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So apple tv. It looks like a great bit of kit and cheap but I'm a bit confused what it does and doesn't do. Am i right to think it's basically a bit of kit to connect a tv to the iTunes store (with added connection to mac/iOS for photos/home movies)? So you basically buy stuff from iTunes through it and it streams it wirelessly to your tv? So I have a tv in the bedroom, so I could just plug the apple tv into that tv and watch things wirelessly on that tv? And I could put a DVD into my MacBook and using AirPlay stream that to my tv? Also could I watch streamed lovefilm movies on the iPad and then use AirPlay to stream this to the tv via the Apple tv so I can watch it on a big screen? Are purchases from the iTunes store separate to the Apple tv purchases? My girlfriend has bought and downloaded Damages tv series on her laptop (currently working in amercia) so could I log in to the Apple TV using her account and stream damages, or would I have to wait for her to come back with the laptop with the damages episodes on then AirPlay them from the laptop? Sorry for all the questions but none of this is very clear even after readingthe apple store and various google searches. Thanks! |
Apple TV • Page 4
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IJ 1,028 posts
Seen 16 hours ago
Registered 20 years ago -
It acts as a hub between the iTunes store and your TV, it's not particularly good media player as it's not an open format and won't recognize most of the common formats, and it's not a great solid media replacement as iTunes store only serves up 720p HD at pretty uncompetitive prices.
It's selling quite well because people want an apple product and it's the cheapest one they have, in terms of functionality you'd be crazy to pick one up over say a Boxee, unless of course you plan to hack the thing and whack a proper media player on it.
Not sure if the newer models are any better.. -
Dougs 100,414 posts
Seen 19 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoAnd that's exactly what most people do. Or should at least anyway. Jailbreak and XbMC and you're golden unless 1080p is a must -
How good is the atv2 with xbmc on there?
Want a cheap silent media player for tv show mkvs. -
Blakester 5,234 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 17 years agocrashVoodoo wrote:
How good is the atv2 with xbmc on there?
Want a cheap silent media player for tv show mkvs.
I must admit, I wonder about this too.
I run XBMC from a 3 year old HTPC (has a core 2 duo processor and 2gb ram) and it can struggle with some of the fancier skins (like Aeon MQ2 for example).
I would happily pay the £100 for Apple TV if it runs XBMC without performance issues.
Can anyone offer their experience? -
XBMC, in the main, runs really well on Apple TV. I give it 7.5/10.
Pros: The ATV remote is lovley and works perfectly.
The Alaska Revisited skin is gorgeous and is my choice of skin.
The ATV device itself is tiny and supports optical out, Wifi and a wired connection.
Cons:
When viewing TV shows using the Panel Wide view, XBMC will very often crash and restart. Apparently it's a low memory bug. I've sent my debug logs off to the devs but nothing has been done about it yet.
Not a massive negative to me, but the ATV only supports 720p output. Apparently it will down-scale 1080p files but will stutter a bit.
When scrolling through lots of TV Shows or Movies, there's a very slight lag when compared to the PC version. It's not quite as smooth.
Some Apple TVs will ship with the older, and much naffer looking, white plastic remote control. This is missing the menu button. You need this in order to jailbreak the device in the first place.
Mine is currently suffering from a bug where when scanning for content, if it can't recognise a file or download the associated information I get a misleading error message telling me there's a problem with the remote server.
If it didn't crash and was a little bit smoother it'd easily be a 10/10. -
Blakester 5,234 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 17 years agoHairyArse wrote:
XBMC, in the main, runs really well on Apple TV. I give it 7.5/10.
Pros: The ATV remote is lovley and works perfectly.
The Alaska Revisited skin is gorgeous and is my choice of skin.
The ATV device itself is tiny and supports optical out, Wifi and a wired connection.
Cons:
When viewing TV shows using the Panel Wide view, XBMC will very often crash and restart. Apparently it's a low memory bug. I've sent my debug logs off to the devs but nothing has been done about it yet.
Not a massive negative to me, but the ATV only supports 720p output. Apparently it will down-scale 1080p files but will stutter a bit.
When scrolling through lots of TV Shows or Movies, there's a very slight lag when compared to the PC version. It's not quite as smooth.
Some Apple TVs will ship with the older, and much naffer looking, white plastic remote control. This is missing the menu button. You need this in order to jailbreak the device in the first place.
