ATV is it a must?

[discojo3]

hay guys all new to this mac gadgets and love them.
NOW apple TV whats all the fuss about I'm from the u.k and all i can gather you can do is airplay,stream from iTunes(i don't use movies in iTunes) and watch netflix i defently don't want to be paying for that, its shocking!! so is there anything a little better that this little box can do? i was thinking all sky channels,american channels,sky movies etc can it do any of these things????

cheers

 

[iamangeln]

hay guys all new to this mac gadgets and love them.
NOW apple TV whats all the fuss about I'm from the u.k and all i can gather you can do is airplay,stream from iTunes(i don't use movies in iTunes) and watch netflix i defently don't want to be paying for that, its shocking!! so is there anything a little better that this little box can do? i was thinking all sky channels,american channels,sky movies etc can it do any of these things????

cheers

the apple tv itself is only 99$ so if you bought it and decided it wasn't for you, there's isn't much of a loss.
but anyways, the Apple TV in my opinion, is a must.
I must admit I don't buy all my movies/tv shows from iTunes. But I do put all my movies/tv shows on iTunes and I use the "shared" option to stream from my computer to all my devices(mainly Apple TV).
it's ultimately your decision if you would like to buy one or not
if you have to ask us to convince you to buy one, then an Apple TV is probably not the device for you.

 

[2010mini]

hay guys all new to this mac gadgets and love them.
NOW apple TV whats all the fuss about I'm from the u.k and all i can gather you can do is airplay,stream from iTunes(i don't use movies in iTunes) and watch netflix i defently don't want to be paying for that, its shocking!! so is there anything a little better that this little box can do? i was thinking all sky channels,american channels,sky movies etc can it do any of these things????

cheers

I suggest finding your closest Apple retail store and go try one out to see if you like it.

 

[discojo3]

the apple tv itself is only 99$ so if you bought it and decided it wasn't for you, there's isn't much of a loss.
but anyways, the Apple TV in my opinion, is a must.
I must admit I don't buy all my movies/tv shows from iTunes. But I do put all my movies/tv shows on iTunes and I use the "shared" option to stream from my computer to all my devices(mainly Apple TV).
it's ultimately your decision if you would like to buy one or not
if you have to ask us to convince you to buy one, then an Apple TV is probably not the device for you.

See thats the thing you lucky americans get it for 99$ us english across the pond have to pay £99 so as it sits sterling to usd its 1.64 so we should be paying £60 instead they ask for another £39 crazy but hay we can pay these crazy prices seen as were running our cars on liquid gold.
but back to the point i can share all my movies through the hdmi output and if i do have to come on here to convince me i guess its not for me


I just really thought it could/can do more i guess it can't and were just gonna have to wait for the complete apple tv to arrive the joys

 

[2010mini]

See thats the thing you lucky americans get it for 99$ us english across the pond have to pay £99 so as it sits sterling to usd its 1.64 so we should be paying £60 instead they ask for another £39 crazy but hay we can pay these crazy prices seen as were running our cars on liquid gold.
but back to the point i can share all my movies through the hdmi output and if i do have to come on here to convince me i guess its not for me


I just really thought it could/can do more i guess it can't and were just gonna have to wait for the complete apple tv to arrive the joys

the Apple TV can do quite a lot via AirPlay. For example, If family/friends come over they can stream stuff to my Apple TV. Instead of trying to show on their device, a whole room full can enjoy.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

See thats the thing you lucky americans get it for 99$ us english across the pond have to pay £99 so as it sits sterling to usd its 1.64 so we should be paying £60 instead they ask for another £39 crazy but hay we can pay these crazy prices seen as were running our cars on liquid gold.
but back to the point i can share all my movies through the hdmi output and if i do have to come on here to convince me i guess its not for me


I just really thought it could/can do more i guess it can't and were just gonna have to wait for the complete apple tv to arrive the joys

It's not much different than the BBC/Amazon.uk charging £7.75 for a Doctor Who DVD, when the BBC America equivalent in the US is $29.73. Yeah, I know that's not £99, but if you are a fan (and with how many discs DW has) it adds up.

So don't be raggin' on the Apple! ;-)

 

[Gjwilly]

It's really just an extension of iTunes so if you rent or buy most of your content from iTunes or if you store all of your media within iTunes on a computer on your local network then it's just an easy way to bring your iTunes content to your TV.
There are also a few extra channels but they mostly require subscription so there's no benefit to an ATV versus any other media streaming box.
You mentioned Netflix but I couldn't tell from your phrasing whether you realized that even with the ATV you would still need a paid Netflix subscription.

 

[Menel]

hay guys all new to this mac gadgets and love them.
NOW apple TV whats all the fuss about I'm from the u.k and all i can gather you can do is airplay,stream from iTunes(i don't use movies in iTunes) and watch netflix i defently don't want to be paying for that, its shocking!! so is there anything a little better that this little box can do? i was thinking all sky channels,american channels,sky movies etc can it do any of these things????

cheers

A must? No. A nice luxury tech toy? Sure, if it fits your needs.

With no cable service, it a far greater interface than 'smart-TVs' for Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and iTunes media. Bonus is Photostreams and Airplay.

For my parents who have a big Comcast HD TV package and TiVo and no Netflix/Hulu. It offers little for them.

 

[Dc2006ster]

ATV a must?

I had a 1st generation Apple TV with ATV flash installed. I loved having a hard drive for storage and the friendly interface but did not like that it had trouble with mkv files. I then switched and used an old Macbook attached directly to my TV via a mini dvi to HDMI adapter. This worked wonderfully with XBMC as the interface. That is until my wife wanted the Macbook.

