Will Apple TV Work for Me

[IPadNParadise]

What I want to accomplish:

1) order movies or tv shows from itunes and watch on my Sony Bravia TV (non internet enabled) that has HDMI ports

2) get Netflix and order movies

I am a very non technical person but have managed to get my MBP connected to my Sony TV successfully. I just dont like having to move the MBP and connect it to the TV each time I want to watch a movie that I have downloaded. I know, that's lazy. What I dont know in my newbie state, is if my MBP will be involved if I get an Apple TV and connect it to my TV and then want to get Netflix. The reason I ask is that I do not have Adobe Flash Player installed on my MBP. I want to make sure that is not required for the Apple TV and Netflix. I could see that I could simply get Netflix on my MBP to use with my connection to my TV, but that would require Flash. I tried and tried to get Flash installed on my MBP, both thru Apple and Adobe and it just wont happen. I use Google Chrome for my rare flash needs.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

 

[Macman45]

Yes, I have a Sony Bravia 46" 3D TV and use an ATV with no problems at all.

 

[institute]

All you will need to watch Netflix is the ATV 3 attached via hdmi cable to your Bravia as well as a wifi network or an Ethernet connection to your network.

You will also be able to rent or buy films and shows from Apple iTunes online content as well as watch YouTube, Vimeo and Podcasts.

Of course, you can also stream any media files that you have added to the iTunes app on your computer after you set up Home Sharing.

 

[musicpenguy]

Sounds like a good fit - I love my Apple TV because I love being able to simply buy stuff from iTunes and enjoy it on my TV - the Netflix interface is also quite awesome.

Those that want a good iTunes experience on the TV love the ATV. Those that are looking for more will be disappointed.

 

[Stewart21]

What I want to accomplish:

1) order movies or tv shows from itunes and watch on my Sony Bravia TV (non internet enabled) that has HDMI ports

2) get Netflix and order movies

This is all straightforward. It will work. Also you can use Airplay Mirroring to turn your TV into a big screen for you MPB via ATV.

 

[xnatex]

What I dont know in my newbie state, is if my MBP will be involved if I get an Apple TV and connect it to my TV and then want to get Netflix. The reason I ask is that I do not have Adobe Flash Player installed on my MBP. I want to make sure that is not required for the Apple TV and Netflix. I could see that I could simply get Netflix on my MBP to use with my connection to my TV, but that would require Flash. I tried and tried to get Flash installed on my MBP, both thru Apple and Adobe and it just wont happen. I use Google Chrome for my rare flash needs.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

AppleTV's come with a Netflix app and a Hulu Plus app installed as well as iTunes where you can buy/rent tv shows and movies. You just have to log into your appropriate accounts on the apps to use them. No flash is required, and an AppleTV doesn't require you to even own a computer, so you're good to go there!

As far as your flash player troubles on your laptop, this might sound rude, but are you sure you installed it? I ask because I've seen a lot of people download the installer (.dmg file) and think they installed flash, but they didn't actually install anything, they just downloaded the installer.

If you're unsure, give these instructions a read. I would give you a youtube video, but you don't have flash, so that wouldn't be very helpful.

Download the installer from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/, double click the file you downloaded to "mount" the image. Think of this as plugging in a virtual cd drive that has a virtual "Flash Player Install" cd in it. Now, double click the installer file in the folder that pops up and follow the instructions. Once you're the installation is complete, you can eject the disk image (virtual cd drive), and delete the .dmg file you downloaded (you no longer need it because it has been installed).

Hopefully this was helpful. Good luck.

 

[Panch0]

What I want to accomplish:


2) get Netflix and order movies

The ATV is doing Netflix Streaming. You don't really 'order' anything - those movies & shows that are available to stream are ready to watch immediately. From the ATV interface or from the Netflix Website, you can add items to your Instant Queue, which is separate from your disc queue. Not everything that is available on Disc is going to be available to stream.

From the way you asked the question I wasn't sure if you were familiar with Netfilx streaming...

 

[IPadNParadise]

AppleTV's come with a Netflix app and a Hulu Plus app installed as well as iTunes where you can buy/rent tv shows and movies. You just have to log into your appropriate accounts on the apps to use them. No flash is required, and an AppleTV doesn't require you to even own a computer, so you're good to go there!

As far as your flash player troubles on your laptop, this might sound rude, but are you sure you installed it? I ask because I've seen a lot of people download the installer (.dmg file) and think they installed flash, but they didn't actually install anything, they just downloaded the installer.

If you're unsure, give these instructions a read. I would give you a youtube video, but you don't have flash, so that wouldn't be very helpful.

Download the installer from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/, double click the file you downloaded to "mount" the image. Think of this as plugging in a virtual cd drive that has a virtual "Flash Player Install" cd in it. Now, double click the installer file in the folder that pops up and follow the instructions. Once you're the installation is complete, you can eject the disk image (virtual cd drive), and delete the .dmg file you downloaded (you no longer need it because it has been installed).

Hopefully this was helpful. Good luck.

Thank you for trying to help but Apple went thru the installation on the phone with me and it still failed - I get a general error during the downloading phase. Apple said my Mac was configured correctly and suggested I check with Adobe to see if they were encountering any errors on their end. After going to an Adobe forum, I ended up with an Adobe technical support person who wanted to do a desktop monitoring so he could see what the problem was. I opted out if that and am using Chrome and find I don't really need flash much.

 

[DP812]

What I want to accomplish:

1) order movies or tv shows from itunes and watch on my Sony Bravia TV (non internet enabled) that has HDMI ports

2) get Netflix and order movies

I am a very non technical person but have managed to get my MBP connected to my Sony TV successfully. I just dont like having to move the MBP and connect it to the TV each time I want to watch a movie that I have downloaded. I know, that's lazy. What I dont know in my newbie state, is if my MBP will be involved if I get an Apple TV and connect it to my TV and then want to get Netflix. The reason I ask is that I do not have Adobe Flash Player installed on my MBP. I want to make sure that is not required for the Apple TV and Netflix. I could see that I could simply get Netflix on my MBP to use with my connection to my TV, but that would require Flash. I tried and tried to get Flash installed on my MBP, both thru Apple and Adobe and it just wont happen. I use Google Chrome for my rare flash needs.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

You won't have any problems and the only reason you'll need your MBP to interact with your Apple TV is for Home Sharing or AirPlay, and neither of those involve Flash. For Netflix and streaming rented movies from the iTunes Store, your MBP doesn't even have to be turned on.

To stream media that you've downloaded into your iTunes Library, all you have to do is enable Home Sharing in the Apple TV's settings and iTunes. Your MBP will have to be on and have iTunes running in order for Home Sharing to work (and they'll have to be on the same network as well), but again, no Flash needed for this.

 

[IPadNParadise]

Thank you all very much. I wanted to come back and let you know that I now have Apple TV connected and works beautifully. I even have Remote for ipad. I love my new Apple TV.