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Posts with tag take2

Safe update for Apple TV v2, Safari HD hacks released

There isn't (yet) a way to hack Apple TV v2 (aka take 2), but if you were patient enough to wait for the "safe" PatchStick upgrade on your hacked unit, Safari HD is ready to go. Good luck, and take care, after those weeks of waiting for the new update it sure would suck to brick that device.
Read - Safe update for Apple TV v2
Read - Safari HD available

How would you change the Apple TV (take 2)?


Yeah, the Apple TV (take 2) update took a bit longer than promised to actually arrive on the scene, but now that it's available for existing ATV owners to chew on, we're interested in hearing from its toughest critics. Rumors of Apple finally enabling some sort of HD movie / television show download service had been making the rounds for what seemed like ages, and after months of waiting for a move to be made, take 2 made its debut under the shadow of the MacBook Air.

Aside from finally offering up 1080p support and giving users the ability to rent HD flicks (though only some with Dolby Digital 5.1), the v2.0 upgrade changed up the look and added in Flickr integration. Granted, the innards here have remained the same, but we're not just interested in finding out what you adore / detest about the newest update. Oh no -- we're also curious to know how you think the existing hardware is handling its new duties. Has anything slowed down? Are you still (or were you ever) satisfied with the port assortment? Have you found yourself itching to downgrade? We know, software updates as substantial as this one hardly ever never leave everyone happy, and while we've done some sizing up of our own in regard to HD quality, how would you like to see things tweaked for take 3?

Apple posts Apple TV take 2 Guided Tour


Apple isn't one to let a new product out the door without a video guided tour lately, and today's release of the Apple TV take 2 update is no exception. Nothing too shocking in the walkthrough of iTunes rentals and the new Flickr features -- when will Apple learn that all we really want is some hardcore settings menu action? -- but fans of The Anonymous iPhone Guy and John, The Classy Leopard Dude will be disappointed to see that they've been replaced by Hannah, The Pleasantly Boho Apple TV Lady. Check it out at the read link -- and if you're hungry for some real deets, you know we've got you covered.

Apple TV (take 2), take two


We got some good time in with Apple's take 2 (i.e. v2.0) software update at Macworld this year, but now that it's out we had to put the spurs to it. We'll be updating with more as we go, but for right now here's what you need to know:
  • The update itself is under 200MB and took us under five minutes to download, but over ten minutes to install. Our first try failed out. Also, get used to seeing that loading bar screen, it cycled through about five times for us.
  • Yep, that's a slick new video that it opens with.
  • Did someone say 1080p output? Oh yes, it's finally enabled!
  • Yep, it's officially software version 2.0.
  • Although manually inputting your Apple ID with the remote is a pain, renting movies is absolutely a snap.
  • Our HD movie was ready for playback within a minute of starting the download. Very nice.
  • Picture quality is pretty good. Not amazing, but pretty good.
  • Flickr integration works well (unlike on stage at Macworld), but there's no way to aggregate your contact lists's photos to your ATV. It's on a single contact basis only, meaning you can only look at your own or any one other user's photos at a time. Kind of a bummer in that regard.
  • Plenty more details to be found here and here, as well as an informative chart of how downloads works here.

Apple TV (take 2) update now available


A couple of tipsters have reported that the delayed Apple TV "take 2" update is finally available, right on schedule. It's reportedly a 5 minute download, but that's all the info we've got until Apple gets official about it. Let us know if it works for you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Looks like plenty of people are having luck with the update, so good on them. No word on how this will affect your hacked Apple TV yet, so you might want to hold off until braver souls sort it all out.

More details on Apple's iTunes movie / HD rentals


It wasn't exactly crystal clear during Steve's keynote today, but apparently, there's a fair bit of red tape attached to these movie rentals. First off, since the Apple TV hardware is remaining the same, users can still only expect 1,280 by 720 resolution on the high-end, and although 100 HD movies are reportedly ready to be viewed, not a single TV show can say the same. Furthermore, a note at the bottom of the Apple TV's revised tech specs points out that "Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is not available with all HD rentals," so there's that. We've also learned that HD movie rentals will be available exclusively through the Apple TV, and considering that only rentals made from iTunes can be moved to other devices, any downloads originating from the Apple TV (including everything in high-definition) won't be making their way onto your iPod, iTunes library, etc. Depressing, we know.



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