Was going to get AppleTv, now wondering how many dang devices are needed!

[Schtibbie]

Full disclosure: we're already an Apple family. Two Macbooks, two iphone 4's. Renovation is happening at our house and we're going to have a TV on a wall in a room that won't be TV-focused but could use a smaller TV for news and stuff. That said, I was thinking of making that TV much more functional for music, casual Netflix streaming stuff, etc, by simply putting an AppleTV on the wall mounted behind it or something. Our current setup (BluRay home theater setup, the BIG tv, cabinetry, etc) will move to another room for dedicated movie watching.

So I was telling my wife: "Yeah, we can mount this tiny AppleTV thing and it'll do EVERYTHING our Bluray player does except the discs. Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, really anything a device should do." Except now I'm thinking I'm wrong.

This doesn't make sense: is it true that even though I have Pandora on my Macbooks and both our iphones (and our bluray player!!!) that I can't run that on AppleTV? Really? Nobody makes a Pandora app for AppleTV? We're talking about Pandora. Everybody knows what that is. I've heard that I could do various hacks to get around it, but I use Apple stuff so I don't HAVE to hack stuff together. And no, buying an iPad to add to my Macbooks, two iphones, and AppleTV box is a ridiculous solution.

And Hulu? Not that I'm married to Hulu, but seriously - my BluRay player does Hulu. Also Netflix. But AppleTV does netflix, right? So I could play Netflix through an AppleTV and switch over to a frigging BluRay player for Pandora? What? Maybe I could sit my laptop under the TV and run an audio cord out? WTF?

What is wrong with the current state of movie/music services that all kinds of devices, each capable of doing the job, need to be ganged together just to cover the bases?

 

[obsidian1200]

This doesn't make sense: is it true that even though I have Pandora on my Macbooks and both our iphones (and our bluray player!!!) that I can't run that on AppleTV? Really? Nobody makes a Pandora app for AppleTV? We're talking about Pandora. Everybody knows what that is. I've heard that I could do various hacks to get around it, but I use Apple stuff so I don't HAVE to hack stuff together. And no, buying an iPad to add to my Macbooks, two iphones, and AppleTV box is a ridiculous solution.

And Hulu? Not that I'm married to Hulu, but seriously - my BluRay player does Hulu. Also Netflix. But AppleTV does netflix, right? So I could play Netflix through an AppleTV and switch over to a frigging BluRay player for Pandora? What? Maybe I could sit my laptop under the TV and run an audio cord out? WTF?

What is wrong with the current state of movie/music services that all kinds of devices, each capable of doing the job, need to be ganged together just to cover the bases?

There are other set-top boxes than the ATV2 that do handle hulu, pandora, and netflix just fine. I guess whether you'll consider those depends on A) how committed you are to keeping your devices all (which is, in quite a few cases, reasonable) and B) how much of your content is DRMed and can't play through a non-Apple device.

You can still buy one device to do all the things you want it to do. If you want the ATV2, then you'll either need to JB it or wait for an update that might add app support in the future. If you're open to other devices/brands, then you'll have less trouble finding that device that does all you need.

 

[zflauaus]

There is no Pandora app because there is no App Store for the TV (yet, hopefully). It's whatever Apple determines the demand to be.

Have you looked at a Roku box? You can do Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and a whole lot more with the custom "channels" and they start at $60. I personally don't have one but one of my friends is a big fan of his and I know that several people online praise them. You can't get local content from your computer (easily, if it all).

 

[Dobbs2]

For al you people complaining about no apps on the apple tv. Its up to the developer to make them airplay compatible. Pandora streams fine to my apple tv 2. You just hit the airplay button. Hulu won't be on the apple tv till it changes from flash based video.

 

[AdrianK]

Full disclosure: we're already an Apple family. Two Macbooks, two iphone 4's. Renovation is happening at our house and we're going to have a TV on a wall in a room that won't be TV-focused but could use a smaller TV for news and stuff. That said, I was thinking of making that TV much more functional for music, casual Netflix streaming stuff, etc, by simply putting an AppleTV on the wall mounted behind it or something. Our current setup (BluRay home theater setup, the BIG tv, cabinetry, etc) will move to another room for dedicated movie watching.

So I was telling my wife: "Yeah, we can mount this tiny AppleTV thing and it'll do EVERYTHING our Bluray player does except the discs. Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, really anything a device should do." Except now I'm thinking I'm wrong.

This doesn't make sense: is it true that even though I have Pandora on my Macbooks and both our iphones (and our bluray player!!!) that I can't run that on AppleTV? Really? Nobody makes a Pandora app for AppleTV? We're talking about Pandora. Everybody knows what that is. I've heard that I could do various hacks to get around it, but I use Apple stuff so I don't HAVE to hack stuff together. And no, buying an iPad to add to my Macbooks, two iphones, and AppleTV box is a ridiculous solution.