Mine is currently suffering from a bug where when scanning for content, if it can't recognise a file or download the associated information I get a misleading error message telling me there's a problem with the remote server.
If it didn't crash and was a little bit smoother it'd easily be a 10/10.
Thanks mate. Sounds like I'd be better sticking with the PC version.
I might be wrong but I don't think Apple TV 2 supports the Aeon skin either which is easily the best looking. -
I'm pretty sure I have it installed on mine but choose not to use it. I'll double-check tonight. -
install a newer version from the repro. -
I thought you were a software developer? -
They've had speed issues, so should update from the repro. -
coastal 5,432 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 15 years agoHairyArse wrote:
coastal wrote:
It's dead easy. Take a look on youtube. If I remember right the greenpoision one even says - plug this in now.. now press this...
HA, there's a fix for the apple updater prompt. Very useful as you're probably running on non-latest iOS.
Yeah I saw that option but didn't really know what it was for. What is it for?
If not too late, the apple updater fix simply stops the ATV2 prompting the user to install the latest iOS. If memory serves, it will exit out of xbmc to prompt you which can be a tad annoying.
I've had to ditch the ATV2 personally. It didn't have grunt to zip through a large library of movies. That might have been me creating too large poster files for the movies though. Secondly xbmc doesn't support the hold-press ability to scroll through a list. Not a biggy and hopefully they'll have a fix soon. I've replaced mine with a eMachines dual Athlon with a MCE remote and though a little more money is a far slicker UI experience. -
IJ 1,028 posts
Seen 16 hours ago
Registered 20 years agoStill got a few questions on this:
1) I have a tv in the bedroom, so I can just plug the apple tv into that tv and watch things wirelessly on that tv? And I could put a DVD into my MacBook and using AirPlay stream that to my tv in the bedroom?
2) Also could I watch streamed lovefilm movies on the iPad and then use AirPlay to stream this to the tv via the Apple tv so I can watch it on a big screen?
3) Are purchases from the iTunes store separate to the Apple tv purchases? My girlfriend has bought and downloaded Damages tv series on her laptop (currently working in amercia) so could I log in to the Apple TV using her account and stream damages, or would I have to wait for her to come back with the laptop with the damages episodes on then AirPlay them from the laptop?
thanks! -
2scoops 132 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 19 years agoBlakester wrote:
HairyArse wrote:
....
Thanks mate. Sounds like I'd be better sticking with the PC version.
I might be wrong but I don't think Apple TV 2 supports the Aeon skin either which is easily the best looking.
Have you tried Xeebo? Currently my fave skin, and runs really nicely on my ATV2.
Now I've disabled the check for updates, the only problem I've run into is a HDMI handshake issue between the apple tv & my AV receiver when starting the ATV up. But it only eats a couple of Watts at most, so leaving it on seems to be the answer.
My stuff's mostly 720p MKVs with AC3 or DTS audio - all runs without a hitch, no weird crashes or anything. It works so well the HTPC has been officially retired to the PC graveyard upstairs. There's now a cavernous space under the TV with a tiny black box in it, looking slightly lost. -
mrpon 37,366 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoAre the people here with good streaming setups running wired or wireless? I secretly know the answer, I just want closure so I can buy some Devlo's! -
2scoops 132 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 19 years agoWired. -
Blakester 5,234 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 17 years ago2scoops wrote:
Blakester wrote:
HairyArse wrote:
....
Thanks mate. Sounds like I'd be better sticking with the PC version.
I might be wrong but I don't think Apple TV 2 supports the Aeon skin either which is easily the best looking.
Have you tried Xeebo? Currently my fave skin, and runs really nicely on my ATV2.
Now I've disabled the check for updates, the only problem I've run into is a HDMI handshake issue between the apple tv & my AV receiver when starting the ATV up. But it only eats a couple of Watts at most, so leaving it on seems to be the answer.
My stuff's mostly 720p MKVs with AC3 or DTS audio - all runs without a hitch, no weird crashes or anything. It works so well the HTPC has been officially retired to the PC graveyard upstairs. There's now a cavernous space under the TV with a tiny black box in it, looking slightly lost.
Hmmm, I'd be loathed to give up on the Aeon skin. Nothing else out there looks better IMO.
