Apple Releases Apple TV 2.3 Software Update

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/19/apple-releases-apple-tv-2-3-software-update/)

Apple has released a new update for the Apple TV tonight. Apple TV owners can download the new updates from their Apple TV's by accessing the "Update Software" menu option in their Apple TV's settings.

Apple has not released any documents about the changes found, and a cursory review of the menus have shown no major changes.

Apple last released an update to the Apple TV in October (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/03/apple-releases-apple-tv-2-2-update-with-genius-playlists/) which incorporated a number of new iTunes 8.0 features including the Genius playlist features.



Article Link: Apple Releases Apple TV 2.3 Software Update (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/19/apple-releases-apple-tv-2-3-software-update/)

[Me1000]

ANyone have word on what happens if you have boxee installed?
Does it break it, and require you to rehack?


Who cares.

someone with an :apple:TV maybe? :rolleyes:


EDIT: Mybibby edited his post after mine (or during the time it took me to type it), BTW

[smurfjammer]

Downloading it now - will let people know if I have any issues with it...

[epicycle]

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3187

[saltyzoo]

[response to off-topic post that's been deleted]
That article completely misses the point and focus Apple has for the :apple:TV.

I agree that Apple's focus is too narrow and it's the consumer that suffers for it. But the fact is they consider it nothing more than a portal to their service. They consider use of their products in ways that don't benefit Apple further to be detrimental to their bottom line. Even if they are actually limiting their sales in the end. End of story. It's the company culture. Thanks Mr. Jobs.

[retroneo]

It woud be nice if you could use the iPhone remote as a replacement for the little white one instead of having to swap back and forth...

[Mindflux]

Shoot I'm still on the 1.x series. :D

[Cave Man]

If I read that right, there's video playlists now.

[DipDog3]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

Did it add anything?

[aawil]

It woud be nice if you could use the iPhone remote as a replacement for the little white one instead of having to swap back and forth...

I still don't understand why they haven't done that. It's idotic to have to use both.

[benlee]

[offtopic post]

Who what????

Anyways. The notes are interesting. Does that mean we finally get volume controls?

Perhaps we could see remote control ability over wifi with iPhone????

[NRose8989]

I hope this doesn't break my boxee hack, boxee is the greatest thing that has ever come to the apple tv.

[mambodancer]

It woud be nice if you could use the iPhone remote as a replacement for the little white one instead of having to swap back and forth...

You mean more than what the remote app on the iPhone already gives you?

Because you can already use the iPhone to control the appleTV and pick and choose which TV, Movies or music you want to watch or listen to.

I'll upgrade tonight and test the new functionality with my iPhone and see how it affects aTV (and Boxee).

[smurfjammer]

If I read that right, there's video playlists now.

You have to turn it on but there are smart playlists

[gcmexico]

I hope this doesn't break my boxee hack, boxee is the greatest thing that has ever come to the apple tv.
*
any word on this yet? boxee is awesome...hope it doesn't break it!

[smurfjammer]

Who what????

Anyways. The notes are interesting. Does that mean we finally get volume controls?

Perhaps we could see remote control ability over wifi with iPhone????

Only when playing music not when playing TV shows or movies :(

[salvatorereda]

What About Hulu!
Or Rss Feeds
Or Streaming Video Podcast
Or Web Access

This Thing Is Not Living Up Too Its Potential

Looks Like Boxee Tv Still Is Better And Free

http://salvatorereda.com/wordpress/

[GeekLawyer]

Ahh... I love my :apple:TV. Keep the "hobby" going, Steve!!

[rhett7660]

Anybody who has installed this, have you had any issues?

[warlun]

The volume adjust is not working for me... is there something I have to do to switch this feature on?

[smurfjammer]

Anybody who has installed this, have you had any issues?

I've installed it and had a quick play - the only thing I noticed was a bit of lag in the menus

[yancey47]

Installed it.... Boxxeee is gone, then my tv melted and my cats died.
:eek::mad::mad::apple::confused::D:p:rolleyes::eek::mad:

[tbsteph]

The volume adjust is not working for me... is there something I have to do to switch this feature on?

Look in the settings menu - audio/video. There is a tab to turn volume control "on". Only works when listening to music.

[smurfjammer]

The volume adjust is not working for me... is there something I have to do to switch this feature on?

You have to turn it on under Settings > Audio & Video

EDIT: Don't worry already been asnwered

[Me1000]

Installed it.... Boxxeee is gone, then my tv melted and my cats died.
:eek::mad::mad::apple::confused::D:p:rolleyes::eek::mad:

So which part is sarcasm?

(if the boxee part wasn't: were you able to rehack the AppleTV?)

[sonictonic]

Thumbs up from me! They finally fixed the issue where if you have ONE episode of a podcast it would say "Contains: 1 Episode" - it now has the full description, length, etc. like it used to and should have. THANK YOU APPLE!

Video playlists is AWESOME too! Big time! How do we access that feature exactly?

[edzworld]

TV v2.3 fixes soft subtitles display. It no longer cuts them off and properly displays multiple lines.

I have not reloaded Boxee as the update wipes it from the box. I will add back shortly as I am still looking to see what other undocumented fixes there might be.

EDIT: Don't know if this is already known, but on the Settings>General>About screen, pressing the Play/Pause cycles through the Version, Build, OS, EFI, IR version, etc.

[jbellanca]

Installed it.... Boxxeee is gone, then my tv melted and my cats died.
:eek::mad::mad::apple::confused::D:p:rolleyes::eek::mad:

But did you recreate your Boxee patch stick and reinstall it?

[mcbane666]

It has newly added rentals and newly added purchases under movies.

[Kilamite]

Ah what! We can use the Apple Remote to adjust volume now?!!!

I'll install this in the morning, see what the craic is.

[Danksi]

does it fix the firewall error when syncing?

Looks like I will have to reinstall boxee again.

[smurfjammer]

Ah what! We can use the Apple Remote to adjust volume now?!!!

I'll install this in the morning, see what the craic is.

Only for music!

[downinitjr]

Hurray!, they've also added proper hd logos to user encoded movies as well!

[GottaLoveApple4]

I love my Apple TV! Good to see they are still improving it!! Now I just have to plug in my patchstick again to reinstall boxee:D:apple:

[sonictonic]

HEADS UP PEOPLE USING BOXEE!

According to Boxee the patch stick will no longer be recognized after updating to 2.3.

http://twitter.com/boxee/status/1014066216

Proceed with caution until they find a fix...

[mcewen98]

I love my Apple TV! Good to see they are still improving it!! Now I just have to plug in my patchstick again to reinstall boxee:D:apple:

I'll be interested in hearing how that goes for you. It doesn't sound too hopeful for atvusb-creator: http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/issues/detail?id=136

[segfaultdotorg]

Does it enable HDCP?

[edzworld]

It has newly added rentals and newly added purchases under movies.
As well as Recently Played, Highest Rated, and video playlists.

What's great is that movies playback-to-back - great for a movie night!

[edzworld]

I'll be interested in hearing how that goes for you. It doesn't sound too hopeful for atvusb-creator: http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/issues/detail?id=136

Guess I'll hold off until I hear better news on that front.

[Cave Man]

Does it enable HDCP?

It's had HDCP since it was released, in all likelihood.

[casik]

so stoked.... downloading this when i get home! i love apple TV updates!

[pkoch1]

You mean more than what the remote app on the iPhone already gives you?

Because you can already use the iPhone to control the appleTV and pick and choose which TV, Movies or music you want to watch or listen to.

I think they are talking about navigating the on-screen menus with the iPhone remote. That's the only way to access Settings, the iTunes store, etc.

[Peace]

You mean more than what the remote app on the iPhone already gives you?

Because you can already use the iPhone to control the appleTV and pick and choose which TV, Movies or music you want to watch or listen to.

I'll upgrade tonight and test the new functionality with my iPhone and see how it affects aTV (and Boxee).

I think they are talking about navigating the on-screen menus with the iPhone remote. That's the only way to access Settings, the iTunes store, etc.

Keep in mind the Remote on the iPhone under wireless is only using 802.11g not 802.11n

[laidbackliam]

Keep in mind the Remote on the iPhone under wireless is only using 802.11g not 802.11n

does it really need to use 802.11n? i think the g standard is quite ok.

[williedigital]

Why is volume control only available for music and not movies??

[JonHimself]

Keep in mind the Remote on the iPhone under wireless is only using 802.11g not 802.11n

Also, unless I'm missing something, but if the Apple TV is sleeping (or suspended, whatever) you still need to use the remote to wake it from sleep. I see that as the only problem in having it be a complete replacement.

[Michael CM1]

If I read that right, there's video playlists now.

Ahem...

ABOUT G-- D--- TIME!! I might have found my main Christmas want if this is true. I like using video playlists when I go to sleep, which restricts me to just using my computer. But this could allow me to use my TV and my extra-comfy sofa (it's huge!). AAAH it's about time.

Now, if I could just get a little Netflix streaming.....

[mambodancer]

I think they are talking about navigating the on-screen menus with the iPhone remote. That's the only way to access Settings, the iTunes store, etc.

Yes. I see that now.

I wonder though, if we might not finally see a touch screen controller and net Mac at Macworld. I'd love an expanded remote control for both AppleTV and the MacMini.

And how about NetFlix integration with watch now and queue management, Hulu and Boxee support direct from Apple...

On another note, I have seen remote controls for home entertainment systems that completely control the appleTV as well as all of the attached video and audio components. Very nice too.

[Michael CM1]

does it really need to use 802.11n? i think the g standard is quite ok.

802.11g works fine, but I hate needed to use mixed mode when I could be getting a much faster connection with an 802.11n-only network. I think this gets lost on a lot of companies (even Apple), but I must admit it's a very small priority when you talk about extra costs of an N adapter and extra battery suckage on a device like the iPhone.

[GottaLoveApple4]

How exactly do you stream to other Apple TV's or Airport Express's around the house in the new update? Does it show a speaker popup on the now playing screen like the iphone? I don't have other external speakers, but when I get other airports for the garage and deck I would like to know. Just curious:confused::D

[mikeinternet]

oh yea.
now i can finally play my Simpsons playlist. all 420 episodes playing at random = the ultimate Simpsons Channel.

[ntrigue]

Can I use my Logitech Harmony now? It's been tucked away in the closet :(

[Cave Man]

Can I use my Logitech Harmony now? It's been tucked away in the closet :(

I've been using mine with that ATV since February of 2007.

[ntrigue]

Why is volume control only available for music and not movies??

Largely because they expect you to be in the room with video whereas with music you can be in another wing listening Airport speakers and still seeking control.

I've been using mine with that ATV since February of 2007.

100% functionality. You can lose the Apple Remote?!

[smurfjammer]

Largely because they expect you to be in the room with video whereas with music you can be in another wing listening Airport speakers and still seeking control.

Also that most are run through some sort of sound system with their own remote

[basesloaded190]

100% functionality. You can lose the Apple Remote?!

i never use the apple remote. been using my harmony remote for some time now

[danny_w]

Very doubtful, but did they add 4:3 support? If not I'll stick with my hacked v1.0 firmware. Does anybody know of a way to set 4:3 on v2.x firmware, since displayconfig no longer works?

[smurfjammer]

Very doubtful, but did they add 4:3 support? If not I'll stick with my hacked v1.0 firmware. Does anybody know of a way to set 4:3 on v2.x firmware, since displayconfig no longer works?

Sorry no.....

[adm58]

oh yea.
now i can finally play my Simpsons playlist. all 420 episodes playing at random = the ultimate Simpsons Channel.

