sounds really good.everyone is convincing me to get one. I've been holding on to an older technology as long as i could but lately I'm all about saving space and possibly even money....
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
why is apple tv so popular?
- Thread starter bluebird3
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Plutonius
macrumors G4
You can but
1) You need your Mac on to watch anything.
2) You need your Mac next to the TV in order to use it.
3) It's nice to change channels from the couch rather than have to go to the computer to select things.
4) The price makes it very attractive especially if you have multiple TVs
----------
Also take a look at the Roku as an alternative (especially if you have an older TV without HDMI (Roku 2)).
Cnasty
macrumors 68040
It does for me with the combination of a Mohu Leaf antenna for all the local channels and then some in HD.
I run XBMC on my iMac, Mirror it to my big screen via AppleTV, and I get almost any show or movie you can think of with the add ons within XBMC.
AppleTV alone wont let you watch all those local channels, shows, or movies but in combination with XBMC you can. I was paying over $150 a month in cable here. I only kept the internet and bill is down to $50 a month.
Scrub175
macrumors 6502
GreatDrok
macrumors 6502a
I have all versions (ATV 1, 2 and 3). Originally had the 1 and loved it but I wanted to get another and the ATV 1 was gone so I got a 2. Didn't like that so much but it has grown on me as new features like AirDisplay came along. Recently got a 3 so all TVs in the house now have an ATV and I have a reasonably easy workflow for putting shows into iTunes that works for me. The main thing is I don't have to worry about my son destroying my discs - at 6 years old he is perfectly able to navigate the ATV interface to find his shows and with parental controls turned on he can only watch age appropriate material. Since we've gone the iPod, iPad, iPhone, ATV route having everything in iTunes works well and I even have AirVideo Server installed so I can stream material to my devices when I'm away from home so I rarely bother to load videos onto them. AirVideo Server also solves the issue of getting non-iTunes material onto the ATV because it can do on the fly conversion of pretty much any format into something an iDevice understands and then AirDisplay can send that to the ATV.
Couldn't go back, and my TiVo's (which I never thought I could part with) are getting less and less use as we turn away from broadcast TV full of ads and just buy the shows we like on DVD or BD and load them into iTunes. I rarely buy directly from iTunes because those can't be streamed via AirVideo due to DRM. If they weren't DRM'd I would probably buy them directly from Apple rather than bother with the DVDs.
Couldn't go back, and my TiVo's (which I never thought I could part with) are getting less and less use as we turn away from broadcast TV full of ads and just buy the shows we like on DVD or BD and load them into iTunes. I rarely buy directly from iTunes because those can't be streamed via AirVideo due to DRM. If they weren't DRM'd I would probably buy them directly from Apple rather than bother with the DVDs.
I mean did you convert all your cds/dvds into your computer by burning each one of them or does aTv store all the files like external drive?[/QUOTE]
Just to be clear,The Apple TV will NOT let you view cable channels.It "replaces"cable for me and others in the sense that between over-the-air TV,Netflix(subscription required)Hulu+(also need to pay),the content on your computer,purchases and rentals from the iTunes store,and the various other channels you have plenty to watch.
Some of the Channels on The ATV require you to also have cable anyway.
But really,Check Apple's site,it explains everything.
And check out the Roku too,I have both and together they are a great solution for cord cutting.
palmerc2
macrumors 68000
I like it for Netflix, HULU, YouTube, and funny enough movie trailers. I'm sure all those are available on a different media streamer, I guess at the end of the day it's what you prefer.
I really like AirPlay / Mirroring, as I can show any video or picture I have on my phone directly to the big screen. Also good for music, although I don't use the AppleTV for music, as I use my receiver which has built in AirPlay for audio.
I really like AirPlay / Mirroring, as I can show any video or picture I have on my phone directly to the big screen. Also good for music, although I don't use the AppleTV for music, as I use my receiver which has built in AirPlay for audio.
Install the Plex media server on your computer and then Airplay from the Plex app on your iPhone/iPad.
No conversion or jailbreak needed and the performance is as good as anything else you'd normally Airplay.
Airplay Mirroring if I wasn't clear...
My family loves it!
Last edited:
Jjaro
macrumors regular
He/She is likely using Handbrake. Google it, it's pretty awesome, I think you'll like it.
Curun
macrumors 6502
We love it. It has allowed cutting the cord.
I get digital HD CBS CW FOX CNN NBC ABC etc over the air.
