Apple’s most recent software update for the iPod nano and iPod classic, version 1.0.3, has surreptitiously added additional features to the devices’ TV out functionality. Once the software has been installed, the four-option Video Settings menu becomes a five-option list, with prior option Fullscreen On/Off being replaced by TV Screen Standard/Widescreen and Fit to Screen On/Off.
The new features are intended to help the iPods output TV-ready video that is properly formatted for the type of display that’s connected, however, your results may vary depending on your TV and its settings.
Once the video is playing, version 1.0.3 restores a feature found in fifth-generation iPods but heretofore not in the iPod classic and iPod nano: an on-screen display (OSD) of your current location in the movie’s timeline, along with a pause indicator.
These displays look different and a little more like iTunes’ own video playback scrubber than before; they are accompanied by a battery indicator. Larger images of the new menus and OSD can be found by clicking on the article’s title above, or the pictures and comments link below.