The new AppleTV, a much smaller version of the hobby-box it replaced will hit 1 million sales by the end of this week. Apple, excited about the milestone has issued a press release.

Apple® today announced that it expects sales of its new Apple TV® to top one million units later this week. The new Apple TV offers the simplest way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows, stream content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe℠, all on your HD TV for the breakthrough price of just $99. iTunes® users are now renting and purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and over 150,000 movies per day.

Now with AirPlay®, recently available in iOS 4.2, users can wirelessly stream their music, video and photos from iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch® to their new Apple TV, making it the perfect iOS accessory. Users can also control Apple TV with their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch using the Remote app, available as a free app on the App Store℠.

Many had discounted the AppleTV due to its price in comparison to other streaming devices and that another box would simply clutter their already cramped media centers. The AppleTV’s strong sales show consumers are gaining interest in Apple’s hobby device – will it grow up and be a priority to Steve Jobs? Only time — and sales — will tell but it’s leaning in that direction.

AirPlay is one of the latest features included in the iOS 4.x update for Apple’s iDevice family. This allows anyone with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (running iOS 4.2 of course) to stream their content, wirelessly to an AppleTV. In addition, Apple is enabling Voice Over support for the AppleTV. It works just like it would on a Mac; menu items are read off making navigation easier for those that need the extra accessibility options.

However, some are reporting a “bug” when using AirPlay with the AppleTV. The device only supports video from the iPod/Video App or YouTube App, anything else will only stream audio. While it’s not quite a bug, it certainly is a hurdle to truly enjoying AirPlay.

Also, John Gruber notes that video recorded in HD on the iPhone 4 will not stream to an AppleTV. Some think it may be a bandwidth issue but the same video synced back to an iPhone from iTunes will stream just fine.

“So you can show still photos from iPhone Photos app to Apple TV via AirPlay, but not videos from iPhone camera? What sense does that make?”

Via @Gruber

Visiting Apple’s home page today reveals a teaser, in typical cryptic Cupertino fashion: “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.”

Rumors and speculation have fueled the notion that Apple will be moving iTunes to the cloud. A subscription service become a rumor when Apple purchased LaLa, a music streaming service and shut down the site to new users.

Apple’s announcement tomorrow regarding iTunes is cementing the thought that Apple is revamping Ping, launching iOS 4.2 for iPad and the addition of The Beatles’ catalog. While these seem logical, it doesn’t live up to the hype Apple is pushing for this announcement. Even more intriguing is the time: 7 PM PST. A typical Apple event doesn’t start so early, but then again, this might not be your typical announcement.

However, my thoughts line up with analyst Gene Munster’s. Apple has invested significantly towards building data centers located in North Carolina. Moving iTunes in to the cloud to stream content to an iDevice could supplement flash storage.

The argument could be made that while flash storage is small, slim and doesn’t drain batteries as quickly as hard drives do, they’re still costly and limited in capacity. Being able to access your library of music anywhere versus having to load content for it to be instantly accessible is powerful and would be a great way to bring new life to iTune’s current music distribution model. Apple did it with the AppleTV as costs plummeted when the device become nothing more than iOS powered gadget that streamed purchased content.

We’ll be covering Apple’s announcement tomorrow and giving our opinion on what mystery thing is announced. I’m personally hoping it’s iTunes move in to the cloud or else quite a few people will be disappointing.

So how is the new AppleTV selling? Apparently, quite well. MacRumors has the specifics:

During today’s earnings conference call, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that the company has sold over 250,000 units of the revamped Apple TV that was unveiled at the company’s September 1st media event and began shipping at the very end of September.

Responding to a question about how the device is performing in the marketplace and whether users can expect Apple to shift to a streaming model for other products, Jobs noted that Apple doesn’t discuss unannounced products but that it’s been “thrilled” with the performance so far. Jobs also pointed to the AirPlay capabilities in iOS 4.2 set to debut next month as another reason for customers to look to the “very enticing” $99 Apple TV.

