Apple TV -Thinking of getting -Pros&Cons

Leiva

As the title says ..

Im interested in the feedback from those of yous currently using Apple TV.

How do you find it ?

I do most of my media storage and playing on my PS3 so was thinking Apple Tv would be an improvement on that one aspect alone .

Ta
M.

kjl

get the boxee box, 10 times better.

Leiva

kjl wrote: »

get the boxee box, 10 times better.

It looks the part alright .

My only concerns are that some people say that most of the streaming content is US based and wouldn't be available in Irl, also that it's a D-Link :0

Stuxnet

pros ...?? its small

cons ... doesn't play normal codecs, you need to stream everything, convert to apple friendly codecs, no hard drive, its an over priced paper weight, but the fan boi's wont let you believe that. I have had a few iphones, i'm not an apple basher, but i like practical things,

alternatives: Western Digital TV Live Hub, plays practically every codec known to man, 1tb hd, slightly more expensive

boxee

ted1

i'd recomend it. My tv plays most files. So i just hook my external drive to that.My apple tv has replaced the need for me to goto extra vision. I've any film i want t watch im seconds.
It does exactly what it says on the box. I don't see the need for it to play other codecs!

Gregor Samsa

I have a PS3 and a laptop running Plex, and for the past couple of years I've been switching between both as my media player for my TV.

Both did the job, and the Plex setup certainly has loads of options and features, but I found that I was spending too much time troubleshooting when the PS3 or Plex couldn't find my media on my main Mac. With both I found myself going through the setup process again and again, after it working fine and me not having changed anything. That would have been fine 10 years ago when I had time to be messing around with configurations every night, but not so now.

Then I got an AppleTV 2 for xmas. Sure, it supports limited codecs, but all my music and ripped DVDs are in iPhone friendly formats already. But it just works. Home sharing hasn't let me down yet, and the iOS Remote App is just brilliant. AirPlay is also an amazing feature that you won't get with the PS3 or Boxee/Plex.

So it really depends. If you have a Windows PC with a load of Divx and AVI files, the Apple TV isn't going to do much for you. Ditto if you like the idea of, and have the time for, tinkering with endless settings.

If you've already got an Apple setup, and you just want to plug in two cables, set a password, and use your media, then the Apple TV is absolutely brilliant.

Pappacharlie

Just purchased Apple TV. What would you say is the minimum connection speed you need to get the best quality? How long should it take a movie to download? I have my Broadband service from a fixed wireless provider. I am supposed to have a 2MB download speed but I suspect it slows down a lot when streaming.

Spook80

I've a macbook pro and im thinking about getting an apple tv but the only thing thats concerning me is that i'm assuming that i'll have to turn on and leave on laptop every time i want to play music or films on apple tv.
Anyone know whether theres another solution like maybe an apple harddrive i could just store it all on connected to apple tv?

Gregor Samsa

DaveM80 wrote: »

I've a macbook pro and im thinking about getting an apple tv but the only thing thats concerning me is that i'm assuming that i'll have to turn on and leave on laptop every time i want to play music or films on apple tv.
Anyone know whether theres another solution like maybe an apple harddrive i could just store it all on connected to apple tv?

You'll need to have your MacBook running, and iTunes open on it, in order to stream anything to the AppleTV. Personally, my MacBook is on 24/7, but I know that doesn't suit most people.

It would be cool if Apple offered an affordable iTunes server with a Terrabyte or two, but they don't.

Spook80

cheers for the reply.

yeah i'm tempted to go out and get one tomorrow and see how i get on.
To be honest my macbook is on most of the time, i was only thinking ideally it'd be great, as you said to have it all stored on one device and then just carry it over and add more media whenever i want.

I wanna stick with apple anyway as i have iphone, ipad and macbook.
I assume you have the apple tv yourself?
Are you happy with it?

ted1

if your renting movies etc you only need your apple tv on. It streams directly to it from there servers.

cyberspi

as an fyi - I am supposed to have a 2mb connection but it took almost 4 hrs to download 'she's out of my league' in HD the other night. but for watching my movies in my itunes collection or even just browsing youtube its the mutts nuts..

Gregor Samsa

DaveM80 wrote: »

I assume you have the apple tv yourself?
Are you happy with it?

I got one fir xmas, and my post above goes into a bit more detail, but yeah, I'm very happy with it. It really comes into it's own if you have an iOS device and all your media in iTunes.

Eircom_Sucks

just get a wd media box

streaming is terrible on the apple tv

Gregor Samsa

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

just get a wd media box

streaming is terrible on the apple tv

Works perfectly well for me. What problems have you been having?

Spook80

cheers.
think im gonna stop by pc world or somewhere tomorrow and pick one up.
Once i decide im getting one i get very impatient and wouldnt mind having it for the weekend

Frank Grimes Jr

Stick to Standard Definition. Bit dismayed myself with HD rentals taking 2+ hours to buffer. I read after on the Apple support pages that 6MB broadband is recommended for HD. I have 2MB and switched off HD rentals, and the rental took a minute to buffer before playing.
Youtube in HD is nice on the telly, youtube search ken block gymkhana :cool:

Looking forward to opening a US itunes account and downloading HD TV series.

cyberspi wrote: »

as an fyi - I am supposed to have a 2mb connection but it took almost 4 hrs to download 'she's out of my league' in HD the other night. but for watching my movies in my itunes collection or even just browsing youtube its the mutts nuts..