Since the Apple TV finally shipped it has been met with as much criticism as it has praise. The device itself is simple, beautiful and over other options, seems to be a break-out hit.

Opening the packaging was very similar to the enclosure the iPods with video come in. A thin box slides out of the exterior shell and opens midway to reveal the Apple TV on one side, the Apple remote on the other. Only one cable is included with Apple TV: the power cable. Reasons for this aren’t clear, but it is assumed because of the variety of ways Apple TV can be hooked up, Apple would rather not have wasted the money and space to include cables that may not be used by the customer.

Setting up Apple TV takes just a few minutes, after it finds your network, you enter your wireless password, then pair the device with iTunes. Apple TV generates a code for iTunes to pair, and upon success, you are greeted with syncing and streaming options. Content ripped from DVDs into the mp4 or H.264 formats looks fantastic on Apple TV, as well as the newer, higher resolution content purchased from the iTunes store. Apple TV is a fantastically easy way to manage all of your films, TV shows, podcasts, and music within your home entertainment system.

Not that hacking the machine is necessary, but it has proven already to be very mod-able, like the first generation TiVo. There are ways of adding a larger hard drive, to upgrade from the stock 40GB drive, ways to play Divx and xvid format files, as well as ways to install a fully-functioning OSX to turn Apple TV into the smallest functioning Mac available. Apple TV is a notable entry into the content management space, and there are exciting things in store as the device gains more traction in the market.