Heh. 420.

[napabar]

Great update! Thoughts so far:

Volume works with music videos, not just audio files.

With volume control, and improved streaming artwork with the last Remote App update, I will use Apple TV as my server, and not my iMac in my office. Now, when I have parties, I can use my iPhone and friends can use the little white remote. There won't be any confusion/mess. And it can play in my bedroom with Airpot Express and my bookshelf speakers.

Downside:

I've lost a "zone", since my iMac can't act as a client to Apple TV. Not a big deal, but I hope they add this in an iTunes update


Largely because they expect you to be in the room with video whereas with music you can be in another wing listening Airport speakers and still seeking control.

That would be true if you were using the iPhone to control Apple TV, but not the little white remote. You'd have to be in the same room. I want volume control across the board with Apple TV.

Also that most are run through some sort of sound system with their own remote

That would be true of Music too. Again, I want volume control across the board.

[Vintage Season]

Hmm... based on previous developments, how long would folks expect it to take before video playlists are also available in Front Row?

- M.

[Josh396]

I've installed the update but I'm currently unable to see any video playlists. Do they somehow have to be enabled first or does anyone know if you're computer has to be set up to sync with the AppleTV first? As of right now my iMac and MacbookPro only stream data to my AppleTV. Thanks in advance.

[smurfjammer]

I've installed the update but I'm currently unable to see any video playlists. Do they somehow have to be enabled first or does anyone know if you're computer has to be set up to sync with the AppleTV first? As of right now my iMac and MacbookPro only stream data to my AppleTV. Thanks in advance.

It's under SETTINGS

[heyjp]

This is a terrific release. I have SOO much wanted my AppleTV to stream to my 3 other Apple Expressi around the house. Always had to do that from my MacBook Pro for a party. Now the AppleTV does the work!!

Also, I can control the entire house while sitting on the back deck with my iPhone.

Double also, Apple finally fixed the terrible lag in the user interface. Before when working the menu structure, pressing a remote button could take anywhere from 1/2 seconde to 30 seconds for the AppleTV to acknowledge. It was awful.

Knock on wood, but so far it all seems to be much more reasonable and predictable. (Except when the ATV is synching to iTunes.) At least now, they pop up a message on the AppleTV when you click a button and it's synching, warning that it won't respond.

Boo yah!!

JP

[Josh396]

It's under SETTINGS
Where exactly is it under the settings? I've checked all the categories two or three times and still don't see an option for video playlists.

[sonictonic]

Where exactly is it under the settings? I've checked all the categories two or three times and still don't see an option for video playlists.

Haha I was wondering too then found it. Under Audio/Video and Playlists where the default is Music Only. Change it to "All" and you're all set!

[Josh396]

Haha I was wondering too then found it. Under Audio/Video and Playlists where the default is Music Only. Change it to "All" and you're all set!
Awesome, thanks for the help!

[PIX]

After the upgrade to 2.3 none of the audio from 5.1 videos can be heard on my Denon receiver. I had to roll back to factory settings to get AC3 sound to play again. What a drag.:(

[natebookpro]

802.11g works fine, but I hate needed to use mixed mode when I could be getting a much faster connection with an 802.11n-only network. I think this gets lost on a lot of companies (even Apple), but I must admit it's a very small priority when you talk about extra costs of an N adapter and extra battery suckage on a device like the iPhone.

Yea, I just got a Time Capsule and plugged my old Linksys g router into the back of it and am running two networks. iPhone hops on the g network, the :apple:TV and laptop get on the n only network.

[cmendill]

Increasingly I find myself bewildered by the odd choices apple makes when updating their software. Like when ATV 2 came out and they decided people no longer needed to organize their tv shows by season.

How does a decision like this get made? Really? You would have to try to make a decision this bone-headed. The mind reels.

The ATV is the only Apple product that really falls short of what is possible.

At least they are still updating it.

[midiotlv]

This is the update I've been waiting for since day 1.....

The ability to not only turn down from the Apple remote, but to finally FINALLY be able to control airtunes and other iTunes computers FROM my AppleTV (I was happy when ATV became an airtunes repeater, but this is what I really wanted).

At first I went in through the settings to turn on my airtunes speakers, but while a song was playing I held down play/pause (which used to just bring up the genius menu) and now there is a Speakers option.....nicely done.

Volume control works great for me, too.

Thanks Steve and Apple! This doesn't make us friends again (I'm still upset about lack of FW on new macbook) -- but it gets us closer to talking. :)

-D

[gmanrique]

It used to work fine to put the ATV to sleep until the previous update, which added the setting\standby option. After that, no luck when turning off.
I will test with this new version .
I'\ve been using mine with that ATV since February of 2007.

[ipedro]

Previously, when the iPhone Remote app was controlling tv, there was no volume slider. There is now :-)

I just installed an Airport Express that leads to speakers in the shower (call me vain, I like to sing in the rain). I would often forget to turn on my MacBook Pro and open iTunes. This makes the whole controlling my home entertainment via tv a complete package.

I programmed tv to recognize my Sharp Aquos remote... but this comes at the same time that the tv remote can now control volume, the only reason why I kept the Sharp Aquos remote around.

I must say, it's fun to use my regular TV remote to control tv. You almost expect it to not work but it does so brilliantly and the programming can be no simpler. Pure Apple.

Apple got this update just right!

[mcdj]

HOLY MOTHER OF JOBS!!! ALBUM ART ON THE IPHONE IS FIXED!!!

I have all my music stored on the ATV (not streamed). The iPhone Remote app would only show maybe every 3rd or 4th album cover on the Now Playing screen, even with the latest Remote update which specifically mentioned fixing this. It didn't. But now, at last, I get every album cover, after about a 1 sec. delay. I just tested it with at least 25 songs. It was flawless. Woot!!!

[Danksi]

does it fix the firewall error when syncing?

It would appear not. :(

[avneron]

hopefully within 24hrs or so boxee/xbmc will be able to run on the 2.3 firmware

[TwinCities Dan]

hopefully within 24hrs or so boxee/xbmc will be able to run on the 2.3 firmware

Yeah, sounds like they'll have a workaround soon... :confused: ;) :)

[MagnusVonMagnum]

The reviews here sounded nice for this update so I immediately updated one of my two AppleTV units to 2.3. The other one upstairs has no video monitor connected to it (I stream to it using my iPod Touch and Airtunes normally in my high-end music only system). I immediately want to try out the direct control AirTunes feature. So I go into AirTunes and select the upstairs AppleTV unit in the music only system from the menu and unselect the home theater AppleTV unit I'm using. I go to My Music and select a song to play. It says "Connecting to ATV2" in the upper corner and the music starts to play upstairs (yay!). About 5 seconds later the music stops and the AppleTV appears to be LOCKED UP.

Oh joy. I just LOVE having to pull the power cord and watch sparks fly when I plug it back in because Apple chose to believe its AppleTV product NEVER needs to be reset ever (I've had to reset it about 2 dozen times in the past year like this). It reboots. I attempt to play a song again (this time a different song) and select only the upstairs room to play again. It says "connecting to atv2" and it cannot connect. I assume this means I'll need to reboot the upstairs AppleTV because it's ALSO crashed. So I go back to the Airtunes menu and unselect that unit and select the home theater unit only that I'm using and go back to My Music (which apparently thinks it's still playing) and try to get to that song to stop/start it. The screen goes black and it LOCKS UP AGAIN.

Lovely Update Apple. Just Lovely.

I may or may not have to update the upstairs unit to get it to respond correctly (it always worked fine from my Mac and PC as an AirTunes device, though so I don't see why it would need it to simply receive the Airtunes from the downstairs one. And I don't know why the downstairs one would crash either. I'll have to play around with it some more. But suffice to say, I'm getting pretty tired of having to pull the plug to make the thing reboot.... Why oh why could they not just include a simple reset button on the front or back of the unit....

[TuckBodi]

The reviews here sounded nice for this update so I immediately updated one of my two AppleTV units to 2.3. The other one upstairs has no video monitor connected to it (I stream to it using my iPod Touch and Airtunes normally in my high-end music only system). I immediately want to try out the direct control AirTunes feature. So I go into AirTunes and select the upstairs AppleTV unit in the music only system from the menu and unselect the home theater AppleTV unit I'm using. I go to My Music and select a song to play. It says "Connecting to ATV2" in the upper corner and the music starts to play upstairs (yay!). About 5 seconds later the music stops and the AppleTV appears to be LOCKED UP.

Oh joy. I just LOVE having to pull the power cord and watch sparks fly when I plug it back in because Apple chose to believe its AppleTV product NEVER needs to be reset ever (I've had to reset it about 2 dozen times in the past year like this). It reboots. I attempt to play a song again (this time a different song) and select only the upstairs room to play again. It says "connecting to atv2" and it cannot connect. I assume this means I'll need to reboot the upstairs AppleTV because it's ALSO crashed. So I go back to the Airtunes menu and unselect that unit and select the home theater unit only that I'm using and go back to My Music (which apparently thinks it's still playing) and try to get to that song to stop/start it. The screen goes black and it LOCKS UP AGAIN.

Lovely Update Apple. Just Lovely.

I may or may not have to update the upstairs unit to get it to respond correctly (it always worked fine from my Mac and PC as an AirTunes device, though so I don't see why it would need it to simply receive the Airtunes from the downstairs one. And I don't know why the downstairs one would crash either. I'll have to play around with it some more. But suffice to say, I'm getting pretty tired of having to pull the plug to make the thing reboot.... Why oh why could they not just include a simple reset button on the front or back of the unit....

Why don't you just terminal in and do a sudo reboot? Most times for me, even if the ATV looks like it's frozen, I can still log in and run the reboot command.

[smurfjammer]

There's an update for the iPhone/iPod Touch remote app as well...

[Vanilla]

At least they are updating the thing, which should help to dispel the theory that it was reaching eol.

[slapppy]

I'm seeing reports here that it breaks 5.1 Audio from Handbrake rips. Is this true? :confused:

[eddyg]

Also that most are run through some sort of sound system with their own remote

also - a lot of movies and tv shows are using Dolby digital audio - most of mine in fact. The atv can't adjust the volume on ac3, it simply passes it through. So the user experiance would be confusing with some video having volume adjustment and not others.

Cheers Ed

[chr1s60]

The remote learn feature is awesome! I hated always using that little white remote. Now I can control tv with my normal tv remote and not have to worry about losing the little white one.

[slapppy]

Just checked AppleTV forum at Apple site. Reports are coming up that 2.3 is killing DD playback from HB files.

[adamberti]

Very doubtful, but did they add 4:3 support? If not I'll stick with my hacked v1.0 firmware. Does anybody know of a way to set 4:3 on v2.x firmware, since displayconfig no longer works?

I have a crappy old 4:3 TV... I use boxee on OS 2.2. You can adjust the video and set the four corners to match your TV so the display is correct. Do this while playing a video in boxee. I can't remember all the steps, but they're there. I use the main OS for music and boxee for all my video needs. Works great.

[skrutzen]

Yes it does break the HB encodes. I no longer have 5.1 DD. Interestingly enough, when I play my DTS or DD music files, they only show as being 5.0 not 5.1 like they used to be. Audio on my movies are no longer working. The movies play but it's complete silence.

[neil51]

When you press and hold the pause/play button to put ATV to sleep it bounces around the menus like crazy. I have changed batteries, unpaired, repaired restarted tryed the suspect remote on my macbook, it's fine. If you hold it down for a couple of seconds ATV may sleep but then bounces back on.