Netflix and Hulu on AppleTV.
We rent very occasionally, I think twice in 3 years, from Apple.
Can stream iTunes music to receiver and media center.
Can stream pirated content, only BBC's TopGear
I get digital HD CBS CW FOX CNN NBC ABC etc over the air.
Netflix and Hulu on AppleTV.
We rent very occasionally, I think twice in 3 years, from Apple.
Can stream iTunes music to receiver and media center.
Can stream pirated content, only BBC's TopGear
Last edited:
I don't get it either.
First of all Apple TV is a very expensive wireless replacement of a 10$ HDMI cable
It sure offers some smart-tv like online stuff, but very limited and not supporting the major standards like MKV
It does not do tuning nor playing discs.
I think a Raspberry Pi is roughly as capable as a AppleTV. Some things work better on the Pi, others better on the ATV, but the Pi is only 30 bucks.
But nothing beats a Mini, even if it is from 2009/2010.
So I have the latter. It does really everything, including Blu-Ray discs, tuning DVB-T, time-shifting and recording on live broadcasts, has plenty of storage, does games, XBMC and it works great with your AV receiver remote too.
An Apple TV is pretty much useless after a couple of years, while the Mini has a much longer useful lifespan.
First of all Apple TV is a very expensive wireless replacement of a 10$ HDMI cable
It sure offers some smart-tv like online stuff, but very limited and not supporting the major standards like MKV
It does not do tuning nor playing discs.
I think a Raspberry Pi is roughly as capable as a AppleTV. Some things work better on the Pi, others better on the ATV, but the Pi is only 30 bucks.
But nothing beats a Mini, even if it is from 2009/2010.
So I have the latter. It does really everything, including Blu-Ray discs, tuning DVB-T, time-shifting and recording on live broadcasts, has plenty of storage, does games, XBMC and it works great with your AV receiver remote too.
An Apple TV is pretty much useless after a couple of years, while the Mini has a much longer useful lifespan.
This just seems very narrow minded. It's not an attack on you, it's just my opinion of your response.
Firstly, not everyone is capable of working a Raspberry Pi, so the plug and play factor of Apple TV alone is worth the price. Secondly, your alternative suggestion is way more costly than an Apple TV (which completely negates your own argument). I don't think you can get a Mac Mini for around $100. If you can, then please point me to it.
Your Mac Mini can't AirPlay, and that feature alone is worth it. I think a better comparison would be the Chrome Cast. Although, I haven't used it, I am thoroughly intrigued by what it can do for the cost.
Curun
macrumors 6502
One time cost of $85-99 is not expensive in realm of $650 iPhones. Or $960/yr cable bills. Or $2,000 TV's.
It natively handles H.264/mp4 which is wide spread and common.
A $10 HDMI cable isn't going to reach from study to den.
2years running with AppleTV. No sign of obsolescence. And when it gets to that point some day, its already gotten more than its money's worth.
I use my AV Receiver remote with AppleTV. Single Pioneer remote handles all, TV, AppleTV, and of course receiver.
1 mini doesnt help when you have multiple TVs. thats where a mini +ATVs gets you all your content on any tv
notjustjay
macrumors 603
Well, here's my living room setup.
I have an Apple TV, and a small Sony Blu-Ray player, connected to my TV. I have a soundbar since the TV speakers aren't that great.
That's it.
If I want to watch a Blu-Ray or DVD, I pop it into the Sony player.
I watch Netflix a lot. For $8/month it satisfies most of my TV/movie watching needs.
There is OTA HD, but my area only provides a few channels and I'm so used to watching stuff on-demand that I rarely watch live TV anymore because the shows I want to watch aren't playing when I feel like sitting down to watch TV!
If I really want to catch a show or movie that's not on Netflix, I'll buy it or rent it from iTunes. It's not fun paying $2/episode, but I just remind myself how I'm NOT paying $70-100/month for cable or satellite anymore.
My Apple TV pulls from my Flickr account for screen saver and general photo viewing, if I want to show photos to people.
And, I can use my phone to look up a video on YouTube, then AirPlay it to the AppleTV so everyone can see.
It is also capable of playing all of my music or movie collection from my Mac or from the cloud, but I rarely use this feature.
I have an Apple TV, and a small Sony Blu-Ray player, connected to my TV. I have a soundbar since the TV speakers aren't that great.
That's it.
If I want to watch a Blu-Ray or DVD, I pop it into the Sony player.
