Apple TV
- Thread starter SRock
- Start date
Don't know the first thing about it. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with it.
Me too. I don't have it, but I've been thinking about getting one. How do you like it so far?
I love my ATV and would not imagine myself without it.
I have the first generation model in the smallest storage space. I don't really regret purchasing this size because it stores about 10 movies but the way I have it set up with my computer is to be constantly connected to my itunes. Meaning the ATV doesn't really have any of the movies on the hard drive but it shows the movie collection on my computer. So I'll search through the catalog and then chose the movie and a few seconds go by before the movies begins.
I only store movies when we travel and I'll toss a few movies for the kids to watch on road trips and hook it up to my wife's tv set up in her truck. It is also nice because we can connect to hotel room tv's (if HDMI is available) and watch our movies. And you can use the hotels wireless to connect to your itunes and rent movies and avoid the stupid $15 movie rentals there. So obviously this works great when in someone else home.
Another plus is that I'm cataloging my DVD's and ripping them using Handbrake and it works with ATV.
The wireless works great and I have no issues with downloading movies except for HD movies which are painfully slow but I'm talking about a few minutes longer than normal downloads.
It is also great because sometimes we have it in the living room and if the kids want to use it we'll just unplug it and put it in the game room where they can watch tv shows and movies.
I don't really use it for pictures but I do have some on there and you can download from your computer and take them along to show your family a picture slide show.
One thing is that it heats up pretty good. The support says it is safe but I keep it off of any other appliance ie. cable box, dvd players.
I have the first generation model in the smallest storage space. I don't really regret purchasing this size because it stores about 10 movies but the way I have it set up with my computer is to be constantly connected to my itunes. Meaning the ATV doesn't really have any of the movies on the hard drive but it shows the movie collection on my computer. So I'll search through the catalog and then chose the movie and a few seconds go by before the movies begins.
I only store movies when we travel and I'll toss a few movies for the kids to watch on road trips and hook it up to my wife's tv set up in her truck. It is also nice because we can connect to hotel room tv's (if HDMI is available) and watch our movies. And you can use the hotels wireless to connect to your itunes and rent movies and avoid the stupid $15 movie rentals there. So obviously this works great when in someone else home.
Another plus is that I'm cataloging my DVD's and ripping them using Handbrake and it works with ATV.
The wireless works great and I have no issues with downloading movies except for HD movies which are painfully slow but I'm talking about a few minutes longer than normal downloads.
It is also great because sometimes we have it in the living room and if the kids want to use it we'll just unplug it and put it in the game room where they can watch tv shows and movies.
I don't really use it for pictures but I do have some on there and you can download from your computer and take them along to show your family a picture slide show.
One thing is that it heats up pretty good. The support says it is safe but I keep it off of any other appliance ie. cable box, dvd players.
I've also got a first generation but with greater hard drive space.
I truly like it and feel a tad neglected by Apple by this new model they've brought out. I do find that downloading a movie takes a huge chunk out of my broadband allowance (I'm capped at 20GB). However I'm a keen photographer and it's great seeing my pictures on a big screen.
I truly like it and feel a tad neglected by Apple by this new model they've brought out. I do find that downloading a movie takes a huge chunk out of my broadband allowance (I'm capped at 20GB). However I'm a keen photographer and it's great seeing my pictures on a big screen.
Personally, I think you get a better value by hooking up a Mac Mini to the TV than an Apple TV, simply because of the ATV's limited functionality. I've used both and far prefer the Mac Mini.
Mini is another good choice but at 5-6 times the price it should have a few more functions.
- Thread starter
- #8
I purchased one of the predecessor models of the Apple TV and have enjoyed it quite a bit. Primarily, I use it as a music streamer to my stereo and I like the fact that I can use an optical cable to connect it to my receiver. I understand that Apple's airport express can stream music as well, but I also use the Apple TV for the occasional HD movie rental or photo slideshow. I think that Apple will have to step up its game in light of the new Google TV and will have to enable apps and iOS on the new Apple TV. That said, when the new Apple TV comes out, I will sell the old one along with my xbox 360 in order to purchase the new Apple TV, which streams netflix (another function that I will use).
I think the ATV is particularly compelling for those outside the US, where Hulu and most other TV network streaming is not an option. I do wish it had Pandora support, but again that's not a consideration for someone outside the US.
Another cool thing about the Apple TV is that if you have a sizable DVD collection, you can digitize it using an app like Handbrake (this is legal if you actually own the DVD) to convert and compress it into a .m4v file that you load into your iTunes library and stream to the ATV.
Another cool thing about the Apple TV is that if you have a sizable DVD collection, you can digitize it using an app like Handbrake (this is legal if you actually own the DVD) to convert and compress it into a .m4v file that you load into your iTunes library and stream to the ATV.
That is a great project to work on. It's so much nicer having them at the touch of your fingertips at any time.
- Thread starter
- #12
This is something I'd like to do eventually but our DVD/Blu-Ray collection is excess of 500 movies.
I imagine that would take a long long time and a great deal more memory! 
I planned on buying one in an Apple store once they arrive, but in a fit of rage against Time Warner cable on Friday, pre-ordered one from Apple online and canceled my cable. I rarely watch live TV and mostly rely on netflix, hulu, or *ahem* other sources of content anyway. We'll see how it works out.
This is something I'd like to do eventually but our DVD/Blu-Ray collection is excess of 500 movies.
Brotha I just pop a DVD in before I got to bed and it's done by morning and then I put another one when I go to work. But it's nice when you're laying on the couch and too lazy to dig for Rocky IV.
Very interesting that this thread came up here. I have been looking at the Apple TV the last few days. I have a MacBook aluminum and am a supporter in Apple products, as I feel that although they are expensive, they are a better than value than their competition in that you get more product and better quality for your money. As far as the ATV goes, maybe someone can help me with a question (my intent here is not to hijack this thread but rather to answer a question that will help readers see the different ways in which this device can operate). I have a Canon HD camcorder, which records using the AVCHD codec. My movies are loaded on my MacBook as disk images (.dmg format) and when loaded, play through iMovie in HD (720p I believe). What I would like to know is if the ATV will stream and play the movies from my computer the same way, that is without any conversion on my part? My PS3 will play the movies in HD as recorded right from the SD card when it is inserted into my 80GB PS3.
When I purchased mine last year I was told yes. I haven't attempted to try it though. The AtV is pretty much a large ipod touch, without the touch. That's the comparison I got from the people at apple.
I think ROKU has a much better product. this site compares the Apple TV VS. Roku VS Boxee
http://newteevee.com/2010/09/01/comparison-apple-tv-vs-roku-vs-boxee-box/
http://newteevee.com/2010/09/01/comparison-apple-tv-vs-roku-vs-boxee-box/
I am thinking about just setting up a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) and making cable basic. That way I save about $100/month and can easily download any movie or stream any TV show through the HTPC. The only show I care about right now is Boardwalk Empire, which could easily be downloaded to the player. Plus I could install a Blueray drive and have that capability as well. The box would be less than $400. In 4 months it would pay for itself.
Can you edit and export the movies from your camera in iMovie? If so, you should be fine. You'd just export the movie into a .m4v format, which should be the default. You can then import the movie in iTunes (Open iTunes, go to File: Add to Library, then navigate to the file), and it should stream to ATV that way.
