| Rating: |  |
|---|---|
| Where: | Buy Now for Just $99 |
| Pros: | - Great User Interface - Netflix Support |
| Cons: | - No HDMI Supplied - Tied to Apple Products |
| Overall: | The Apple TV 2 is a great streaming player if you already own an Apple iPad / iPOD / iPhone and want to use the products together. If not, then you should consider the Roku 2 XS Player. |
Home entertainment is a fast moving and ever developing area with the electronics market today, as people move away from traditional methods of watching the latest movies at home (DVD, cable / satellite TV) and look to stream content direct from the Internet via services like Netflix, iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand.
Cue the Apple TV 2 Streaming Player, a stylish media box than enables users to stream digital content such as movies, music and photos direct to their high definition television for convenient viewing. Let’s take a look at the key features of the Apple TV 2 to determine if it is worth the $99 price tag and evaluate it’s worth to home entertainment.
Design 
My first impressions as I opened my Apple TV 2 box was WOW! Compared to the clunky 1st Generation Apple TV, the Apple TV 2 has a stylish black design and is small & light enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. The actual size is 3.86 (W) x 3.86 (L) x 0.91 (D) inches and the unit weighs in at just .6 of a pound (lb). Furthermore, the unit is “energy-friendly” consuming less than 2 watts while streaming video.
Setup
The Apple TV 2 package includes the Apple TV 2 Unit, a setup guide, an information guide, a stylish aluminium remote control and a long power cord. Frustratingly the HDMI Cable required to connect your unit to your HDTV is not included and must be sourced separately (Amazon HMDI Chord €7.99).
The setup of the Apple TV 2 is as ridiculously simple and I do not exaggerate when I say a five year old could set it up in just a couple of minutes and without any headaches. Simply connect the unit to your HDTV using the HDMI cable and connect the unit to the power supply using the power chord. The Apple TV will then boot up showing you the Apple logo on your television screen – from here simply select your required language and you are good to go. Easy peasy!
User Interface
Apple have always prided themselves on the simplicity and ease-of-use of their products and the Apple TV 2 User Interface is no different. The user is presented with a simple menu, spread horizontally across the HDTV, which makes it very clear and easy to find what you are looking for :
- Movies – to streaming rented movies direct from iTunes.
- TV Shows – to streaming TV Shows direct from iTunes
- Internet – to access content through Netflix / YouTube / Amazon etc
- Computers – to access iTunes on connected devices
- Settings – to change Apple TV Options such as TV Resolution / Brightness / Screensaver etc.
Suggestions are also provided above the main menu for each menu option. Overall, Apple have got the user interface spot on.
Movies & TV Shows
So now we are getting down to the key areas of the Apple TV 2 – content! From the Movies item on the main menu you can browse all available movies, watch preview movie trailers, check movie reviews via Rotten Tomato and search for particular movies of interest. The selection of movies available is relatively good and we can expect to see the back catalogue of movies increase steadily. Renting a movie is very straightforward – simply pick the movie you want to watch (SD from $3.99, HD from $4.99) and the movie is readily available after 30 seconds. Once you have successfully rented a movie you have a 30 day period before it expires but once you start the movie you must complete viewing within 48 hours. The quality of movies is very impressive, even at 720p resolution and streaming is very effective once your wireless network is of a half-decent standard.
TV Show viewing is very effective on the Apple TV 2 and users can watch TV show episodes relatively cheaply (from $1.99 SD), commercial-free and quickly following the original showing. The selection available is now much improved than previously available and is quite comprehensive with all major shows by the majority of the major networks now available. Furthermore, the quality of TV Shows is best suited to the Apple TV 2 as TV shows are created and broadcast in 720p resolution which is the highest resolution the Apple TV 2 supports. Once purchased a show episode or series can be downloaded to a an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch at any point for further convenient viewing or simply stored under your “Purchased” items. The Apple TV 2 also keeps track of your current viewing position, a handy feature for when you are watching through an entire series of a show.
iCloud & Content Storage
iCloud stores your TV shows, your music, your photos, and more and pushes them wireless to all your devices.3 So you can buy your favorite TV show on Apple TV, and also have it available to watch on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. iCloud is the easiest way to get instant access to your content — no matter which device you’re using.
Music & Photos
If you’re an iTunes Match subscriber, you can access your entire music collection from iCloud — including songs you’ve imported from CDs — right from your Apple TV. Play them on Apple TV or any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or computer for just $24.99 a year.4 iTunes Match has an amazing scan-and-match feature — all the songs in your iTunes library are scanned and then matched with those available on the iTunes Store. Matched songs are instantly added to iCloud with no uploading needed. Any remaining songs are automatically uploaded from your computer to iCloud.
Netflix / YouTube
Netflix provides unlimited streaming of tv shows / movies from $7.99 per month so it’s inclusion within the Apple 2 capabilities (unavailable in Apple TV 1) represents a welcome improvement. In keeping with all setup on the Apple TV 2, Netflix setup is very straight forward – just enter your email address and password and you are good to go. The image and sound quality of Netflix is good – sharpness & quality could be better but once you have a decent Internet connection, streaming is efficient.