I watch Netflix a lot. For $8/month it satisfies most of my TV/movie watching needs.
There is OTA HD, but my area only provides a few channels and I'm so used to watching stuff on-demand that I rarely watch live TV anymore because the shows I want to watch aren't playing when I feel like sitting down to watch TV!
If I really want to catch a show or movie that's not on Netflix, I'll buy it or rent it from iTunes. It's not fun paying $2/episode, but I just remind myself how I'm NOT paying $70-100/month for cable or satellite anymore.
My Apple TV pulls from my Flickr account for screen saver and general photo viewing, if I want to show photos to people.
And, I can use my phone to look up a video on YouTube, then AirPlay it to the AppleTV so everyone can see.
It is also capable of playing all of my music or movie collection from my Mac or from the cloud, but I rarely use this feature.
So you don't wear out the connector in the iDevice by plugging it in all the time.
That's the best I've got, even though you get a new one before the connector wears out anyway.
The optical audio connector, if your home hifi can make use of it for music,
and that port would be of interest to hackers.
Thing is another extremely elegant looking design of course,
and the remote works with a Mac with an IR port if it has one.
Cons:
It needs an internet connection to do anything initially.
From then on, it needs a router to connect to an iPad or iPhone.
It is the most obviously jailed/controlled of all Apple devices.
Mine was not stable, and appears not fully cooked still
(ie. can't connect to iTunes, or dropped network when another iDevice didn't).
Make sure you don't want the 2nd Gen first, or you'll be wasting money on the 3rd gen.
That's the best I've got, even though you get a new one before the connector wears out anyway.
The optical audio connector, if your home hifi can make use of it for music,
and that port would be of interest to hackers.
Thing is another extremely elegant looking design of course,
and the remote works with a Mac with an IR port if it has one.
Cons:
It needs an internet connection to do anything initially.
From then on, it needs a router to connect to an iPad or iPhone.
It is the most obviously jailed/controlled of all Apple devices.
Mine was not stable, and appears not fully cooked still
(ie. can't connect to iTunes, or dropped network when another iDevice didn't).
Make sure you don't want the 2nd Gen first, or you'll be wasting money on the 3rd gen.
I was running just a mini, using this for airplay functionality:
http://www.airserver.com/
Then along came the HBO app on the iPad. But it uses a point to point DRM that airserver can't support. I bought my first appleTV just for the HBO [killer] app. It's airservice does support hbo. But then appleTV got its own hbo so I didn't need the iPad. Then I started going deeper and deeper into the appleTV. Been weeks since I've even turned the Mac mini on.
At some point I'm going to run out of so much fresh content but until then, it's appleTV every night.
It's not just for AirPlay.
I run a Mac mini 24/7 as a HTPC with 2TB of tv/movies in iTunes on it. I hook an ATV to each one of my TVs in the house. Then I and my kids have access to the iTunes library from any TV.
Ok, so on top of the $400 over the Apple TV, you have to pay again to get airserver? How is this a better alternative? Apple TV just seems easier, more seemless, and more cost efficient.
MacMini is a good machine in its own right, but Apple TV isn't a terrible deal here...
JGRE
macrumors 65816
Don't mean to suggest the appletv isn't awesome. I'm so impressed with mine I may end up selling the mini. At the time the mini was better. If it doesn't remain better, it will get replaced. Today for me, it's still up in the air.
I think it is one step above useless.
I have used it to show one video I took on an iPhone. A couple photos as well. And used it to watch a few Netflix moves with my buddies account. But I have 2 tvs that can do the Netflix plus a ps3 that can as well. I can also use them to view the photos and video vie a media server.
If mine was jail broke it would be more useful. I have amazon prime and have never used it to watch a movie etc. but with jail break, I could get the amazon stuff.
I have used it to show one video I took on an iPhone. A couple photos as well. And used it to watch a few Netflix moves with my buddies account. But I have 2 tvs that can do the Netflix plus a ps3 that can as well. I can also use them to view the photos and video vie a media server.
If mine was jail broke it would be more useful. I have amazon prime and have never used it to watch a movie etc. but with jail break, I could get the amazon stuff.
this is exactly what i do (minus the kids), 3 TVs all with an ATV, and anyone can watch anything wherever they want. also i love how in my bedroom i can have a tv hanging from the wall and an ATV tucked behind it, dont need a cablebox or ps3 or some other big device laying around