I recently was gifted a new TV – no seriously – and I’ve been considering purchasing the new AppleTV as an upgrade to my older model set in my living room. I’d then move the OG AppleTV over to the gifted TV (it only has component inputs), and then I get the best of both worlds. And when I saw the new AppleTV in person the other day, the size really struck me. If it wasn’t for the remote – something which can be rectified with a few parts – you could mount the thing behind a cabinet and hide it. Kinda crazy.

Are you one of the chosen few who decided to buy a new AppleTV? Well if so, be on the lookout: Apple has apparently started shipping these puppies and it’ll be just a few days more until you get yours from your handy delivery person.

Me, I haven’t ordered one yet. Although I do really want one, I think that for now it’s an unneeded expense at the ol’ Whipps homestead. But someday I’ll get that cool LED TV for my office, and when that happens, I’ll go ahead and order an AppleTV too.

Assuming I don’t order a SSD drive first.

When Apple decided to make the push to 99-cent rentals on the AppleTV and other iOS devices, I thought that was a pretty good plan. After all, I don’t ever purchase a DVD or download of a TV show unless I really love it, and even then, it’s rare. So for 99 cents, I could potentially disconnect my cable and rent every show I watch. I imagine many other people had the same idea.

But it turns out that NBC isn’t in for the ride. According to CNet, they think Apple is undervaluing the content.

NBC Universal is afraid that the Apple TV service will “devalue” its content and has no plans to bring its shows to Apple’s set-top box anytime soon, according to the Reuters news agency.

“We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content,” NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said at the Goldman Sachs investor conference yesterday. “We thought it would devalue our content.”

Has anyone seen the previews for NBC’s newest comedy, “Outsourced?” 99 cents is a gift for that show, which I would never have the slightest interest in watching.

Look, NBC needs all the help it can get. Yes, it’s got The Office, but that jumped the shark two seasons ago. 30 Rock is good, but not good enough for me to TiVO. And then there was the amazing decision to stop Law & Order’s run just one year away from breaking a record, to replace it with – get this – Law & Order Los Angeles. Brilliant.

I have a feeling NBC will change their mind.

I was over at my folk’s house the other day, and the subject of the new AppleTV came up. He says to me, “You know, I was at Best Buy the other day, and they have these Samsung TVs with apps built in. Why would I buy an AppleTV?”

Admittedly, that’s kind of a tough sell. If you don’t want to stream your iTunes library to the living room, there’s not a lot of compelling reasons to get one. Thing is, I don’t see a single reason why I’d want that particular Samsung TV, other than possibly Netflix.

Anyone remember WebTV? I remember the claims back in the day of people using their TVs like computers, surfing the web and everything. Know how exciting that is? It isn’t. Am I really going to put out a tweet from my TV when my iPhone or iPad is within reach? Do I really care about checking USA Today on the television? Do I want to type ANYTHING on a thick, push button remote control? No. No I don’t, and I don’t think many people will either. Right now, it’s a bit of a novelty act, like the bearded lady or the monkey-faced boy. But really, it’s just Samsung trying to get customers to buy yet another TV, because if they’ve already upgraded to HD or 3D, there really is no reason to buy a new one.

Problem is, I don’t have a compelling reason for the AppleTV either. I mean, I’d buy one, but I’m in the target demo. I just don’t see everyone buying one.

When the new AppleTV was announced, I was pretty excited – obviously – but then I started to wonder about what this meant for my original AppleTV that was housed in the living room. The UI looks the same on the new version with just a few changes, so wouldn’t it make sense that there would be an update to the older model? Apparently, not so much. Via Ars Technica:

We confirmed with an Apple spokesperson that the maximum HD resolution of the Apple TV is 720p, consistent with recent rumors. Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.

Well ain’t that a kick in the taint. Ultimately, the only difference for me with the new AppleTV is the Netflix streaming. I didn’t use the onboard storage on my old AppleTV anyways, so that’s no big loss. But the Netflix thing sure would’ve been nice to have. I guess all of those “dedicated” AppleTV fans don’t really mean much to Apple, huh?

via MacRumors and Ars Technica

I’m one of the few people out there who own an AppleTV. I bought it originally because I wanted to find a way to get my movies from iTunes onto my TV without purchasing a Mac Mini. Does it work? Sure, but it’s a bit finicky at times. Up until today, I was pretty sure the Mac Mini was my best option. After today’s big announcements, I’m a bit unsure.