And Hulu? Not that I'm married to Hulu, but seriously - my BluRay player does Hulu. Also Netflix. But AppleTV does netflix, right? So I could play Netflix through an AppleTV and switch over to a frigging BluRay player for Pandora? What? Maybe I could sit my laptop under the TV and run an audio cord out? WTF?

What is wrong with the current state of movie/music services that all kinds of devices, each capable of doing the job, need to be ganged together just to cover the bases?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you just answered your own question.

It's just politics because - unlike blurry manufacturers - Apple has their own content distribution service, so there's a conflict of interest with regards to supporting more services.

 

[obsidian1200]

Hulu won't be on the apple tv till it changes from flash based video.

Isn't there a Hulu Plus app for iOS devices? All the developers need to do with it is add airplay, then it'd be a great ATV2 companion app. This is bearing in mind that iOS doesn't support Flash.

 

[DeaconGTG]

Full disclosure: we're already an Apple family. Two Macbooks, two iphone 4's. Renovation is happening at our house and we're going to have a TV on a wall in a room that won't be TV-focused but could use a smaller TV for news and stuff. That said, I was thinking of making that TV much more functional for music, casual Netflix streaming stuff, etc, by simply putting an AppleTV on the wall mounted behind it or something. Our current setup (BluRay home theater setup, the BIG tv, cabinetry, etc) will move to another room for dedicated movie watching.

So I was telling my wife: "Yeah, we can mount this tiny AppleTV thing and it'll do EVERYTHING our Bluray player does except the discs. Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, really anything a device should do." Except now I'm thinking I'm wrong.

This doesn't make sense: is it true that even though I have Pandora on my Macbooks and both our iphones (and our bluray player!!!) that I can't run that on AppleTV? Really? Nobody makes a Pandora app for AppleTV? We're talking about Pandora. Everybody knows what that is. I've heard that I could do various hacks to get around it, but I use Apple stuff so I don't HAVE to hack stuff together. And no, buying an iPad to add to my Macbooks, two iphones, and AppleTV box is a ridiculous solution.

And Hulu? Not that I'm married to Hulu, but seriously - my BluRay player does Hulu. Also Netflix. But AppleTV does netflix, right? So I could play Netflix through an AppleTV and switch over to a frigging BluRay player for Pandora? What? Maybe I could sit my laptop under the TV and run an audio cord out? WTF?

What is wrong with the current state of movie/music services that all kinds of devices, each capable of doing the job, need to be ganged together just to cover the bases?

The issue at the moment is that the AppleTV is still a completely closed environment. There is no SDK or app store like the iPhone and iPad. There have been a lot of rumors that there might be one soon though. Honestly, I think its inevitable that there will be an app store on the Apple TV.

As for your last paragraph, it all comes down to money. Every device maker out there wants more money, and every content provider wants more money. So the content providers make deals with the device makers (sometimes exclusive deals) to make more money. It's why some some players give you amazon on demand, why others give you pandora, why others give you both, and why some device makers have their own content stores entirely (Sony).

Your best bet is to find the device that does most of what you want to do. Honestly, unless you're planning on playing iTunes store content from your computer on you AppleTV, I would go with a Roku. It currently has more internet streaming options.

 

[newagemac]

Pandora works on the ATV2 through Airplay. In fact, I can't imagine a Pandora app directly on the Apple TV being a better experience than browsing and selecting music using the Pandora app on your iPhone.

Airplay fixes the whole user interface problem that comes with using a remote for an app on the ATV2.

As an example, the ATV2 has a native Youtube app but it also works with Airplaying youtube from iDevices. I noticed that I almost always use Airplay for youtube simply because of the fact that browsing and selecting content is so much easier and enjoyable on a multitouch device 1 foot from your face than using a remote to do that on a tv screen.

The only benefit in the tv screen is actual displaying of the content.

 

[OptyCT]

Hulu won't be on the apple tv till it changes from flash based video.

From what I understand, Hulu (via the Hulu+ app) is supposed to support wireless mirroring in iOS5.

 

[zflauaus]

For al you people complaining about no apps on the apple tv. Its up to the developer to make them airplay compatible. Pandora streams fine to my apple tv 2. You just hit the airplay button. Hulu won't be on the apple tv till it changes from flash based video.

Oh durr. I didn't even think about Airplay. I was thinking just straight apps on the Apple TV. To me, it sounded like the OP wanted an actual app to run on the Apple TV, not through his iPad or iPhone.

 

[paulrbeers]

Honestly, the Apple TV 2G by itself is mediocre at best. The remote is too small. The built in functions are lacking. But, paired with a iPad using Airplay, it comes to life. Being able to queue up movies, music, etc on the touch interface and then "send it" to the Apple TV is awesome all without having to hardwire the iPad to the Apple TV is awesome.

 

[From A Buick 8]

Yes the ATV would work well for what you would want, just use AirPlay for the Pandora part. You will not be able to run Hulu but other than that you are good to go.

