Apple TV

scwazrh

I'm considering picking up one of these tomorrow , Any one have any opinions?????
My main itunes stuff is on a windows 7 laptop , does this make any difference???

dingding

I have a Windows 7 laptop with itunes and I can play the itunes library on the apple tv.

randomer

In the US apple TV is a potential replacement for cable, because of services like netflix. When I am in the US I use apple TV all the time, when I was last back in Ireland I rarely used it.

Saying that, the changes in the new IOS allow airplay to be used to stream a lot more content, so next time I am back in Ireland I expect to use it even more.

JoeA3

I got one last week and I'm really impressed with it. If you have an iPhone/iPad its a brilliant yoke to have to compliment those devices, as you can stream the content from them wirelessly to the Apple TV... and it's all so simple! Even better if you have a surround sound system hooked up to the TV, which I have... so I can instantly have my iphone music/video content stream through the TV and surround sound and control the music/playlists from the phone itself.

I also tried renting a couple of HD movies and that worked very well too. Picture and sound quality excellent (DD 5.1) although its not "full HD", its 720p, so a blu-ray will still have the edge. And the selection of rentals is far from huge but better than I expected. You do need a decent BB connection, I have 8MB and I didn't have any buffering issues, the movie played almost instantly.

I'd recommend it highly.

adox

A US iTunes account is recommended if you are using it for renting. Much better selection.

scwazrh

So I bought the apple tv today and I'm very impressed with it.Very simple connection just hdmi to tv & power supply. The included aluminium remote is very nice but as mentioned the iphone does the job as a remote. Its great to get to be able to use all my entertainment media on the tv instead of on a 15" laptop.

Would really recommend it , particularly given the low price €119.

blacknight83

Get xmbc running and it will be even better

BBMcQ

scwazrh wrote: »

Would really recommend it , particularly given the low price €119.

Robbery of a price. $99 in the US, should be about €80 over here. Particularly as the infrastructure (netflix etc) isn't in place here yet!

scwazrh

stuartmchugh wrote: »

Robbery of a price. $99 in the US, should be about €80 over here. Particularly as the infrastructure (netflix etc) isn't in place here yet!

That can be said about the price of every single item sold in Ireland when compared to US prices.

decob

blacknight83 wrote: »

Get xmbc running and it will be even better

+1

ted1

duty of 14% Vat of 21% .


eur119 is a good fair price based on the usd99 price

119/1.21=98/1.14=86 euro= 120 dollars.......


So looks like we are actually getting a better price than they get in the states.

BBMcQ

ted1 wrote: »

duty of 14% Vat of 21% .


eur119 is a good fair price based on the usd99 price

119/1.21=98/1.14=86 euro= 120 dollars.......


So looks like we are actually getting a better price than they get in the states.

Where are you going at all at all?

Take California, 9.5% sales tax: 99 USD plus tax = 108.405 USD = 77.6338 EUR. Versus 119 euro? *

I know we are generally way overpriced in this country, but a mark-up of 55% is a bit much!

101 GBP is probably worse in the UK! Considering the economies of scale you would expect this to be closer to the US price.

*The author does not promote nor condone the dodging of customs duty when bringing said item back into the EU however would not feel that bad about it, compared to say a few grand on a laptop!

ted1

21 tax is what we pay.
14% is the duty in Ireland.

the Tax is paid ontop of cost+duty.

i'll do the maths again for. 119 /1.21 =98.34 (apple TV + duty)
98.34 /1.14 =86.23 euro

using xe.com 86.23 becomes 120 USD

so we are cheaper........ for the base unit......

BBMcQ

I think your misunderstanding what I'm trying to say here...

If I walk into a shop in Ireland, I pay €119.

If I buy it in the US, I pay the approx equivalent of €77.

I don't know how I can make it simpler...

