Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com's Unbox service have been offering movie
downloads for several months; both have upgraded their offerings with
set-top boxes designed to move those movies to the TV set – Apple TV
and
TiVo. I put the two through their paces.
iTunes/Apple TV
What you need: Apple TV unit ($299 40GB model stores up to 50 hours of video; $399 160GB model, 200 hours), plus
OS X or
Windows XP computer with iTunes installed, and a high-speed Net connection.
Selection: More than 500 films from Disney, Lionsgate, MGM and other studios; newest films include Apocalypto, Venus, Saw II, The Queen and The Prestige (most $9.99-$14.99), plus episodes from more than 350 TV series such as Lost, The Office, 24, Jericho, Battlestar Galactica and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart ($1.99 each).
The promise: Wirelessly connects your computer's iTunes
library to your TV and plays near-DVD-quality movies and series; in
mid-June will begin offering YouTube videos. Apple TV also plays any
music in iTunes, home movies and shows photos from your PC or Mac.
Movie downloads take 45 minutes to three hours, depending on online
connection speed. "This is about TV first, but it's also about 'look at
all these other things you can add,' " Forrester Research analyst James
McQuivey says.
The experience: Like the iPod, Apple TV is simple to
operate. I connected the sleek box to an HDTV using an HDMI cable (you
can also connect through an HDMI-equipped audio/video receiver or via
component video cables). I just had to key in my home network's
password for the Apple TV box to connect wirelessly (you can also use
an Ethernet connection), upgrade my iTunes software (version 7.1 or
higher), and then, on my PC, input a one-time five-digit password
displayed by Apple TV to start streaming media from the PC. Using
iTunes on the PC, I bought Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl,
and the film began downloading. The film later appeared in Apple TV's
Movies list. Information about my iTunes music library quickly loaded
for streaming, too.
Quality: The rich palette of Pirates made the move
from iTunes to Apple TV, as did a vibrant surround soundscape. But
video lacks the contrast and definition of DVD. An episode of The Office
looked better than a standard TV broadcast but short of HD. With music,
it's fun to see waves of album covers slide by as you peruse your
playlists. MP3 music on a stereo system can sound tinny compared with
full-range CD tracks but will sound fine to most listeners. Audiobooks
and podcasts also are playable.
Amazon.com Unbox/TiVo
What you need: Macintosh or Windows computer, a TiVo Series2
($250) or Series3 ($800) DVR, TiVo subscription (monthly plans
$12.95-$16.95, prepaid plans as low as $8.31 a month) and broadband
connection.
Selection: Thousands of movies and shows for rental and purchase. Films such as The Good Shepherd, The Departed and Casino Royale are $3.99 for 24-hour rental, $14.99 to buy; others such as All the President's Men are $2.99 to rent, $9.99 to buy. Episodes of series such as Bones, CSI and Veronica Mars are $1.99 rentals.
The promise: Wirelessly connects your TiVo with your
computer. Downloads look at least as good as video recorded on your
TiVo at the best setting. Amazon downloads appear on TV in TiVo's Now
Playing List along with other recordings. Download times start at about
30 minutes for a TV episode to an hour for a movie. You can stream
music and photos and upload home movies to your TV, too. TiVo also has
Web video content from CNet, iVillage, TasteTV and others that can be
recorded and viewed on your TV (free with subscriptions). "This is the
first of the set-top boxes to allow Internet content to show up on your
TV like that," McQuivey says.
The experience: I connected a TiVo Series2 recorder to the TV
using S-video cable; Series3 uses better component and HDMI
connections. Next, I registered the DVR on TiVo's website so that it
could connect to my home network (with wireless or Ethernet
connections). Amazon.com's online store is not as elegant as iTunes,
but it's easy to navigate on a PC. (Amazon and TiVo are expected today
to announce direct sales that bypass the PC altogether.) With one click
I bought The Good Shepherd, and in minutes, its progress was
marked in TiVo's menu on the TV. The ability to order movies online
from the office or elsewhere, and have them on the DVR when you get
home, is nifty.
Quality: Video quality of The Good Shepherd came
nowhere near that of the DVD, though Web videos from RocketBoom and
GolfSpan translated well. Streaming MP3 music sounded as good as can be
expected, but photos looked blurrier than when streamed via Apple TV or
Microsoft's
Xbox
Live. Users of the HD-capable TiVo 3 would probably have a better
experience. Of course, you still have TiVo's superior DVR programming
system.
Conclusions
For homes with fast broadband connections and a robust home network,
Apple TV and Amazon.com/TiVo's service can serve as a supersized
digital video recorder and a worthy video-on-demand option. "But you
really need a stable home network," McQuivey advises. Both are an early
sign that the convergence of TV and the Internet has begun.
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY{sidebar id-3}
