The company also indicated that Apple retail stores will have Apple TV in stock this week.  The press release states:  "Apple retail stores will also offer hands on workshops and demonstrations of Apple TV’s features."

What is Apple TV?
Apple describes the Apple TV as follows:

"Apple TV™, an easy to use and fun way to wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes® content from your PC or Mac® on your widescreen TV, including movies, TV shows, music, photos and podcasts. With Apple TV’s stunning new interface, anyone can quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from across the room using the simple and intuitive Apple Remote. Apple TV easily connects to almost all modern widescreen televisions."

“Apple TV is like a DVD player for the Internet age—providing an easy and fun way to play all your favorite iTunes content from your PC or Mac on your widescreen TV,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Apple TV allows you to wirelessly play your content from your PCs or Macs using your existing WiFi network as well as the newest and fastest version of WiFi—802.11n.”

Apple TV seamlessly integrates with the industry leading iTunes software and iTunes store by offering consumers a selection of over 4 million songs, 400 movies, 350 television shows, 5,000 music videos, 20,000 audiobooks, and 100,000 podcasts.

Apple TV includes a 40GB hard drive capable of storing 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photographs or a mix of the three.  The device can be easily connected to most widescreen televisions and home theater setups by offering industry standard HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio connections.  Apple TV can also sync (one computer) or stream content (up to 5 computers) via high-speed 802.11 wireless networking (AirPort required) without the need of wires.
Requirements:

• Internet access (broadband connection recommended)
• Enhanced definition or high-definition widescreen TV
• iTunes 7.1 or later
• Mac with Mac OS® X version 10.3.9 or later or
• Windows PC with Windows XP Home/Professional (SP2)
• 802.11b/g/n wireless networking: AirPort or AirPort Extreme®
• Wired networking: 10/100 Base-T Ethernet

The Apple TV, can be ordered online at the Apple Store or purchased later this week at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers at a suggested retail price of $299 (US).

You can read the press release in full here.