Just loving my appleTV

[koopa35]

Second night with it and now fixed everything up with optical output to hifi.

With remote app this is brilliant. Fun messing about with YouTube and podcasts. Think well rent lost in translation tommorrow night.

Music is now so easy to play and sounds fantastic.

All our 1000,s of photos, hanbraked DVD,s too, for us this is just what we've been waiting for.

Once again apple have exceeded expectations. Truth be told I wasn't expecting much but this will only get better!!!

this is my first day with it and its pretty good. i feel if it had some sort of live tv it would be the greatest. i feel it has that potential. one thing is the remote app was a bit confusing at first. there should be a back button on it. pressing menu to get back on some screens take you home. speaking of home when in music library how do i get back to main menu? i ended up using dtock remote to get home.

remote app needs a back and a home button. ill give the unit 3 out of 4 stars. live tv will give it five stars.

 

[chrono1081]

Ok so I set up the Apple TV and LOVE it! This one is mine, my sister will be getting my Dad his for Christmas.

Streaming Avatar to the ATV right now and it looks AMAZING. (Granted my rip is amazing )

 

[jaw04005]

I love the form factor, but since I already owned an Apple TV and the new one offers little above the old model (and is even missing a few features) I don’t love it yet.

The software has major problems and hopefully the November update will get it where it needs to be.

 

[koopa35]

I love the form factor, but since I already owned an Apple TV and the new one offers little above the old model (and is even missing a few features) I don’t love it yet.

The software has major problems and hopefully the November update will get it where it needs to be.

who said atv will be updated in nov? link pls

 

[JSMencer]

so will handbrake rip the dvd too, or what is everyone using to rip the DVD.

 

[wodeh]

I've been ripping all my DVDs using Handbrake's "High Profile" preset, I usually take a quick trip to the audio tab (if I remember) to add a 5.1 AC3 pass-though in addition to the 2 channel AAC mix-down it'll do by default.

DVDs take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour on a Core i7 iMac, 8GB RAM.

I haven't seen an advert for a Bratz doll in a week. Nirvana.

The one problem with making all the DVDs so easily accessible to a child is their short attention span- just as you're getting into a movie they'll hit another one on the lovely iPad remote app.

On the upside, quick access to over 100 episodes of Tom and Jerry is brilliant!

 

[diabolic]

who said atv will be updated in nov? link pls

I'm interested in that link too. The only November update that's supposed be coming is 4.2 for the iPad. I doubt it will change anything for the AppleTV except adding Airplay to the iPad itself.

 

[newagemac]

Well at the keynote when they previewed iOS 4.2 along with the new Apple TV, Jobs did say that all iOS devices would be updated to 4.2 in November. Now that we know that the Apple TV is running iOS as well, I guess you can conclude that it will be receiving an update at that time.

 

[diabolic]

What changes are you expecting to see? I seriously doubt apps will be coming to the AppleTV anytime before next year. Other than Airplay, I don't see anything that could be imminent, and certainly no big surprises in the short term.

 

[DJinTX]

What changes are you expecting to see? I seriously doubt apps will be coming to the AppleTV anytime before next year. Other than Airplay, I don't see anything that could be imminent, and certainly no big surprises in the short term.

Based on these forums there are several software glitches that they will hopefully address. I hope they add back the ability to use album artwork as screensaver. I'm not so keen on animals and flowers. I could use my iPhoto library, but I really like album artwork for this. And just general stability fixes. It's good software, but there is certainly room for improvement. Not to mention, I'm sure they will be adding AirPlay support files to match what the iPhones/iPods/iPads will be getting. I doubt an app store will be announced this soon, but maybe they will add some new functionality (Hulu+ maybe, or something similar would be nice. And, even though the streaming seems pretty good, they can always improve coding and make things work even better/snappier.

 

[newagemac]

This is the first time iOS has been used as a dedicated media streamer. I would expect there would be many improvements to the user interface and features they have planned but didn't have time for the launch. Just look at the user interface improvements and features added to the iPhone from it's original launch.

I bet what you see now is just a start. One of the benefits of the new model is it relies on iOS which is being continually updated and improved with Apple's best team and full resources. The original wasn't even based on Leopard. It was based on Tiger so that's probably a big reason why updates and improvements were few are far between. Apple had moved their design and development resources on to Leopard and Snow Leopard. Nowadays, iOS seems to be getting even more coding resources and attention than OS X so that's good for the Apple TV.

 

[kevingaffney]

Got mine today. Love the seamless integration between ipad, iphone atv. Another great addition to my apple collection of gadgets

 

[koopa35]

off topic sorry

off topic my TV runs 4.0 i could have sworn it said 4.1

 

[needthephone]

Yes one thing when you use the aTV is that you feel detached from the world somehow- and that may not be a good thing.

I'd like to see some real time news updates or even a count of how many people are watching their apple TV's. It just feels a bit dead when you browse the menu, some music and or commentry or something would make you feel more "connected"

Probably just me! They have the opportunity of creating a social network too with all the people watching and hooked up to their apple TV network.

One thing about TV is the water cooler conversations it generates. Did you see so and so last night. This is gone with things like aTV . Just an observation

 

[koopa35]

Yes one thing when you use the aTV is that you feel detached from the world somehow- and that may not be a good thing.

