Apple TV

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Apple's answer to the digital media adapter is finally here. The Apple TV is essentially a stationary, networked iPod that lets you enjoy all of your iTunes digital media (video, audio, and photos) on the wide-screen HDTV and sound system in your living room--rather than the confined screens of your video iPod or your PC. The good news is the S$488 (US$351.36) Apple TV largely succeeds in bringing iPod-like simplicity and elegance to TV-based network media devices. The bad news is its narrow iTunes-only compatibility severely limits the quantity--and quality--of the video content you can enjoy on your TV. To have a closer view of the Apple TV, check out our photo gallery.

Design
The Apple TV itself is a tiny silver square with rounded corners measuring 195.6mm per side and just 27.9mm high. That's far smaller than most standard DVD players and stereo equipment; like the similarly sized Mac Mini or Nintendo Wii, the Apple TV will fit just about anywhere. It also sports a minimalist aesthetic that's classic Apple--the front panel has only a power light and the remote sensor. There are absolutely no buttons, nor is there a front-panel display.

The Apple TV is much smaller than a standard DVD player.

Once you plug it in, it's always on. There's no cooling fan, which makes for essentially silent operation, an important feature in a home theater device. The box does get at least as hot as your average laptop, however, so be sure to give it plenty of ventilation.

The included remote will be familiar to Apple aficionados. It's the exact same gumstick-sized clicker that ships with recent iMac models, featuring the same five-way navigation pad found on an iPod Shuffle (play/pause, back/forward, and the plus/minus buttons), plus a "menu" button that doubles as "back" when navigating the Apple TV menus. Unfortunately, the little remote can't be programmed to control the volume of your TV or A/V receiver. Because it's a standard infrared remote, you can program a universal remote to control the Apple TV.

The Apple TV remote is the same one that ships with iMacs.

Apple's package includes the remote, the power cord, the instruction manual, and the unit itself. The lack of any A/V cables is a disappointment, though Apple is offering a selection of affordable XtremeMac cables at its online and retail stores. The HDMI cable, for example, costs S$39 (US$28.08). Of course, any compatible cables you have on hand will work just fine.