<P> Apple TV was unveiled as a work in progress called "iTV" on September 12, 2006 using a modified Front Row interface using the Apple Remote . Apple started taking pre-orders for Apple TV on January 9, 2007 . The name "iTV" was originally going to be used to keep it in line with the rest of their "i" - based products (iMac, iPod, etc .), but was not used because the British terrestrial broadcast network ITV holds the rights to the name in the UK and threatened to take legal action against Apple . </P> <P> Apple TV started shipping on March 21, 2007 with a 40 GB hard disk . Apple released a 160 GB HDD model on May 31, 2007; and ceased selling the 40 GB HDD version on September 14, 2009 . </P> <P> On January 15, 2008, a major and free software upgrade was announced; this turned the Apple TV into a stand - alone device that no longer required a computer running iTunes on Mac OS X or Windows to stream or sync content to it, and making most of the Apple TV's hard disk redundant . The update allowed the device to rent and purchase content directly from iTunes Store, as well as download podcasts and stream photos from MobileMe (which was called . Mac at the time) and Flickr . This update did away with Front Row and introduced a new interface for the original Apple TV in which content was organized into six categories, all of which appeared in a large square box on the screen upon startup (movies, TV shows, music, YouTube, podcasts, and photos) and presented in the initial menu, along with a "Settings" option for configuration, including software updates . </P> <P> On July 10, 2008, Apple released the iTunes Remote app on the App Store, and the Apple TV 2.1 software update that added recognition for the iPhone and iPod Touch as remote control devices intended as a software alternative to the Apple Remote . Later updates to the Apple TV, iTunes, and Remote software added support for the iPad, and introduced support for new features as they were added to iTunes . </P>

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