Here’s our scenario: We currently have two TVs, and three places where we would like to have them. Room 1 is the living room, which has a 52-inch Samsung DLP, DirecTV HD DVR, the AppleTV, and every game console we own – which is a lot. Room 2 is the bedroom, where we have a DirecTV HD receiver and a 40-inch LCD. Room 3 is the office, which has no cable line or television, but I want one.

In the living room, things are pretty much status quo. The AppleTV feeds music from the iMac in my office, and with the exception of Netflix (which we can get via the Wii, PS3 or XBox 360) we’ve got everything covered. Really, a new AppleTV doesn’t bring anything new to the table in my situation.

At $99, the AppleTV is almost at impulse-buy pricing, so I briefly considered buying one for the bedroom. Thing is, my wife hates the TV in there (I use it to go to sleep), and although she puts up with it, she’d rather it not be there at all.

Finally, there’s the office. There’s not a great place to mount any TV in its current configuration. However, if I were to change a few things around, there’s a spot I could put it with no problems. If I were to do that, the new AppleTV would be perfect. I could still stream my movies from my desktop, but also watch my Netflix queue as well. It could be – in theory – a perfect setup.

Of course, that’s where a new AppleTV would fit into my life. What about yours?

Oh, the AppleTV. I have one myself, and although I do appreciate its usefulness, it’s not quite everything that I was looking for. I’d like 1080P resolution, and a bit more flexibility with my library. But alas, that’s not set to happen anytime soon, so I just deal with it until I buy a Mac Mini to replace it.

Or will it happen? Engadget has posted up what they say is credible information about the next AppleTV. Here are the highlights:

If your brain isn’t working right, let us jog it: a trusted Engadget source asserted that the gang in Cupertino would be releasing a $99 version of the set top box, similarly sized and packed with internals akin to that of the iPhone 4 (A4 CPU, 16GB of flash storage), and will introduce new iTunes streaming services the box could take advantage of. Well we’ve gotten a little more info on the project, and it’s not all good. Apparently the box won’t be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips.

And:

Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications.

Finally:

Oh, and there’s one more thing — Apple will be officially changing the name of the device to iTV, abandoning the current moniker in favor of something a little more in line with its current iOfferings.

Fascinating. It’s not entirely shocking, and it is doable. Question is, will it actually happen?

For a project that’s known as Apple’s “hobby,” the AppleTV sure has gotten a lot of press over the past few weeks. First, we’ve got Steve Jobs at D8:

Q: Hi, I’m from Hillcrest Labs… do you think it’s time to throw out the interface for TV? When will Apple do something there?

A: The problem with innovation in the TV industry is the go to market strategy. The TV industry has a subsidized model that gives everyone a set top box for free. So no one wants to buy a box. Ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us… ask Google in a few months. So all you can do is ADD a box to the TV. You just end up with a table full of remotes, a cluster of boxes… and that’s what we have today. The only way that’s going to change is if you tear up the set top box, give it a new UI, and get it in front of consumers in a way they’re going to want it. The TV is going to lose in our eyes until there is a better go to market strategy… otherwise you’re just making another TiVo.

Then there’s the rumor that keeps popping up about the AppleTV running the iPhone OS, such as this report from PCMag:

A report released Friday suggests that Apple will release its next-generation Apple TV at just $99, tapping into cloud storage and its iPad processor at the same time.

Engadget cited a source in reporting that the next Apple TV, previously described as a “hobby” by Apple, will be priced at the more mainstream price of $99. Apple currently sells its Apple TV with a 160-Gbyte hard drive for $189.

Engadget also suggested said that the next-gen Apple TV will essentially be an iPad without a screen, using the same hardware, including the CPU, OS, and 16-Gbytes of flash memory. To accommodate the smaller storage, Apple will emphasize streaming content, the report said.

