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Would there be any point in getting an Apple TV?

chrisrosemusic1

chrisrosemusic1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
696
21
Northamptonshire, England
in getting an Apple TV?

I currently have a retina MBP 13", iPhone and 2 iPads. I've been pondering Apple TV on and off for a year or two now but I currently have an Xbox 360 in the living room (and the One pre ordered) so I can't decide if there would be any benefit/need in buying an Apple TV. Is there anything it can do (besides mirroring which I found to be laggy when trying a friends) that I can't do on the Xbox?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
L

Lord Hamsa

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2013
698
675
If AirPlay holds no interest for you, the only reason left to really consider ATV would be if you purchase DRM-protected content from iTunes that you want to display on the television.
 
chrisrosemusic1

chrisrosemusic1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
696
21
Northamptonshire, England
Lord Hamsa said:
If AirPlay holds no interest for you, the only reason left to really consider ATV would be if you purchase DRM-protected content from iTunes that you want to display on the television.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have mostly music licenses from iTunes and a couple of movies but nothing I'd really want to share on my TV. Could use it to rent movies but I also do this on the Xbox from the marketplace so that's also covered.

Can't seem to find a reason to buy one then :)
 
P

priitv8

macrumors 601
Jan 13, 2011
4,037
640
Estonia
chrisrosemusic1 said:
Can't seem to find a reason to buy one then :)
Click to expand...
Unless, of course, you have your own movies, that you'd like to stream to the big screen. It is a major misconception, that only DRM-ed movies from iTunes can be played on Apple TV.
It has it's quirks (eg single video format MPEG-4 Part 10 aka H.264 aka AVC support), but in general, it is possible.
 
L

Lord Hamsa

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2013
698
675
priitv8 said:
Unless, of course, you have your own movies, that you'd like to stream to the big screen. It is a major misconception, that only DRM-ed movies from iTunes can be played on Apple TV.
It has it's quirks (eg single video format MPEG-4 Part 10 aka H.264 aka AVC support), but in general, it is possible.
Click to expand...

That's not the issue - the point is for non-DRM media, the Xbox he already has can play that. Maybe the Xbox doesn't have the best interface, but the ATV wouldn't provide new functionality for that.
 
eecyclone

eecyclone

macrumors regular
Jul 10, 2013
105
0
I have both an ATV and 360 connected to my TV. It doesn't sound like you would get any benefit from the ATV in your setup. I have found that the ATV is much easier to navigate and more reliable when streaming media from my mac mini media server. Although it requires that I have my media in iTunes. It will keep track of the TV shows and movies I have watched, and keeps multiple rooms and computers in sync due to home sharing.

I also use the ATV for showing pictures that are on my computer or iPhone by using airplay. It also works well with watching youtube videos over airplay. You can also airplay from your MBP. It's not quick enough for gaming but it should be quick enough if you have a website or something else you want to show someone without them looking over your shoulder on your small laptop screen.

If you are happy with the xbox's interface, you wouldn't gain anything from the ATV. For me, I have enjoyed it and now use streaming WAY more than I used to.
 
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