Apple TV is now on

Apple is now shipping Apple TV, an easy to use device that wirelessly play iTunes content from a PC or Mac on a widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts. With Apple TV’s new interface, people can browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room using the simple Apple Remote.

The company says Apple TV is like a DVD player for the Internet age. The device wirelessly connects to a home network through the new WiFi 802.11n.

The seamless integration of Apple TV and iTunes lets users choose from over 400 movies and 350 TV shows in near DVD quality; over four million songs; 5,000 music videos; 100,000 podcasts; and 20,000 audiobooks from the iTunes Store.

Apple TV has a 40GB hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each and is capable of delivering high-definition 720p output. It comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort 802.11 wireless networking, Apple TV can auto-sync content from one computer or stream content from up to five additional computers.

Pricing & Availability Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, will be available beginning this week from the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of US$299.

Apple TV requires iTunes 7.1 or later running on a Mac with Mac OS® X version 10.3.9 or later, or a Windows PC with Windows XP Home/Professional (SP2).