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Apple TV or Chromecast?
- Thread starter ghsDUDE
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OK. After having an Apple TV again for a week and using the PlexConnect modification, I don't know why I would want anything else. I returned my Chromecast. Plex functions better for me on the Apple TV. I just like having a physical remote. I don't see how anyone that is already in the Apple/iTunes ecosystem would want anything else.
Honestly I think the Chromecast is lacking features. It is usually dependent on another device. The ATV is a standalone machine and has built in apps that don't require connection to other devices. Ive used them both and thats why I prefer the ATV.
The "lack of features" on the Chromecast and the price were what led me to get it.
I just wanted something to use to fire up Hulu, Netflix and/or Pandora without having to use the PS3. Or TiVo (I hate the Hulu app on the TiVo). Works fine for me, but I don't play much stuff from iTunes or whatever.
Another nice alternative, BTW, is a Raspberry Pi with RaspBMC/XBMC on it. 'bout the same price as a Chromecast, but you can use ethernet (sweet) and it will play music and slideshows and video right off your Mac. Lots of other stuff too, although not so much in the commerical arena.
I just wanted something to use to fire up Hulu, Netflix and/or Pandora without having to use the PS3. Or TiVo (I hate the Hulu app on the TiVo). Works fine for me, but I don't play much stuff from iTunes or whatever.
Another nice alternative, BTW, is a Raspberry Pi with RaspBMC/XBMC on it. 'bout the same price as a Chromecast, but you can use ethernet (sweet) and it will play music and slideshows and video right off your Mac. Lots of other stuff too, although not so much in the commerical arena.
I am doing the same. Going for the Roku 3 instead of the ATV since I rarely stream anything from my mobile devices.
You CAN use Plex on an Apple TV3 without any jailbreaking.
The process takes over the trailers channel.
http://langui.sh/2013/08/27/appletv-ssl-plexconnect/
or google "ATV3 plexconnect", there's youtube guides etc...
Here's the official github Plexconnect installation guide:-
https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect/wiki/Install-Guide
I had it working ok on my ATV3 with Plex on my Macbook.
(I then went on to get a Synology NAS and try PLEX off that, but Plex on the synology didn't pick up my media files properly at all, so ended up with a Western Digital TV Live which works well and supports almost all formats so not requiring transcoding and other mucky stuff...)
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I've got both. I think the chrome cast is good if you have android and apple products at home. So far it's worked flawlessly with the limited amount of things it can do. I think it's flaws compared to the Apple TV is that it's limited. I find my Apple TV much more useful. It's only worth it if you have android devices/buy a lot of content from the play store.
I bought a Chromecast for a friend for Christmas, since he has a mostly Android/Windows household. (A roommate has a Macbook.) I have an Apple TV.
It didn't work on his TV initially - no HDMI output. I took it home and tried on my TV and worked fine. There was a software update, which I accepted. I figured I'd have to go fiddle with his TV's HDMI settings. But when I took it back, it just worked. I guess it was the update.
Some clarifications:
- Both Apple TV and Chromecast are capable of streaming content directly from the network. An app sends a URL to the box, and it takes it from there. You can close the app.
- Both Apple TV and Chromcast are capable of streaming content from some other device to the Apple TV/Chromecast. In this case, the app must remain open or must be capable of running in background. This will typically eat battery.
- Both Apple TV and Chromecast are capable of mirroring your screen. For Chromecast, you have to be running the Chrome browser and install the Chromecast extension. You can choose to "Chromecast" either a tab or the desktop.
- Apple TV can also extend the desktop to the Apple TV as a separate display.
- Chromecast can queue requests, even from multiple devices. The ultimate party solution - nobody fighting over the controls - first in, first out. (I suppose some wise guy will come up with a "skip button" app.)
- Chromecast does not have *any* native UI. There are no "channels" or "icons" or what-not. You cannot "navigate" Chromecast using a remote, becuase there simply is no on-screen UI at all. In this regard, it is not comparable to an Apple TV or Roku. Chromecast relies on apps on your other device(s) that are able to Chromecast. For example, the Netflix app on iOS or Android is able to Chromecast.
It didn't work on his TV initially - no HDMI output. I took it home and tried on my TV and worked fine. There was a software update, which I accepted. I figured I'd have to go fiddle with his TV's HDMI settings. But when I took it back, it just worked. I guess it was the update.
Some clarifications:
- Both Apple TV and Chromecast are capable of streaming content directly from the network. An app sends a URL to the box, and it takes it from there. You can close the app.
- Both Apple TV and Chromcast are capable of streaming content from some other device to the Apple TV/Chromecast. In this case, the app must remain open or must be capable of running in background. This will typically eat battery.
- Both Apple TV and Chromecast are capable of mirroring your screen. For Chromecast, you have to be running the Chrome browser and install the Chromecast extension. You can choose to "Chromecast" either a tab or the desktop.
- Apple TV can also extend the desktop to the Apple TV as a separate display.
- Chromecast can queue requests, even from multiple devices. The ultimate party solution - nobody fighting over the controls - first in, first out. (I suppose some wise guy will come up with a "skip button" app.)
