MacRumors is reporting that Apple has sent out an email alerting customers to an urgent Apple TV 3.0.1 update to address an issue involving disappearing content. I haven’t received the email myself yet, nor am I home to check (and I stream all my content anyway), but in case any of you on Apple TV 3.0 are affected, here’s the letter they posted:

Dear Customer,

If you’ve installed the Apple TV 3.0 software update, you should immediately update to version 3.0.1. This prevents content from temporarily disappearing until it is resynced.

To update your Apple TV software:

1. Reboot your Apple TV (unplug the power cord and plug it back in)
   
2. Select Settings > General from the main menu
   
3. Select Update Software
   
4. Select Download and Install
   

Note: Your Apple TV will conduct a restart, which is followed by the Apple logo and a status bar.

For more information, please refer to this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3116

If you need further assistance with your Apple TV, contact AppleCare. Sincerely,

Apple TV Team

Let us know how it works for you!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Issues Apple TV 3.0.1 Update to Fix Disappearing Content Bug

It still baffles us how iTunes LP and iTunes Extras content — which was introduced in the seemingly Apple TV-ideal 720p format — wasn’t compatible with the new Apple TV 3.0 software to begin with. In fact, we’ve gotten Wall-E with iTunes Extras to play on our Apple TV already. But according to Apple, it’s now really for real compatible…

With the latest versions of iTunes (9.0.2) and Apple TV software (3.0), you can now use iTunes Extras on your Apple TV. We have updated iTunes Extras that were included with the movie Wall-E so that they can now be viewed on Apple TV in addition to your Mac or PC. It is available for you to download now, free of charge.

So begins an email Apple sent out to iTunes LP and iTunes Extras purchasers today, which follows up with download and update instructions. (And even a knowledge base article — Updating iTunes Extras and iTunes LP content for your Apple TV).

We’re downloading that new version of Wall-E now and will report back on what, if anything, looks different (any chance of a better UI for Extras?)

Still, we’re left to wonder — where’s the love for iPhone users, Apple? Could it be you’re prepping a new interface for them for iPhone 3.2? We’ll wait — if it’s worth it!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes LP and iTunes Extras Now Apple TV 3.0 Ready — Still No Love for iPhone

Apple TV 3.0 (or Apple TV 3, or Apple TV Take 3) is the just-released third version of Apple’s and Steve Jobs’ “hobby”. And, for good or for ill, its latest feature-set seems designed to keep iTunes’ living room gateway as niche as ever. That’s not to say it isn’t good, because it is (though it does have problems we’ll get into below), but it’s certainly not great. Not yet. And we’re beginning to wonder if Apple (now or ever) even wants it to be?

Preamble 1

Yes, this is an iPhone blog, but just as other SPE Network sites like WMExperts will touch on the big Microsoft picture and Android Central will keep its electric eyes on Google, TiPb tries to include everything Apple that connects to the iPhone ecosystem. So you won’t find a review of the latest Mac Pro, you will find one of the pocketable iPhone’s big screen cousin, the Apple TV. If your interests lie elsewhere, just skip on to the next post. If you are interested, however, follow on after the jump for more!

Preamble 2

I’ve had an Apple TV since version 1.x and I use it every day. For me it’s part of the Apple/iPhone ecosystem and it “just works” to let me use the same music and video on my iPhone and on my TV (and in iTunes on my PC). My living room setup is a 1080p LCD with 7.1 surround (which I put together as cheaply as possible — check out this forum post for more), which I use Apple’s Remote app to control the Apple TV with my iPhone or iPod touch.

Long ago, I ripped every DVD I owned to iTunes format, and whenever I find a movie or TV series I love on sale at Amazon or elsewhere, I buy it, rip it to a Drobo, and box ye old physical media as backup. I also buy via iTunes, especially when they have their sales. I’m exploring going all in on PVR’ing content as well, but I’ll save the rant on how Canada has no consumer protection when it comes to telecommunications, and Canadians have no access to CableCard, mandated unencrypted OTA broadcast signals, etc.

All this by way of saying I have a lot of content and I watch it via my Apple TV a lot, and so the Apple TV 3.0 update is something I take seriously. Apple… well, we’ll see…

Software not Hardware

Apple TV 3.0 is, sadly, a software only update. There’s no new Apple TV gear to go buy. No better chips, no bigger capacity, no added features like TV tuners or 1080p out. If you haven’t bought one before, it’s cheaper than it was a few months ago, but it’s not better. That’s a far bigger problem at this point than the software.