I’m going to stick with my guns on this one. Apple has over $40 billion in cash right now, so they can pretty much develop anything they want. I truly believe that if there is going to be a new AppleTV, then it’s going to be a full-blown television set. Now there’s a possibility that it could run the iPhone OS, but it would have to be adapted to work with a remote, obviously. Is that likely? Well, the iPhone OS is pretty lightweight compared to OS X, and it would fit in well with the current system. I think it’s a distinct possibility.

But here’s the $40 billion question: Would it sell?

Most things that Apple put out on the market get scooped off shelves quickly, but the television market is pretty well covered. Plus, it’s not cheap to buy a new 47-inch flat screen, and with Apple’s pricing strategy, there’s a good chance it wouldn’t be a bargain basement deal competing against $900 Visio plasmas. I think that if the product is right and they get onboard with a few cable outlets, there’s a definite chance for success. That said, if Apple has learned anything from its partnership with AT&T, it probably doesn’t want to have to get in bed with anybody if it doesn’t have to.

Image: Reuters UK

Google had their I/O conference last week, and one of their big reveals was the Google TV. The concept is to bring the web to your TV so that you can watch Hulu, YouTube, etc. Sounds exciting. But as with all things Apple, it’s now touted as an AppleTV killer. Here’s how the Washington Post put it:

Then there’s Google TV, its new software to connect the TV with the Web. When it ships this fall on Sony HDTVs and Blu-ray players and a Logitech set-top box, it should let you find things to watch — on cable, satellite or the Internet — with far more ease than traditional program guides.

Because it runs Google’s Chrome Web browser, with Flash included, it should play almost any online video (although sites such as the increasingly obstructionist Hulu could block Google TV). And because it’s Android underneath, it can run many Android apps.

Considering other firms’ clumsy or apathetic efforts — such as Apple’s neglected Apple TV — the market needs somebody to wake things up. Google could play the same constructively disruptive role here that it did in Web-mail.

I’m gonna tell you a little secret. You know what’s an AppleTV killer? Anything. The AppleTV isn’t a particularly fantastic product. I should know, I own one.

I buy and use Apple products because of their ease of use. I loved the AppleTV from the start, mostly because it allows me to watch movies on the big screen as they were intended. If I buy my movies on iTunes, then I want to see it somewhere other than my laptop. And in that respect, it works well. It streams all of my music from my iMac to the device then puts it on the screen. But I don’t use it for anything else, because that’s all its good for. The hard drive is too small to hold any decent sized library, and there’s nothing else you’d want to do with it other than use it for a Boxee device.

But this Google TV thing does nothing for me. I watch Hulu all the time, but I never have the urge to surf the net in my living room. Should I ever want to do that, I pull out the iPad. But checking out your favorite website is almost a personal experience, not shared well with multiple people. I have no reason to read with others nearby, so it defeats the purpose. It works for Hulu – assuming they’re cool with it – but what else makes it worth it? To me, it only makes sense if I’m getting a Google TV integrated into my regular cable box, thus reducing the amount of crap I have in the living room. Otherwise it’s just another box.

I’d buy it if it held any additional value to me, but it doesn’t. Is it an Apple TV killer? Sure. but it’s an easy fight to win.

I have a strange relationship with TV.

When I was a kid, my parents limited my TV time to 2 hours a day. Once I moved out, I was watching everything I could, like some crazed TV vampire. Then I quit cold turkey and went with over-the-air broadcasting, which at the time meant just watching CBS for 2 years. Then I met my wife, we got DirectV, and we’ve had an up and down relationship with them ever since.

There are reports now that Apple is trying out $.99 TV shows. The goal is to put the new pricing tiers in place for the release of the iPad, making what’s assumed to be a huge product for Apple even bigger. Apparently the iPad was the big game changer, and even though the subscription thing didn’t work out for Apple – yet – this might.