I'd like to see some real time news updates or even a count of how many people are watching their apple TV's. It just feels a bit dead when you browse the menu, some music and or commentry or something would make you feel more "connected"

Probably just me! They have the opportunity of creating a social network too with all the people watching and hooked up to their apple TV network.

One thing about TV is the water cooler conversations it generates. Did you see so and so last night. This is gone with things like aTV . Just an observation

i agree with you. live tv would be great. and maybe a few widgets for news and social networking

 

[From A Buick 8]

so will handbrake rip the dvd too, or what is everyone using to rip the DVD.

Handbrake will rip some, Mac The Ripper (the free 2.66 version) will rip even more and the full version of Mac The Ripper will pretty much do everything else.

I have been ripping about 10 at a time to my hard drive then use the batch feature in handbrake to que them up and let HB do it's thing overnight. I just use the AppleTV preset.

 

[mjmchase]

I picked up my Apple TV from Amazon, got it yesterday. I had been using a PS3 to stream Netflix, and could never get MediaLink to stream my iMac content properly with it, so I am very happy with my ATV. Netflix looks great, my current media in iTunes looks great, and the TV episode I rented was perfect. I can see myself picking up another ATV for the living room soon.
I have been using Handbrake to add video to my iTunes library, just using their Apple TV setting, with good results.

 

[techguy40]

I picked up my Apple TV from Amazon, got it yesterday. I had been using a PS3 to stream Netflix, and could never get MediaLink to stream my iMac content properly with it, so I am very happy with my ATV. Netflix looks great, my current media in iTunes looks great, and the TV episode I rented was perfect. I can see myself picking up another ATV for the living room soon.
I have been using Handbrake to add video to my iTunes library, just using their Apple TV setting, with good results.

I recommend getting the latest nightly build of Handbrake and use the high profile setting. Be sure to change RF to 18 an turn off filters. Its way better than the old apple tv setting.

 

[chriso89]

i got mine 1 day ago i LOVE IT i use apple tv as an airplay speaker

the picture turns green and pink every hour on mye brothers new philips LED tv but on my older panasonic plasma it is perfect

 

[Omne666]

After reading so many posts here, I WONT be getting one in a hurry.

Why?

Because I already run 4 of the old versions, love the way they work, and definitely DO NOT want my content shifted from either 'shared movies' or 'my movies' ( I have 2 machines streaming, 2 synced), to a 'my computer' menu area. Right now it's damn near perfect, the new version isn't providing me with anything new, though the more powerful chip is tempting, so, I'm sticking where I am.

I do need one more unit, and when I'm ready I'll buy an old version I'm thinking.

 

[sculfort]

Stupid question

Can you use handbreak to rip to external hard drive connected to macbook pro and access that through appletv?

 

[dXTC]

Stupid question

Can you use handbreak to rip to external hard drive connected to macbook pro and access that through appletv?

Not necessarily stupid, but it has been asked before.

The answer is yes, HandBrake can save to an external hard drive. Your MacBook Pro's iTunes can access files in locations other than the default iTunes media folder. For example, my movies are stored on an external FireWire hard drive, while my music collection is on my iMac's internal drive. This is done by going into iTunes Preferences > Advanced (Edit > Edit Preferences in iTunes for Windows) and turning "Copy media to iTunes default location when adding to library" Off when adding movies, and turning it back On to add music.

If your underlying question is, "Can I use HandBrake to rip to an external hard drive and stream directly from it without having to use my MacBook or some other computer?", the answer is definitely No. tv must see an active, running iTunes library that references the media you want to play. An external hard drive without a computer will not suffice.

 

[techguy40]

Not necessarily stupid, but it has been asked before.

The answer is yes, HandBrake can save to an external hard drive. Your MacBook Pro's iTunes can access files in locations other than the default iTunes media folder. For example, my movies are stored on an external FireWire hard drive, while my music collection is on my iMac's internal drive. This is done by going into iTunes Preferences > Advanced (Edit > Edit Preferences in iTunes for Windows) and turning "Copy media to iTunes default location when adding to library" Off when adding movies, and turning it back On to add music.

If your underlying question is, "Can I use HandBrake to rip to an external hard drive and stream directly from it without having to use my MacBook or some other computer?", the answer is definitely No. tv must see an active, running iTunes library that references the media you want to play. An external hard drive without a computer will not suffice.

Thats a great idea. My macbook pro internal hard drive is getting full of movies. I will use an external hard drive and connect it to my airport extreme and have Itunes point to that when adding movies. I can save so much space doing what you said above.

If i need to travel, i can always connect my external hard drive to my macbook pro to view movies on my computer.

 

[wvuwhat]

Absolutely loving mine. Wasn't expecting the whole internet radio stations "app," but was pleasantly surprised. My handbrake files look great and Netflix streaming is so much easier and hassle-free than on my ps3's. I just figured out one of my Christmas presents to my parents.

The "only" thing that I wish it has was the ability to play Amazon VOD stuff. That would be the icing on the cake that would make me buy one for every room in my house.

 

[blueprint1983]

Well, I just got mine and I would say it's worth the $103 BUT -

I expect a big update.
I want some sort of this "Live" aspect we all talk about ie - a CNN, Fox News, or something with mainstream breaking news.
I don't want it but I expect the social networking aspect will in fact be the next logical step.

How do you turn on Apple TV without a remote?