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Apple TV or Blu Ray Player

S

Secret Legend

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 30, 2010
12
0
I'm deciding whether to get an Apple TV or a Blu Ray Player, but i'm not sure which to pick. As of now I have a 60 inch HDTV capable of 1080p. I want to use either the Apple TV or Blu Ray Player to watch movies. Now I know the Apple TV's HD movies are only 720p and Blu Ray is 1080p but i'm not sure which I should get. Plus the Apple TV has way more multimedia features than a standard Blu Ray Player. Im mostly looking for great quality movies in terms of picture and multimedia options. Any responses are greatly appreciated :)
 
Most current blu ray players actually have all kinds of multimedia features. Some can be networked, some stream netflix and pandora, etc.

The PS3 is still considered to be one of the best blu ray players, and you can do netflix, streaming music, movies, and pictures, and as a bonus it plays videogames. It's only $70 more than Apple TV.

Check out this WiFi LG Blu Ray for the same price as an Apple TV:

Clicky

Figure out exactly what you want your player to do, then decide.

Also, your tv DESERVES 1080p... really. Also, buying a physical disc and owning it is a big deal to some... although to what extent you actually own it is under debate. Finally, the PS3 media streaming costs extra, as it's 3rd party software, at least on a mac.
 
While I have both an Apple TV and PS3, I'm using my ATV less and less. I use the ATV when I want to watch one of my catalogue DVDs I've ripped. I only buy Blu Ray now so my DVD collection has not been expanded unless the Blu-Ray comes with one.

I think your TV will benefit more from a Blu Ray player.
 
I agree, get a PS3! I used to use a mac mini connected to a 42" TV, now I just the PS3. It plays blue rays, and more importantly it plays films off a USB memory stick!
 
Another vote for PS3. I just got one for MLB The Show. You can plug your external HD into it and copy movies to the PS3s HDD. It's really an all around awesome media center.
 
maclook said:
Get a PS3. It does everything.
Click to expand...

... poorly.

To be fair, from a purely technical standpoint, it's the best available for the price- but I'll never invest in another Sony device again if I can help it. I've nearly thrown my PS3 out the window so many times due to it's cryptic interface and shoddy internet connection- It's the only electronic that I actively keep the manual next to (after 2 years!) I LOVE streaming Netflix, the Blu-Rays look AMAZING and the games are fantastic... but when it starts to act up, you can expect to spend hours trying to get it working again.

Typical Engineer Design Philosophy;
Best technology, worst implementation.

/venting
 
Don't op for blu-ray. Purchase an Apple TV.

Also the average consumer can rarely tell the difference between 720p & 1080p.
 
get the blu ray

I'm not really a gamer and have a wii so the ps3 would be wasted on me.
Faced with a similar choice to the OP I opted for the LG blu ray player (albeit the more expensive 580 model) over the ATV

I can now borrow and rent blu ray discs, it replaces my dvd player that had gone too
I can stream music movies and photos from over my LAN
has you tube on there
firmware updates over the internet are easy to download and install
It can play back .mkv files at full HD (at 60" you should be able to tell difference between 720 and 1080p)
ATV processor cannot handle playing .mkv files at HD res from my understanding and those files are really easy to acquire. This was one of the things that swung it for me.
picture is absolutely stunning.
I suspect for most people, a blu ray player would be easier to hook up to home cinema sound system than a ps3 or an ATV and get the AC3 passthru working?

I also had some large usb notebook drives around for additional storage which had lots of films on so don't need to stream them over the network.
The dedicated player must be better (reliability, easy of use, picture quality) than the ps3, esp at that price though I would agree with many on here that if you are a gamer without a console the PS3 represents excellent value for money.
 
With a 60" HDTV, get a Blu-ray player and surround sound system. It will blow you away, and has the added benefit of upconverting your existing DVD collection to 1080p.
 
I have a 60" HDTV.
I've been looking at getting an AppleTV. Still looking.
I just bought a Samsung Bluray player for $128.
It does 1080p same as TV - plus.
It does Netflix - plus. Blockbuster & Pandora - plus.

Still looking at AppleTV. But ...
It will connect with my other machines and stream music or videos.
Can purchase HD movies. Can rent movies. plus.

If I could figure out how to stream media to my blurau player from my Macs ... Then less reason to by an AppleTV.

So depends what or where you get your media from.
 
if you don't mind tinkering and you need cheap the PS3 is a good route. Plan on working on the unit almost as much as using it.

If, like me, you just want stuff to work, the latest generation Blu Ray players are a good choice. They already stream Netflix and Pandora, and a lot of them are DLNA compatible. If you have a Mac that is generally always on, and have a spare $50, you can turn your Mac with your iTunes/IPhoto library into a DLNA server using EyeConnect. Then your BD player can stream from your Mac as well.

