tv

The other big announcement today was the tv (Apple TV), formerly known as the iTV. It’s available for pre-order (US $299), and will ship in February. Along with it Apple quietly introduced a new version of their airport extreme base station (US $179), also available in February. With the new base station, Apple has dropped the UFO form factor, in favor of a box that looks just like the Apple TV box. It also supports the new 802.11n network protocol.

The Apple TV allows you to wirelessly (or wired) stream music, video, and photos from your computer (Mac or PC) to your home entertainment system. You can also directly access movie trailers from the Apple site.

Now, before you go order one of these, make sure to check the requirements. I don’t know a lot about TVs, but it doesn’t look like you can hook this thing up to that 10 year old Sanyo you have in your bedroom.

“Apple TV works with most widescreen, enhanced-definition or high-definition TV…

…Enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable of 1080i 60/50Hz, 720p 60/50Hz, 576p 50Hz (PAL format), or 480p 60Hz”

Maybe someone with a little more knowledge of TVs can shed some light on this.

Also, the specs for wirelessly streaming video are listed as 802.11g or 802.11n (not ‘b’). I personally wonder how well it will work under ‘g’. I’m betting that you’ll need ‘n’ for optimal performance.

So, if you actually have a TV that this will hook into, you may also need to buy some new network gear as well.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a fancy TV, so I don’t think we’ll be able to get one of these just yet. Bummer!