I pay $85 a month for DirectV, and I only have one special package – Showtime – and I only watch that for Dexter. I do watch a lot of television, but I bet that all tolled, I wouldn’t have more than $50 a month in shows via iTunes. I would MUCH rather go that route and cut down my cable bill, and I think that Apple sees a lot of potential with that. Plus, then I get to keep my shows, which is a lot more appealing to me anyways. I know the cable companies don’t like it, but if they cared about me they’d keep their appointments. “Be home between 8 am and 9 pm” they say, then they show up four days later, drunk, and apologizing.

Santa was good to the Whipps family this year. Although I didn’t get everything I wanted, the biggie was right there under the tree: A shiny, PS3 slim. I’m a bit of a console nut, and so is my wife. We have every Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony console ever built, and even a Sega Genesis for fun. A few months ago, we had a room dedicated to our gaming, which was not only cool, but kept everything nicely organized. But when my wife found out she was pregnant in July, we stripped down the room and made it the new spot for the baby. That meant we moved all of our consoles into the living room, next to our DVD player and AppleTV.

For a long time, the AppleTV was the only thing in the house setup on an HDMI cable, and that’s because our Samsung DLP TV only has one HDMI input. That wasn’t a big deal until we got the PS3, and next thing I knew, we needed to get an HDMI switcher, plus extra cables.

Ever been down the cable aisle in a Best Buy? It’s covered with landmines and all sorts of nasty stuff, including $100 gold-plated cables that promise a better signal, even though I know that no amount of plating is going to make the series of bits sent over the digital connection any clearer. Every cable is expensive there, and I knew there was another alternative. I just had to sign on.

It’s called Monoprice.com, and I had heard of them before because of their super-cheap Mac cables, plus their mini-display port to HDMI plug.  I had never ordered from them before, but an IT friend of mine spoke highly of their customer service, so I gave it a shot. Saturday the 26th, I ordered three HDMI cables in varying lengths, totaling just under $30.

Since the total weight was under 10 lbs, I was offered free overnight shipping. It was a Saturday, so I figured that come Tuesday, everything would be at the house, good to go. I ordered it with overnight shipping and went on my way.

The next morning, I get an e-mail from Monoprice saying that my order had shipped. “Whatever,” I think to myself. “Must be their automated system. It’s the Sunday after Christmas, no way they’ve been shipped out.”

Flash to Monday morning. It’s 7:45 a.m. and I’m on the couch in my boxers and a t-shirt eating breakfast while watching a DVR’d episode of Dirty Jobs, when the doorbell rings. I was obviously indisposed, so my wife answers the door to find a box sitting there, all nice and happy. Sure enough, three cables from Monoprice were inside, exactly what I had ordered. A few hours later, the cables were hooked to the AppleTV and everything was good to go.

Most of the time I write about new Mac apps, or cool things for the iPhone, but sometimes it’s important to note that there’s someone out there who has our back. Not only does Monoprice carry Mac adaptors for way cheaper than Apple, but they’re quick about it too. In my book, that means a lot.

I love Handbrake. Why? It’s a free DVD ripper for the Mac, that’s why. But more specifically, it can help turn your Mac into a media powerhouse.

For years, I’ve wanted to digitize my movie collection the same way my music was in iTunes. I remember spending hours burning my CDs to the hard drive, wondering when the pain would ever stop. Now that it’s done, I haven’t bought a physical CD in over 3 years. Why couldn’t I do the same thing with my music?

Turns out, I can, and Handbrake is the answer. I put in my DVD, and a few hours later it spits out a digital file in the format I’m looking for. Apple TV? Sure. iPhone? Got it. Whatever it is, I can download it to my hard drive easily and conveniently.

The only catch here comes with HD flicks. As of right now, no one makes a Blu-Ray player for the Mac, and until Apple decides to integrate it into the product line (hint, hint) there aren’t many other options. I could do it with a PC, sure, but that’s besides the point. For now, the only choice I have is to download HD movies from iTunes, and until their selection goes up, that’s what I’m left with.

In the meantime, I’m continuing to expand my collection via Handbrake. Want it? It’s free to all, so go get it.

