Yesterday BlockBuster was the subject of many rumors which claimed the movie rental giant is developing its own networked, Apple TV style media hub. The rumored project would let users watch internet-streamed movies via the TV and use BlockBuster’s partnership with Movielink to supply the content. The hardware itself would be put together by an unnamed electronics manufacturer. An announcement could happen as early as this month, however launch would not occur until May at the earliest.

BlockBuster already has plans in place for digital download kiosks for use with portable media players, and a download service for cellphones. A spokeswoman would not confirm or deny these rumors but commented it is ‘not surprising’ to hear about these rumors…

[via Electronista]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Apple TV, BlockBuster

All you hardcore Apple TV goers can now install an update. Apple TV 2.0.1 update has been released!

I haven’t been able to find any details on the update on the Apple site or elsewhere, so I’m assuming this update is jam-packed full of small, minor tweaks. A few things that have been noticed however… The interface seems to be cleaner and ’spiffed up’ a bit, which is a good thing… Also after updating you should notice the addition of ‘Genres’ under ‘My Movies’ which should prove helpful for most in organizing and finding the movies you are looking for.

To install the Apple TV 2.0.1 update, go to Apple TV Settings > General > Update Software. From there you will see a ’software updating’ message. After a few minutes you should be presented with the choice of updating now or later. If you update now, it will lead to a restart,4 or so Apple logo flashes, a logo with progress bar and then roughly 5 more logo flashes followed by a short Apple TV intro movie. Got that!?

If you have an Apple TV, I highly recommend you keep your device up-to-date. But if you were to miss this update I promise I won’t complain… it’s not a major one… Still though, seriously… update your Apple TV ok?

[via MacDailyNews]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Apple TV, Apple TV 2.0.1

When the Steve announced the iTunes Movie Rentals service at MacWorld, he promised that it would offer at least 1,000 movie rentals by the end of February… and, within those 1,000 rentals, at least 100 of them would be HD rentals. Well, February has come and gone, and those goals were not met.

Using the Apple TV to count HD rentals, MacWorld’s Christopher Breen found a total of 91 HD titles (100 was the target). Another disappointing fact is that not all of these 91 HD titles feature Dolby Digital 5.1… a feature Apple had also promised.

For the total number of rentals available, things get worse. The Apple TV movies section reported a total of 351 movies for rent according to Christopher. 378 were available in the ‘all movies’ section, and only 399 when using ‘power search’. Looks like they have a very long way to go to meet the targets they set out and promised back in January at MacWorld!

One can only suspect that the studios are to blame for the delays on new titles and releases. Licensing issues with the studios could be a problem, and I would not be surprised if one or more studios are delaying the process. No matter which way you slice it, Apple might have mis-judged how compliant and easy it would be to work with the studios on this one. Once all the ‘kinks’ are worked out I’m sure we’ll see the number of movie rentals skyrocket.. but until then… Apple is left with an over promised, and under delivered iTunes Movie Rental Store.

[via arstechnica]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Apple TV, iTunes Movie Rentals

Well, looking at the Apple Discussion forum, it seems I’m not alone in having issues watching rented content via HDMI. Some people are even having the problem when using HDMI to HDMI connections.

Some have reported a further software update has been available on their Apple TV (although when you update you still show as having version 2.0 of the software) but mine didn’t show one as available.

It appears some DVI connections may well allow HDCP. I’m not sure if that is correct (hopefully someone reading this can confirm) but that would explain why one commenter on Mactropolis had no problem watching a rental with his HDMI to DVI setup.

I’ve tried a Factory Restore and reinstallation of the software but that hasn’t fixed the problem.

When I go to Settings > General > About on the Apple TV, the TV Connection states “HDMI (HDCP off)” - see picture below.

I am assuming this is my problem, with Apple TV and iTunes rentals requiring HDCP to be on.

Anyone have a suggestion or is it a matter of getting a new television?

written by Mike Bradbrook \\ tags: Apple TV, HDCP

A warning for those thinking of renting on Apple TV Take 2 but who only have a DVI connection on their television…

As my DLP HD TV is a few years’ old, it doesn’t have an HDMI connector. Therefore, I connect my Apple TV to my television via an HDMI to DVI connector.

When I tried watching a Standard Definition movie rented via Apple TV, I got a warning that HDCP was required, so either I had use an HDMI to HDMI connection or downgrade to a component connection.

With my particular television, the picture sharpness suffers quite a bit when using component, as I have to  downgrade in resolution from 720p to 576i to see any type of picture on the screen.

I then decided to try renting from iTunes using one of my Macs to see if I could then watch those without an HDMI to HDMI connection. Unfortunately, those rented movies also require HDCP for playback on the Apple TV.

So, I will have to make do with component video for all my Apple rental films - at least until I can afford a new HD TV!

written by Mike Bradbrook \\ tags: Apple TV, Apple TV Rentals, HDCP

Well, I’ve updated the Apple TV software and first impressions are good.

As well as the much publicized movie rentals, I like the way Apple TV lists downloaded shows by the show’s title and has sub-headings by season.

The unit now supports Airtunes so you can now treat your Apple TV as an Airport Express and stream music to it from your computer in sync. Nice.

Please feel free to post a comment in the Mactropolis Forums with your experiences of the upgrade. For instance, is the HD rental option a winner for you?

written by Mike Bradbrook \\ tags: Apple TV