Apple begins shipping TV streaming box

Apple Inc. has started to ship its new Apple TV box, a device to allow streaming video and other content to travel from computers to the television.

Apple Canada's online store said the devices sell at a retail price of $349 and will be shipped within three to five business days.

Apple TV is one of a number of set-top boxes expected to hit the market this year. Set-top boxes are designed to move digital content from a user's computer to a TV set, a capability that is expected to open internet-based videos to a wider audience.

The box has a 40 GB hard drive that can store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of those three media formats.

The company first announced the product at the MacWorld conference in January at the same time it unveiled its iPhone mobile device.