Apple TV is designed to work with many Apple products and services, including
iPhones, iPads, iTunes, a desktop PC and of course a TV. The built-in software,
a stripped-down version of Mac OS X, offers access to movies and shows that you
can rent any time, and the built-in Wi-Fi chip utilises your broadband
connection to push the rented video to the Apple TV box. It also connects with
your desktop-based iTunes library to create a single hub with which to view your
media in the comfort of your favourite chair. Despite not physically storing
video, the 8GB fl ash chip is used to cache films as they are playing to ensure
that they do not skip and in most cases the full film will be downloaded to the
Apple TV flash memory even if you haven’t finished watching it. The controller
software is the hub around which everything works. Once connected to a TV and a
computer running iTunes, it will detect when changes are made, such as renting
a video, and it will then send the relevant information to each part of your
network. For example, it will allow your desktop to send the film to the TV box
and onwards to the TV itself.
Apple TV is designed to do one thing above all
else: stream video and photos. Because of this it is capable of assigning all
of its resources to this one task and does not have to deal with multiple
instructions at the same time. The A4 processor has to deal with multiple
functions and provided the incoming broadband connection is stable and fast,
the whole experience will be faster than competing streaming products. The
built-in 8GB of flash memory ensures that the streamed video is cached while it
is playing, which in effect stores the film ahead of its playing time to eliminate
any stoppages. The low price point has been reached by using parts that are
either mass produced by other companies or already in volume production by
Apple, ie the A4 processor, which is used in the iPad and new iPod touch
devices. The technology behind Apple TV is surprisingly simple, but of high
enough quality to pull off the task at hand at lightning speed.
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