More Than TV

Using Apple TV, Dewitt Jones has an ideal space for displaying some of his images.

WARNING! THIS COLUMN MAY COST YOU MONEY! PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I’ve given you fair warning. Seldom, if ever, do I write a column recommending a single product. But today? Well, today I’m breaking that rule.

I’ve often asked the question, “Where should we display our photos so others can view them?” Publishing is getting more and more competitive, but now with the Internet, there are so many new ways to share our photos. Cool!

The question I’ve been asking recently is, “Yes, but where do I view my photos?” My answers, though multiple, were ultimately a bit depressing. I view them first on the back of my camera as soon as I take them—great. I gaze at them on my computer in my office as I work them in Photoshop—amazing. I, and the rest of the world, can see them on my .Mac or PBase sites—off the charts. With my inkjet printer, I can make fabulous prints—but my walls are full, and my wife says a larger house isn’t an option.

I’m lucky enough to own a digital projector, which I purchased a few years ago for a rather hefty sum. (They’re less expensive now, but still not cheap.) I use the projector when I teach but, truth be told, I just don’t set it up in my living room for personal viewing anymore than I’d set up my slide projector in the days of film.

I really didn’t have a good way to view my images in a large size at optimal quality in a place that wasn’t a workroom. (I’m guessing that folks reading this column have their heads bobbing up and down in agreement.)

Then, a few months ago, I was at the house of my Photoshop guru/friend, Jack Davis. There, in his living room, on his flat-screen TV, was a glorious montage of his images, all in high definition. Hundreds of images moving at different speeds on different planes, twirling in space—unreal!

“What is this?” I demanded.

“It’s Apple TV,” said Jack. “It’s essentially a hard drive that attaches to your television and plays your images in HD.”

Fast-forward a few weeks, and here I am sitting in my living room viewing hundreds of my own images on my flat-screen TV. Indeed, Apple TV has turned the black hole that was my TV into a 24-hour art piece. All day long, when I’m not viewing shows on the TV itself, Apple TV takes over and runs my images at 20-second intervals, softly dissolving from one to another.

I can break the images into separate folders if I want to view a specific place or subject, change all kinds of parameters on how I view them, including a “Ken Burns” effect to zoom and move on the photos.

Often, when Lynette and I sit down to watch a little TV in the evening, we don’t even get to the actual TV show. We just get lost for an hour viewing images we love (or perhaps ones we had forgotten we even took).

Bottom line: For $229, you can buy a 40 GB Apple TV ($329 for 160 GB). Plug in one HD cable, and it will show you all of your images in HD on your flat-screen TV in a large size (mine is a 37-inch flat-screen), day or night, in the privacy of your living room! And it’s not just for Mac folks; Apple TV will sync with almost any computer.

In my opinion, there’s not a photographer on the planet who shouldn’t invest in one of these (okay, a bit of hyperbole, but I’m excited). Apple TV has become my “final frame,” if you will. This is where most of my images will end up for my personal delight and enjoyment.

Not only can you view your own images on Apple TV (you upload them through iTunes), but, if you have WiFi, you can access both the .Mac and Flickr sites and view galleries from friends and family.

Now here’s the final kicker. Apple didn’t design Apple TV for photographers. No, Apple designed it as a way to access tons of video content. Personally, I think the whole photo side of Apple TV was probably an afterthought. But what this means for you is that, besides showing all your photos, Apple TV allows you to download hundreds of movies, songs, podcasts and TV shows, as well as everything on YouTube.

Okay, there’s my pitch. You won’t see an ad for Apple TV in Outdoor Photographer or any other photo magazine (as I said, I think the photo part of it was an afterthought), but you can check it out on the Apple website, www.apple.com. It’s an incredible product, and it has given me a wonderful new way to delight in my images. Check it out.

Visit Dewitt Jones’ website at www.dewittjones.com.

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