Handbrake

With the “Discovery” App. for the iPhone, the television channel is available for free. Sift through the innumerable videos, as if screening for gold in a vast mine’s archive. There are innumerable videos of the shows “Deadliest Catch” and “MythBusters” as well as random things like “Destroyed in Seconds: Flaming Steeple Collapse” and they are updated daily.

Do you like to watch the show that pits “Man vs. Wild”? If you do, then look no further for on September 15, 2009 “Man vs. Wild: Tarantula Breakfast” was posted for the sheer sake of the education and entertainment of mobile viewers.

If a little downtime is a void needing filling then this great feature of the Discovery Channel could scratch the thinking person’s, non-thinking person’s, or pioneer person’s itch. There is no label needed; the Discovery Channel is now everyone’s.

Grade: A

Discovery Channel

In a very uncharacteristic move, Apple has posted an online survey asking you where you get your content, what you watch it on, and even what kind of remote you use with the device.

I’d love to take the survey, but as I write this – the thing is being hit with so much traffic that I can’t seem to get it to load.

The software, which can be installed on an AppleTV, allows you to stream online networks, and even Hulu movies and other features, directly to your television, and with the addition ABC, all the major networks are now represented on the software.

The company behind Boxee is contemplating releasing a set-top box of their own, or perhaps integrating their software with other devices such as game consoles.

Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature is starting to pop up on just about everything.

It is now officially available for Mac (but you will need to install the Microsoft Silverlight plugin if you haven’t already), and it has been added to the media center craze of the moment “Boxee” as well.

AppleTV users are most excited for “Boxee” because you can hack your AppleTV and install it on the device. This would now give you the Netflix “Watch Instantly” feature on your AppleTV for the first time.

What’s interesting about all the excitement about this is that people never seem to mention (or rarely seem to mention, rather) that the selection of movies on this service is pretty terrible. There are quite a few TV shows that you can watch with it, however — and perhaps that’s enough for people, but I think Netflix needs to concentrate on improving the quality of their stream, and the content that they have – before this begins to live up to the hype that currently surrounds it.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Apparently, even though Netflix is a part of the software, the hardware for the AppleTV just isn’t fast enough to run it. Will they figure out a way around it? I don’t know – perhaps. Right now, though, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to run it on your AppleTV.

Also, if you’re having trouble finding Netflix in Boxee it’s located under the Internet tab.

Earlier this week Apple released an update to the AppleTV kicking the software up to version 2.3. This new update has some highly requested features added to the device, showing us that while Apple may consider it a “hobby” at the moment, they haven’t forgotten about our little tv media boxes.

Updated Features include:

Airtunes Streaming from AppleTV – You can now stream your music via AirTunes to Airport Express speakers or other AppleTVs in your house.

Third-party Remote Controls – Apple has finally added the highly requested feature for the AppleTV to now learn 3rd party remote controls.

Playlists – Another often requested feature – the AppleTV will now recognize playlists for music, video, podcasts, and music videos

Music Volume Control – Support for volume control in Music.

These all make great additions to the AppleTV, and make the device an even better buy. You can get your update in the Setting menu on the device if you don’t have it already.

In an effort to boost sales of the AppleTV, Apple is now promoting the device on iTunes as a way to “unlock your music”.

The ad notes how you can connect your AppleTV with a single cable to your home theater system, then seamlessly connect and play your entire iTunes library. It also covers Genius playlists, but never once mentions television shows, movies, or podcast, in its pitch.

Will this help push more AppleTV units?

I doubt it, but you never know. What Apple should do, in my opinion, is push the device as the amazingly simple media hub that it is in a series of ads. If Apple devoted even a quarter of the money it reserves for making fun of Vista to actually promoting the AppleTV, it might not be a “hobby” anymore.

Last week Apple released an update for the AppleTV that allowed HD downloads of TV shows, adding Genius playlist support, and a few other things.

Many users have reported issues with the AppleTV being rendered non functional after the update according to Mac Fix It. The main problem was that the unit would go into an endless restart loop – and the only way to fix it seems to be a factory reset…which will cause you to have to resync all your content.

