Maybe you’ve had an Apple TV since its release, or maybe just bought one recently because of the upcoming features that Apple promised. Well, apparently the much-anticipated update for the Apple TV has been delayed by two weeks or so. Instead of twiddling our thumbs and letting the Apple TV collect dust, what other things can we do until the update’s release? Well…
Get an iTunes account. This may sound odd to some, but I actually know some friends who bought an Apple TV and don’t have an iTunes account. Instead of getting iTunes content to feed their Apple boxes, they’ve been ripping their own collection of music and movies for use with the device. Anyway, if you plan on using the best features of the upcoming update, you’d better get an iTunes account since that’s where the action will be for the Apple TV.
Prepare iTunes. Maybe you’ve ripped some music and decided to forego some important stuff, like adding album artwork, or perhaps some appropriate playlists. Fortunately, iTunes now can automatically search for the album artwork through its database. To do so, go to the menu bar and click on Advanced, then Get Album Artwork. For creating appropriate playlists, some apps that are up to the job include The Filter and Tangerine!, in case you don’t feel like working on some new ones yourself.
Transfer your movie collection. Okay… you already have an incredible DVD library, so why not take advantage of that? The best app to rip and convert your DVD library is still HandBrake, which even has an Apple TV preset for maximizing the video’s quality for playback in the little Apple box. Just be sure to rip only movies that you actually own.
Watch the new Apple TV guided tour. See how Apple is preparing their 2007 weak link for a (perhaps) better 2008. Click here to see it.
by Galley
01 Feb 2008 at 09:03
I had 300 x 300 artwork embedded in all of my 15,000 music files, but I deleted it all, and let iTunes download some luscious 600 pixel images. The only problem is that about 20% of my collection couldn’t be found, so now I have to scan the CD booklets. Album Art Exchange has a bunch of high-quality artwork.
http://www.albumartexchange.com/covers.php
by Frank
01 Feb 2008 at 10:55
Nice site. Thanks for sharing!
by Simon
11 Feb 2008 at 00:46
Unfortunately, Handbrake’s AppleTV setting does further compression on your movies, so they look terrible when you play them on your TV.
by Frank
11 Feb 2008 at 07:50
If it makes a difference, another option would be to rip the DVD with HandBrake at full quality, and then making it Apple TV-compatible with an app such as VisualHub with all the settings cranked up to the max. VisualHub costs ~$23, but it’s a great app.