Streaming with Apple TV w/Slow Internet

[pasipple]

I certaining new to this Apple TV thing...so this is maybe a stupid question...I guess I will find out.

I live in a pretty remote area with lousy 1.5M DSL service. So streaming movies from the internet sucks. I do however have a vast movie collection on an external drive.

Can I "stream" via a home network movies from my external drive to the Apple TV? Can I stream from my MacBook Pro to the Apple TV.

Just wondering how I can benefit from the ATV.

If I can stream between the Mac/Ext. drive to the the ATV...what kind of speed will I get? What determines the speed? The ATV box?

Thanks....

 

[DJinTX]

So far, from what is known about the new ATV, the only thing that will stream to the ATV is...

1. TV and movies rented from the iTunes store
2. iTunes friendly content that is actually in iTunes (iTunes apparently has to be running for th9s to work).

Things could change going forward, either through illegal hacks/jailbreaks, or software updates from Apple (not likely), but you shouldn't count on it. If you buy the new ATV you should have the expectation that you will only be able to stream as noted above in items 1 & 2..

 

[pasipple]

So far, from what is known about the new ATV, the only thing that will stream to the ATV is...

1. TV and movies rented from the iTunes store
2. iTunes friendly content that is actually in iTunes (iTunes apparently has to be running for th9s to work).

Things could change going forward, either through illegal hacks/jailbreaks, or software updates from Apple (not likely), but you shouldn't count on it. If you buy the new ATV you should have the expectation that you will only be able to stream as noted above in items 1 & 2..

Well that sucks....

I watched Steve Jobs Keynote speech and saw the demo of the Apple TV. Seems to me he stated that you could stream music and movies files from a Mac to the Apple TV?

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Streaming from your computer to the Apple TV has nothing to do with internet. It all has to do with your network and your router's connection. So as along as you have a decent router then you should be able to stream to the Apple TV just fine. You just won't be able to stream rentals from the iTunes store very well or you would just have to wait forever to get it to buffer.

 

[pasipple]

Streaming from your computer to the Apple TV has nothing to do with internet. It all has to do with your network and your router's connection. So as along as you have a decent router then you should be able to stream to the Apple TV just fine. You just won't be able to stream rentals from the iTunes store very well or you would just have to wait forever to get it to buffer.

That's what I thought. I knew with my lousy internet connection that renting movies off of iTunes was going to suck....but I thought I could stream movies from my computer or external HD to the TV....which would be great.

My internet is supposed to increase to 3Mbs in a few months once my provider finishes their equipment upgrades....but I would guess even 3Mbs is marginal. What I've seen recommended is 6Mbs+.

Thanks...

 

[SonicStomp]

That's what I thought. I knew with my lousy internet connection that renting movies off of iTunes was going to suck....but I thought I could stream movies from my computer or external HD to the TV....which would be great.

My internet is supposed to increase to 3Mbs in a few months once my provider finishes their equipment upgrades....but I would guess even 3Mbs is marginal. What I've seen recommended is 6Mbs+.

Thanks...

You will be able to stream from your Mac's iTunes library to the new ATV. Speed will be governed by how your computer and ATV are connected to your router (i.e fastest being both hard-wired via ethernet; slowest being both connected via G wifi).

 

[125037]

So far, from what is known about the new ATV, the only thing that will stream to the ATV is...

1. TV and movies rented from the iTunes store
2. iTunes friendly content that is actually in iTunes (iTunes apparently has to be running for th9s to work).

Things could change going forward, either through illegal hacks/jailbreaks, or software updates from Apple (not likely), but you shouldn't count on it. If you buy the new ATV you should have the expectation that you will only be able to stream as noted above in items 1 & 2..

Wait, Only TV's and movies? Can I not stream my music videos?

 

[DJinTX]

Wait, Only TV's and movies? Can I not stream my music videos?

