First Look: Choosing an HDTV for Apple TV

Looks like Apple TV started shipping this week. If you're not familiar with Apple TV here's a blurb from a decent article over at Macworld.com:

But first, a recap: Apple TV is a small device (7.7 inches square and 1.1 inches high) that’s destined for your living room. It attaches to a widescreen digital TV and, optionally, a home theater sound system. After you’ve hooked up an Apple TV and turned on on your TV set, you’ll see a menu of options that are similar to those you’d find on an iPod or in Apple’s Front Row software for the Mac.
In addition to connecting to your TV, the Apple TV connects to your home network, most commonly via 802.11 wireless networking. (Yes, the device has an Ethernet port on the back as well, if your network is wired rather than wireless.) Once that's done, Apple TV can act as a bridge between your computer—which has a hard drive filled with movies, TV shows, music, and photos—and your TV set.

Sounds pretty exciting huh? Of course to get the most out of Apple TV you'll want to invest in the right HDTV. Macworld.com has another nice article that discusses getting the right HDTV for Apple TV that starts out:

With so many HDTVs out there, how do you decide which is right for you? A good start is to first figure out your budget and the size of set you’re looking for. Once you have an idea of what you are willing to spend and how big you want your viewing experience to be, you’ll only be looking at a subset of the various technologies. Then decide which features are most important to you, and try to see a bunch of TVs in action at a few different stores. (We’ve got some recommendations below.) And if you don’t have a surround sound stereo system, it might be a good time to check those out too—most HD programming is delivered with 5.1-channel sound, as are the standard DVDs you already watch.

Overall the list of TVs is pretty small but we agree with their the top item on their list:

Vizio P42HDTV ($1,200): 42-inch plasma display has a bright screen with good image quality and a low-price, but has somewhat over-saturated green tones. Has HDMI and component inputs, integrated HD tuner, 10,000-to-1 contrast ratio, 1,024-by-768 pixel native resolution, and supports 720p and 1080i video.

Be sure to check out the complete article.

At Macworld.com [Thanks Jay]

Compare Prices: Apple TV

March 22, 2007

First Look: Choosing an HDTV for Apple TV