EDMONTON - The number of pictures, songs and movies available to your home computer today is staggering. They come from consumer digital cameras that shoot stills and video snippets, bought or shared digital music, and general downloading from the Internet.

There are many ways to deal with this growing digital media, so let's take a look at two small technologies that let you do more away from your computer.

Apple TV, $349, is a small, 40-gigabyte hard drive that basically stores computer songs, pictures and videos and displays them on high-definition TV screen with quality sound. But it does it Apple's way, with an iPod feel.

It does require your Mac or Windows PC and free iTunes software to initially get iTune Library digital songs and video. It can either automatically synchronize and copy your media library or access it directly from your computer through a fast wireless computer network.

The menu selection on your TV screen using the included small remote (similar to Mac computers) also lets you play back your own media, including digital cameras or other digitized music.

Not quite. And don't let the sharp menu graphics, HDMI connection and small album photos fool you. It's computer-centric and while the video quality from iTunes is improved, it's still below that of DVD. Frankly, it looks best from across the room on a 37-inch HD screen.

Even so, Canadians still can't buy $1.99 movies from iTunes as U.S. customers can unless you buy iTune pre-paid cards from the U.S., and register a valid U.S. address when getting an iTune account from apple.com.

I found digital photo-watching the best experience. The screensaver uniquely displays a moving compilation of photos and you can see your digital pictures in full HD resolution, far better than any movie you will likely run across.

The 40GB hard drive is not meant to store full HD or DVD movies, such as cable or satellite PVRs, but is better suited for computer-resolution movies that are less than one GB each.

This is Apple's first try at getting its foot in the living room. Until it gets serious with HD-quality TV, I see it as a digital toy for Apple enthusiasts.

At best, if you are an iPod fan, it can co-exist with your current TV HD setup, with new graphical ways to watch and hear computer content. At worst, save your money for a better-quality digital camera and keep your iPod.

But for photo enthusiasts on the road, they are a digital camera's best companion. That's because they are both a notch above similar portable players for two reasons: they work more than twice as fast and show sharper photos.

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