New Look, Tweaked Feel

The user interface for Apple TV 3.0 has been refreshed — at least on the top level. Now, instead of just two vertical menus, a horizontal menu cuts across the top showing off poster/album art for your content. The spots on the left are, refreshingly, reserved for your own media — your most recently added movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, etc. I count 5 spots on mine. The spots on the right show stuff Apple would like you to buy from the iTunes Store. Yeah, it’s like that — Apple TV remains a hard-sell for purchases and rentals. It’s not as bad as it used to be — they’ve even moved your content above store content in the menus, but it’s still the overall purpose of the device. Then again, online rentals seem to be the future of the set-top box, so fair enough…

LP and Extras

One of the major reasons cited for the Apple TV 3.0 update was to add compatibility for iTunes LP and iTunes Extras. If you already have either or both, iTunes will download new versions of the content (?!), but once done, they look great. Extras present similarly to DVD extras, however the interface for the one we tested — Wall-E — was very un-Apple. It wasn’t clear where to click or when. Choosing one option left that option highlighted when, in order to actually use it, we had to navigate over to the artwork, and then notice the dots beneath the artwork denoting a number of different elements to that content. Apple usually nails this stuff, but we’ll test a few more and hope very hard it was an isolated accident.

Note: there aren’t very many iTunes LP and iTunes Extra offerings yet, barely a dozen of each, but expanding it to the Apple TV is a good sign Apple is making at least another “hobby” out of it. We’ll see how well it plays out.

Also note: Are we waiting on iPhone 3.2 so we can get those extras on the mobile screen as well? Sure would be nice to have them if we got them…

Final Thoughts

Apple TV Take 3 it certainly isn’t. Only its elegance, simplicity, and seamless integration for iTunes users makes it a valid alternative against Windows 7 Media Center or competing set-top boxes that offer Netflix (for those in the US) or XVID/DIVX/MKV (for those who get their content… elsewhere).

That, however, is exactly how Apple has positioned it. Want a DVD option? get a Mac Mini. Want portability, get the AV cables with an iPhone or iPod touch. Want to take iTunes content and splash it on your big screen, there’s an Apple TV for that. For now. But “hobbies” only last for so long. If Apple doesn’t make a serious run at “business” with a proper 3.0 (or 4.0 we guess) and updated hardware, we’re guessing it will dwindle into “canceled” before long. And that would be a shame.

Gallery

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Beyond iPhone: Apple TV 3.0 First Impressions and Screenshot Gallery

As rumored, Apple just announced Apple TV 3.0, with an all new interface and support for iTunes LP and iTunes Extras.

“The new software for Apple TV features a simpler and faster interface that gives you instant access to your favorite content,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “HD movies and HD TV shows from iTunes have been a huge hit with Apple TV customers, and with Apple TV 3.0 they get great new features including iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”

It also looks like Apple has (finally!) done right and — like every other product — moved user content above for-sale content. That’s right, it looks like our videos and music, and not iTunes Store stuff, is on top, baby!

I’m downloading it now and will be back later with my thoughts, but if you’re already rocking it, roll a comment our way and let us know what you think!

(And Apple, where’s our Front Row update?)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple TV 3.0 is Here!

MacRumors has been tipped that users attempting to make purchases in iTunes today are being greeted with new Terms of Service (TOS) which include the following, tantalizing line:

The Terms of Sale have been revised to clarify that you can now use iTunes LPs and iTunes Extras on Apple TV with software version 3.0 or higher.

Apple TV was introduced in 2006 and re-introduced alongside the original iPhone at Macworld 2007. It was bumped to OS 2.0 at Macworld 2008 when video rentals were introduced. Then… incremental updates only. The debut of iTunes LP and iTunes Extras at the Apple 2009 Music Event, in their Apple TV-friendly 720p format hinted at an update, and now let’s hope Apple is finally ready to deliver it. (Along with their fancy new remote?)

Let’s also hope Mac OS X’s Front Row, currently languishing with an Apple TV 1.0 era interface gets a similar upgrade. Beyond 2.0 for real parity would be nice, especially considering the Mac Mini is marketed, in part, as an entertainment center. Right Apple?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes TOS Leak Apple TV 3.0 with iTunes LP and iTunes Extra Support

Is Apple planning a larger, touch-screen enabled remote control to go along with a next generation Apple TV? Boy Genius‘ tipster, the same one who leaked iTunes 9 app organization and social integration, says yes indeed. And if the image above is accurate, one of the updates will be — Safari. (No sign of Apps yet, though…)

Would this really be a lower-cost option to something like the Remote App for iPhone and iPod touch, which could conceivably do anything a dedicated remote could do and more? (Actually, adding Bluetooth to an Apple TV for more persistent, don’t have to wait for WiFi to reconnect, iPhone remote would be even better!)

