SAN FRANCISCO -- At the Macworld keynote Tuesday, Steve Jobs opened with more details on what had been code-named the "iTV" and announced that the the product would officially become the "Apple TV." The device will facilitate the wirelessly streaming of movies, TV shows, music, and photos from a computer to a TV, with support for the 802.11b/g/n flavors of wireless networking.

Additional details about the device include built-in USB 2.0 and Ethernet ports, as well as HDMI, component video, and digital and analog audio outputs. It is capable of generating 720p video and can store up to 50 hours of video or 9,000 songs on its 40GB hard drive. It uses an Intel processor and was designed for use with widescreen TVs. No mention was made of the HDMI version number.

Mr. Jobs demoed the Apple TV with its remote control and accessed a variety of audio and video content from a remote Mac. The demonstration showed the streaming of movie trailers coming directly from the Apple Website, through a Macintosh, then transmitted and displayed in HDTV. Mr. Jobs also demonstrated the interface, similar to "cover flow," that allows the user to select and play audio, TV, and movie content by selecting the art work.

The internal 40 GB hard disk in the Apple TV can be used to autosync to a single Macintosh Mr. Jobs said. For example, the user can elect to synchronize the latest ten movies downloaded. Streaming video, allowed from up to five different computers, is not stored on the internal hard disk.

In a demonstration of the streaming video, Phil Schiller came out onto the stage with his MacBook, connected to the Apple TV, entered a challenge-response code to authenticate, then Mr, Jobs selected and played a segment from an episode of "30 Rock" that was stored on Mr. Schiller's computer.

Apple also said on Tuesday that "Apple TV requires iTunes 7 or later running on a Mac with Mac OS(R) X version 10.3.9 or later, or a Windows PC with Windows XP Home/Professional (SP2). An 802.11b/g/n wireless network using AirPort, AirPort Extreme(R) or 10/100 Base-T Ethernet networking required. Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple TV requires an enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TV. iPod(R) games will not play on Apple TV."

Mr. Jobs said that the Apple TV would ship in February and that Apple is taking pre-orders starting today. He also reaffirmed the price of US$299.00.