You are allowed to bring in goods (including gifts, souvenirs, perfume and clothing) free of duty, the combined value of which does not exceed: €430 in the case of an individual aged 15 years or over

ted1

you said

Robbery of a price. $99 in the US, should be about €80 over here. Particularly as the infrastructure (netflix etc) isn't in place here yet!

i 'm showing you that the price is actually a fair market price when compared to the price it is sold in america for.

As stated above you could make your statement againest every item and service offered in this country. You live in ireland, you must pay the taxs and duty.

as regards self importing, unless you carry the item in to the country either on your body or via your luggage you are classed as an importer. and will have to pay them. i.e if you order online their is no allowance.

Johnmb

ted1 wrote: »

you said



i 'm showing you that the price is actually a fair market price when compared to the price it is sold in america for.

As stated above you could make your statement againest every item and service offered in this country. You live in ireland, you must pay the taxs and duty.

as regards self importing, unless you carry the item in to the country either on your body or via your luggage you are classed as an importer. and will have to pay them. i.e if you order online their is no allowance.

While this is getting way off topic, Stuart is correct. Instead of working backwards as you have been doing, do it the normal way. $99 = c.€71 +14% duty = c. €81 + 21% VAT = c. €98 compared to the actual €119 charged. They come from China, so carriage from there to the US shouldn't be that much less than carriage to Europe. And the internal distribution within Europe shouldn't be any more than the internal distribution within the US, in fact it should probably be a bit cheaper due to the more compact nature of Europe.

Edit:
Actually, just did a quick search, and the cost difference is even worse from what I can see. The $99 starting amount would seem to include US import duties, so the amount we should be starting with to add our duties and taxes to should be less than the $99 US price, I can't find the actual duty amounts to make the adjustment though.

BBMcQ

Moral of the story. Buy it in the US if you can.

Deep Thought

Clicked this link hoping to get an idea if the Apple TV is any good

Instead saw folks having a competition over who is best at maths

If you want it....buy it, if ya dont...dont

But don't hijack a thread just to show who is better at calculation than who

:eek:

BBMcQ

Deep Thought wrote: »

But don't hijack a thread just to show who is better at calculation than who

Sincere apologies! Small point about price got blown out of proportion.

Anyway - I plan on getting one of these someday, there's just no need for it right now. I think the airplay features are very cool; to be sitting on your couch and have your iPhone/iPad/laptop loaded with movies and then go bam, stream to tv, is very nice. I know this has been around for a while with DNLA but I for one have never seen it working nor have I heard it catch on. Apple's unified, integrated approach once again is a huge draw here.

Also using your iPhone as a 700 euro remote seems like fun to me! I've seen the youtube playback and general iTunes browsing and its very slick. Makes sense as most people have a decent stereo/home cinema system connected to their TV so good quality sound is guaranteed! Airplay is coming to many apps too! Imagine Angry Birds on a 42" tv!

ted1

i have one, and highly recomend one. i have not used my blu ray player since i got the Apple TV. its best used with a USD ITunes acccount as you get new releases earlier and you get TV programs. they are also cheaper.

there no more forgetting to brign DVD's back etc,etc...

AlanD

Can anyone tell me how the AirPlay function works?

I understand the basics of, iOS device to apple tv streaming, but what I am wondering about is the tv end of things. I presume you still need to change input on the tv or does it auto switch when you AirPlay some media?

redout

ted1 wrote: »

i have one, and highly recomend one. i have not used my blu ray player since i got the Apple TV. its best used with a USD ITunes acccount as you get new releases earlier and you get TV programs. they are also cheaper.

there no more forgetting to brign DVD's back etc,etc...

So if I have a US iTunes account it will allow me to download movies even in Ireland ? I know this works with apps but just wanted to check.

BBMcQ

AlanD wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how the AirPlay function works?

I understand the basics of, iOS device to apple tv streaming, but what I am wondering about is the tv end of things. I presume you still need to change input on the tv or does it auto switch when you AirPlay some media?

