Any point in owning Apple TV without good internet connection?

[ssledoux]

I had an original Apple TV years ago when we had satellite internet. I've been drooling over the newer ones, but we now have AT&T data ONLY for our internet. We had unlimited, but now we have the unlimited plus where we at least have 10gb per month of tethering, but I have no idea if having an Apple TV is useful with a setup such as this.

I guess I want to know what things I can do with it where I'd only need my wifi connection, and/or if it's worth being able to stream only 10 gigs/month of stuff.

 

[Longkeg]

10 gigs is nothing to an AppleTV. Three or four movies or a few TV episodes and your 10 gigs are gone for the month. If I'm reading correctly all your data is AT&T cellular data. Your signature doesn't mention it but I assume you have an iPhone. In your situation I'd forget about the AppleTV and use your iPhone (or iPad if it has the data plan) as your video player. Check out the Apple Store for the lightning to HDMI adapter (dongle). It's less than half the cost of the cheapest ATV and since all data is being consumed by the phone you won't be touching your hot spot data. Be warned however, even with AT&T's stream saver turned on your monthly 22 gigs of high speed "unlimited" data could be used up before you know it... then you risk being throttled.

 

[theluggage]

I guess I want to know what things I can do with it where I'd only need my wifi connection, and/or if it's worth being able to stream only 10 gigs/month of stuff.

Do you have music/video in iTunes on your Mac that you'd like to stream to the AppleTV?

(If its not tied to iTunes you can get cheaper streaming boxes using Plex or Kodi - even a Raspbnerry Pi makes a good Kodi/Plex box if you install OSMC or OpenElec and don't need proprietary clients like Netflix or Amazon Prime)

 

[Longkeg]

Her signature states she has been "iMac-less after 12+ years" so I'm assuming no computer, hence no iTunes.

 

[ssledoux]

I have iTunes on my phone and iPP. IDK if that helps. But yeah, I guess I'm not really worried about doing streaming of a lot of movies or anything. I could stream music and stuff from iTunes in my phone. Is that possible?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Local content plays fine on TV. Take that phone to work or to somewhere with robust internet, download stuff you want to watch later, bring it home and airplay it on TV.

Go buy a computer (maybe a refurb Mac Mini or laptop instead of another iMac), load up iTunes with your CDs, perhaps rip your DVDs or Blu Rays and all that can be fed to TV without burning broadband data. Make that a portable computer and take it with you to where you can get some wired or wireless internet, load it up with downloads, then bring it home and watch whatever you downloaded on your TV. That would also be a good way to download podcast & vodcasts if you have any interests in that.

In short, your initial post sounds like you see TV as mostly a rent & stream device. It can be that but it also plays about any media you possess quite well without needing to burn broadband data. In your situation, it sounds like you need to work on accumulating media instead of trying to rely on "the cloud" because your access to the latter is thoroughly constrained.

Else, if you want to lean on "the cloud," you need to rethink the decision to cut your internet access down to "AT&T data ONLY for our internet." All of the "everything in the cloud" mentality fails when the pipes that link us to that cloud are pinched.

 

[mpainesyd]

Local content plays fine on TV. Take that phone to work or to somewhere with robust internet, download stuff you want to watch later, bring it home and airplay it on TV.

Go buy a computer (maybe a refurb Mac Mini or laptop instead of another iMac), load up iTunes with your CDs, perhaps rip your DVDs or Blu Rays and all that can be fed to TV without burning broadband data. Make that a portable computer and take it with you to where you can get some wired or wireless internet, load it up with downloads, then bring it home and watch whatever you downloaded on your TV. That would also be a good way to download podcast & vodcasts if you have any interests in that.

In short, your initial post sounds like you see TV as mostly a rent & stream device. It can be that but it also plays about any media you possess quite well without needing to burn broadband data. In your situation, it sounds like you need to work on accumulating media instead of trying to rely on "the cloud" because your access to the latter is thoroughly constrained.

Else, if you want to lean on "the cloud," you need to rethink the decision to cut your internet access down to "AT&T data ONLY for our internet." All of the "everything in the cloud" mentality fails when the pipes that link us to that cloud are pinched.

I agree with this and use an ATV to play content from iTunes on an iMac all the time. However if you do buy a laptop to download media elsewhere and bring it home you may as welll connect it straight to your TV (as was suggested with your phone). Without lots of download capacity (say 50b / month) a new ATV4 is probably not worth getting.

 

[cynics]

I would say no. I got rid of cable for the most part and the majority of my content is streamed. My typical monthly usage generally exceeds 600gb a month.



