Apple has just released iTunes 7.3 and update to the Apple media software core that adds a key feature to Apple TV - photo streaming. Up until now, the Apple TV could stream almost all forms of media — movies, music, podcasts, etc. — stored in iTunes. Users could sync their favorites or most recent additions, but always could gain access to anything in their iTunes library by directly streaming it from iTunes over a wireless or wired network.
The sole exception was photos, which had to be synced to the Apple TV's local hard drive to be displayed. The proved to be a problem for some photo fans with more pictures available in their Windows My Pictures folder or their Mac-based iPhoto libraries than would fit on the relatively small 40GB Apple TV 1.0 hard drive.
Worse yet, the Apple TV 1.0 firmware and the first versions of iTunes to support Apple TV treated photos as something of an afterthought when syncing. Photo syncing took place last, after all other selected media types. If the other selected media left no room for photos, they were not synced at all.
The Apple TV 1.1 firmware update released only a couple of weeks ago changed that somewhat, allowing users to choose to sync photos first instead of last. Now, iTunes 7.3 adds the ability to stream photos as well from any connected iTunes library.
The iTunes 7.3 update also features some minor changes to the iTunes interface, synchronization settings, downloading and transferring iTunes Plus tracks. Oh, yes... it also supports activation and synchronization of something called the "iPhone". You may have heard about that device somewhere, lost in all the tons and tons of Apple TV news...
iLounge has a nice Instant Expert article on the secrets and features of the new iTunes 7.3, complete with illustrations and the CouchGuy recommends it highly as a good first look at the changes.