Who needs a Jailbreak for the Apple TV 3 when you can Airplay?

Unfortunately, this all only works with iDevice & ATV-native MOV / MP4 / M4V files, not with MKV and the like. With MOV / MP4 / M4V files, they are streamed "as is" (assuming the player is AirPlay-capable - on iOS, most are) and is entirely decoded by the ATV. This is why the stellar playback quality. Unfortunately, not with non-native file formats.

It's interesting that you say there is "zero perceivable quality loss" in one sentence, then say "practically the same quality" in the next sentence. Which is it?

It doesn't appear that you know why people jailbreak.

orestes1984 said:

Who needs a Jailbreak for the Apple TV 3 when you can Airplay?

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If you AirPlay your 960x640 pixels iPhone to the big TV, don't you lose some quality? But OK not everybody can tell the difference.

Give u the point that an iPhone/iPod blah-blah interface is much better than ATV's 7-buttons clicker.

I love air playing my iPad 2 on my HDtv but it still isn't what I expected. Many times it freezes or stops. And I'm specifically talking about xbmc. Once the jailbreak for ATV 3 comes out its gonna be awesome because I won't have to keep messing with the iPad as xbmc will be on the apple tv itself. That's my opinion at least...and plus there's gna be a bunch of other cool stuff you can do with the jailbreak...so yea

orestes1984 said:

I can't tell the difference enough to bother with noticing.

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You can't - I and a lot of other people can. Unfortunately, as I've explained above, high-res (Full HD), non-native (mp4/mov/m4v) video just can't be streamed to the ATV3 without noticeable stuttering / quality loss.

Menneisyys2 said:

Unfortunately, this all only works with iDevice & ATV-native MOV / MP4 / M4V files, not with MKV and the like. With MOV / MP4 / M4V files, they are streamed "as is" (assuming the player is AirPlay-capable - on iOS, most are) and is entirely decoded by the ATV. This is why the stellar playback quality. Unfortunately, not with non-native file formats.

Click to expand...

Mkv streams fine, try using airvideo

Both, you'd really have to be sitting right up close to your TV to even really care about any of the artifacts.[/QUOTE]

You must be visually impaired or have a anlog tube tv from last century.

orestes1984 said:

The more I play around with thing with my iPhone the less I see any real need for a Jailbreak for the ATV3. I've now managed to stream just about everything I want to my Apple TV, I've turned it into a Slingbox using EyeTV, and can AirPlay my TV, you can basically stream everything you want. The caveat I guess is the need for an Airplay compatible device, but if you've got an Apple TV then you've likely got an IDevice as well, or a Mac with AirPlay.

So really what am I missing apart from the fact I guess you're left to deal with wireless networks? But you look at the speed of 802.11n it is faster when set up properly than the 10/100mbit ethernet port on your Apple TV.

Why then is there a need for a jailbreak when you can install the apps on your iPod, iPhone, Mac or whatever else then stream them with zero perceivable quality loss?

I've been watching HDTV tonight in practically the same quality as the screen on my Mac from viewing distance. I don't see what the fuss about Jailbreaking is when all of the Apps are there to do it all over AirPlay... I don't see any real advantage in having the apps on the Apple TV itself vs having them on an iDevice or a Mac, well even a PC with AirParrot will do it at a stretch.

I'm typing this now as I watch Slingbox TV from my EyeTV, my EyeTV is completely integrated into my receiver and AppleTVs setup and I can use my 5.1 speakers. It's almost a perfect solution.

If anyone needs any help in setting this up, just ask.

Click to expand...

The main reason you Jailbreak the Apple TV is to install XBMC

http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/302125/why-you-should-jailbreak-your-apple-tv-and-how-do-it

http://www.appletvhacks.net/category/xbmc-atv/

The main difference is convenience.

It is a pain to set up a program on my mac, then set up airplay, then use some remote control app like Rowmote or AirMouse or EyeTV to control your mac remotely while you watch on the TV.

If you jailbreak your ATV2, you don't need to use the mac at all. (You don't even have to own a computer.) You just use your preferred remote to control the ATV2, and never have to get up off the couch.

This may seem like an insignificant difference if you are savvy enough to set up the system you described in your original post. But keep in mind you represent a small demographic. I am that savvy as well, but my wife is not. Nor are other family members who come to visit and like to use my TV. My wife can use ATV-->XBMC to watch Hulu just fine, but she wouldn't bother with setting up a program on the mac and then airplaying it and then launching Rowmote or EyeTV on her iphone to control it on the mac while watching it on the TV while using the TV's remote to control the volume. She simply would choose to do something else.

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Also, for good airplay mirroring from the mac, you need a relatively new mac. I have a 2009 MBP 17" (2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo), and Airplay Mirroring via Mountain Lion is NOT supported. I use Air Parrot, which works ok but is somewhat laggy/stuttery/out-of-synch-with-audio. For folks with somewhat older hardware (three years is not that old for most people, keep in mind), the jailbroken ATV2 provides a means to watch stuff without taxing their computer.

That said: basically the only two plugins I use on my ATV2 that require a jailbreak are Hulu (free version. . . if I paid for Hulu plus I could just use the built-in Hulu Plus app) and Free Cable. These we use quite often.