Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 2, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Apple has introduced Apple TV 3.0 software. The redesigned main menu makes navigating favourite content faster and easier, so users can better enjoy the selection of on-demand HD films to buy or rent, HD TV programmes, music and podcasts from the iTunes Store on their own television. Apple TV users can now also enjoy iTunes Extras and iTunes LP in full-screen mode and listen to Genius Mixes and Internet radio on their home theatre system. The new Apple TV software is available immediately as a free download for Apple TV owners. Apple TV with 160 GB of storage is available for just 269 euros including VAT.
“The new software for Apple TV brings a simpler and faster user interface that provides instant access to favourite content,” says Eddie Cue, Apple’s Vice President of Internet Services. “HD films and television programmes are extremely popular with Apple TV customers, and with Apple TV 3.0 they now get great new features including iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”
Apple TV’s redesigned main menu provides instant access to favourite content. Recently rented or purchased films, along with other media content including television programmes, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube, can be reached directly from the new main menu. The new software also enables Apple TV users to enjoy iTunes Extras and iTunes LP in a stunning full-screen mode, including great new film titles such as “Star Trek,” classics such as “The Wizard of Oz,” and music albums such as Taylor Swift’s “Fearless (Platinum Edition)” and Jack Johnson’s “En Concert.” iTunes Extras gives film fans excellent additional content such as unreleased scenes, interviews and interactive image galleries. With iTunes LP, the evolution of the music album, listening to and viewing selected albums in the iTunes Store becomes an exceptional experience. iTunes LP combines beautiful design with expanded visual features such as live performance videos, lyrics, album covers, booklets, interviews, photos, album credits and much more.
Apple TV users can now also listen to Genius Mixes on their home theatre system, a feature that automatically creates up to twelve endless, stylistically matched music mixes from songs in their own iTunes library. Users can additionally choose music from thousands of Internet radio stations; favourite stations can easily be marked for listening later. Support for HD photos with Apple TV has been expanded: iPhoto Events makes finding favourite photos on Apple TV easier, while iPhoto Faces provides access to photos sorted by people identified in iPhoto.
Apple TV users have direct access to the iTunes catalogue, which offers more than 8,000 Hollywood films, including 2,000 in stunning HD quality, to rent and buy. Users can also choose from more than 11 million songs, 10,000 music videos and more than 50,000 TV episodes and purchase them directly via Apple TV. They can also access the podcast directory in the iTunes Store, which currently includes more than 175,000 free audio and video podcasts. Purchases downloaded via Apple TV are automatically synchronised with iTunes on the user’s computer, allowing them to be viewed on a Mac or PC or on all current generations of iPods or iPhones.* iPod touch and iPhone users can download the free Remote app from the App Store to control their Apple TV easily with finger gestures on the Multi-Touch interface.
Pricing & Availability
The new Apple TV software is available to all Apple TV customers as a free automatic download. Apple TV with a 160 GB hard drive is available through the Apple Store (www.applestore.de), Apple Retail Stores and Apple specialist retailers for 269 euros including VAT. Apple TV requires a WLAN network (802.11 b/g/n) or a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection, a broadband Internet connection and a high-definition widescreen television. Video availability varies by country.
