Apple said Wednesday that it had begun shipments of its Apple TV product, aimed at solidifying its hold on the digital entertainment industry, and expanding its presence into the living room. The device was originally scheduled for release last month, but the company said development had taken longer than expected and pushed the release back in late February.

The device acts as a link between iTunes on the computer and a user's big-screen television by using a preexisting Wi-Fi network. For faster transfer, the device would use 802.11n technology. It includes a 40GB hard drive to store the information locally to the device, negating the need to download it before each viewing.