We have a Samsung 32" LED TV in our playroom which is not connected to an Aerial, Freeview, Sky or Cable. One of the great things about it is that fact that it has 2 USB ports on it, so it plays AVIs. This made the TV good, but Apple TV makes it great.
This is the Apple TV, and you can pick one up for £99.00 in the UK. Apple recently released the 3rd generation of the device which includes a brand new user interface and the ability to play video content at 1080p.
The device is neat, compact, and connects to your TV via an HDMI cable. When you power it on, the setup wizard is pretty simple to follow, and once you have connected it to your WI-FI network, you are ready to enjoy the great features of the device.
Apple TV has several native Apps and the first few are all pretty much tied to iTunes. Once you login with your Apple ID, you can access all of your purchased Music and TV shows (although not yet movies in the UK), and you can make new iTunes purchases also. In addition to this, you can access the photostream feature that is available to you on iPhone, iPod, and iPad.
The other two standout native apps at this time are Netfllix and YouTube. Netflix of course requires that you have a subscription (which is currently £5.99 a month - but you do get the first month for free). Netflix UK and Ireland does not yet have quite the same content as the US version, but it is pretty good and they are adding new titles all the time. I haven't regretted signing up. YouTube has so much content on it of course and to have this available so easily on your TV is a nice feature.
Also included are Vimeo and Flickr, which I don't really use too much, but they are nice to have available. The rest of the native apps are very US centric however unfortunately. I would much rather have BBC iPlayer or Sky Go than Major League Baseball for example. I guess these may come in future updates however. I hope so.
The other standout feature of the device is the ability to mirror content to it from your iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Laptop/PC/Macbook if these devices are connected to the same WI-FI network. When you play videos or music on any of these devices, you will see an Airplay icon on your screen. Clicking on this allows you to project what you are watching to your Apple TV.
Some of the iOS apps that I have most enjoyed streaming to the Apple TV so far are BBC News, Sky News, and FilmOnPlus. The Sky Go App obviously has some sort of encryption built in, as the Airplay icon does appear - but you only get sound or vision, not both. This is a shame.
The device comes with a very nice remote control. However, you can also install an App on your iOS devices called remote which allows you to use these devices as a remote control also. This is a very nice touch.
So, in conclusion - I highly recommend this device. It has come a long way in its life cycle to date, and with future software updates I can only see it getting better and better. More native apps will surely follow, and more iOS apps will be updated to include the AirPlay feature. If you decide to pick one up, I don't think you will regret it!
Peter
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