An Apple representative stated in a forum post that “Apple briefly experienced server difficulties resulting in some Apple TV units rebooting continuously. This issue has been resolved and is unrelated to the Apple TV 2.2 software release.”

There is also a huge annoyance with putting the device to sleep since the update. Previously, you could put it to sleep at any time by pressing the Play/Pause button on the remote for about 5-7 seconds. Users are now claiming that with the 2.2 update you can only do this on the main menu of the AppleTV.

I haven’t updated yet – and I have to say…after reading this I’m not sure I’m going to.

Rumors of the AppleTV’s demise have been greatly exaggerated over the weekend. Because of reports from retailers that the AppleTV’s advertising material was to be destroyed, a rumor has managed to seep its way through the Interwebs that the AppleTV is being replaced.

It was further fueled by the fact that there is a webcast being presented to retailers on September 30th. There is no word on if the general public will be getting a chance to view this webcast anytime soon.

The reason for the destruction of the advertising material could be as simple as the fact that the licensing for the tvs and movies has expired – or that Apple wants new advertising material to reflect current movie releases, and the new fall television shows. That info by itself is nowhere near an indication that the entire device is being tossed out the window and replaced by something else.

The webcast does pose some intriguing possibilities, though. Could there be some new features coming to the existing AppleTV that retailers need to be aware of? We know that the AppleTV needs a software update to make it possible to download HD TV shows on it – so it’s logical to assume that an update would be coming soon.

I’m not going to speculate about what might be in an update – because I honestly don’t know what to expect from it. Many people jump straight to “DVR” features” or something like that (which seems to work directly AGAINST the idea of buying TV Shows off the device…so don’t hold your breath), and others expect games to show up on it (which also makes little sense, considering Apple’s current “hands full” status with the platforms it already has). Other than HD TV shows I’m not sure what to expect from an AppleTV software update – but if anything is coming in that regard, it should be soon.

So NBC is back in iTunes. That must mean all is well with the two companies, correct?

Well…maybe…but it doesn’t stop them from trying to convince the press that the other actually caved to make the deal possible. NBC is saying that Apple made concessions to get them back in the store.

The problem with that is that their argument is that NBC had wanted to LOWER prices, and Apple wouldn’t let them. That makes no sense, because Apple has always let networks charge LESS for their content if they want to. For example, The History Channel has had shows for $0.99 an episode at certain times for several years.

NBC also claims that Apple conceded to let them package certain shows together. Apple has always allowed shows with appropriate themes (for example, the Disney Channel Holiday pack on my iPod) to be bundled together. What Apple wouldn’t allow is for NBC to package hit shows only with less successful shows that didn’t match…and they’re still not allowing that.

So, honestly, it would be wonderful if NBC would just stop talking about this and move on. They came back. We all know why. iTunes is the #1 music store, and the #1 video store for digital content. Hulu isn’t going to change that, and neither is Amazon’s current offerings. If NBC wants to make money with Apple, they’re going to have to work with Apple by Apple’s rules.

It seems odd that Apple would release iTunes 8, and add HD TV Shows into the mix without updating the AppleTV to be able to get in on the action. That’s the case, though – at least for right now.

If you own an AppleTV and you’ve tried to purchase one of your favorite television shows in HD, you’ve probably noticed that you can’t. So far Apple hasn’t offered an update to AppleTV to correct this, but if you purchase an HD TV Show in iTunes then stream it to your AppleTV it will play just fine.

So, the question is – will Apple be releasing a software update to the AppleTV soon – or will they hold out until newer models are released with higher storage capacities. I have one of the first units released, so its 40GB hard drive is certainly not ideal for downloading HD TV shows on. Currently I couldn’t download the first 3 seasons of “The Office” on the device because it wouldn’t be able to hold them. Forget downloading any other shows.

This problem could be easily solved, however, if Apple would simply activate the USB port on the device and let us add extra storage. Could we see that in the next update of the AppleTV?

Stranger things have happened. What do you think?