I haven't been able to find a clear explanation of what this little box does.
Is there somewhere I can look it up and read it so leisurely that even I, in my seventh decade, can understand it eventually?
MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 3 years or so
The original reply was completely useless unless you can translate Apple marketingspeak (it will change your life into an HD iExperience = it outputs up to 1080p) into real features. And since there might be other people that show up here via Google search looking for quick answers (like me), I'll try to expand a bit.
From the Apple TV User's Guide (as most user's guides are avaiable online now, to really get a feel for a produce before you invest, you should give that a quick glance):
With Apple TV, you can rent high-definition movies, purchase TV shows, watch streaming content from Netflix, and enjoy podcasts, YouTube and Vimeo videos, and Internet radio. And, you can stream your personal iTunes content wirelessly from a Mac or PC, and view photos from your computer or Flickr on your widescreen HDTV, from the comfort of your couch. And with AirPlay, you can wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to Apple TV.
A little more here: http://www.apple.com/appletv/what-is/ and here: http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs/
As I haven't yet bought one, I can't give any firsthand recommendations or knowledge.
The first thing you should be aware of is that it only outputs a HDMI signal so if you don't have an open HDMI port on your TV, it won't work. Exception, if you have the original ATV (white box), it also outputs a component signal.
There is very little free content with the ATV, but a whole lot of paid content (movies, TV, etc). I probably watch about 12 paid rental movies a year and am completely satisfied with mine.
You will see a lot of RANTS from others in this forum that complain that they don't have any volume control with the ATV remote. This has never been an issue with me as I just use the TV remote to control the volume.
And there are many other uses for this device as well. If the $99 bite is not an issue, I think one of these units is very nice to have.
what does apple tv do?
