Apple TV

[needforspeed]

Hey everyone,

Anyone here us Apple TV? If so what do you think? Give me any details you can.

[mr2mike]

I'm interested too but from what I've heard go with something else as Apple likes to lock out certain services, then there's an unlock patch posted and back and fourth. Typical like the iphone.

Right now, I just stream with a 1TB HD to a converter but you could use an old laptop or something with a TV out too. Doesn't look as nice though.

[rage2]

If you rent or buy movies and TV shows, Apple TV rocks. You'll want a US account for the good stuff.

If you want to stream movies remotely from a file server, there's better options than Apple TV.

[needforspeed]

Does apple tv steam as well though?

[ZorroAMG]

No, you need an iron for that.

[Ekliptix]

This thread is going sideways. Better straigten it out.

[mr2mike]

Yes it can stream but only through Itunes which means your AVI and MKV files won't work and need converting to MP4 versions. Which sucks if you have lots of videos already as I see the norm for the net being AVI's. MKV's for HD files.

[needforspeed]

All my video's are from ITunes. I get all the digital copies from my brother as he works at a local video store. So Iam wanting to be able to stream them to my tv as well as rent movies. Which I know that part.

[Q-TIP]

I have Apple TV just for the music/photos and video rentals. Nothing else on the market comes close to streaming your playlists remotely as easily as the Apple TV does. However as has been said, the video playback options are terrible. However I have a PS3 that works well for my selection of downloaded movies and I've tossed a 320gb hard drive in it to store the really High Def stuff so I don't get playback issues.

Honestly, I used to have a media center PC so I could play all sorts of digital media. However I came to the realization that I was sick of ripping DVD to hard drive when I realized it was just adding a step to the watching process. It really isn't that hard to grab a disc and toss it into the drive. Not to mention ripped Blu-Ray looks like shit even with the best HD compression technologies and the HD audio formats still can't be properly compressed.

If you are looking for streaming ONLY in an Apple format then ATV is wonderful. If you are looking to stream in ALL formats, get a PS3 or other cheaper option.

I actually like to pay for my media so the movie rental option on Apple TV kicks ass. It may not look as good as blu-ray but I also don't have to remember to return the damn disc either. For weekend morning movies the Apple TV rental system is impossible to beat.

[HaganDazs]

Asus O Play and WDTV HD live are terrific at $100 and $130 respectively.

Both will play 1080P mkv files and stream from the network or USB external drive. The WDTV can also stream from youtube and pandora.

Since I'm not tied down to the iTunes system, I find these better alternatives, and a bit cheaper than building a HTPC