Also, what's the size of your library? I assume this would also affect the performance. I have over 700 movies and nearly 500 TV episodes. -
Quite tempted by one of these, and this little bit from the website in particular has got me going:
How it works
1. Start watching a film or TV programme on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
2. Tap the AirPlay icon and choose Apple TV.
3. Whatever you’re watching will instantly begin streaming to your widescreen TV.
If it’s on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, it’s on Apple TV.
You can already stream music, photos and video from your computer to Apple TV. With AirPlay, you can stream it all from your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, too. So if you feel like watching a film you have on one of your devices, you don’t need to rent or buy it again. Simply tap to start playing content on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, then tap again to instantly stream whatever you’re watching — a home video you just recorded, or even videos from third-party apps and Safari websites — directly to Apple TV. AirPlay is available on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch near you.
The bolded bit is key for me. Does that mean if I have AVplayerHD on my ipad, I can stream the files in it to the Apple TV? -
Tonka 31,979 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoThe way I understand it is that the screen mirroring sorts everything out. If you can see it on your pad you can get it on your TV.
I'm running a campaign to get one for the office.
/imagines self doing presentations with iPad keynote displayed on the flat screen in the boardroom -
2scoops 132 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 19 years agoBlakester wrote:
2scoops wrote:
Blakester wrote:
HairyArse wrote:
....
Thanks mate. Sounds like I'd be better sticking with the PC version.
I might be wrong but I don't think Apple TV 2 supports the Aeon skin either which is easily the best looking.
Have you tried Xeebo? Currently my fave skin, and runs really nicely on my ATV2.
Now I've disabled the check for updates, the only problem I've run into is a HDMI handshake issue between the apple tv & my AV receiver when starting the ATV up. But it only eats a couple of Watts at most, so leaving it on seems to be the answer.
My stuff's mostly 720p MKVs with AC3 or DTS audio - all runs without a hitch, no weird crashes or anything. It works so well the HTPC has been officially retired to the PC graveyard upstairs. There's now a cavernous space under the TV with a tiny black box in it, looking slightly lost.
Hmmm, I'd be loathed to give up on the Aeon skin. Nothing else out there looks better IMO.
Also, what's the size of your library? I assume this would also affect the performance. I have over 700 movies and nearly 500 TV episodes.
Not quite that big! I've got about 300 decent quality movies & about 200-ish 720p TV eps, plus a mish-mash of dvd rips. About 3TB worth, all told. I tend to navigate using Files with my own folder/subfolder structure, rather than using XMBC's library Movie/TV shows - I just find it really annoying. -
Uncle_Silver 159 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 15 years agoAppleTV + XBMC + Icefilms plugin is awesome
Highly recommended (but illegal) -
mrpon 37,366 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoTonka wrote:
You mean the screen mirroring via the HDMI adaptor/cable that is available now? Yes from what I've seen on YouTube that is the case.
The way I understand it is that the screen mirroring sorts everything out. If you can see it on your pad you can get it on your TV.
I'm running a campaign to get one for the office.
/imagines self doing presentations with iPad keynote displayed on the flat screen in the boardroom
However, I believe the new iOS5 update will allow you to do this without the need for the HDMI adaptor/cable.
Oh and kal, I've got that player as well so I'll check tonight if no-one else has replied. -
Tonka 31,979 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 18 years agomrpon wrote:
Tonka wrote:
You mean the screen mirroring via the HDMI adaptor/cable that is available now? Yes from what I've seen on YouTube that is the case.
The way I understand it is that the screen mirroring sorts everything out. If you can see it on your pad you can get it on your TV.
I'm running a campaign to get one for the office.
/imagines self doing presentations with iPad keynote displayed on the flat screen in the boardroom
However, I believe the new iOS5 update will allow you to do this without the need for the HDMI adaptor/cable.
Oh and kal, I've got that player as well so I'll check tonight if no-one else has replied.
Ah shit, sorry. I forgot that it was during the iOS5 presentation I heard about it. -
mrpon wrote:
Oh and kal, I've got that player as well so I'll check tonight if no-one else has replied.
Cheers boss. -
As a completely pointless aside (unless you're worried about this kind of thing, like you're generating all your power by a bike attached to a transformer, or your hamster on its wheel), I ran a test on a 720p MKV in XBMC and it peaked at drawing 2.3 Watts.
I could run about 40 of these for the same power my old HTPC was using.
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