Are Your Videos Ready to Shine on Apple TV 2?
Yesterday Apple sent out an email with important information for those who publish content through the iTunes music store. To make your videos look great on Apple TV, here’s what you need to know.
Render Your Videos at a Resolution of
at least 640×480 (or 640×360)
If your resolution isn’t high enough, there’s a good chance your videos won’t get watched on Apple TV. Even iPods and iPhones support higher resolutions now. If you have been encoding at 320×240, consider increasing to 640×480 or 640×360 depending on your aspect ratio. One of the easiest ways to do this is using QuickTime Pro (only $29) which has a Movie to iPod preset.
This will increase the file size. If you’re worried about the files being to big leading to large bandwidth bills and longer download times, try reducing the bit rate and frame rate. You may be able to greatly reduce the file size while not sacrificing too much quality.
You can also use higher resolutions for Apple TV, but it’s a good idea to check the specifications on this page (which is always an excellent reference for publishers) to use what bit rates are allowed.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about publishing for the Apple TV.
February 20th, 2008 12:38
Jason,
It was also recommended that podcast art images get increased to 600×600 JPG or PNG files.
John
February 20th, 2008 12:56
@John,
Thank you for bringing that up. That is also very important. I was wondering if someone would catch that. I actually have a post about that queued for later this week.
February 20th, 2008 16:36
@Jason No problem. I think it’s equally important for audio-only podcasts to make sure their artwork is large so that it draws attention to their podcast. While AppleTV is primarily a video tool, it can also be used to stream audio so getting your brand out there is very important.