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IS Apple TV 3 the right choice?

Tander

Tander

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 21, 2011
676
1
Johannesburg, South Africa
Howzit guys,

So, I am considering ditching my Xbox 360 in favor of an Apple TV 3 for media streaming. However, it seems I will be very limited to what I can stream and how I can stream it.

At the moment my setup is this:

Windows 7 PC with a couple of HDDs with movies on it - in AVI and MKV format which then goes to a switch and my xbox connects to the switch. I use Tversity on the PC so the Xbox can see it and thus, can stream movies from all HDDs to the TV.

If I understand it correctly - the Apple TV needs iTunes to work and iTunes does not support AVI and MKV files, correct?

Is there a way to take the Xbox out and replace it with a Apple TV with my setup or is this not possible?

Thanks guys! :cool:
 
U

UG.Frontera

macrumors newbie
Aug 6, 2011
26
0
United Kingdom
I'm replacing my Asus eePC thing for the Apple TV3. My router supports my USB Western Digital and turns it into a NAS. Thing is to get the most out of the ATV is to jailbreak that badlad, and at this time I'm not aware of a Jailbreak has been release for the OS version it has.

I'm just going to wait for it and use mine for netflix for now.
 
spacesamurai

spacesamurai

macrumors member
Nov 27, 2011
36
0
Osaka, Japan
I think you will be in for a lot of work if you decide to go with the switch. Biggest reason is that the formats you listed will not be supported, so you will have to reformat them.

http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html

Also if you are using something besides iTunes, you will have trouble streaming your videos. Can't say I recommend on waiting for a jailbreak, but if you can make the switch to iTunes and H.264/MPEG-4, I would say go for it :)
 
S

silguy

macrumors newbie
Mar 16, 2012
7
0
IMO, if you already have everything working the way you want on your Xbox, no need to get the ATv 3. I already have 3 streamers at home (xbox360, wd tv live plus, patriot box). I just got the atv3 for the sole purpose of integrating the iOS to the big screen with 1080p. Personally, I use lots of different file formats and subtitles, so those were a key. I've been messing with the atv these couple days and I like it the best as a streamer with the right files. I try to download a file and start playing. So find the accepted iTunes format and enjoy. If you keep converting, it will take you a couple hrs before you can actually watch it on iTunes. But since you can mirror with iOS, I use air video. And thru time, I'm sure well be able to jb the new ATv and use xmbc. But those are like tversity...etc. so as mentioned, if you got everything u want from Xbox, no need for ATv unless u want iOS integration....
 
H

hafr

macrumors 68030
Sep 21, 2011
2,743
9
Since there is no jailbreak for the new ATV yet, you have to convert all your movies into an iTunes friendly format, using whatever software you feel fits you best, and you need to keep the computer running at all times to be able to watch your movies.

Unless you're willing to do this, I would recommend another solution, such as the WD TV Live.
 
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