Streaming 1080p Movies with TC to rMBP

[sofandi]

Hey,

Been a long-time lurker, but actual have an important question concerning my buying decision. I am about to get a used rMBP and need to decide on getting one with a 256 or 512 GB SSD. I know that there are space constraints as it is on the 256 GB model, but it would actually help a lot to know if it is possible to stream 1080p movies from a time capsule 2 TB to the rMBP, which then gets streamed to an Apple TV hooked up to my TV.

a) Does anybody know from first-hand experience whethe this option is viable? Would the new TC perform significantly better, even when on the rMBP with the n-standard?

b) On a related note: Is it possible to then output the video to the Apple TV and simultaneously output the audio to a pair of AirPlay Speakers? I own the Philips 9800w and I would like to avoid using the chinch input.

Thanks in advance for an info, it would help tremendously in deciding which model to get.

 

[waw74]

where are the movies from?
straight blu-ray rips run in the 4-6 MB/s range, bought from itunes even less, probably half that.

if your signal is strong, wifi (802.11n) should be enough to handle even a blu-ray.


2.
you can select airplay speakers as an output for the newer versions of the ATV software.
it's in the settings-> airplay menu.
(there's also a shortcut to get to it somehow, but it's escaping me at the moment)
*you will not get 5.1 this way (not sure if that's a problem for you)

 

[sofandi]

Thanks a lot. Good to know about the seperate audio stream. The airplay speakers are also 2.0 only.

Yeah, I mean Blu-Ray rips, mkv files of about 10 GB size. Is the previous generation Time Capsule sufficient for streaming these files too? They can be bought at a good bargain right now....

 

[waw74]

anything that is 802.11n (previous time capsule included) should be fast enough.
Although, as a disclaimer, depending on your house, you may run into problems.

 

[priitv8]

where are the movies from?
straight blu-ray rips run in the 4-6 MB/s range, bought from itunes even less, probably half that.

Not quite true. iTunes HD movies are in 5Mbps range.
BD is natively anywhere from 20-50Mbps (BD std caps bitrate at 60Mbps), those 10GB-large mkv-s on the net are recoded to around 10-15Mbps.

 

[sofandi]

Okay, does this mean the Time Capsule is not able to handle these bitrates? Or that it will stutter occasionally? I know the TC does not offer NAS capabilities, but I would very much like to avoid configuring and maintaining an NAS, while at the same time circumventing the space constraints on the 256 rMBP...

 

[waw74]

Not quite true. iTunes HD movies are in 5Mbps range.
BD is natively anywhere from 20-50Mbps (BD std caps bitrate at 60Mbps), those 10GB-large mkv-s on the net are recoded to around 10-15Mbps.

Oh Yes, it is very true.
4-6MB/s is the same as 32-48Mb/s (big B and little b mean 2 completely differnt things).

i rip my own blu-rays and depending on the movie they come out to 20-40GB in size depending on the movie
which is why i said straight blu-ray rips, not "something i downloaded off the internet".

and iTunes videos are much less.
the current top movie on iTunes is the call.
it's 4.08GB for a 96 minuts movie.
or about 5Mb/s or .6MB/s so i was wrong on the half probably part, it's even less probably closer to a fifth.

Okay, does this mean the Time Capsule is not able to handle these bitrates? Or that it will stutter occasionally? I know the TC does not offer NAS capabilities, but I would very much like to avoid configuring and maintaining an NAS, while at the same time circumventing the space constraints on the 256 rMBP...

like i said in my original post, it should be able handle them.
there are a lot of outside influences that come into play with wi-fi, so it's hard to say 100% it will work.

10-15Mb/s (1-2MB/s) is well within the capabilities of wifi as long as you have a good signal.

 

[priitv8]

Oh Yes, it is very true.
4-6MB/s is the same as 32-48Mb/s

Pardon me. I know the difference, but I rarely see MB used in quantifying bitrates, esp of audiovisual media. That's why I assumed Mb.