- Chromecast does not have *any* native UI. There are no "channels" or "icons" or what-not. You cannot "navigate" Chromecast using a remote, becuase there simply is no on-screen UI at all. In this regard, it is not comparable to an Apple TV or Roku. Chromecast relies on apps on your other device(s) that are able to Chromecast. For example, the Netflix app on iOS or Android is able to Chromecast.
I appreciate the effort, but did you read my post? I am already using PlexConnect. That is why I went out and got an Apple TV again. I'm loving it.
I'll second the beauty of plexconnect with the Apple TV. I really prefer the menu system over the native ATV.
Yeah,
At one point I had every TV show and every movie converted and imported into iTunes. It was just OK using the Apple TV interface. Obviously, the system works better for content purchased through iTunes. The problem was how poorly everything was organized in Computer->Movies. I have two folders of movies on Plex - Movies & Kids Movies. The same for TV shows. My kids get on Plex all the time on our household iPads. And I watch content on my iPad Mini and on the Apple TV. I don't like how all my Movies and all my TV Shows are grouped together. And what is worse, the TV Shows list out each season on the Apple TV. I know there are some ways to get around that. I did a lot of reading a couple years ago on how to get around that, but I still didn't like the results. The other problem was that I either needed duplicates of all my TV Shows and Movies so one set could be in iTunes and one organized for Plex, or Plex would pull my content from the iTunes folder and be poorly organized like iTunes was.
So yeah, I like the Apple TV a lot. I like playing music on it. I have purchased a lot of iTunes music, and I also pay for iTunes Match. I like playing the purchased-on-iTunes TV show and movies a lot. But I hate how it handles non-iTunes purchased video content. That is where PlexConnect makes it a real winner. I have an iPhone, and I have a workaround that puts my wife's Android phone photos on Photostream (via Dropbox). So we can view those pictures (I have 3 small kids, so the wife and in-laws love it).
Damac - I thought you'd got the version 2 ATV, due to the latest version not being able to be jailbroken. Just wanted others to be aware the latest ATV can work with Plexconnect without jailbreaking... although there's always a risk it could become borked by an Apple update (it was briefly inoperable already but has been fixed).
Personally I would checkout the Nuvola by Nanotech that supports 4K UHD scheduled to be released by Super Bowl Sunday. It will be able to stream 4K as low as 6Mbps from Nanotech's Ultraflix.
http://nuvola4k.com/
http://nuvola4k.com/
If you come from Android and have a lot of Google Play material, ChromeCast is excellent. It's much smaller than the Apple TV and basically powers off your TV.
If you want AirPlay and all the Apple related goodness, then the Apple TV is your best bet.
Both are excellent systems. However if you want my opinion, if you can get a Xiaomi TV box, it's like the best of both words. It support just about everything Android and it works as an AirPlay device for your Apple stuff. It's also only like $50.
If you want AirPlay and all the Apple related goodness, then the Apple TV is your best bet.
Both are excellent systems. However if you want my opinion, if you can get a Xiaomi TV box, it's like the best of both words. It support just about everything Android and it works as an AirPlay device for your Apple stuff. It's also only like $50.
Lol me too, Just got my ATV3 the other day, was thinking about getting the chromecast but I hate dealing with apps and having to use a phone and what not just to get content.
No problem, man. I re-read what I wrote and could see how you misunderstood. Could have been more clear.
I have found having an Apple TV and Roku both will fill all possible streaming gaps. It's the best of both worlds if you're like me and don't have cable tv. If you DO have cable than it's probably overkill.
So I'm trying to decide about ATV as well, and being able to stream videos from a browser with decent quality would be a strong selling point. I gather that mirroring does not provide high quality at all; but this post suggests that if I open a website video in Safari on my iPad, I can stream it to the HDTV with good quality?
Yes, it should be good quality, but it depends on the specific site. Streaming to the ATV from the browser works quite well because only iOS compatible videos will play in the first place.
plex
This thread convinced me to keep working with the ATV2. So...who wants to help me? I used to have plex, but then updated to latest update. Then, i jailbroke it with season pass....right clicked for the 5.0.2 (the last version that ran plex i think), but to no avail. Then I tried plexconnect...but failed, even after tutorials on youtube, when it came to the terminal command. Ive spent 10 hours on this over the course of the week. Im ready to wait for the latest OS to be jailbroken, but I dont like leaving problems unsolved...nor do i expect them to include plex. I also considered using Infuse, but it seems to be less user friendly. So....yeah. I could use some help. No blobs are saved. I dont know if that matters if you right click and chose the OS from season pass. If it does, that explains why I cant downgrade. Thanks for letting me vent. phew! (help)
This thread convinced me to keep working with the ATV2. So...who wants to help me? I used to have plex, but then updated to latest update. Then, i jailbroke it with season pass....right clicked for the 5.0.2 (the last version that ran plex i think), but to no avail. Then I tried plexconnect...but failed, even after tutorials on youtube, when it came to the terminal command. Ive spent 10 hours on this over the course of the week. Im ready to wait for the latest OS to be jailbroken, but I dont like leaving problems unsolved...nor do i expect them to include plex. I also considered using Infuse, but it seems to be less user friendly. So....yeah. I could use some help. No blobs are saved. I dont know if that matters if you right click and chose the OS from season pass. If it does, that explains why I cant downgrade. Thanks for letting me vent. phew! (help)
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