The Apple TV Pocket Guide

The Apple TV Pocket Guide

by Jeff Carlson
Released June 2007
Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
ISBN: 9780321510211

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Book description

The new Apple TV is an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes content from your Mac or PC on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos, and podcasts. Using Apple TV's stunning new interface, anyone can quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room using the simple and intuitive Apple Remote. Apple TV features a 40GB hard drive for holding up to 50 hours of video. It easily connects to almost all modern widescreen televisions, and is slated to ship in February 2007 for $299. New Apple TV users will want to start using their devices as soon as they get their hands on them, and this guide shows them how. The Apple TV Pocket Guide reveals the secrets to using Apple's latest popular invention. This handy guide offers the quickest way to learn the Apple TV features, from syncing your iTunes movie and photo collection wirelessly to Apple TV to connecting Apple TV to your widescreen TV to playing your movies and showing your photos directly on your TV! Readers will also find thorough coverage of using the handy Apple remote. Along the way, the author offers hints for making the most of Apple TV and troubleshooting advice for when the gadget become uncooperative.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About Jeff Carlson
  4. Meet the Apple TV
    1. What It Does
      1. What it doesn’t do
    2. What You Need
  5. 1. Get Hooked Up
    1. Connect the TV and Stereo
      1. HDMI
        1. HDMI to DVI
      2. Component video
      3. Analog audio
      4. Optical audio
    2. Power On
  6. 2. Connect to Your Network
    1. Networking Overview
      1. Typical Ethernet
      2. Typical wireless
      3. Single-computer wireless
    2. Connect to the Network
      1. Ethernet setup
      2. Wireless setup
    3. Configure TCP/IP
      1. DHCP
      2. Manual IP
    4. Set Up the First Sync with iTunes
  7. 3. Interface and Navigation
    1. The Apple TV Interface
      1. The Apple Remote
        1. Pair the remote
        2. Unpair the remote
        3. Lost the remote?
    2. The Screen Saver
      1. Settings
        1. Timeout
        2. Use for Music
        3. Preview
        4. Logo
        5. Albums
        6. Photos
    3. Other General Settings
      1. About
        1. About the device
        2. TV connection
        3. Network information
      2. Sound Effects
      3. HDMI Brightness
      4. Update Software
      5. Language
      6. Legal
      7. Reset Settings
  8. 4. The iTunes Store
    1. Enter the iTunes Store
      1. Browse for content
      2. Search for content
      3. Power Search
    2. Buy the Media
      1. Set up an iTunes account
      2. Buy now
      3. Shopping cart
    3. Get a TV Show Season Pass
      1. Get a TV Show Multi-Pass
  9. 5. Watch Movies and TV Shows
    1. Screen a Movie
      1. Watch movie trailers
      2. Watch a movie
        1. Pause and resume
        2. Jump back or jump ahead
        3. Skip in 10-second increments
        4. Fast-forward or rewind
        5. Slow motion
    2. Watch a TV Show
      1. Show view
      2. Date view
  10. 6. Play Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks
    1. Play Music
      1. Choose a song
        1. Shuffle Songs
        2. Music Videos
        3. Playlists
        4. Artists
        5. Albums
        6. Songs
        7. Genres
        8. Composers
        9. Audiobooks
      2. Scrolling
      3. Play a song
        1. Now Playing
      4. Music settings
        1. Repeat Music
        2. Sound Check
    2. Set Up iTunes Playlists
      1. Playlist
        1. Create a playlist based on selection
        2. Rearrange items in a playlist
      2. Smart Playlist
        1. Editing and deleting playlists
      3. Edit Metadata in iTunes
    3. Podcasts
      1. Subscribe to a podcast
        1. From the iTunes Store
        2. From an RSS link
        3. Unsubscribe from a podcast
      2. Podcast settings
      3. Play a podcast on the Apple TV
    4. Audiobooks
  11. 7. View Photo Slideshows
    1. Sync Photos
      1. Photo sources
      2. Sync photos to the Apple TV
    2. Play a Slideshow
      1. Slideshow settings
        1. Time Per Slide
        2. Music
        3. Repeat
        4. Shuffle Photos
        5. Shuffle Music
        6. Ken Burns Effect
        7. Transitions
    3. Create Better Slideshows
      1. Use Smart Photo Albums
        1. iPhoto
        2. Aperture
        3. Photoshop Elements
      2. Create a Custom Slideshow
        1. iPhoto
        2. Output as Movie
  12. 8. Sync and Stream
    1. Sync Media Between the Computer and Apple TV
      1. Too much media
      2. Authorization
      3. Manage synchronized content in iTunes
        1. Movies
        2. TV shows
        3. Music
        4. Podcasts
        5. Photos
      4. Sync between Apple TV and an iPod
      5. Change the sync source
      6. Sync one computer with multiple Apple TVs
        1. Remove a synced Apple TV
    2. Stream Media from Other Computers
      1. Set up streaming
      2. Choose a streaming source
      3. Streamed versus synced playback
      4. Remove a streaming source
  13. 9. Prepare Movies for Apple TV
    1. Ripping DVDs
      1. Convert DVD content
        1. Encode with HandBrake (Mac)
        2. Encode with DVD to Apple TV Converter (Windows)
        3. Add the movie to iTunes
      2. Rip television episodes from DVD
      3. Encoding settings, explained
        1. Codec
        2. Bitrate
        3. Resolution
        4. Framerate
        5. File format
    2. Convert HD Content
    3. Convert Your Own Movies
      1. Export the video
        1. iMovie HD
        2. Windows Movie Maker
    4. Add Metadata
      1. Set a preview icon
  14. 10. Troubleshooting
    1. First Steps
    2. Network Issues
    3. Apple Remote Not Working
    4. Restart the Apple TV
    5. Enter Diagnostic Mode
    6. Restore Factory Settings

Product information

  • Title: The Apple TV Pocket Guide
  • Author(s): Jeff Carlson
  • Release date: June 2007
  • Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
  • ISBN: 9780321510211