[MacFly123]

Very doubtful, but did they add 4:3 support? If not I'll stick with my hacked v1.0 firmware. Does anybody know of a way to set 4:3 on v2.x firmware, since displayconfig no longer works?

Why in the world would you ever want to watch something in full screen???

Anyway, I LOVE my Apple TV and am happy that the updates keep coming. Yes I know there are a lot of cool things Apple could do with the Apple TV, but I am very happy with all it does for me now. If anything, id want more movie rentals and for 48 hours on the day of DVD release than features any day! But that's all up to Hollywood :rolleyes:

[tbohlsennswssrg]

It woud be nice if you could use the iPhone remote as a replacement for the little white one instead of having to swap back and forth...

You can't because the iPhone Remote using Wifi (IEEE 802.11), while the the 'little white remote' uses infrared and the iPhone/iPod Touch does not have infrared

[steve-p]

You can't because the iPhone Remote using Wifi (IEEE 802.11), while the the 'little white remote' uses infrared and the iPhone/iPod Touch does not have infrared
I don't think anyone is suggesting that the iPhone would send IR, as it obviously couldn't. However the same functionality could be duplicated via the network and therefore the remote app could use it.

[Torodd]

I have hated apple for not including video playlist-functionality / video-looping on the ATV. This is an essential feature if you would want to use ATV for professional presentations and marketing. Finally, it seems apple has brought full videoplaylist / looping-functionality to ATV and I am all tumbs up! This is the best news since the initial launch!

[steve-p]

HOLY MOTHER OF JOBS!!! ALBUM ART ON THE IPHONE IS FIXED!!!

I have all my music stored on the ATV (not streamed). The iPhone Remote app would only show maybe every 3rd or 4th album cover on the Now Playing screen, even with the latest Remote update which specifically mentioned fixing this. It didn't. But now, at last, I get every album cover, after about a 1 sec. delay. I just tested it with at least 25 songs. It was flawless. Woot!!!
About time too :D

Now all I want is to be able to rate tracks using it (and have it sync the rating back to the master iTunes database) but I don't suppose that will happen.

[joemama]

Well, no one mentioned it yet so I feel obliged to.

Still no DVR which = no sale.

There. Now, we can all discuss how Apple never will add the feature. Enjoy!

[Marvin1379]

This is a terrific release. I have SOO much wanted my AppleTV to stream to my 3 other Apple Expressi around the house. Always had to do that from my MacBook Pro for a party. Now the AppleTV does the work!!

But did they fix the aTV to update the metadata on the tracks to mark it as played? This was unreliable in the past few updates.

[mechamac]

What a nice surprise the update's remote learning feature is. Just tried it with the multi-function remote that came with my Samsung TV, and setting the remote to "STB" and following the AppleTV's instructions (found in the Remote menu) worked perfectly. Range and accuracy seem better than Apple's itty bitty remote. And to think I was considering buying a Logitech universal remote for my meager TV setup....

[ipedro]

The Genius menu now works correctly. Prior to the update, when you'd enter Genius, the current song would restart. Now, it just continues playing and switches to the Genius playlist as expected.

[OllyW]

Well, no one mentioned it yet so I feel obliged to.

Still no DVR which = no sale.

There. Now, we can all discuss how Apple never will add the feature. Enjoy!

How could they add this through a software update? :confused:

[TheCheapGeek]

They can add it through software update because the apple tv is a small computer with a hard drive so all you need is software to allow recording of tv and allow tv input via the usb port.

[OllyW]

They can add it through software update because the apple tv is a small computer with a hard drive so all you need is software to allow recording of tv and allow tv input via the usb port.

Since when has there been a USB video output on a TV?

[afoessel]

Just to thank for reporting not to upgrade Apple TV since Boxee would not work. Last night I was debating whether taking the update. Glad I did not. Apple TV is becoming more useful because of Boxee than because of iTunes movies.

[cmendill]

Why don't you just terminal in and do a sudo reboot? Most times for me, even if the ATV looks like it's frozen, I can still log in and run the reboot command.

As far as I know, there is no patchstick for 2.3 yet, and he never mentioned having ssh enabled. So I'm assuming that's not an option for him.

My ATV locks up regularly, and when i don't feel like rebooting politely via ssh, i too love to watch the sparks fly.

[pilotError]

Increasingly I find myself bewildered by the odd choices apple makes when updating their software. Like when ATV 2 came out and they decided people no longer needed to organize their tv shows by season.

How does a decision like this get made? Really? You would have to try to make a decision this bone-headed. The mind reels.

The ATV is the only Apple product that really falls short of what is possible.

At least they are still updating it.

It would seem like they have some College interns doing the work...

Knowing Apple, you should've expected the thing would be crippled in some way or another in order to get you hooked then keep you happy with the occassional update.

Well, no one mentioned it yet so I feel obliged to.

Still no DVR which = no sale.

There. Now, we can all discuss how Apple never will add the feature. Enjoy!

Some folks just don't get it. Would they magically put a BMC connector on it to catch the cable input? It's a streaming device meant to open up the Apple's little world of iTunes to your TV. If you want a good DVR solution, go Tivo and get the software to send it to your Mac.

Seriously, another useless post.

Damn, I just got my invite to Boxee and was about to try it out. I guess I'll wait a few days then.

[Nimiety]

This is horrible.

The update sounds fantastic (learning remote function alone is awesome, plus hd movie flags, etc...), but if it brings up new problems playing back DD5.1 that's a deal breaker.

Are these problems isolated only to HB or VH encoded files as well? Is it simply looking at the meta field and therefore this can be bypassed? Is there anywhere people are talking about this bug/feature in more depth and detail? Why is this only mentioned by a handful of users?

N...

[Diatribe]

I am still waiting for


HD music videos
Apps
Song and album ratings
Song texts
Visualizer


Can't be that hard to do... :rolleyes:

It's getting there though.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

Well, no one mentioned it yet so I feel obliged to.

Still no DVR which = no sale.

There. Now, we can all discuss how Apple never will add the feature. Enjoy!

How could they add this through a software update? :confused:

They couldn't. The AppleTV doesn't have any AV inputs. DVR functionality will never come to the AppleTV as we know it. This would require a complete redesign.

[Mindflux]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)



They couldn't. The AppleTV doesn't have any AV inputs. DVR functionality will never come to the AppleTV as we know it. This would require a complete redesign.

It wouldn't require anything more than a USB dongle with the appropriate inputs.

[JAWWC]

Are these problems isolated only to HB or VH encoded files as well? Is it simply looking at the meta field and therefore this can be bypassed? Is there anywhere people are talking about this bug/feature in more depth and detail? Why is this only mentioned by a handful of users?

N...

I'm with you... I don't understand why this isn't a huge deal on the forums? It's essentially my iTunes library broken if I update!

[saltyzoo]

It wouldn't require anything more than a USB dongle with the appropriate inputs.

Using that logic it could also be a helicopter. It wouldn't require anything more than bolting an engine with rotors on top.

[Mindflux]

Using that logic it could also be a helicopter. It wouldn't require anything more than bolting an engine with rotors on top.

Yeah, that's it. My idea is realistic (and already doable with EyeTV and software) where yours is completely insane. :rolleyes:

[hitekalex]

Yes it does break the HB encodes. I no longer have 5.1 DD. Interestingly enough, when I play my DTS or DD music files, they only show as being 5.0 not 5.1 like they used to be. Audio on my movies are no longer working. The movies play but it's complete silence.

What??? This is ridiculous. Is Apple breaking this stuff on purpose to keep us buying the content off ITMS?? Broken DD 5.1 passthru is a complete deal breaker, as this basically makes my whole movie library unwatchable. I am staying with 2.2 until this is fixed.

:mad:

[Diatribe]

Using that logic it could also be a helicopter. It wouldn't require anything more than bolting an engine with rotors on top.

Ooooooh. Now that'd be nifty. I have absolutely no idea what I would use it for but I am sure Apple could make me want it :D

[colinmack]

Why in the world would you ever want to watch something in full screen???

It's not necessarily to watch TV/movies full screen, it's to have the proper aspect ratio and letterboxing when widescreen material is played back.

I shouldn't have to modify the playback size of every single video I encode to have them displayed properly, and I'm not about to replace my perfectly good $10000 TV because Apple didn't bother to include an aspect ratio setting (which would clearly be a no-brainer for them).

[JW008]

I'm with you... I don't understand why this isn't a huge deal on the forums? It's essentially my iTunes library broken if I update!

I know! I check all the headlines before I leave for work in the morning, but I don't catch up on the forums until I get there, so I didn't see this issue until after I left the house.

Why isn't this front page news? Don't most* people rip DVDs to their Apple TVs?

If I'd have hit the snooze button twice instead of three times I would have updated this morning and lost my hundreds of DVD rips. Thank God for the snooze button!

*most=people who have AppleTVs and are reading MacRumors.

[imacericg]

How can I go back to 2.2?

ALL of my movies have been ripped in 5.1 from Handbreak and they are now useless.

[colinmack]

This is horrible.

It is.

[saltyzoo]

Yeah, that's it. My idea is realistic (and already doable with EyeTV and software) where yours is completely insane. :rolleyes:

Hey, I used your logic, so call it insane if you want.....


The point is that adding USB devices to the Apple TV would be neither simple, nor straightforward. It would cause endless support issues, increase testing and development costs, reduce revenue from Apple's online offerings, and provide no additional revenue to Apple. From Apple's point of view it's no different than you buying a DVR on your own anyway with no benefit to them. From their point of view you might as well make it a helicopter. It would make as much sense to them.

[saltyzoo]

I know! I check all the headlines before I leave for work in the morning, but I don't catch up on the forums until I get there, so I didn't see this issue until after I left the house.

Why isn't this front page news? Don't most* people rip DVDs to their Apple TVs?

If I'd have hit the snooze button twice instead of three times I would have updated this morning and lost my hundreds of DVD rips. Thank God for the snooze button!

*most=people who have AppleTVs and are reading MacRumors.

I dunno, maybe the headline "All you people violating copyright laws DON'T update your apple TVs" didn't seem to fit. :p

It does suck to high heaven though it doesn't shock me.

[JAWWC]

I dunno, maybe the headline "All you people violating copyright laws DON'T update your apple TVs" didn't seem to fit. :p


Not Violating anything in the UK! It's legal to make backups!

[wwooden]

I woke up this morning and saw this thread and was going to update my :apple:TV then, but decided to wait until after work to read reviews. Glad I did, seeing that it disabled 5.1 playback. That is a huge blow to the :apple:TV community, since most rip their own videos. I really hope that either Apple releasing an update soon to fix this, or there is an easy way to fix the file so I don't have to re rip everything again. Even though 2.2 has caused a lot of network and connection problems for my system, I'm sticking with it until this is resolved.

[Mindflux]

Hey, I used your logic, so call it insane if you want.....


The point is that adding USB devices to the Apple TV would be neither simple, nor straightforward. It would cause endless support issues, increase testing and development costs, reduce revenue from Apple's online offerings, and provide no additional revenue to Apple. From Apple's point of view it's no different than you buying a DVR on your own anyway with no benefit to them. From their point of view you might as well make it a helicopter. It would make as much sense to them.

If you insist. Tivo's only source of revenue aside from initial purchase cost is the cost to download the guide and further development of the software on the boxes in existence. Apple could do the same thing. Since the AppleTV already has a USB port, create a dongle and guide software with DVR capability and charge a flat fee $15/mo for guide updates and added software features. Wallah, instant revenue.

:eek: Imagine that.

How does turning the AppleTV to a helicopter add revenue for Apple?

[NightStorm]

To everyone stating that you no longer receive 5.1 from your Handbrake files...

Do you still get a 5.1 signal on your receiver during the AppleTV startup movie? This file was used by the devs to figure out how the AC3 in MP4 worked in the first place.

[foofan]

maybe its best to just leave the appletv alone. its a neat product that has lots of potential. Maybe its best not to try to hack the thing or spend your time ripping dvd's with 3rd party apps. Lets just watch and see where apple takes this thing.

[JW008]

I dunno, maybe the headline "All you people violating copyright laws DON'T update your apple TVs" didn't seem to fit. :p

It does suck to high heaven though it doesn't shock me.

That headline sounds about right to me!:eek: But in all seriousness, even a note about "previously acquired" 5.1 files would be nice. (well, nice for others, it really doesn't do me any good since I already know)

So we're pretty sure this "bug" was purposeful?

[NightStorm]

That headline sounds about right to me!:eek: But in all seriousness, even a note about "previously acquired" 5.1 files would be nice. (well, nice for others, it really doesn't do me any good since I already know)

So we're pretty sure this "bug" was purposeful?
How in the world we know if it was purposeful? All we have here is a bunch of conjecture at this point...

[Mudbug]

I spent some time after updating last night trying to get the TV to learn the AV2 setup on my DirecTV remote, but after setting the up button, it won't learn the down or side buttons. Anyone able to make it work correctly so far, and if so, how?

[paul4work]

Since they removed the ability to go to standby without menus, any update is moot to me. I most frequently use ATV for music. Since Harmony remotes don't handle the "A,B,C" keys for my DVR well, I've given them up. This means to use the ATV's video, I have to cycle through 8 settings on my TV just to get to view the menus on ATV to put the darn thing to sleep. Now I just keep it unplugged most of the time. It's also crazy that EVERY time I open iTunes it turns the ATV on to sync it. I can't tell you the amount of energy wasted by the ATV being on and spinning with my screen saver for DAYS without me even being aware of it. So, as I said, I keep that electricity vacuum called the ATV unplugged.

[purd002]

Before I left for work this morning I did a quick test on the last 3 movies of mine that I ripped via HB. I'm pretty sure they were all encoded and played back Dolby Digital before the update (i'll check my settings when I get home), but they did not playback DD this morning instead all i could get was DPL which is better than some who are claiming no soundtrack at all.

Somebody on the handbrake forum said this could be happening if you did not encode AC3 + AAC since it appears the new update did break DD

[basesloaded190]

It's not necessarily to watch TV/movies full screen, it's to have the proper aspect ratio and letterboxing when widescreen material is played back.

I shouldn't have to modify the playback size of every single video I encode to have them displayed properly, and I'm not about to replace my perfectly good $10000 TV because Apple didn't bother to include an aspect ratio setting (which would clearly be a no-brainer for them).

$10,000 TV :eek: You my friend either put one too many zeros or you have one bad ass 1080p projector.

[BaldiMac]

Oh joy. I just LOVE having to pull the power cord and watch sparks fly when I plug it back in because Apple chose to believe its AppleTV product NEVER needs to be reset ever.

But suffice to say, I'm getting pretty tired of having to pull the plug to make the thing reboot.... Why oh why could they not just include a simple reset button on the front or back of the unit....

I do sympathize with your bad experience, but Apple did consider the need to reset the AppleTV. Simply hold down MENU and the "-" button on the remote.

[I apologize in advance for this remark...]

Why oh why can't people RTFM before complaining!

[Again, sorry :D]

[timholtz]

It seems like all I've heard here is people stating they've heard rumors that Handbrake rips with DD 5.1 are broken with the update. Can anyone confirm that this in an actual fact?

[Nimiety]

$10,000 TV :eek: You my friend either put one too many zeros or you have one bad ass 1080p projector.

Technically, it's just an antique - a $10K TV 8 years ago would only cost $2K today. :)

Anybody remember the insanity of seeing plasma TVs along high tech company walls before the bubble burst? I saw a 50" plasma in our local Costco warehouse for $900! My how technology depresses prices...

Also, from the Apple forum, one person noted that while the 5.1 track no longer works, the 2 channel stereo track does get passed over properly, so if you encoded properly with both you would get audio (albeit poor compared to 5.1). Think less of a minor disaster and more of a major problem.

I agree that if the apple startup video still works, then it's still technically possible and just a matter of figuring out what changed. Handbrake does include a tag for "encoded with", so I'm crossing my fingers hoping that it's as simple as deleting that tag on any previously encoded files to get them to work again, however, that would require proving that a Visualhub encoded files (which doesn't tag that field) do still pass through 5.1.

...And I'm not going to be the one to try checking that out. ;) Anybody else?

N...

[colinmack]

$10,000 TV :eek: You my friend either put one too many zeros or you have one bad ass 1080p projector.

Just a huge Sony rear projection TV from before the prices came down (1080i-capable)... I'd love for it to die so I could make an argument for a nice LCD or plasma, but it keeps on ticking...

[aduteau]

Is it me .. or would it be wayyy cool to have apple TV (in a future upgrade ... maybe 3.0) that would have apps ( A.K.A Widgets) that we could pop up on screen anytime while watching a movie or listening to a song (just like on the iMac). These apps or Widgets could tell us the weather, Stocks, RSS feeds from news networks and more. Using Internet for apple TV would bring endless possibilities !!!

[Nimiety]

It seems like all I've heard here is people stating they've heard rumors that Handbrake rips with DD 5.1 are broken with the update. Can anyone confirm that this in an actual fact?

Read posts on page 1 or 2 in this thread, and check the Apple support forum for apple tv - several users have reported the problem and a few had provided the clarity that it's the 5.1 passthrough, not all audio, that's "broken".

N........

[purd002]

Read posts on page 1 or 2 in this thread, and check the Apple support forum for apple tv - several users have reported the problem and a few had provided the clarity that it's the 5.1 passthrough, not all audio, that's "broken".

N........

that appears to be my saving grace since all of my rips included the passthrough track as well as the AAC track which can be encoded to DPL. Not as good but at least it's watchable.

[Mudbug]

Is it me .. or would it be wayyy cool to have apple TV (in a future upgrade ... maybe 3.0) that would have apps ( A.K.A Widgets) that we could pop up on screen anytime while watching a movie or listening to a song (just like on the iMac). These apps or Widgets could tell us the weather, Stocks, RSS feeds from news networks and more. Using Internet for apple TV would bring endless possibilities !!!

makes you wonder why there's not more internet-appliance functions for it, like widgets. Seems natural, the connectivity is already there, and it's more than capable of putting things on the screen... maybe a widget store for TV?

[JAWWC]

that appears to be my saving grace since all of my rips included the passthrough track as well as the AAC track which can be encoded to DPL. Not as good but at least it's watchable.

Is this the standard apple tv preset?

[diamond.g]

Since when has there been a USB video output on a TV?

What does that have to do with capturing the video on the AppleTV?

[spice weasel]

Is this the standard apple tv preset?

Yes, as of HB 0.9.2. Prior to this, there was no option for AC-3 passthrough (so it doesn't matter anyway).

[The Tall One]

I find that all of those updates seem completely and utterly necessary for that product. I don't understand how it released without the ability to see your playlists!?!?

[fivepoint]

I'm seeing reports here that it breaks 5.1 Audio from Handbrake rips. Is this true? :confused:

Just checked AppleTV forum at Apple site. Reports are coming up that 2.3 is killing DD playback from HB files.

What??? This is ridiculous. Is Apple breaking this stuff on purpose to keep us buying the content off ITMS?? Broken DD 5.1 passthru is a complete deal breaker, as this basically makes my whole movie library unwatchable. I am staying with 2.2 until this is fixed.

:mad:


Does anyone have the definitive answer on this yet???? This is a BIG deal.

[JAWWC]

Yes, as of HB 0.9.2. Prior to this, there was no option for AC-3 passthrough (so it doesn't matter anyway).

At the risk of sounding stupid.... is DPL 5.1? (Sorry I don't know much about audio)

[freeny]

Add DVR. otherwise i already have a tivo.

[ascender]

You know, I just wish they'd concentrate on getting a stable & reliable Apple TV before adding any new features. When the ATV works, its a fantastic product, but unfortunately its one of the buggiest products they've ever released.

[guzhogi]

My family's thinking about getting a big screen TV (or at least bigger than our current TVs) as a family Christmas present and maybe getting an :apple:TV w/ it since I have quite a few TV shows on my computer that we all like. I hope this update will make a good impression on me and my family if we get one.

You know, I just wish they'd concentrate on getting a stable & reliable Apple TV before adding any new features. When the ATV works, its a fantastic product, but unfortunately its one of the buggiest products they've ever released.

I've found a lot of Apple products have been buggy lately, so that says something.

[purd002]

for those specifically concerned with the update and DD 5.1 here is the thread from the Handbrake forum where they are discussing the issue

http://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7734

[Cave Man]

At the risk of sounding stupid.... is DPL 5.1? (Sorry I don't know much about audio)

No, it's not. Have a read here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=387209). Basically, it's this:

Dolby Pro Logic (and Dolby Surround) - up to 4 analog channels (R, L, C, Rear mono)
Dolby Pro Logic II - up to 5 analog channels (R, L, C, Rr, Lr)
Dolby Digital (encoded in an AC-3 track) - up to 8 discrete channels (but usually only 6; R, L, C, Rr, Lr, LFE sub)

[GregA]

100% functionality. You can lose the Apple Remote?!

The Harmony One does up/down/left/right/pause/menu no probs.

I can't get it to
1) sleep the AppleTV
2) it doesn't seem to do an accelerated scroll down a long list of songs. It wants to go one by one. But up seems to work... so not sure what the issue is.

Hey, does programming a new remote to work the AppleTV mean that we can program features that aren't shown on the current remote? Or just the same buttons?

[aduteau]

makes you wonder why there's not more internet-appliance functions for it, like widgets. Seems natural, the connectivity is already there, and it's more than capable of putting things on the screen... maybe a widget store for TV?

Widget Store for :apple:TV would be very interesting .. seriously .. imagine having all of these widgets and their information On screen anytime while watching a movie ... That would be insane !

[megfilmworks]

All of my HD TV shows (from iTunes) have been copying back (sync) to my ATV since the upgrade and ones that had not been re synced won't play (format unplayable). Has the format changed? Anyone else see this?

[bacaramac]

Well, some on the Handbrake forums are saying that it did not break DD. I would stick with devs/mods on Handbrake forum for true confirmation. Dynaflash sometimes posts on these forums and he has been notified per the thread over on HB so he should be looking into it.

[ascender]

How hard can it be to make it reliable though?

Installed update this morning. Son starts to watch a film. He comes home this afternoon and resumes watching the film to get the old invalid file format error. So we have to reboot. Try again and after pressing start from beginning we get a "synching with iTunes" thing which seems to last for ages. Let's not even mention the lingering Apple logo or blank menus which also need reboots.

If Apple could just give me a clue where to start to give me the best chance of having a reliable ATV then that would be progress.

The product has such potential, but just seems to be deeply flawed.

[harper101]

Hey Everyone-

I'm curious.... How people are programming 3rd party remotes to work with AppleTV, and does this include cable tv remotes....?

Also, are we able to control the volume on our AppleTV's with our little white remotes?


I haven't seen any postings on either. Thanks!! :D

[weldon]

It definitely doesn't break all Handbrake encodes. I just played a file I made a long time ago and I'm getting surround sound (my receiver lights up with DD5.1 and I can hear audio in the rear speakers).

[ipedro]

Hey Everyone-

I'm curious.... How people are programming 3rd party remotes to work with AppleTV, and does this include cable tv remotes....?

Also, are we able to control the volume on our AppleTV's with our little white remotes?


I haven't seen any postings on either. Thanks!! :D

After selecting the Remotes menu under Settings, there is a new line in the menu to Learn Remote.

tv then asks you one by one to press and hold the button, corresponding to the function highlighted on the screen. You get visual feedback when you're pressing a button.

tv will recognize any IR remote this way. It's plain brilliant and done so simply.

[JW008]

So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but after reading these forums and the handbrake forums it's looking like if you ripped with AC3+AAC you have 5.1, but if you only ripped AC3, you do not have 5.1. I'm not home and haven't updated. Can someone who has both types of files and updated to 2.3 confirm?

[bacaramac]

So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but after reading these forums and the handbrake forums it's looking like if you ripped with AC3+AAC you have 5.1, but if you only ripped AC3, you do not have 5.1. I'm not home and haven't updated. Can someone who has both types of files and updated to 2.3 confirm?

This is what it is looking like, thank god I used AAC+AC3 container. I would imagine since HB Devs reverse engineered the startup movie that this is the case. Apple is trying to break as many things as they can without breaking their own movies.

[harper101]

After selecting the Remotes menu under Settings, there is a new line in the menu to Learn Remote.

tv then asks you one by one to press and hold the button, corresponding to the function highlighted on the screen. You get visual feedback when you're pressing a button.

tv will recognize any IR remote this way. It's plain brilliant and done so simply.

How the heck do you guys get the Apple symbol?

[mcewen98]

Since they removed the ability to go to standby without menus, any update is moot to me. I most frequently use ATV for music. Since Harmony remotes don't handle the "A,B,C" keys for my DVR well, I've given them up. This means to use the ATV's video, I have to cycle through 8 settings on my TV just to get to view the menus on ATV to put the darn thing to sleep. Now I just keep it unplugged most of the time. It's also crazy that EVERY time I open iTunes it turns the ATV on to sync it. I can't tell you the amount of energy wasted by the ATV being on and spinning with my screen saver for DAYS without me even being aware of it. So, as I said, I keep that electricity vacuum called the ATV unplugged.

I've read that standby usage is around 13 watts and playing video or audio uses 17-19.

[JW008]

So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but after reading these forums and the handbrake forums it's looking like if you ripped with AC3+AAC you have 5.1, but if you only ripped AC3, you do not have 5.1. I'm not home and haven't updated. Can someone who has both types of files and updated to 2.3 confirm?

This is what it is looking like, thank god I used AAC+AC3 container. I would imagine since HB Devs reverse engineered the startup movie that this is the case. Apple is trying to break as many things as they can without breaking their own movies.

Confirmed on the Handbrake forums. http://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7734

Yep - just done a quick test and created 2 files, one with AC3 only and one with both AAC & AC3. The AC3 only movie had no sound, the one with both tracks played the DD5.1 track.

[spice weasel]

Apple is trying to break as many things as they can without breaking their own movies.

I wonder if this is the case, or if it was just oversight on Apple's part. I can only speak for myself, but I haven't purchased a single movie or TV show from iTMS, and only a handful of music albums back in the day. The reason I bought the ATV was to put my personal DVD collection on it. I suspect the same is true for a lot of other folks. I can't really see Apple purposely trying to sabotage these users, as they would just lose the customer altogether. Better to have people at least buy an ATV than to buy nothing at all. But with Apple, who knows. I love the company, but I question a lot of things it does.

[saltyzoo]

I wonder if this is the case, or if it was just oversight on Apple's part. I can only speak for myself, but I haven't purchased a single movie or TV show from iTMS, and only a handful of music albums back in the day. The reason I bought the ATV was to put my personal DVD collection on it. I suspect the same is true for a lot of other folks. I can't really see Apple purposely trying to sabotage these users, as they would just lose the customer altogether. Better to have people at least buy an ATV than to buy nothing at all. But with Apple, who knows. I love the company, but I question a lot of things it does.

Apple doesn't see the ATV hardware as a profit center. They could care less about those using it for their personal collections. The ATV is a portal to their online service. Any other use of the device is ancillary to them.

[bubba*nix]

Since they removed the ability to go to standby without menus, any update is moot to me. I most frequently use ATV for music. Since Harmony remotes don't handle the "A,B,C" keys for my DVR well, I've given them up. This means to use the ATV's video, I have to cycle through 8 settings on my TV just to get to view the menus on ATV to put the darn thing to sleep. Now I just keep it unplugged most of the time. It's also crazy that EVERY time I open iTunes it turns the ATV on to sync it. I can't tell you the amount of energy wasted by the ATV being on and spinning with my screen saver for DAYS without me even being aware of it. So, as I said, I keep that electricity vacuum called the ATV unplugged.

Can you not hold the Play button down for 5 seconds and it sleep? That's what I do (albeit I'm still on 2.1).

[TuckBodi]

As far as I know, there is no patchstick for 2.3 yet, and he never mentioned having ssh enabled. So I'm assuming that's not an option for him.

My ATV locks up regularly, and when i don't feel like rebooting politely via ssh, i too love to watch the sparks fly.

"(I've had to reset it about 2 dozen times in the past year like this)"

That's what I was referring to....

[TuckBodi]

About time too :D

Now all I want is to be able to rate tracks using it (and have it sync the rating back to the master iTunes database) but I don't suppose that will happen.

Signal can do this.

[Kilamite]

Works fine for me.

Glad to see they've put in a volume control for music - but it is disappointing that it doesn't apply to movies. They need to size down the volume display too, especially if this was at some point added to movies.

I have yet to see if this works over optical, but I see no reason why it shouldn't.

[spice weasel]

Apple doesn't see the ATV hardware as a profit center. They could care less about those using it for their personal collections. The ATV is a portal to their online service. Any other use of the device is ancillary to them.

I understand this. But I'm just saying that I highly doubt that, if say Apple were to break 5.1 completely for people who did their own encodes, many people would suddenly start buying the crappy stereo SD movie offerings the iTMS has.

Oftentimes, if people can't have it their way, they choose not to have it at all.

[Tilpots]

Apple doesn't see the ATV hardware as a profit center. They could care less about those using it for their personal collections. The ATV is a portal to their online service. Any other use of the device is ancillary to them.

Dude you're killin' me. They don't see the hardware as a profit center? Ridiculous. It's called Apple TV, not iTunes Storefront. I'd venture to say the majority of media played back thru the Apple TV is not from the iTunes store. Especially not with Boxee around.

Apple TV is Apple's most crippled device. No DVR, , no 1080p, no physical media drive, no internet support other than iTunes access. Quit drinking the Kool Aid and realize you're happy with a half assed product. It may do what Apple says it's supposed to, but that ain't much.

To hear all these cheers becasue they put in volume control? Beyond me. Way beyond me. Call me when they make the Apple TV a viable product...

[saltyzoo]

Dude you're killin' me. They don't see the hardware as a profit center? Ridiculous. It's called Apple TV, not iTunes Storefront. I'd venture to say the majority of media played back thru the Apple TV is not from the iTunes store. Especially not with Boxee around. I disagree. I think the vast majority of ATV users don't even know about Boxee or Handbrake.

Apple TV is Apple's most crippled device. No DVR, , no 1080p, no physical media drive, no internet support other than iTunes access. Quit drinking the Kool Aid and realize you're happy with a half assed product. It may do what Apple says it's supposed to, but that ain't much.

Who said I was happy with / about it? I certainly didn't. In fact, I'm just realistic about how Apple views the product. I don't like it one bit.

[ipedro]

Dude you're killin' me. They don't see the hardware as a profit center? Ridiculous. It's called Apple TV, not iTunes Storefront. I'd venture to say the majority of media played back thru the Apple TV is not from the iTunes store. Especially not with Boxee around.

Apple TV is Apple's most crippled device. No DVR, , no 1080p, no physical media drive, no internet support other than iTunes access. Quit drinking the Kool Aid and realize you're happy with a half assed product. It may do what Apple says it's supposed to, but that ain't much.

To hear all these cheers becasue they put in volume control? Beyond me. Way beyond me. Call me when they make the Apple TV a viable product...

Disconnect your phone line. You'll be waiting a long time.

[Kilamite]

I disagree. I think the vast majority of ATV users don't even know about Boxee or Handbrake.

I'd say you're right about Boxee, but not right about HandBrake.

The Apple TV is a hobby, and the majority of users will be using it as a hobby and ripping their DVD's to put onto their Apple TV and HandBrake is the best way to do that.

There is probably only a very small amount of people who solely bought an Apple TV to rent movies and nothing more.

[ipedro]

There is probably only a very small amount of people who solely bought an Apple TV to rent movies and nothing more.

Perhaps amongst the pioneers... but I'm witness to the fact that friends who come over fall in love with the device and several have already bought one. They use it to display the content they have on their iTunes already and have been getting into purchasing TV shows and renting movies. They almost never delve further into ripping and the sort.

My financial advisor came over one time and asked me how I was playing music on my TV and controlling it with my phone. I pointed at the tv and gave him a quick tour. When I told him it was basically an iPod for your TV, he immediately understood the concept. We had another meeting last week and he told me he had bought one. He's not your type of person to get into ripping DVDs and all that geeky stuff. He simply follows the concept.

[parkds]

Hurray!, they've also added proper hd logos to user encoded movies as well!

How do you add the HD logo to user encoded movies so that it appears?

[spice weasel]

I'd say you're right about Boxee, but not right about HandBrake.

The Apple TV is a hobby, and the majority of users will be using it as a hobby and ripping their DVD's to put onto their Apple TV and HandBrake is the best way to do that.

There is probably only a very small amount of people who solely bought an Apple TV to rent movies and nothing more.

I'm not even sure he's right about Boxee. Just look at all the attention it has gotten from a bunch of different sites. People are literally begging for invites. The ATV is still a hobbyist's toy, and hobbyists are the ones likely to familiarize themselves with all the latest tricks.

I agree 100% with your last statement, which was what I was getting at earlier. That's why Apple needs to start moving away from the iTMS model. It might work if the offerings were outstanding, but it just doesn't cut it when the movies to buy are crap quality, you can't buy HD movies, and you can get TV shows off the internet or from Netflix.

I understand the studios are a PITA to deal with, but come on Apple, it's time to make the ATV truly shine.

[shabby]

I love the ability to control my AirTunes Speakers throughout my house by the Apple TV. So for example i can now use the convenient user interface of the Apple TV to control my music in the garden or in my other rooms who are all connected with AirTunes.

Its now a real multimedia center which competes with much more expensive systems. I am speaking only about music btw.

[mcewen98]

How do you add the HD logo to user encoded movies so that it appears?

This isn't a new thing. It's automatic for me.

[Cave Man]

Hurray!, they've also added proper hd logos to user encoded movies as well!

This was already in 2.2 of the OS. I have several blu-ray to ATV transcode and they all have the HD symbol.

[MobyIck]

Ok so I updated my Xbox 360 last night and let me tell you, the netflix streaming works amazingly well. I watched 5 episodes of 30 rock effortlessly in high def with no significant wait times.

Usually I've been waiting for appletv upgrades with bated breath, but at this point, who cares.

Netflix streaming is a dealbreaker. Come on Apple, get your act together and make a deal with them already.

[spice weasel]

Netflix streaming is a dealbreaker. Come on Apple, get your act together and make a deal with them already.

From your mouth to Steve Jobs' ears...

[fiardinkum]

Good update, now I can stream music around the house without using a computer. I have five things to say to Apple about this and the last update:

1 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
2 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
3 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
4 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
5 PLEASE PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION

Putting my Apple-TV into standby mode is now a pain in the butt.

[kiranmk2]

Good update, now I can stream music around the house without using a computer. I have five things to say to Apple about this and the last update:

1 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
2 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
3 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
4 PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION
5 PLEASE PUT BACK THE PRESS-HOLD STANDBY OPTION

Putting my Apple-TV into standby mode is now a pain in the butt.

You can achieve the same thing by holding down menu until the main menu appears and then holding play/pause and the aTV will go into standby. Essentially the same thing, but you have to hold an extra button first.

[Kilamite]

Perhaps amongst the pioneers... but I'm witness to the fact that friends who come over fall in love with the device and several have already bought one. They use it to display the content they have on their iTunes already and have been getting into purchasing TV shows and renting movies. They almost never delve further into ripping and the sort.

My financial advisor came over one time and asked me how I was playing music on my TV and controlling it with my phone. I pointed at the tv and gave him a quick tour. When I told him it was basically an iPod for your TV, he immediately understood the concept. We had another meeting last week and he told me he had bought one. He's not your type of person to get into ripping DVDs and all that geeky stuff. He simply follows the concept.

Okay, you know a few people who bought it solely to purchase content off iTunes. They will want to put their DVD collection onto it at some point too, and as confusing as the HandBrake interface is for the average user, it won't be long until there is an easy and simple way to rip DVD's without having to choose bitrates, decide upon quality % etc (just one preset in 'simple' mode for example, pop in the DVD and it'll come out at the same bitrates as the iTMS content) allowing them to start putting their collection into iTunes.

Unless they are happy at being restricted to the iTMS with heavy DRM.

[mac2thefuture]

Hey, this iphone remote app looks the business. I am as usual having some issues though. When I select something to view it will only play on my imac.
How can use it as a genuine remote for :apple:TV

Thanks

[ipedro]

Okay, you know a few people who bought it solely to purchase content off iTunes. They will want to put their DVD collection onto it at some point too, and as confusing as the HandBrake interface is for the average user, it won't be long until there is an easy and simple way to rip DVD's without having to choose bitrates, decide upon quality % etc (just one preset in 'simple' mode for example, pop in the DVD and it'll come out at the same bitrates as the iTMS content) allowing them to start putting their collection into iTunes.

Unless they are happy at being restricted to the iTMS with heavy DRM.

Devil's Advocate: Yes, but your average user won't even know that they can get their DVDs into tv or won't bother with learning it because as you say, HandBrake is quite complex and scary for a non-geek.

iTMS's "heavy DRM" doesn't bother these users. They rent or buy to watch/listen to the content on their tv and some even find that it syncs back to their computers and allows them to sync it to their iPods and iPhones as well. DRM really only bothers people who are aware of it.

[DAlba]

you can still hold to stanby, you just can't do it from now playing screen. Just go back to main menu then hold button to put into standby.

[APPLENEWBIE]

Development of some fairly significant improvement continues. Leading to something new at Macworld?

[Kilamite]

Devil's Advocate: Yes, but your average user won't even know that they can get their DVDs into tv or won't bother with learning it because as you say, HandBrake is quite complex and scary for a non-geek.

It'll be different when a simplified ripper comes out - put in the DVD, click go and it does everything for you. Collects metadata and tags the files.

We'll get there eventually....I hate how complex the process is. Not that I don't understand it all, it is just pointless for the average user who just wants to have their DVD collection on their Apple TV.

Least the new developer snapshot of HandBrake has an 'Apple Universal' preset that will encode at good quality for all Apple devices. We're getting there.

[Tilpots]

Disconnect your phone line. You'll be waiting a long time.

lol:) I hope not. I need a solution for my cable/digital lifestyle issues.

I'm not even sure he's right about Boxee. Just look at all the attention it has gotten from a bunch of different sites. People are literally begging for invites. The ATV is still a hobbyist's toy, and hobbyists are the ones likely to familiarize themselves with all the latest tricks.

I agree 100% with your last statement, which was what I was getting at earlier. That's why Apple needs to start moving away from the iTMS model. It might work if the offerings were outstanding, but it just doesn't cut it when the movies to buy are crap quality, you can't buy HD movies, and you can get TV shows off the internet or from Netflix.

I understand the studios are a PITA to deal with, but come on Apple, it's time to make the ATV truly shine.

Amen.

Okay, you know a few people who bought it solely to purchase content off iTunes. They will want to put their DVD collection onto it at some point too, and as confusing as the HandBrake interface is for the average user, it won't be long until there is an easy and simple way to rip DVD's without having to choose bitrates, decide upon quality % etc (just one preset in 'simple' mode for example, pop in the DVD and it'll come out at the same bitrates as the iTMS content) allowing them to start putting their collection into iTunes.

Unless they are happy at being restricted to the iTMS with heavy DRM.


Right. The Apple TV needs to appeal to the masses, not the hobbyists. If people don't believe the market is there, just look at all the DVD/BluRay purchases, Windows Media Center sales, Tivo subscribers, and Netflix users. The market is there, Apple is not.

[saltyzoo]

It'll be different when a simplified ripper comes out - put in the DVD, click go and it does everything for you. Collects metadata and tags the files.

We'll get there eventually....I hate how complex the process is. Not that I don't understand it all, it is just pointless for the average user who just wants to have their DVD collection on their Apple TV.

Least the new developer snapshot of HandBrake has an 'Apple Universal' preset that will encode at good quality for all Apple devices. We're getting there.

I baked my own. Even my wife can use it. Drop in the disc and in a couple hours it appears on the ATV.

But I'll never give it to someone else, and nobody else will make such a thing either. Because the second you get such a thing working perfectly they do something different to break the process....

[spice weasel]

Hey, this iphone remote app looks the business. I am as usual having some issues though. When I select something to view it will only play on my imac.
How can use it as a genuine remote for :apple:TV

Thanks

You need to add your ATV library to the Remote app. I think you might need to also do it in the ATV, under the Remotes menu. Sorry, I did it once and then forgot about it, so I don't remember exactly.

[joemama]

Some folks just don't get it. If you want a good DVR solution, go Tivo and get the software to send it to your Mac.

Seriously, another useless post.


Actually, the sarcasm of the post went over you. The post was in jest. This has been debated over and over again. We all know what the AppleTV is for.

Lighten up.

[Philpo]

Where the bloody hell are my movie playlists?! Can't see them anywhere?! This is an added feature but can't find it anywhere! This is the main reason I updated. Also using the volume controls on the remote whilst playing music seems to do nothing!? Oh and yes I have updated to 2.3! I checked!! :confused:

[Kilamite]

Where the bloody hell are my movie playlists?! Can't see them anywhere?! This is an added feature but can't find it anywhere! This is the main reason I updated. Also using the volume controls on the remote whilst playing music seems to do nothing!? Oh and yes I have updated to 2.3! I checked!! :confused:

Go to the Audio/Video settings.

[Fulgham]

Perhaps amongst the pioneers... but I'm witness to the fact that friends who come over fall in love with the device and several have already bought one. They use it to display the content they have on their iTunes already and have been getting into purchasing TV shows and renting movies. They almost never delve further into ripping and the sort.

My financial advisor came over one time and asked me how I was playing music on my TV and controlling it with my phone. I pointed at the tv and gave him a quick tour. When I told him it was basically an iPod for your TV, he immediately understood the concept. We had another meeting last week and he told me he had bought one. He's not your type of person to get into ripping DVDs and all that geeky stuff. He simply follows the concept.


Agreed... My friends who see mine end up buying their own... and their friends see theirs and buy their own.

Other than me, everyone else just considers it as an iPod for your TV and they don't know or care how to do any other function with it.

So ignoring the forums and looking at the people I know with :apple:TV's, its a 10:1 ratio of users who only use Apple Content to people who want/know about more.

[Philpo]

Go to the Audio/Video settings.

Sweet! Thanks so much! Thats made my day now!! :D

[Fulgham]

Actually, the sarcasm of the post went over you. The post was in jest. This has been debated over and over again. We all know what the AppleTV is for.

Lighten up.

Just to be fair, I think MacRumors needs to install a sarcasm font for the forums... It is kinda hard to detect the tone of someones typing ;-)

[Scarpad]

What??? This is ridiculous. Is Apple breaking this stuff on purpose to keep us buying the content off ITMS?? Broken DD 5.1 passthru is a complete deal breaker, as this basically makes my whole movie library unwatchable. I am staying with 2.2 until this is fixed.

:mad:


Yeah the ew features are nice, but none are worth having no Audio in my vids, well at least 5.1 sure the AAC audio would still work. I'm glad I stuck to my rule about waiting a day to upgrade, I'm always wanting to do it as soon as available, glad I don't

[Peace]

Just to be fair, I think MacRumors needs to install a sarcasm font for the forums... It is kinda hard to detect the tone of someones typing ;-)

sarcasm : :rolleyes:

[Scarpad]

Confirmed on the Handbrake forums. http://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7734

I always rip using both but is should still work with one only has to be a bug

[fivepoint]

I'm going to go ahead and update (I think all of my rips have both AC3 and AAC) but just in case... if I lose audio on my files... there won't be any trouble to downgrade again, will there?

Can someone post instructions?

[prefabsprouter]

I'm trying to set up my third party remote (DirecTV HR21) after updating to 2.3. It all starts well; I go to Settings -> General -> Remotes -> Learn Remote, but I am having an issue when I am making my Apple TV learn the second key (down arrow); I get the error message "apple tv has already learned this button". It's as if the Apple TV thinks the 'up arrow' and the 'down arrow' on my remote are the same key. I tried several times, to no avail.

Anyone else having this issue?

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Why don't you just terminal in and do a sudo reboot? Most times for me, even if the ATV looks like it's frozen, I can still log in and run the reboot command.

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that imply I have to first hack my AppleTV to support SSH? My AppleTV units are currently unmodified.

Since they removed the ability to go to standby without menus, any update is moot to me. I most frequently use ATV for music. Since Harmony remotes don't handle the "A,B,C" keys for my DVR well, I've given them up. This means to use the ATV's video, I have to cycle through 8 settings on my TV just to get to view the menus on ATV to put the darn thing to sleep. Now I just keep it unplugged most of the time. It's also crazy that EVERY time I open iTunes it turns the ATV on to sync it. I can't tell you the amount of energy wasted by the ATV being on and spinning with my screen saver for DAYS without me even being aware of it. So, as I said, I keep that electricity vacuum called the ATV unplugged.

I would imagine it's the same amount of energy when it's NOT on standby seeing as the AppleTV does NOT spin down the hard drive here when in standby mode. As far as I can tell there is absolutely no difference between standby and doing nothing other than the screensaver USED to keep running (it shuts off automatically after an undisclosed amount of time here in 2.2; I haven't watched 2.3 enough to be sure yet).

[spice weasel]

I'm going to go ahead and update (I think all of my rips have both AC3 and AAC) but just in case... if I lose audio on my files... there won't be any trouble to downgrade again, will there?

Can someone post instructions?

You can always restore to factory settings. But that brings up a question I have. What if you have one of the older units, where a factory reset takes you back to 1.0? Will updating software then take it to 2.3 automatically? Or will it do the intermediate upgrades?

[FSUSem1noles]

You can always restore to factory settings. But that brings up a question I have. What if you have one of the older units, where a factory reset takes you back to 1.0? Will updating software then take it to 2.3 automatically? Or will it do the intermediate upgrades?

That's a great point!!

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure from 1.0 it would take you right to 2.3.. unless Apple has the updates broken down to where you can install them individually via the usb crack..

[Mudbug]

I'm trying to set up my third party remote (DirecTV HR21) after updating to 2.3. It all starts well; I go to Settings -> General -> Remotes -> Learn Remote, but I am having an issue when I am making my Apple TV learn the second key (down arrow); I get the error message "apple tv has already learned this button". It's as if the Apple TV thinks the 'up arrow' and the 'down arrow' on my remote are the same key. I tried several times, to no avail.

Anyone else having this issue?

I'm having that exact issue - can't get it to learn anything but the first button.

[macaco74]

What Apple TV really needs is a power switch.

[unknowng]

Have they taken the update down? I just tried to update and my apple TV does see an update. Maybe they took it down?

Greg

[moisie]

I didn't see it mentioned before, and I'm pretty certain it wasn't there before, but now if you apply the show field to movies you can group things together in their own sub menu which is kind of useful for series of films and things where you have the trailer or other extras.

[Killyp]

The remote control learning thing is something which is really useful for me, being someone who is quite into integration. However, it doesn't work with my BeoLink 1000, which most probably operates outside of the Apple TV IR's functional frequency range...

[dynaflash]

They will want to put their DVD collection onto it at some point too, and as confusing as the HandBrake interface is for the average user, it won't be long until there is an easy and simple way to rip DVD's without having to choose bitrates, decide upon quality % etc (just one preset in 'simple' mode for example, pop in the DVD and it'll come out at the same bitrates as the iTMS content) allowing them to start putting their collection into iTunes.


Awe c'mon Kilamite to be fair, in HB you have to just click on the included AppleTV Preset and voila, no problems. Don't be ridiculous. That preset even survived the change in 2.3 (which I might point out, I don't think VH's did) and is as good of quality as you will get from an sd dvd source.

[Apple iCider]

I know I might be missing the point, but if this thing had a DVD drive (and dare I say Blue Ray) it would sell shedloads more. Until then, it's a lot to pay for the ease of not plugging my MacBook into the TV. Besides, there are only so many inputs on most TVs, mine are all full!

[ibglowin]

All my rips were in AC3+AAC. I have a new Onkyo 606 AV receiver. Just went home at lunch in a panic as I upgraded last night and went to bed w/o checking anything.

In short all my AC3+AAC rips have sound and are listed as "Dolby Digital" on the Onkyo screen, have the same listing when the :apple:TV boots up. I may have one of my first rips still that was only done in AC3. I will see if it works at all.

This will teach me to wait a few days once again but that fracking Video Playlist was calling my name saying "you know you want me".......:rolleyes:

[Kilamite]

Awe c'mon Kilamite to be fair, in HB you have to just click on the included AppleTV Preset and voila, no problems. Don't be ridiculous. That preset even survived the change in 2.3 (which I might point out, I don't think VH's did) and is as good of quality as you will get from an sd dvd source.

I know - I'm just saying the selection of options baffles the technological illiterate. If I was to explain how to do that to the likes of my parents, they'd end up clicking on an option they weren't meant to or something.

I haven't had a chance to check if my movies encoded using VisualHub via Apple TV preset work - are you implying they won't? :eek:

[spice weasel]

I haven't had a chance to check if my movies encoded using VisualHub via Apple TV preset work - are you implying they won't? :eek:

I don't think the VisualHub AC3-in-a-mov-container hack survived 2.3. At least that's what I've been reading. Not a VisualHub user, though, so I can't say for sure.

[dynaflash]

I know - I'm just saying the selection of options baffles the technological illiterate. If I was to explain how to do that to the likes of my parents, they'd end up clicking on an option they weren't meant to or something.


Hence the preset which plainly says "AppleTV" ;) ... and best of all it works.

[Kilamite]

I don't think the VisualHub AC3-in-a-mov-container hack survived 2.3. At least that's what I've been reading. Not a VisualHub user, though, so I can't say for sure.

Ahh, I don't have any H.264 encodes in a .mov container.

All the .mp4 files should be fine right?

Hence the preset which plainly says "AppleTV" ;) ... and best of all it works.

Haha yeah I know! But it doesn't hide all the other options that might end up doing something. Just a simple put the disc in, click a big red button, and that's it!

[dynaflash]

I haven't had a chance to check if my movies encoded using VisualHub via Apple TV preset work - are you implying they won't? :eek:
Um, try it. Reports say they don't. Obviously I have no VH encodes on my atv. :)

[NightStorm]

Ahh, I don't have any H.264 encodes in a .mov container.

All the .mp4 files should be fine right?



Haha yeah I know! But it doesn't hide all the other options that might end up doing something. Just a simple put the disc in, click a big red button, and that's it!
As far as I remember, VisualHub never allowed for AC3 in MP4.

[dynaflash]

Ahh, I don't have any H.264 encodes in a .mov container.

All the .mp4 files should be fine right?

VH never encoded AC3 in an mp4 container, only in a .mov container afaik.

[fivepoint]

Awe c'mon Kilamite to be fair, in HB you have to just click on the included AppleTV Preset and voila, no problems. Don't be ridiculous. That preset even survived the change in 2.3 (which I might point out, I don't think VH's did) and is as good of quality as you will get from an sd dvd source.

As much as I love Handbrake, and would be completely lost without it, I tend to agree with Kilamite on this one. I understand it, most users on the Macrumors forums and handbrake forums won't have ANY problems with it, but the program in general is VERY advanced. If I sat down someone who was pretty advanced in Excel, Outlook, iTunes, iPhoto, etc. in front of Handbrake, they would most likely be VERY confused.

If you ask me, the program as it is now should be be the "expert mode", and the general mode would essentially involve telling the user to choose the device they want the file to work with, allowing for multiple checks, and telling them to insert the video. Simple as that. Any more complicated and 90% of computer users are lost.

I guess it just depends on the goals of the Handbrake developers. Like I said, it's fine for me... but familiarity with the program is the only reason I can use it as I do now. The learning curve is very steep. If the goal is to get many people using Handbrake, it needs to be simplified considerably.

[dynaflash]

If the goal is to get many people using Handbrake, it needs to be simplified considerably.

To be honest, like most open source software the goal of HB is to be the best video transcoding program it can be, the devs build it for themselves and if others enjoy using it. Then great.

Agreed, most of its interface is designed with the serious video encoder in mind.

I however personally developed the preset system to take the guesswork out of getting an optimal encode for a given purpose, like the atv with one click .

I understand (believe me) that the main window can be intimidating and offers more flexibilty than even most geeks can handle . However, for the point and click crowd that preset drawer that has a setting called "AppleTV" just seems way too obvious. It works great and frankly has to this day withstood all atv updates very well.

Points taken though.

Can't please all of the people all of the time. :) But, we do try.

[spice weasel]

I don't think the issue is with Handbrake, but rather with the way DVDs are authored, encrypted, etc. Want to rip your CD? Toss it in and click a button. Want to rip/encode a DVD? Well, what kind of copy protection does it have? What kind of device do you want it to play on? Subtitles? Surround sound or just stereo? Is the source progressive or interlaced? Telecined? See where I'm going with this?

Video is just more complex than audio alone. But I gotta say, if you can't click on the Universal or ATV preset in Handbrake, then you probably couldn't get your ATV set up in the first place.

[Tilpots]

To be honest, like most open source software the goal of HB is to be the best video transcoding program it can be, the devs build it for themselves and if others enjoy using it. Then great.

Agreed, most of its interface is designed with the serious video encoder in mind.

I however personally developed the preset system to take the guesswork out of getting an optimal encode for a given purpose, like the atv with one click .

I understand (believe me) that the main window can be intimidating and offers more flexibilty than even most geeks can handle . However, for the point and click crowd that preset drawer that has a setting called "AppleTV" just seems way too obvious. It works great and frankly has to this day withstood all atv updates very well.

Points taken though.

Can't please all of the people all of the time. :) But, we do try.

Since you seem to be the go-to guy for this, what's the difference in the presets Television and Apple TV and why the distinction. I'm at work so I can't look at the settings at this moment. If there is documentation on the net, that link would be appreciated... Otherwise I guess I'll just check when I get home.

[fivepoint]

I however personally developed the preset system to take the guesswork out of getting an optimal encode for a given purpose, like the atv with one click .

If you ask me, this is the single best feature of Handbrake. I think without this feature, I probably wouldn't be using it. Thank you, dynaflash, for creating it!!!



I understand (believe me) that the main window can be intimidating and offers more flexibilty than even most geeks can handle . However, for the point and click crowd that preset drawer that has a setting called "AppleTV" just seems way too obvious. It works great and frankly has to this day withstood all atv updates very well.

Points taken though.

Can't please all of the people all of the time. :) But, we do try.

A lot of good stuff here. A lot of wisdom shown with that last statement especially. I think all I'm really saying is that if Handbrake was the 'best video transcoding program' it could be underneath, and also had a quick-n-dirty option for the masses, you could probably make some decent money with this thing as shareware. It's excellent software, and as more and more people start hoarding video as they do now with photos and music... the person who owns the fastest, easiest software to help people build their libraries will have a VERY good thing on their hands.

As things sit now, I'm 100% happy with it. Don't change anything for me. ;)

[NightStorm]

Since you seem to be the go-to guy for this, what's the difference in the presets Television and Apple TV and why the distinction. I'm at work so I can't look at the settings at this moment. If there is documentation on the net, that link would be appreciated... Otherwise I guess I'll just check when I get home.

http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/BuiltInPresets

[Tilpots]

http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/BuiltInPresets

Thanks!

[Nimiety]

Can we get a definitive confirmation from a Visualhub user? Can anyone confirm that a file encoded under the "Apple TV 5.1 + 2.0" survives under 2.3?

Dyna, I hope you know I love HB - I have 250+ movies encoded with the appletv preset (with 2-pass and turbo added) and it sounds like those are safe. It's the other 650+ TV shows that VH makes very easy to convert (.avi and .mkv dragged and dropped, converted and automatically added into itunes makes for a very easy workflow) that I'm worried about. ;)

[desenso]

oh yea.
now i can finally play my Simpsons playlist. all 420 episodes playing at random = the ultimate Simpsons Channel.

Where does the playlist show up? I tried to do a playlist with TV shows and I can't seem to access it.

Edit: I did what only crazy people do and read back through the thread. As others have noted, Main Menu -> Audio/Video, turn it on there.

My only question now: can anyone get shuffle to work? Even with a "shuffled" iTunes playlist, it still plays the TV shows in (reverse chronological) order.

[bilbo--baggins]

You know, I just wish they'd concentrate on getting a stable & reliable Apple TV before adding any new features. When the ATV works, its a fantastic product, but unfortunately its one of the buggiest products they've ever released.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Yes it would be great to add new features - but not at the expense of getting core functionality and reliability right. They really need to do a lot of work to get the Apple TV even as reliable as our Sky+ set top box (and that's made by some trashy company that I thought had gone out of business years ago).

[GregA]

Devil's Advocate: Yes, but your average user won't even know that they can get their DVDs into tv or won't bother with learning it because as you say, HandBrake is quite complex and scary for a non-geek.

iTMS's "heavy DRM" doesn't bother these users. They rent or buy to watch/listen to the content on their tv and some even find that it syncs back to their computers and allows them to sync it to their iPods and iPhones as well. DRM really only bothers people who are aware of it.

Yeah, for many users they won't notice Apple's DRM.

Oh, I agree with others that Handbreak is simple to use too, with minimal technical knowledge. However "a Handbreak for Mums and Dads" would be great for me as I'd just configure it once for Mum&Dad, then let them put a DVD in and press "copy to AppleTV".

So, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but after reading these forums and the handbrake forums it's looking like if you ripped with AC3+AAC you have 5.1, but if you only ripped AC3, you do not have 5.1. I'm not home and haven't updated. Can someone who has both types of files and updated to 2.3 confirm?

Sorry I can't till I visit my parents on Monday. Others have confirmed it though. Luckily my brother has AppleTV connected without Dolby Digital and my parents have AppleTV connected with Dolby Digital - so I encoded for both.

In some way it makes sense that Apple wants to reject files which don't meet their standards, it enforces a minimum standard. Still, with this and Boxee breaking perhaps Apple is about to take tighter control.

[dynaflash]

you could probably make some decent money with this thing as shareware
You might be right. But it would never happen. HB will always be free and is created by many devs that volunteer all of their time to the project. Shareware it will never be. As such it is not market driven. We try to make it appealing to users. But as most of you know, what interests the devs is what gets worked on and developed. Hopefully some of it falls in line with what the average user wants. Hopefully its been working out.

Teaser Alert: some cool new stuff coming up soon that will help with encoding.

Apologies to the OP for temporarily derailing the thread. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[MacSawdust]

Forget the minor feature updates, the menu response is much improved. Feels much more "final" than "beta". I like it!

[filmguy15]

But as most of you know, what interests the devs is what gets worked on and developed. Hopefully some of it falls in line with what the average user wants. Hopefully its been working out.

This is why I dig what you guys do. When it interests you, it makes it so much better. Even if it doesn't have every feature that every user wants, what it does have is phenomenal. Same reason I buy Apple.

[Cleverboy]

Wow. On recommendation from a friend, I checked out the update, and I also hadn't downloaded the Genius update (which is quite nice as well). --But, BY FAR that most practical and useful thing I've seen, is teaching it to use my other remote control. NICE! I wish ALL devices did this! This is one step closer to me being able to hand the remote to my wife and not have her scowl at me.

~ CB

[TwinCities Dan]

But, BY FAR that most practical and useful thing I've seen, is teaching it to use my other remote control. NICE! I wish ALL devices did this! This is one step closer to me being able to hand the remote to my wife and not have her scowl at me.

~ CB

LOFL! Do yoou have a camera in my living room!?!? :confused: :D

[Cleverboy]

LOFL! Do yoou have a camera in my living room!?!? :confused: :D Ha. I honestly believed I'd found some type of nervana when I got my Harmony remote... but it failed that oh-so-crucial test. Then, eventually... I got disgusted with it too. With this one change on Apple's part, my life just got a whole heckuva lot easier.

~ CB

[gaia]

Hi,

This is not a fix but a quick workaround. Using Quicktime Pro I did the following.

1) Created a new Audio recording of less then a second.
2) Imported this fragment into itunes and then converted it into AAC.
3) Opened the AC3 only video in Quicktime
4) Drag & Drop the m4a audio from finder into quicktime
5) Save the video.

The video will now play BUT (!) It will show no video for the length of the aac encoded audio. So how shorter the AAC recoding the faster you get video with AC3. Most of my video’s start black anyway, so no problem there.

I would suggest this trick for videos that where transcodes before the 2.3 upgrade. I don't know of this trick can be undone, so make copies of the video's you want future proof.

[eddyg]

Gaia: If Handbrake did video pass-through, and copied all the metadata, you could simply reencode adding the downmixed ac3 as aac. Then in
A jiffy your atv 2.2 incompatible files become comaptible.

Shame that it can't, bloody slack developers if you ask me ;)

Cheers Ed

[NightStorm]

For all the people complaining that their single AC3 track recordings are no longer working... Apple themselves posted a support document in March stating that both an AAC and AC3 track were required for proper surround playback on the AppleTV.

Man those Handbrake devs are smart! :D

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25199

(Thanks to the HB user that posted this link on the app forums.)

[joaobarreiros]

Anyone knows if Sapphire still works on 2.3? Thanks

[MacFly123]

It's not necessarily to watch TV/movies full screen, it's to have the proper aspect ratio and letterboxing when widescreen material is played back.

I shouldn't have to modify the playback size of every single video I encode to have them displayed properly, and I'm not about to replace my perfectly good $10000 TV because Apple didn't bother to include an aspect ratio setting (which would clearly be a no-brainer for them).

Ok, but Apple has said from the very beginning that Apple TV is made for wide screen TVs and of course that means wide screen content. Congrats on having a $10,000.00 TV haha, maybe encode your videos so they don't need to be stretched!? :confused:

P.S.
1) Why does the Apple TV freak out and restart so many times when updating?
2) Why the F is it taking 6 hours to download a non-hd movie on my Apple TV??? My connection seems fine. Anyone else having problems with this? They are supposed to start in like 30 seconds to a minute which they always have for me until recently. NOT HAPPY :(
3) Love that they finally added volume control, but they need to add it to movies and everything not just music.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I've been playing with 2.3 some more and updated my 2nd AppleTV to 2.3. Here are my conclusions about AirTunes issues:

Keep in mind that I stream my entire music and music video library from my PowerMac in my den (using two 500GB Sata drives, one to back up the other with Carbon Copy Clone) so something may behave differently if you store it locally. IF I go to the AirTunes menu from the main menu and select my upstairs AppleTV unit and then deselect the dowstairs unit (the one I'm controlling) and go and try to play a song, it will fail to start playing most of the attempts, but one time did start and stopped shortly thereafter and then locked up. Once it stops 'attempting' to connect to the upstairs ATV, I can go back to unselect that unit and reselect the downstairs one. At that point, if you start to play a song, it goes to a black screen and appears to lock up, but in actuality, if you wait long enough (a few minutes), it will eventually come up with an error message stating it can't play that song. In fact, no song will play at this point. Music artwork wasn't coming up so I suspected the Mac in the den had crashed but it hadn't. I had to play a locally stored video to get audio back and then music would play again (otherwise, I'd have to reboot the unit).

That describes the failure of AirTunes control from ATV and it's a repeatable BUG as far as I can tell. Now IF I select the play the upstairs room IN ADDITION to (instead of in replacement of) the downstairs unit, both units will successfully play without issue. I forgot to try to then remove the upstairs unit and see if continues playing after both start playing. I'll try that next. But the problem appears to be related to removing the ATV you're using before starting to play a song. It may also be related to streaming and I also can't dismiss the possibility something else was going on since it did start playing that one time but then stopped and locked up shortly thereafter, but plays fine when selecting to play both. Finally, AirTunes always works fine from iTunes on the Mac.

I've tried out the new remote control feature and it's pretty slick (a learning component instead of a learning remote! What a novel reversal). I've set three other remotes to be able to control it, which means whatever other stereo component I happen to be using can control it so I don't have to put that remote down if I switch to AppleTV.

I don't know what people are talking about when they say standby isn't on the menu anymore. It's under general preference settings and works the same as before. Holding the play/pause button down from the main menu also goes to standby as before.

I still wish they would add a visualizer option for music playback (would be great for Pink Floyd and a nice change from endless slide shows). Clearly, the unit is capable of running Safari just fine (i.e. hacks prove it) so now that ATV has iPhone/Touch remote support, you'd think they'd add their own official browser support. Given the HD resolutions, it'd work great on my 93" projector/screen. I shouldn't have to hack the thing to get what should be obvious future features.

Edit:

I just tried my upstairs audio-only system since upgrading the ATV and the latest "Remote" for the iPod Touch. I still see a delay for artwork sometimes when accessing an AppleTV directly, but sooner or later it starts working. But the best addition I noticed since updating the ATV units is now there *IS* a "Speakers" bar across the "Now Playing" screen, making it much easier to control the rest of the house via Airtunes. It's also now present in the "Settings" section for AppleTV units (formerly was only in the iTunes Library control section).

Unfortunately, direct control from the ATV does NOT have a "computer" speaker option. I can only control other AppleTV and Airport Express speakers from an ATV. If you want to access the computer, you have to use the main iTunes library. Even then, it can only control THAT specific computer. My MBP running iTunes and PC running iTunes do not appear in the speaker lists. Only the computer you are accessing directly.

One other nice new feature that appeared on the iPod Touch was the ability to create and edit new playlists, but only for the computer libraries. It does not function on the AppleTV units. It's also still not as straight forward as Signal's playlist, which you can add to as you play and without a separate playlist. On the other hand, you can save the iTunes playlist and even add new ones directly from the iPod Touch (or iPhone).

I'd still like to see the ability to play music from any of my music libraries directly TO the iPod Touch itself (through headphones) without having to have that music stored on the iPod Touch. Similarly, it'd be cool to be able to stream music videos and movies TO the iPod Touch from my iTunes library. And of course, it'd be nice if you could AirTunes stream FROM the iPod's own music library to any AirTunes device around the house. These are the major features still missing from the equation (along with a visualizer for both AppleTV and the iPhone/Touch).

[prefabsprouter]

I figured it out. It's not an issue with AppleTV, it's an issue with the third party remote. If your third party remote is programmable, change its programming to work with a different piece of equipment (such as a Sony DVD). Once my third party remote was emitting more 'standard' infrared signals, the AppleTV learned the new remote perfectly.

I'm having that exact issue - can't get it to learn anything but the first button.

[OllyW]

For all the people complaining that their single AC3 track recordings are no longer working... Apple themselves posted a support document in March stating that both an AAC and AC3 track were required for proper surround playback on the AppleTV.

Man those Handbrake devs are smart! :D

They are so smart that if you use the Handbrake default Apple TV preset you encode with both the AAC & AC3 audio tracks. :p

[BRLawyer]

They are so smart that if you use the Handbrake default Apple TV preset you encode with both the AAC & AC3 audio tracks. :p

Exactly. Those having problems are those that NEITHER followed Apple's instructions NOR used HB's correct settings.

Update installed on my AppleTV, EVERYTHING fine as usual...GO APPLE!

[versacejohn]

I have upgraded today my Apple TV but now when I use my wireless Panasonic system which is connected to my TV and Apple TV my computer no longer finds the Apple TV, soon as the Panasonic surround system goes off up comes Apple TV on my computer screen, has anyone any answers to this so all cal be running as before

[Nimiety]

I finally upgraded today and can confirm:
- any file encoded by handbrake with the AAC+AC3 profile works fine
- any file encoded by visualhub with the 5.1+2.0 profile works fine
- any file encoded with only a 2.0 / AAC track also works fine
- any file encoded with only a 5.1 / AC3 track has no audio
- the extension of the file (.mov or .m4v) has no impact on whether it works or not
- the fix for AC3 only files (copying and pasting an AAC clip into the show/movie in Quicktime) works and the AAC clip can be even just 1/10 of a second

Cheers,
N.....

[Kilamite]

Exactly. Those having problems are those that NEITHER followed Apple's instructions NOR used HB's correct settings.

Update installed on my AppleTV, EVERYTHING fine as usual...GO APPLE!

Yeah, but it is a pain that it worked then suddenly doesn't. If it works, why fix it?

[BRLawyer]

Yeah, but it is a pain that it worked then suddenly doesn't. If it works, why fix it?

As said above, Apple explained that there is NO surround sound with AC3-only files...and the HB setting for AppleTV has always used both, so I really don't get the problem with some of you.