My item 1 is referring to streaming from the store, rental items only. They don't rent music. Music in your iTunes library falls under item #2 which is iTunes friendly content.

Mainly I was stressing the fact that the OP can stream his ripped movies, but probably not from an external drive, and only if they are in his iTunes library and a supported file type.

 

[rusty2192]

but probably not from an external drive

That is a bit misleading. Yes, having the Apple TV connect directly to an external drive will be impossible (out of the box with no hack at least), but if the external drive is connected to a computer then it will work. As you stated, they will have to be in the correct format and imported into the iTunes library, but just having them on an external drive does not rule them out.

 

[pasipple]

That is kind of misleading as well. Yes, having the Apple TV connect directly to an external drive will be impossible (out of the box with no hack at least), but if the external drive is connected to a computer then it will work. As you stated, they will have to be in the correct format and imported into the iTunes library, but just having them on an external drive does not rule them out.

I have nearly a 800 movies on an external HD cataloged in iTunes in .mp4 format. I'm believing I will be able to stream these to the ATV.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

...as long as your MP4 encodes fall within the TV tech specs on the Apple site, you should be fine. Even if they are a little over those specs, you'll probably be fine. If they're a lot over those specs, you're probably looking at needing to re-encode those that are too far over.

I really don't see huge problems in your situation. All the home content should be no problem. As someone else said, that pretty much has nothing to do with your Internet speed.

As far a renting new content to stream from Apple, I'm fairly confident the new TV is coming with a big enough buffer to probably handle the problem of slower connections. Some believe the internal memory might be as high as 16GB. In any event, as long as the buffer is big enough, it won't matter so much about the slowness of the download via your Internet service... it will only affect you in terms of how long you have to wait between when you choose to rent a show and when it's ready to be watched (without freezing while more of it downloads). If things are too slow for you, you may have to download the whole thing before you start watching, but I would guess the buffer will be big enough to work like that.

It shouldn't be much longer until these kinds of questions are answered in definitive ways.

 

[pasipple]

...as long as your MP4 encodes fall within the TV tech specs on the Apple site, you should be fine. Even if they are a little over those specs, you'll probably be fine. If they're a lot over those specs, you're probably looking at needing to re-encode those that are too far over.

I really don't see huge problems in your situation. All the home content should be no problem. As someone else said, that pretty much has nothing to do with your Internet speed.

As far a renting new content to stream from Apple, I'm fairly confident the new TV is coming with a big enough buffer to probably handle the problem of slower connections. Some believe the internal memory might be as high as 16GB. In any event, as long as the buffer is big enough, it won't matter so much about the slowness of the download via your Internet service... it will only affect you in terms of how long you have to wait between when you choose to rent a show and when it's ready to be watched (without freezing while more of it downloads). If things are too slow for you, you may have to download the whole thing before you start watching, but I would guess the buffer will be big enough to work like that.

It shouldn't be much longer until these kinds of questions are answered in definitive ways.

A buffer would be good. I'd like the flexibility of being able to rent iTunes HD movies...but if they need to stream directly...the quality is crap!

I have Netflix on my VieraCast Panasonic plasma and the streaming content is SD at best at a little over 1Mbs.

If the ATV has a buffer and the ability to store the content then that would be idea for my situation.

I ordered my ATV back on September 1st so hopefully next week we will see what the actual capabilities are. Sound like the units will be shipping early next week to be received by the end of September...in line with Steve Job's assurances that the boxes would be available at the end of September.

 

[newagemac]

Yeah, a lot of these questions will probably be answered very soon. I do know though that any content you have that falls within the specs of the Apple TV will stream over your home network. That content can be on external drives or even a NAS but it does have to be referenced through iTunes I believe.

So yes you can rip all of your own DVDs and Blu Rays into iTunes and then play them on the Apple TV.

And don't forgot Flickr and Mobileme galleries will stream over the internet and your 1.5 connection should have no problem with that at all.