You stated you are a "Apple Family" if so you must have a lot of iTunes content of your home computer and photos in iPhoto if so the ATV excels at playing that stuff.

 

[ssgrif]

if you were to consider putting xbmc onto your aptv2 you would get a solution to all of your problems. quick google shows ways to get hulu and pandora running (although I dont use either myself so cant comment further).

 

[BigDukeSix]

Being an Apple fanboy, I really want to buy, use and like the ATV2. But, my logic does dictate that other boxes will do more, such as the Roku. I hope that soon Apple will announce more functionality than what is there now. Maybe on 4 Oct???

 

[Cathcart]

For al you people complaining about no apps on the apple tv. Its up to the developer to make them airplay compatible. Pandora streams fine to my apple tv 2. You just hit the airplay button. Hulu won't be on the apple tv till it changes from flash based video.

Oh cool, so I just need a $500 iPad to make my $100 ATV work.

 

[MacinDoc]

Well, you could jailbreak it and install something like ATV Flash on it.

 

[DeaconGTG]

Oh cool, so I just need a $500 iPad to make my $100 ATV work.

Or an iPhone.

Admittedly, if you don't have any other Apple products besides the Apple TV, (or haven't invested a lot of time and money building an iTunes library) you would have been much better off spending your money on something like a Roku.

 

[SteveG4Cube]

If you haven't gotten the TV yet, maybe just get something like this:

http://www.samsung.com/SmartTV

 

[Dobbs2]

Oh cool, so I just need a $500 iPad to make my $100 ATV work.

Well you can be snotty or you can contribute to the thread. He said he was an apple family. So he could use an ipad, iphone or iPod touch. You can also AirPlay from your computer if jail broken something you have to have to play content on your ATV.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Just got a atv2 to mess with the airplay. It's aiiiight. I already have the av connection cables.

If after Oct.4th there is no indication of some sort of new apps or an app store for the atv2, the atv2 will be on sale.

Maybe in IOS5 with the mirroring it might add a slight reason to keep it.

 

[mrjef31]

I am in the market for a new TV and have been looking at the new Sony internet ready TV's that allow you to use netflix, hulu +, amazon video's and many more apps. this coupled with a ATV for iTunes streaming would seem to do the trick. The TV's are pricey, but it looks like they would be very plug and play friendly. Any thoughts?

 

[Lumpy05]

I am in the market for a new TV and have been looking at the new Sony internet ready TV's that allow you to use netflix, hulu +, amazon video's and many more apps. this coupled with a ATV for iTunes streaming would seem to do the trick. The TV's are pricey, but it looks like they would be very plug and play friendly. Any thoughts?

Cant comment on the internet tv my Sony TV has no apps or internet connectivity. I can comment on the Sony bluray BDP-S370, this years equivalent is the BDP-S380. Its a great match for the ATV, allows connectivity to Netflix, YouTube, Amazon VOD, Crackle, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and a host of other streaming video/music services that I dont regularly use. Maybe getting a cheaper TV and adding the ~$90 connected bluray player would make more sense, especially if you watch any blurays.

 

[DeaconGTG]

I am in the market for a new TV and have been looking at the new Sony internet ready TV's that allow you to use netflix, hulu +, amazon video's and many more apps. this coupled with a ATV for iTunes streaming would seem to do the trick. The TV's are pricey, but it looks like they would be very plug and play friendly. Any thoughts?

Would you be connecting this TV to the internet via ethernet or wifi?

If it's ethernet, go for it.

If you're needing wifi, check to see if the TV is wifi ready. Many tvs (ex: my Samsung) require you to buy a wifi adaptor if you want to connect that way.

 

[tbayrgs]

I am in the market for a new TV and have been looking at the new Sony internet ready TV's that allow you to use netflix, hulu +, amazon video's and many more apps. this coupled with a ATV for iTunes streaming would seem to do the trick. The TV's are pricey, but it looks like they would be very plug and play friendly. Any thoughts?

I picked up an open box Sony 46" LED LCD that was internet ready with all of the apps you mentioned last January for about $900, believe it's 240 Hz and it is both ethernet and wifi capable. The apps work fine but take some time to load up (I'm using wifi connected to 802.11n network). I've only used Pandora, Netflix and Amazon VOD but all work well (picture quality on HD content from Netflix and Amazon was great). The only thing that I can't do is stream from my Mac iTunes library, so I have an TV hooked up as well. I personally like the Netflix interface on the TV better (quicker load times, much better UI) so I generally use it but the Sony app works fine.

 

[mrjef31]

Cant comment on the internet tv my Sony TV has no apps or internet connectivity. I can comment on the Sony bluray BDP-S370, this years equivalent is the BDP-S380. Its a great match for the ATV, allows connectivity to Netflix, YouTube, Amazon VOD, Crackle, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and a host of other streaming video/music services that I dont regularly use. Maybe getting a cheaper TV and adding the ~$90 connected bluray player would make more sense, especially if you watch any blurays.

I use my PS3 for blu-rays.