During the last Apple keynote at MacWorld. Among the many other things, Steve Jobs announced “Apple TV take 2”.

Everyone was of course looking at the wonderfully thin MacBook air to actually notice the amazing improvements done to AppleTV.

Let’s go from basics, AppleTV was basically a DVR /Set-top box kinda device that Apple started selling since last year. Something that you attach to your TV, and watch Media content off. It was like an extension of your Mac into your living room. But it’s major weakness was that you had to have another Mac (or PC) with iTunes, and the AppleTV would stream stuff from it. In the Take 2, all this changed.

The Take 2 is a software upgrade which makes the Apple TV your Mac in your living room. It doesn’t need a Mac, and can directly download stuff from directly to the iTunes on itself.

Further more, it supports Movie rentals, Flickr, Youtube and other services. The part I am most excited about is that it supports Podcasts. So you can subscribe to your favorite Video/Audio podcast on the iTunes on AppleTV, and watch it on your TV. And, since AppleTV supports 720p HD, you can watch HD podcasts in HD!

With this and movie/TV rentals, I am really thinking this would be my perfect living room entertainment device. Especially with people like revision3 coming up with Podcasts on all themes, and that too with high production value, and even in HD, I don’t think I need normal TV anymore.

Maybe it is time to get an HD TV, and trash that Starhub Cable Vision Box.

Oh, but the movie/TV rental doesn’t work in Singapore yet.. ARGH APPLE!!