry Pendleton, and Ozzie Smith moved around the lineup while Apple’s Macs, MacBooks, iLife, iWork, and Pro apps can get it done as well.

No, I didn’t forget about the cleanup hitter who knocks the ball out of the park, clears the bases, and brings in the runs. Jack Clark had the duty for the Cardinals in ’85, and in Apple’s lineup, the cleanup hitter will be none other than the iPhone.

Technorati Tags: Apple, AppleTV, baseball, iPhone, iPod, MacBook, Macintosh

I would agree after seeing an AppleTV in action. Apple got to get their HD game going to make the AppleTV a true game changer.

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First off, I love the integration and just being able to access my iTunes content on a TV. The Front Row interface is beautiful, and everything simply works. On the display unit, I brought up movies, televison shows, music, podcasts, and pictures. Lags and delays were very minimal if any.

The biggest issue I have with the AppleTV is not with the AppleTV per se but with the lack of HD content available. The Apple Store has 3 big Sony screens set up but all the movies, trailers, and television shows from iTunes look blurry, pixelated, and a little washed out (especially the black colors). Not sure which Sony HD displays are being used, but the overall demo of the AppleTV doesn’t completely wow me. That’s the reason for my ah, so-so first impression. Now if there were HD content ready for display then my opinion would be different.

The photos from iPhoto look great and take advantage of the high resolution available in the HD displays, but the “near-DVD quality” videos simply don’t do justice to the HD displays. Because of this, I can easily see users blaming the AppleTV for the inferior quality. I mentioned this lack of HD content to demo to an Apple Store employee, and she concurred. Let’s hope Apple provides some HD content to make the AppleTV demos more compelling.

It performed flawlessly.

What else do you need to know?

If you want to see the unboxing of an AppleTV, head over to Gizmodo for some pictures that only Mac addicts would consider pornographic.

Technorati Tags: Apple, AppleTV

Also consider the fact the Apple now understands how the game is played and how you win at these games. The game is not beating the competitor at their game. In order to win, you need to change the game.

The iPod is merely a well thought out and designed MP3/music player, but the iTunes Store is the game changer. Other good music players are out there but not with an easy way of getting music like the iTunes Store offers. This is the same strategy Apple is using with its movies downloads. Instead of beating Netflix or Blockbuster in their DVD rental game, change the game and offer direct downloads (and not necessarily at the costs dictated by the movie studios). Macs are great computers, but a Mac capable of running Windows changes a bunch of things and opens the eyes of many potential Mac-wanna-be switchers. And the iPhone? Don’t get me started how this changes the cell phone game.

So yeah, there could be a lot more to the AppleTV than first thought. Hi-def television shows via a P2P distribution using AppleTVs? Change the game on cable companies. Brilliant!

Technorati Tags: Apple, AppleTV