My TV is DNLA compliant so I now stream videos directly from my Mac to the TV using PS3 Media Server or put them on a large USB stick which I then plug into the TV. The interface is butt ugly but it works for all files other than those with certain audio formats. Similarly, this can be done via a PS3 which has a slightly better interface.

I suspect the best option is to have a Mac mini connected top the TV but that seems like overkill.

 

[discojo3]

It's not much different than the BBC/Amazon.uk charging £7.75 for a Doctor Who DVD, when the BBC America equivalent in the US is $29.73. Yeah, I know that's not £99, but if you are a fan (and with how many discs DW has) it adds up.

So don't be raggin' on the Apple! ;-)

Im glad this happens tho because we always seem to get the bad deal but i guess it swings both ways so kinda fair in a way.
Please don't get me started on Amazon they couldn't run a business to save there life's haha

thanks anyways : )

----------

It's really just an extension of iTunes so if you rent or buy most of your content from iTunes or if you store all of your media within iTunes on a computer on your local network then it's just an easy way to bring your iTunes content to your TV.
There are also a few extra channels but they mostly require subscription so there's no benefit to an ATV versus any other media streaming box.
You mentioned Netflix but I couldn't tell from your phrasing whether you realized that even with the ATV you would still need a paid Netflix subscription.

THANKS this is a brilliant way of summing it up for me i just guess i was wondering if i was missing any point but i guess i was not and its a very simple device which i believe is not for me as i don't use i tunes to its full extent : D

 

[WilliamLondon]

I'm in the UK, I cut my cable connection more than 5 years ago. The ATV is central to that, I couldn't have cut cable without it, but even more I couldn't have done it without jailbreaking the ATV, which I did to my gen 1, and I've done to my gen 2.

I think the ATV is a great device, but for me it's the jailbreak that really brings the device to life. Along with jailbreaking, though, it's the airplay functionality that I use quite a lot, streaming from my iPad. There are lots of programmes on the web that airplay quite wonderfully and watching them on the bigger tv is much more enjoyable than watching them on a desktop, laptop or iPad.

I love the ATV.

 

[cynics]

I use it for the streaming paid services (Hulu, Netflix etc) and constantly for music from DI Radio and Pandora. I got rid of cable also.

 

[Zamolxis]

One word: Beamer

Sure the app costs 15 bucks extra, but it adds the one logical feature that makes the mac/apple tv the best media streaming combo. And it plays pretty much any format.

 

[Degece]

I like my jail broken ATV2 but wonder when there will be an ATV that can run IOS apps. To me that is when it becomes an absolute must (and yes I know about Airplay; I'd rather use my iPad for other things).

 

[APlotdevice]

See thats the thing you lucky americans get it for 99$ us english across the pond have to pay £99 so as it sits sterling to usd its 1.64 so we should be paying £60 instead they ask for another £39 crazy but hay we can pay these crazy prices seen as were running our cars on liquid gold.
but back to the point i can share all my movies through the hdmi output and if i do have to come on here to convince me i guess its not for me


I just really thought it could/can do more i guess it can't and were just gonna have to wait for the complete apple tv to arrive the joys

Don't prices in the UK include sales tax, unlike in the US [where all listed prices are before tax]? I know it doesn't quite make up the difference, but still you probably aren't paying as much of a premium as you think.

 

[cynics]

I like my jail broken ATV2 but wonder when there will be an ATV that can run IOS apps. To me that is when it becomes an absolute must (and yes I know about Airplay; I'd rather use my iPad for other things).

I can understand ATV dedicated app (as in a 3rd party App Store) but iOS apps? They are designed for a touch interface. So add a touch interface control.....by that point you might as well use an iOS device with AirPlay.

 

[APlotdevice]

I can understand ATV dedicated app (as in a 3rd party App Store) but iOS apps? They are designed for a touch interface. So add a touch interface control.....by that point you might as well use an iOS device with AirPlay.

Personally I think "Applets" are the way to go. Little programs that run on the AppleTV alongside an iPhone/iPad app, providing a more optimized experience than AirPlay can manage. For instance a video streaming app like Amazon Instant Video could install an applet for streaming data directly to the AppleTV, reducing the strain on your iPhone/etc's battery. News apps could install an applet for displaying their content in a more TV friendly way. Games could install a basic version of themselves to run without the AirPlay lag rendering them unplayable.

 

[blanka]

One word: Beamer

Sure the app costs 15 bucks extra, but it adds the one logical feature that makes the mac/apple tv the best media streaming combo. And it plays pretty much any format.

Yes, but it still lacks 24p support. To me the Apple TV was nothing more than a very expensive HDMI cable fixed at 60Hz, so sucky for both movies and European 25p TV content. I sold it and got the cable. Much better experience now.

 

[leeco0]

I have ATV 3 and you can't jailbreak it yet 🙁

ATV to me is a very easy way to watch films stored on a pc on any tv with a HDMI port in the house.

Also unlike most smart tvs that can do the same you can add covers to films so you are not just looking at a list of films you can see covers and to me seeing the cover to a film instead of just a name is a must as I have watched films on it that I would never have watched before.

 

[deluxeshredder]

hay guys all new to this mac gadgets and love them.
NOW apple TV whats all the fuss about I'm from the u.k and all i can gather you can do is airplay,stream from iTunes(i don't use movies in iTunes) and watch netflix i defently don't want to be paying for that, its shocking!! so is there anything a little better that this little box can do? i was thinking all sky channels,american channels,sky movies etc can it do any of these things????

cheers

Apple TV is basically an iTunes streamer with support for some online services. It is in some cases a nicer and lighter alternative to HTPCs, but don't expect flexibility or anything spectacular.

One upon a time, Apple removed Front Row from OS X to avoid Mac Mini cannibalising Apple TV.