The device, available through Apple's Web site for $299, includes a 40-Gbyte hard drive capable of storing up to 50 hours of video, and a remote control. The appliance ships in three to five business days, and is also available through retailers, according to Apple's site.

The Apple TV has the potential to alter the media landscape and boost Apple's value as a company, according to Jonathan Hoopes, a ThinkEquity Partners financial analyst. Hoopes predicts 25% to 70% of the 22 million Mac users, and many more PC users, would buy the device in the next five years, overtaking set-top box maker TiVo and mail-order DVD renter Netflix.

The analyst also predicts Apple TV could add more than $10 billion to the company's market capitalization in the next few years.

In February, Apple delayed shipping the Apple TV until mid-March. In announcing the delay, the company said that "wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected."