Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
Picked up a 160gb model last night at the Apple store. Still has v1.1 and old packaging even though the guy implied it had just come in.

Impressions? Well, so far so good - I wish I'd got it a long time ago. It's so much better watching video podcasts on TV, and the DVDs I had converted for use on my iPod touch are actually watchable quality. I used the handbrake iPhone presets to rip them, so I was surprised at how good they look on a TV. I'll re-rip them using the Apple TV presets when I get time. My dream of a clutter free life is almost realized - my CDs are in boxes in the garage, and now I can do the same with my DVD collection.

Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.

Looking forward to v2.0.

OH - and thanks to the member of this forum for advice and info!! There's some great info.
 

samh004

macrumors 68020
Mar 1, 2004
2,222
141
Australia
Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.

Couldn't you connect it via ethernet for the first sync, it's only 10/100 but that's a bit better than 802.11g.
 

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
Couldn't you connect it via ethernet for the first sync, it's only 10/100 but that's a bit better than 802.11g.

My house makes it logistically impossible to do this. I have a 25ft length of CAT5, but even that won't reach where the TV is. I'll just wait it out.
 

MikieMikie

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2007
705
0
Newton, MA
My house makes it logistically impossible to do this. I have a 25ft length of CAT5, but even that won't reach where the TV is. I'll just wait it out.

Why not just put the :apple:TV right next to your computer for the first sync?

And BTW, welcome to the ranks. If you don't see YouTube in your main menu, upgrade to 1.1.
 

NightStorm

macrumors 68000
Jan 26, 2006
1,860
66
Whitehouse, OH
Picked up a 160gb model last night at the Apple store. Still has v1.1 and old packaging even though the guy implied it had just come in.

Impressions? Well, so far so good - I wish I'd got it a long time ago. It's so much better watching video podcasts on TV, and the DVDs I had converted for use on my iPod touch are actually watchable quality. I used the handbrake iPhone presets to rip them, so I was surprised at how good they look on a TV. I'll re-rip them using the Apple TV presets when I get time. My dream of a clutter free life is almost realized - my CDs are in boxes in the garage, and now I can do the same with my DVD collection.

Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.

Looking forward to v2.0.

OH - and thanks to the member of this forum for advice and info!! There's some great info.
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)
 

georgeoommen

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2007
144
0
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)

so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?
 

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)

Didn't know that. Thanks for the pointer.

That's a good idea. The ATV can run headless next to the computer. iTunes will show when the sync is done and you can move it back.

Kevin

Great idea! Pity it doesn't sync via USB if I'm going through all that.
 

NightStorm

macrumors 68000
Jan 26, 2006
1,860
66
Whitehouse, OH
so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?
Honestly, if you don't want to experiment with a custom preset, I would use the iPod (High Resolution) preset. It will give you a 720-wide resolution at 1500kbps, which I have found to be a good medium between the two devices. The new update for the iPhone/iPod Touch has allowed the HB dev team to find ways to do some more advanced things (anamorphic, higher bitrates, etc), but a preset based on this is a long way off (if ever).

You could always just encode the movie twice (one for AppleTV and one for iPhone), but I personally don't like this approach as it makes the library look messy.
 

evilyankeefan

macrumors regular
Aug 12, 2007
200
1
Got mine too!!

Went out over lunch and picked up a 160GB.

Just waiting to leave work so I can hook her up.
 

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
Why not just put the :apple:TV right next to your computer for the first sync?

And BTW, welcome to the ranks. If you don't see YouTube in your main menu, upgrade to 1.1.

Mikie - Awesome suggestion. The progress bar is flying. I hope it won't need to sync again when 2.0 comes out.
 

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
You could always just encode the movie twice (one for AppleTV and one for iPhone), but I personally don't like this approach as it makes the library look messy.

I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
 

MikieMikie

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2007
705
0
Newton, MA
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.

I feel the same way. I re-encode using handbrake when I need an iPhone movie or two. I name it (in MetaX) z(MovieName) so that it's at the end of the iTunes library section. I sync it, pop out my iPhone, then delete it from iTunes. No harm, no foul. ;)
 

NightStorm

macrumors 68000
Jan 26, 2006
1,860
66
Whitehouse, OH
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
That was my approach as well, but I've recently come around and started building a custom preset with anamorphic and CRF encodes that, while a little on the large side, works with both devices and is high-quality. The stuff the devs have put into the next release is really fantastic; I do miss being able to use b-frames though...
 

imlucid

macrumors 6502
May 3, 2007
298
0
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.

You could also just add the movies to two different playlists, one for ATV and one for iPod/iPhone.

You can sync movies by playlists.

Kevin
 

WarMace

macrumors member
Jul 18, 2007
37
0
so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?

I use the iPod high rez preset in Handbrake but I change the resolution to 640x400 (16:10). iTunes won't send any video over 640 pixels wide to the iPod and the 16:10 ratio fits my iMac and TV exactly and is closer to iPhones 1.5:1 screen. (Never understood why we have 16:10 screens to watch 16:9 movies on.) Also 1500 kbps is the highest bitrate the iPod and iPhone will handle.

If you don't have an iPod to worry about I would use the iPod preset (iPods and iPhones need the iPod encoder not the Main profile) and switch the resolution to the anamorphic setting. This preserves the exact pixels of the original DVD. Most of the movies I have encoded like this will play on my iPhone but not all. The iPhone didn't originally support anamorphic so maybe Apple is still perfecting it. If you find some that don't work you could just reencode them as neccessary.
 

NightStorm

macrumors 68000
Jan 26, 2006
1,860
66
Whitehouse, OH
I use the iPod high rez preset in Handbrake but I change the resolution to 640x400 (16:10). iTunes won't send any video over 640 pixels wide to the iPod and the 16:10 ratio fits my iMac and TV exactly and is closer to iPhones 1.5:1 screen. (Never understood why we have 16:10 screens to watch 16:9 movies on.) Also 1500 kbps is the highest bitrate the iPod and iPhone will handle.

If you don't have an iPod to worry about I would use the iPod preset (iPods and iPhones need the iPod encoder not the Main profile) and switch the resolution to the anamorphic setting. This preserves the exact pixels of the original DVD. Most of the movies I have encoded like this will play on my iPhone but not all. The iPhone didn't originally support anamorphic so maybe Apple is still perfecting it. If you find some that don't work you could just reencode them as neccessary.
This is not true... the iPhone/iPod Touch/current generation iPods can handle highter bitrates than 1500kbps. You can also sync 720-wide content (and now even anamorphic) to an iPod Touch/iPhone. Also, the reason for 16:10 monitors is because you are supposed to be able to fit 2 pages of text side-by-side comfortably on the screen at this ratio.

For now, use the iPod High-Resolution preset if you want good quality on all of your Apple devices.
 

DarkMCS

macrumors member
Jan 25, 2008
49
36
Just got a 160Gb one today. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet as it's been syncing with my iTunes library & iPhoto albums since 3PM (it's 11:30PM now)

The syncing process is looooooong!!! I'll let it do its thing overnight and will play with it tomorrow morning. :)

So far, the installation is straight forward and very easy. The unit is just beautiful and simple, just the way Apple do things! lol :apple:
 

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,648
2,798
Just got a 160Gb one today. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet as it's been syncing with my iTunes library & iPhoto albums since 3PM (it's 11:30PM now)

The syncing process is looooooong!!! I'll let it do its thing overnight and will play with it tomorrow morning. :)

So far, the installation is straight forward and very easy. The unit is just beautiful and simple, just the way Apple do things! lol :apple:

Congrats to you too. I found the sync slow too, but after reading the tip above, I moved it next to the computer and had it done in less than a couple hours. Subsequent wireless syncs (updated podcasts and photo's so far) are relatively painless.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.