I was slightly surprised (pleasantly) with the quality, both sound and image, of YouTube videos streamed through the Apple TV 2 as the picture is extremely clear and crisp. There is some sound and image distortion on older YouTube videos but this is to do with the actual videos themselves which were not meant for a large high-definition screen. As with using YouTube online, you do not need a YouTube account to watch videos but it is recommended if you want to keep a list of favorite videos, comment on videos etc.
AirPlay
AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring is one of the the most exciting features of the Apple TV 2 and lets you stream digital content (movies / music / photos) direct from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to your HDTV for convenient viewing. This means you can watch a movie you have stored on your iPad anytime on your HDTV or you can watch personal videos you have recorded on your iPhone via your Apple TV 2. AirPlay Mirroring essentially mirrors your iPhone / iPad screen on your HDTV so all content that can be viewed on the iPad or iPhone (games, apps etc) can be streamed directly to your HDTV also.
I have found that AirPlay Streaming can be quiet slow for streaming iPhone video recordings as videos on the iPhone are not compressed and can therefore take an age to stream. Therefore, I suggest that if you plan on playing an iPhone video on your HDTV, download the video in advance of watching / showing it. The video will then be stored in the Apple TV 2′s cache and will play fully without any interruptions or delays the second time round. However, overall AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring adds significent value to the Apple TV 2 and is one on the features I find myself using most frequently.
Remote Control
The Apple TV 2 Remote Control is as equally stylish as the unit itself and contains a play / pause button, a menu button and a circular motion controller you will be familiar with from the iPod. The remote control facilitates easy navigation through the user interface menus although I did find it a small but frustrating to enter data such as email address / password. To counter this I downloaded the Apple Remote app (free) onto my iPad and then used the iPad to enter such data. This can also be achieved with an iPhone / iPod Touch, and while not it is not vital to do so I would recommend it for ease-of-use.
Price
At $99 the Apple TV 2 represents good value for money.
What’s the Downside?
While the Apple TV Streaming Player represents a significant improvement on the 1st Generation Apple TV and is good value at $99 there are some issues that cause user frustration:
- I know I’ve mentioned this already but it still annoys me. Supplying a product without the necessary connections is akin to giving a child a battery-operated toy at Christmas without any batteries. Would it have hurt Apple to supply the HDMI chord with the unit? I think not.
- The Apple TV 2 offers 720P resolution and not the 1020P resolution that is standard for High Definition Television. However, this is not very noticeable in most instances so it is more a minor point than a major issue.
- The Apple TV 2 is best suited for integration with other Apple Products such as the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and the Apple iPod Touch.
The Bottom Line
The Apple TV 2 is a good piece of technology that will add value to your in-home entertainment and is reasonably priced at $99. The unit is tidy, looks sharp, is simple to setup and use, performs well and despite a couple of relatively minor frustrations, has no major flaws. Overall, you will get good value for your $99, and especially so if you already use an Apple iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone and want to build an integrated entertainment system. If you do not use any of these already you will still get good value for money but you may want to consider the Roku 2 XS Streaming Player.
What Apple TV 2 Users Have to Say
Overall the Apple TV 2 has received positive reviews online with over 50% of the 800 +/- Apple TV 2 customers on Amazon giving a 5 star rating:
- I put this AppleTV in my garage. It is connected to a Vizio mounted on my garage wall. It is a great way to get music, movies, tv shows, and other content from my computer and cloud down to my garage. I can also connect my iPad and iPhone to the AppleTV and view internet pages, apps, and other iPad or iPhone content on my screen in the garage. This is the best option for internet connected content!…….
- I love Apple products. I have an iPod and an iPhone, and I plan to buy a Mac in the next year or two. Oddly, I’d never even heard of Apple TV until yesterday. I had been searching for a device that would play my iPod through my TV and stereo, and allow my TV screen to display the track/artist/album info. There were several docks and adapters that said they could do this, yet it wasn’t at all what I was looking for. I was starting to become frustrated that such a simple idea couldn’t be realized, until I found the Apple TV – I bought it and I absolutely love it! It’s exactly what I was looking for and then some!……..
Buy the Apple TV 2 Now
The Apple TV 2 is available on Amazon for for just $99 which includes Free Shipping – Click Here to Buy
What is Needed for the Apple TV 2
In order to use the Apple TV 2 you will need:
- High Definition Television ( HDTV ) with HDMI
- HDMI Cable (Not Supplied with Unit – Amazon HMDI Chord €7.99)
- Internet Connection
- iTunes Store Account (Renting Movies)
Apple TV 2 Tips
Follow our Apple TV 2 Tips to ensure best performance:
- As soon as you setup your Apple TV 2, check for software updates. Apple constantly releases updates to correct bugs or issues so ensure this is your first step to ensure your unit runs seamlessly.
- As with the Apple iPod range, you do not turn off your Apple TV 2. Simply put it to sleep using the “standby” option.
- Do not place anything on top of your Apple TV 2 Unit as this could interfere with the wireless signal and slow down streaming.
- To switch on subtitles simply go to Home Menu > Settings > Audio and Video > Subtitle Language > English.
- Do not forget to pick you your HDMI Cable with the Apple TV 2 as this is not supplied with the Apple TV 2 Unit.
About the Author
Brian Kirby is a Senior Technology Consultant with a background in information technology, hardware design, software development and computing. He is also a keen surfer, musician, footballer and a collector of technology gadgets and devices. 
