One of my favourite devices revisited this week - the Apple TV. Now revitalised with a brand new software update, this is the Apple TV Take 2.

As announced at this years Macworld, Apple have released a brand new software update for the Apple TV that turns it into an amazing entertainment hub for the Living Room. For the first time, the Apple TV no longer needs a Mac or PC and can function as a network connected media center. This weeks full Extra Members show takes you through some of the new features of this ground breaking device including:

• Installing the Apple TV Software Update
• The Revised Interface for Movies, TV Shows and Music
• Podcasts On Demand
• Viewing Photos via .Mac Web Galleries
• Viewing Photos via Flickr
• Adding Flickr Contacts
• iTunes Automatic Sync
• iTunes Custom Sync
• AirTunes in the Apple TV

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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Tags: itunes, AirTunes, Apple Express

Last show of the year so I thought I'd go out with something special!

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon a software package called Remote Buddy which allows you to use your Apple Remote to do all sorts of clever things with your Intel Mac. Included in the package is a very clever piece of software which is basically a fully featured Ajax web server that allows you full control over iTunes from a browser.

Add in an Airport Express to allow you to transmit your music from your Mac to a remote set of powered speakers or a HiFi over Wifi and you have an incredible system for creating multi room audio throughout the house.

But it gets even better when you add in an iPhone or iPod Touch which allows you to access the Remote Buddy Ajax Web server and control your audio system via WiFi. Not just control the playback, but control the volume, search your iTunes library, select your Airport Express and even view the album art of the currently selected track on your iPhone.

This weeks show covers all these elements in 20 minute including:

• Installing and Configuring the Airport Express
• Configuring iTunes
• Installing and Configuring Remote Buddy
• Using the Remote Buddy Ajax Web Server
• Controlling iTunes via your iPhone/iPod Touch

This weeks show is an Extra Members show and is available in Apple TV HD format (1280x720), Enhanced Desktop ED Format (960x540) and iPhone/iPod resolution (640x360). For full details on how easy it is to become an Extra! member and get this show along with the next six months worth of weekly shows PLUS access to over 130+ Mac based tutorials, just follow this link.

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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As a respite from the bombardment of Leopard news, reviews, hints and tips that are bound to be coming your way this week, I thought I'd slip in a handy utility to manage all those pesky duplicate tracks that invariably end up in your iTunes library.

The utility is called Dupin from Doug Adams over at Dougs Applescripts for iTunes.

Dupin is a standalone application that makes identifying and removing the duplicate tracks from your iTunes library a breeze. If I have to squeeze a Leopard reference in it's really useful for freeing up some disk space before you backup you drive prior to installing Leopard!!

A relatively short show this week, mainly to allow me some time on friday to play with Leopard as soon as it arrives!

ScreenCastsOnline Survey

Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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You'll really need to concentrate for this weeks show! I covered this topic many moons ago and it was in fact, the very first pseudo members only show but before we had the Extra! membership scheme!

This week is all about searching, accessing and downloading from the amazing wealth of content that's available from the UseNet binary groups.

There's an awful lot packed into this week's show so you'll need your wits about you. The show covers:

Usenet - All about UseNet
GigaNews - A commercial UseNet host service
NewzBin - A Commercial UseNet Indexing service
iGrabNews - A brilliant newsgroup reader with support for NZB files
MacPar Deluxe - A great par checker and unpacker
Split & ConCat - A concatenation utility

By the end of the show you'll have a good idea on how to harness the power of the UseNet binary groups and fully understand how to access and download tons of content.

As promised, here are the links for the various services and software packages described in the show:

GigaNews
NewzBin
NB Since the original show was published, NewzBin have temporarily stopped taking new members. This may have changed again by the time you read this update! If you can't join NewzBin, check out the ScreenCastsOnline forum post for some alternatives.
iGrabNews
MacPar Deluxe
Split & ConCat



Discussions: Forum

Extra members get access to full versions of the show in AppleTV (HD), ED and iPod resolutions.
The free show (or trailer) is at a much lower resolution.
Click here for more details on becoming a ScreenCastsOnline Extra! member

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It's the first week of the month so it must be an Extra! members only show!

This week I follow up with part 2 on the Apple TV. Last week I looked at a basic overview of its setup and operation, this week I look at getting content onto the Apple TV. This is incredibly important for those of us outside of the US with no access to video content from the iTunes store except for video podcasts.

So this week I look at:

* Moving your iTunes Library to Airport Extreme and External Drives
* When to sync and when to stream
* Configuring your Apple TV
* Using video "watched" status to automagically manage your Apple TV content
* Ripping and Converting DVDs to Movies
* Creating and Installing DVD cover art
* Using your Mac as a PVR and importing TV shows into Apple TV
* Using Bittorrent to find TV Shows on the Internet
* Converting TV Shows to play on Apple TV
* Accessing hidden MP4 metadata to organisise videos and add special tags

So as you can see, it's another pretty packed show running to over 40 minutes of content.

You'll need to be an Extra! member to get this weeks show (it's the usual monthly Extra! only show). Get yourself a membership to make sure you don't miss out - full details here And don't forget, Extra! members get access to this show (and over 70 other shows) in Apple TV compatible HD format - that's 720p or 1280x720 - to watch ScreenCastsOnline in HD on your Apple TV.

Here are some links mentioned in the show:

Handbrake/Mediafork
VisualHub
EyeTV
tvRSS
xTorrent
Lostify

Also in the show, I mention the new ScreenCastsOnline Affiliate scheme, a free way for you to promote ScreenCastsOnline and get rewarded in the process! If you're interested in taking part in this new scheme, checkout the details here

Discussions: Forum

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iVisualize is an amazing plugin for iTunes that enables you to play custom visualisations in iTunes created with Quartz Composer. Previously, Quartz composer compositions(?) could only be utilized as screensavers or played in the Quicktime player.

iVisualize changes that so that you can access a whole library of really cool visualisations for iTunes.

Not only that, but this screencast also gives you an insight into installing Xcode and the Quartz Composer and gives some guidance on how you can create and customise your very own compositions.

This show is available to ScreenCastsOnline Extra! members in high definition as part of the 6 monthly membership - See here for details

Duration: 19:45 | Size: 45MB | Discussions: Forum

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A run down of three different apps to encode your video clips into iPod format.

I also include some tips on managing your clips within iTunes and announce details of a new competition coming up in the next few weeks

Please leave all comments about this ScreenCast on the ScreenCastsOnline Forums

Duration: 15:42
Size: Desktop:28MB iPod:TBA HiDef:40MB
Platform: mac
Level: Easy
Links:

Quicktime Pro
Podner
Mpeg Streamclip

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An overview of the new functionality in iTunes 5.0 and how Apple should have implemented Podcast syncing with Smart Playlists

This is the third ScreenCast originally distributed on macTV at the beginning of this week. It is replicated here for any ScreenCastOnline subscribers who are not subscribed to macTV.

Duration: 19:15
Size: 32MB
Platform: mac or pc
Level: Simple
Links: iTunes 5.0

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