Some questions before I buy ATV

[kerpow]

Pretty sure I want to buy an Apple TV, mostly for the streaming of music from my iPhone 5. That's easy.

I just want to know in advance, to avoid disappointment, what else I can do and what I can't as I also have an iPad 2 and a Mac Book Pro 2010. My TV is a 42" 1080p (Panasonic TX-L42E5B) and I have a 30Mb broadband connection.

1. I know that I can't do Airplay Mirroring from my MBP. However, I'm not clear whether I can stream video that is held in iTunes on my MBP to the Apple TV e.g. anything that is held in .mp4 format?

2. I can Airplay Mirror from my iPhone 5 and, presumably, iPad 2? If I signed up to LoveFilm, could I Airplay Mirror that from either device to the Apple TV? If so, what would the quality be like? (assume wi-fi signal is excellent)

3. Also on Airplay Mirroring from iOS devices, if I mirror a game that I'm playing, again is the quality sufficient to make a good game e.g. Asphalt 7, playable on a big screen?

Also, I don't really understand why there is so little development for the Apple TV. I've heard this "its our hobby" line, is this an excuse to not develop for the platform? How hard could it be for Apple to add a few other services on it e.g. BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm etc. Can we expect *any* development at all for the Apple TV?

Thanks

 

[S.B.G]

Pretty sure I want to buy an Apple TV, mostly for the streaming of music from my iPhone 5. That's easy.

I just want to know in advance, to avoid disappointment, what else I can do and what I can't as I also have an iPad 2 and a Mac Book Pro 2010. My TV is a 42" 1080p (Panasonic TX-L42E5B) and I have a 30Mb broadband connection.

1. I know that I can't do Airplay Mirroring from my MBP. However, I'm not clear whether I can stream video that is held in iTunes on my MBP to the Apple TV e.g. anything that is held in .mp4 format?

2. I can Airplay Mirror from my iPhone 5 and, presumably, iPad 2? If I signed up to LoveFilm, could I Airplay Mirror that from either device to the Apple TV? If so, what would the quality be like? (assume wi-fi signal is excellent)

3. Also on Airplay Mirroring from iOS devices, if I mirror a game that I'm playing, again is the quality sufficient to make a good game e.g. Asphalt 7, playable on a big screen?

Also, I don't really understand why there is so little development for the Apple TV. I've heard this "its our hobby" line, is this an excuse to not develop for the platform? How hard could it be for Apple to add a few other services on it e.g. BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm etc. Can we expect *any* development at all for the Apple TV?

Thanks

1. Yes, you can stream movies from iTunes on your MBP to the ATV.
2. Not totally sure, but quality on other things I mirror seems quite good, if they're not at full quality.
3. I've never tried to AirPlay a game before, so I am not sure.

As far as we know the Apple TV is still their "hobby" and doesn't get a lot of attention. There is still speculation of an Apple TV "TV" around, so if that's true, they may be focusing their efforts more on development for it than the current Apple TV.

 

[peeaanuut]

there is a lag on game playing so fast paced games dont work as well, even with a really fast wifi signal. Slower games work great though. I use it to play uno all the time.

 

[kerpow]

Thanks. That's good to know that I could rip an old DVD on to my MBP, into iTunes, and stream it over. I was worried that the 2010 MBP wasn't capable of that.

Makes sense about the fast-paced games, so I can't fault Apple for that.

Thanks. Definitely worth the £80/$99.

 

[JoeBlow74]

I use my Apple TV3 for the following.
1. Airplay from Ipad for surfing the net and watching Youtube video.
2. Streaming my music library from Imac.
3. Stream my personal DVD collection from Imac.
4. Watch HULU+ content.
5. Listen to Apple internet radio.
6. Stream home video made from HD cam from Imac.
7. Stream personal pictures from Imac.
8. Stream video taken from Iphone.

My AppleTV 3 has quickly become my media hub for my front room.

 

[orestes1984]

You can mirror your desktop on unsupported Macs/PCs using Airparrot although it's CPU intensive http://airparrot.com. Anything you have in iTunes can be airplayed to your Apple TV, I use iTunes on my Mac for unsupported internet radio streams of local radio channels. You can also stream directly from your iOS Device so long as your not streaming fast paced iOS games.