Setting up DLNA on your Mac is a snap with EyeConnect, but (depending upon your player - and here the newer the better) sometimes it can be a pain to get running on your Blu Ray player itself.

But the latest players will run you $300+ by themselves, and you don't get any games. It all depends on your needs, I suppose.
 
Teh Don Ditty said:
PS3 + Rivet

What's so hard about that?
Click to expand...

I don't own a PS3, so it isn't fair to comment on them, but I know several people that got a PS3 and had difficulty getting things like Netflix and streaming working. Then the PS3 randomly resets itself and you get the joy of doing it all over again.

I don't know anyone using Rivet - maybe that makes it a bit easier. Is Rivet DLNA compatible? Would it make it easier to set up a WD TV Live for example? Or is it tied to just the PS3 and XBox?
 
dernhelm said:
I don't own a PS3, so it isn't fair to comment on them, but I know several people that got a PS3 and had difficulty getting things like Netflix and streaming working. Then the PS3 randomly resets itself and you get the joy of doing it all over again.

I don't know anyone using Rivet - maybe that makes it a bit easier. Is Rivet DLNA compatible? Would it make it easier to set up a WD TV Live for example? Or is it tied to just the PS3 and XBox?
Click to expand...

Rivet is a program that sits on your menu bar. It streams most media types to either your PS3 or 360.

Handy little program.
 
Teh Don Ditty said:
Rivet is a program that sits on your menu bar. It streams most media types to either your PS3 or 360.

Handy little program.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I found the link. It looks like it works by sharing out your media as something like a "windows share". I was curious how well that worked with other systems (like the WD TV Live). The page only clearly indicates that it works with the PS3 and XBox (neither of which I own).
 
dernhelm said:
Yeah, I found the link. It looks like it works by sharing out your media as something like a "windows share". I was curious how well that worked with other systems (like the WD TV Live). The page only clearly indicates that it works with the PS3 and XBox (neither of which I own).
Click to expand...

Yea, if you don't own either system it's pointless. But if you're torn between an ATV or a console. Console is the easiest choice with Rivet.

It all depends on if you DL movies from iTunes, torrent them or rip them.
 
I'm curious to know what the OP does. At least half of the people you ask will tell you to get a ps3 as a blu-ray player. ATV is useless. As much as I want everything in my household to be Apple made, a ps3 is a far better multimedia console.
 
dernhelm said:
I don't own a PS3, so it isn't fair to comment on them, but I know several people that got a PS3 and had difficulty getting things like Netflix and streaming working. Then the PS3 randomly resets itself and you get the joy of doing it all over again.?
Click to expand...

:(It's true... actually- while I've used Macs for almost 10 years now, it really wasn't until I started specifically using a PS3 that I feel like I really started to appreciate the user-oriented philosophy behind Apple products. It's 2010, it's time that all consumer electronics start using complete sentences and do away with cryptic error codes!! It's honestly like programming a VCR every time you want to clear some space to rent a new movie. The Wifi is garbage, it works for a few hours or days- then suddenly quits:eek:.. can't be set up again unless you reset everything to factory defaults just to go through the entire setup process again:confused:... I can't believe Sony is pushing this as a home theater component, it's like they've never made a consumer product before!:mad:

It's such a shame; it's the best technology on the market, with the most pathetic attempt at usability I've ever seen since programming a VCR.
 
squirrel77 said:
I'm not really a gamer and have a wii so the ps3 would be wasted on me.
Faced with a similar choice to the OP I opted for the LG blu ray player (albeit the more expensive 580 model) over the ATV

I can now borrow and rent blu ray discs, it replaces my dvd player that had gone too
I can stream music movies and photos from over my LAN.....
Click to expand...

How do you do the Mac streaming & Photo viewing to the LG?
Could you browse itunes/iphoto/aperture libraries like Front Row
Any chance to watch websites that stream to your Mac (hulu.. )
 
Blu-Ray looks much better than Apple TV. Especially on a 60" 1080p set. You cna also stream multimedia fom your mac to the PS3.
 
I bought a PS3 a month ago to use as a media server. At the time I had no idea that it was such an excellent media centre, it plays blueray well and loads fast, can stream from the web, you can connect to and play video or music off an external USB hard drive, records live tv and has a good EPG (TV guide).

It has wireless so I can browse the internet - admittedly with difficulty, even after buying an Apple wireless mouse and keyboard (using Bluetooth). And I can access programs on the ABC through iView, that's here in Australia. I can also play video by turning my MacPro (on the other side of the house) into a wireless media server. It only works with standard def video though, not high def video which is choppy.

I bought the one with the smaller 120GB internal drive, but will replace with a 750GB drive soon.

Picture quality from free-to-air HD seems better going thru the PS3 than when connected to the aerial directly to our Pioneer 50 inch Full HD plasma, don't know why.

Can't compare AppleTV, but I'm very happy with the PS3.
 
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