You can play content locally with the ATV but if you need to buy a computer to accomplish that then you can just look into tailoring a computer to exclude the ATV (Media center). Maybe a cheap Mac Mini or PC.

If your iOS devices offer anything that can keep you entertained that would be better experienced on a bigger screen then you can use AirPlay with an ATV. So if you download movies on someone else Wifi and you could stream them to your ATV without using data.

 

[ssledoux]

Else, if you want to lean on "the cloud," you need to rethink the decision to cut your internet access down to "AT&T data ONLY for our internet." All of the "everything in the cloud" mentality fails when the pipes that link us to that cloud are pinched.

Thanks - some good ideas in here, and I certainly have places I could go to load content.

As far as anything other than AT&T data, it's really not an option. Our ONLY other internet option is satellite, which limits me to even less gigs/month than AT&T. There is no cable/DSL or other internet access from our area.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Then my suggestions are even more valid to make an TV useful. You'll need to build a content library probably outside your home and bring stuff home to watch... not so different than the old VHS & DVD rental days of stopping by a Blockbuster and bringing home a movie(s).

 

[SouthernTeuchter]

I currently live in a house with poor connectivity - anything from 1Mb/s down to zero. I deliberately bought an ATV4 for 2 reasons:

1. So I could play local content (ripped CDs and DVDs) off my NAS. Yes, you can play direct from the NAS but the interface is clunky and doesn't get the WAF. I wanted this precisely because I knew I wouldn't be able to stream any sort of content from the internet!
2. It acts as the hub for my Homekit devices (doesn't always work due to the poor connectivity but good enough until such time as we do)

 

[iDento]

I live with 1.5 megabit internet! Still alive.

I have an Apple TV for local content, I use a Mac Mini to stream my movies to my Apple TV, very happy with it.
I use Plex instead of iTunes, iTunes is so damn boring for 2017 and Plex is so good and free.

Cheers

 

[Boyd01]

My only internet option is Verizon DSL that tops out at 1mbit/sec on a good day. I have a base model Mac mini that just runs iTunes with home sharing 24/7 and a large library of movies, tv shows and music on a 4tb external drive. This works really well with my two Apple TV 3's. So you could setup any kind of computer that will run a version of iTunes with home sharing and use that to access a local iTunes library.

If you learn how to use Handbrake (which is free and easy) you can rip DVD's into iTunes.

 

[SouthernTeuchter]

If you learn how to use Handbrake (which is free and easy) you can rip DVD's into iTunes.

I use Handbrake too but it can't cope with a lot of the DVD encryption. I can recommend MakeMKV as a front-end for that based on my experience.

 

[Boyd01]

I use Handbrake too but it can't cope with a lot of the DVD encryption. I can recommend MakeMKV as a front-end for that based on my experience.

I suppose it depends on what kinds of DVD's you own. I have ripped almost 1500 of mine and only had problems with perhaps 12 of them

 

[campyguy]

Thanks - some good ideas in here, and I certainly have places I could go to load content.

As far as anything other than AT&T data, it's really not an option. Our ONLY other internet option is satellite, which limits me to even less gigs/month than AT&T. There is no cable/DSL or other internet access from our area.

OP, chiming in late here maybe with a possible legitimate solution to check out. I'm back in an urban area where I work, but I spend weeks at a time at rural job sites and need my streaming fix, however, I've lucked out on keeping my legacy VZW UL data alive and put a SIM in an iPad Pro. That's not what this post is about.

My last two projects were adjacent to county parks that are now open year-round, stocked with loggers, truck drivers, and construction crew workers - almost all in RVs. Both sites are in a line-of-sight with an ATTWS LTE antenna array, and that's where I found out about a plan option you may be add to your ATTWS plan. I'm also over on DSL Reports, and there's a thread with links that may be helpful. No offense to Mac users, but I find that RVers are about the most resourceful people in instances like yours.

Links with plenty of info:
AT&T Unleashes Affordable Unlimited Data for “Connected Cars” – Chevy OnStar or ZTE Mobley
$20 standalone Unlimited plan for the ZTE Mobley for cheap rural internet!

 

[fithian]

You can use your ATV4 while traveling. At the hotel, you will need to speak with the ISP person. Ask at the front desk.
The ISP person will ask for your MAC number and then authorize it to be used on their network. If you have unlimited data on your phone, you can tether the ATV4 to your phone.

Download speeds for an ATV4 need to be in the 3-4 Mbps range. 2 Mbps will not work.

To connect the ATV4 to the TV, you will need an HDMI cable and a way to switch inputs on the TV. Most remotes have this feature, but if not, ask for the original remote that came with the TV.