The Apple TV is basically a front end for your media content you already have on other devices/computers in your home/office. Mine even helps my G5 output full HD video and surround sound. An Apple TV3 will process anything you send to it, provided its coming from a source it can handle. It will even stream from Beamer http://beamer-app.com/ and in certain circumstances VLC.

Once you have all your content in iTunes friendly formats being able to jail break is over rated unless you like the Plex/XBMC applications and their plugins. Hulu and Netflix are built into the Apple TV3's interface. That's about the only other things you would Jailbreak an Apple TV2 for.

 

[lunaoso]

Thanks. That's good to know that I could rip an old DVD on to my MBP, into iTunes, and stream it over. I was worried that the 2010 MBP wasn't capable of that.

Makes sense about the fast-paced games, so I can't fault Apple for that.

Thanks. Definitely worth the £80/$99.

As for the development, Apple does add things every once and awhile. Like just a few months ago they added Hulu plus... I think everyone is waiting for them to finally add an App Store.

Oh and another thing airplay mirroring is awesome for is FaceTime. Use it at family get togethers all the time to talk to some relatives that don't live near us. This is a really awesome feature that doesn't get much attention IMO.

 

[linds15]

I use my Apple TV3 for the following.
1. Airplay from Ipad for watching Youtube video (it has its own youtube app but i prefer navigating youtube on my ipad and sending it over)
2. Streaming my music library from MBP, at parties its great that I can have dual output from my computer speakers on one side of the house and at my tv on the other side, music is loud enough throughout house to hear it as you move around
3. Stream my personal DVD collection from MBP
4. Watch HULU+ and Netflix content, probably what i use most since i cancelled cable
5. Airplay NFL Gamepass and NBA Gametime from my ipad, content comes out amazingly clear, and I pay 100$ for each for a whole season as opposed to the 35/month for a super sports pack on cable

 

[kerpow]

Airplay NFL Gamepass

That's a great idea, I didn't think of that. Watching games on my laptop is a pain, it will be great to see it on the big screen without having to use numerous cables.

Will make the purchase right after next week's event, just in case something new pops up.

 

[Menneisyys2]

That's a great idea, I didn't think of that. Watching games on my laptop is a pain, it will be great to see it on the big screen without having to use numerous cables.

Will make the purchase right after next week's event, just in case something new pops up.

Note that gaming may severely suffer from the lag / lack of throughput. You surely won't be able to play, say, Real Racing 2 over AirPlay.

 

[DP812]

If you have iTunes running, you can either AirPlay stuff in the iTunes library or you can access it through Home Sharing on the Apple TV. There's also Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube and you can rent or buy stuff from the iTunes Store and stream it without waiting for a long download.

I don't know anything about LoveFilm but I do know that when I've tried to AirPlay MSNBC's website video from my iPhone 4, there's sometimes been a lag.

The majority of my usage comes from Netflix, Hulu, and Home Sharing. I don't do a whole lot of AirPlaying from my laptop since it's a bit processor-heavy on my 2011 MBA.

 

[trymph]

As for the development, Apple does add things every once and awhile. Like just a few months ago they added Hulu plus... I think everyone is waiting for them to finally add an App Store.

Oh and another thing airplay mirroring is awesome for is FaceTime. Use it at family get togethers all the time to talk to some relatives that don't live near us. This is a really awesome feature that doesn't get much attention IMO.

[doublepost=1496008192][/doublepost]I'm trying to FaceTime from my Ipad MD786LL/A to my AppleTV3 FULLSCREEN. I also want to use my new WIFI IP NannyCam via Ismartviewpro on the Ipad;

Question all: Since ATV3 cant jailbreak is DisplayOut on Ipad after jailbreaking my Ipad my only alternative for fullscreen display on the ATV3? Can the IP Cam become my primary video source for the Facetime session on the IPad to be airplayed to ATV3?

Suggestions please or is this a forget abouuuuut it?

 

[Tech198]

If you can still get an Apple TV 3 that is. otherwise u'll be paying more money for AppleTV 4. You can install apps.

As far as i know, anything Apple supports can be done from DisplayOut, otherwise a JB is needed. this would include, but not limited to, if u wish to use external cam with Facetime... I think Apple only supports the built in camera for Facetime. on iOS.