Yep you need to select the correct input. Some tv's switch automatically upon sensing a new active hdmi connection.

BBMcQ

redout wrote: »

So if I have a US iTunes account it will allow me to download movies even in Ireland ? I know this works with apps but just wanted to check.

Spot on - you just need to use a US based credit card or US iTunes vouchers over the net.

JoeA3

stuartmchugh wrote: »

Yep you need to select the correct input. Some tv's switch automatically upon sensing a new active hdmi connection.

Yep, you'll probably need to switch on the tv and switch to the correct HDMI input manually. Assuming this was already done and the Apple TV was in standby (sleep) mode, it would "wake up" automatically if you stream from the iPhone.

You could also do as I have done and get a decent all-4-one programmable remote, such as the Harmony One, which makes all this device switching and controlling multiple sources a total breeze - I haven't even taken the plastic wrapping off the Apple TV remote, I use the Harmony for everything... but that's for another discussion!

Berty44

Got one of these at Christmas and it is a cool gadget. Watched some movies on it, handy rather than going up to video shop. Also watched some youtube stuff on it, better than sitting in front of the pc. Also can view trailers for what is in cinema so that was nice. Got it mainly to use airplay to watch content from my iphones apps but not able to currently do that on some apps.

Recent update I noticed that Major League Baseball now has its own section. Now I am not into baseball but if you were you could buy a thing called gamepass ( not sure of name ) and basically go in and be able to watch any of a number of live baseball games as they occur once the season starts in a few weeks. Alse read somewhere that this was going to aplly to NBA as well but not sure but its a good sign of things to come.

BionicRasher

OK -so I currently have a PC which will do all this and more (DLNA or just plain wireless streaming, will play any file I throw at it from attached 2TB storage etc etc) but I am wondering if I can make a switch to Apple TV and if its worth it as I can get one for €70 brand new (unwanted prize).

I have over 500 of my DVDs ripped to mostly DIVX or AVI files and I am wondering if Apple TV can play these or what needs to be done to convert to get them to play? Would I need to install XBMC?
Moving to Denmark soon and wondering if I will be able to rent movies from there? Do I need a US iTunes card or account or something?

JoeA3

I set myself up a USA itunes account the other day, and now the Apple TV really comes into its own! Much bigger movie selection (and more recent stuff) and TV shows, etc.
It's very easy to set one up, you don't even need a US credit card... just get some USA itunes vouchers off ebay

jesso

Few questions for you all ...

1 - Are tv show rentals available in Ireland yet (i.e. all the HBO stuff)?

2 - I have an ethernet network here in my house.... i.e. no wifi!
Will this be a problem? I know I can hook up the apple tv to ethernet and it will be able to download movies, use youtube etc no problem but for airplay ---- does there need to be an existing wireless network, or can my macbook/iphone/ipad talk directly to the apple tv?

Thanks

Feelgood

Not against Apple TV at all, but to be honest if you already have an external hard drive I would recommend looking at the Western Digital TV Live (WDTV).

http://www.wdtvlive.com/

Its cheaper and does pretty much everything if not more than the AppleTV does. You can connect 2 HDs and it is network ready. I have one and love it,
well worth the 100 euro or so.

Berty44

jesso wrote: »

Few questions for you all ...

1 - Are tv show rentals available in Ireland yet (i.e. all the HBO stuff)?

2 - I have an ethernet network here in my house.... i.e. no wifi!
Will this be a problem? I know I can hook up the apple tv to ethernet and it will be able to download movies, use youtube etc no problem but for airplay ---- does there need to be an existing wireless network, or can my macbook/iphone/ipad talk directly to the apple tv?

Thanks

Not seen any tv shows yet, just films. Sky Atlantic for HBO stuff.

You do need an exsiting wireless network to connect the iPhone. Not sure if you can connect your macbook/ipad by ethernet cable ( cannot rrmemebr if their is a second connction on it , don't think so though.