Along those lines, we don’t see Apple investing this much in a single-purpose remote control, even if it can control Macs, docked iPods, etc. as well, given what they’re doing with the iPhone platforms, but stranger things have happened.

You want?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Crazy Rumor Tuesday: Touch Screen Remote for New Apple TV?

With Apple consolidating its Apple TV offerings this morning down to a single 160GB SKU at a lower $229 price point, we’re once again split between Apple axing their “hobby” or giving it a much-needed refresh.

If Apple does axe the Apple TV, however, something would need to take its place in the living room. Could that something be the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 and the still-mythic iTablet? Dock them properly to an HD TV, and could you have a solution with one heck of a built in controller?

We know the iPhone (and likely new iPod touch) can support 720p and 1080p out. We even hoped Apple would flip the switch on that feature last week in order to better position themselves competitively against the about-to-ship Zune HD. They could still flip it at some point, however, along with introducing new HDMI-based video output cables.

This would go a long way towards showing iPhone and iPod touch content on the big screen, but right now one of the Apple TV’s strengths is streaming rather than just storing and showing. You can attach an Apple TV to your HD TV and, without any local content, stream all the iTunes media you have on your Mac or Windows PC, and the potentially 2TB drives that can now attach to those (or more with RAID, Drobo, etc.)

Neither iPhone nor iPod have ethernet, and both are stuck on the older, slower 802.11g Wi-Fi standard (though the iPod touch G3 might be updatable to 802.11n).

That’s where an iTablet, presumably with much beefier internals and faster Wi-Fi (though we still doubt ethernet) comes in. Apple could position it as a dock-at-home, take it with you on-the-go solution.

Of course, whether you’d want to lock your iTablet to a TV rather than using it to surf and chat while watching TV is debatable, and could be a deal-breaker for many. Though better that than just trying to up-sell everyone to a Mac Mini…

Looking at it this way, it seems that even in an iPhone, iPod touch, and perhaps iTablet world, there’s still a place for an Apple TV in the lineup. If only for now.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Could the Apple TV be Replaced by the iPhone, iPod, or iTablet?

Speaking of Apple TV and the future, MacRumors reports that Apple’s “hobby” lost its smaller SKU this morning as the 40GB Apple TV was cut from the Apple Store — and Apple product lineup — and the 160GB Apple TV was given a healthy price cut down from $329 to $229 [Apple Store link].

So our question becomes, is this a sign of Apple TV’s slow slide to oblivion, or just a clearing of the deck before a long, long, long overdue update?

Storage aside, the Apple TV hardware has been unchanged since it was announced back in 2006 and then launched at Macworld 2007 alongside the introduction of the iPhone. The software received minor 1.x bumps before getting the minor 2.x bumps — mostly in keeping with iTunes and QuickTime updates.

Of course, with iTunes 9 and Snow Leopard’s QuickTime X both being fairly significant updates this time around, no doubt another software bump is on its way… Could there finally be some new hardware coming with it?

We’ll keep our hopes up, but we’ve learned to live with anticipointment…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple TV: 160GB Price Cut, 40GB Completely Cut

Apple Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Peter Oppenheimer, spoke with analyst Robert Cihara of Caris & Company recently, and according to AppleInsider, revealed the following:

• Apple is still struggling to meet to demand for the iPhone 3GS, and with China coming on board soon, that may be a longer term problem (it was still sold out when I checked a couple of local (Canadian) places last week).

• There’s no plans for an Apple TV that would record cable or satellite as it doesn’t fit Apple’s current business plans (though one may wonder if there is, still and in fact, a plan for the “hobby” Apple TV device?)

Caris further predicted 27 million iPhones would be sold in 2009. Exciting number, that, and the graph above shows how important it’s becoming to Apple’s bottom line.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple CFO Speaks: iPhone 3GS Still Selling Out, No Apple DVR

New Apple TV’s, whether it simply be a small bump to the internals (CPU, storage, etc.) or the mythical, rainbow and unicorn-tear soaked Apple PVR, are the latest rumours circulating in advance of Apple’s iTunes and iPod touch special music event, “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it“, scheduled for September 9.

Since TV’s aren’t rock and roll, odds are we aren’t going to see anything major in that — admittedly aging — product SKU, but since they do serve as an iTunes Music conduit, maybe Apple’s hobby might just get swept up in the song?

Most of this chatter comes again from analysts, so we’ll assuredly have to wait and see. Or we could just run a poll and see what you think…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Updated Apple TV at “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” Special Music Event?