Apple tv

[grundletaint]



If one already has all Apple gear it should be OK, not so good otherwise.

Not true at all. All you need is an Internet connection and you can stream and rent things directly on it. If you have media on your computer, you'll need iTunes, you don't need any other Mac gear at all.


iPad mirroring is cool. You can beam your iPad display to the tv and see exactly what you're looking at...games, pics, apps, etc.


It's a great deal at 99 bucks.

 

[MikeDT]



Not true at all. All you need is an Internet connection and you can stream and rent things directly on it. If you have media on your computer, you'll need iTunes, you don't need any other Mac gear at all.
iPad mirroring is cool. You can beam your iPad display to the tv and see exactly what you're looking at...games, pics, apps, etc.
It's a great deal at 99 bucks.

Now when I looked at possibly getting an Apple TV, the non iTunes content seemed to be US only, things like Netflix, Hulu, MLB TV, so I didn't bother.

 

[nootje]

atv plain is worthless imho, itunes only movies and not that much functionality.

Luckily the interwebs has provided an elegant solution for this:

http://firecore.com/atvflash-black

 

[captainfunk]

I use it everyday. I essentially only use it for netflix. I have rented movies before, but rarely. I can also stream all my iTunes music through my home stereo using apple tv. Depends on what you want to use it for. Perhaps if I had an xbox or ps3, etc I wouldn't need it, but thus far it's been completely worth the 100 bucks it costs.

 

[grundletaint]

well there you have it...

 

[atct86]

I use mine all the time. YouTube videos, netflix, renting movies. I also can push Pandora and music from my iPhone to the apple TV, and play it through my houses sound system.

 

[Pinhas]

Can you stream movie/shows you downloaded (torrent) from computer to Apple TV via WiFi?

 

[gort]

You need to either:

Jailbreak it to run something like plex

Convert the file to an iTunes compatible format using an application like handbrake

 

[Rambo]



What does Apple TV do that a decent htpc can't?

Nothing. But, its only $100. Where are you going to find an HTPC for that cheap?

 

[gort]



Nothing. But, its only $100. Where are you going to find an HTPC for that cheap?

If you grab a refurb it's only $80. That's how I got mine.

 

[Slickman]

Just wait for the iTV that will be released later this year

 

[oneeightyseven]



Just wait for the iTV that will be released later this year

what's iTv?

 

[Slickman]

Hasn't been revealed yet, but it is supposed to be an Apple brand TV with the ability to stream content that you subscribe to. The idea behind it is that we don't watch 90% of the channels we have access to with our current providers, and even within those channels that we do watch, we only watch a few specific shows or programs. So with the iTV, you can effectively choose what you are subscribed to and have it stored in the cloud, but this is all speculation, we won't know anything till it is actually revealed, but I'm sure it will be promising. The main problem apple has run into is securing agreements with various networks, but who knows what's really going on.

 

[mexicutioner]

we had an apple tv but ended up getting rid of it and got a roku instead. very happy. we only wanted something to do hulu / netflix / amazon video, so roku was perfect. on the off chance that there's something on the itunes video store that isn't on the other 3 (hasn't happened yet) we can always plug one of our mac laptops into the tv's input.

 

[Jrufraz]

Get one, jailbreak it and install XBMC and nitoTV. Then install add-ons such as Free Cable, Icefilms (though recently Mega Uploads went down and the current content isn't as good right now), JustinTV, Veetle, ESPN, Hulu, etc.

This is no different than streaming content through your computer except it's more organized (lists of streaming sites organized by station, genre, etc...) it's much smaller and it hooks up to your big screen via HDMI. Also jailbreaking still allows you to retain all the original functionality.

If you are tech adverse...you can simply buy the ATV2 Flash Black for $30...will pretty much allow you to install XBMC and nitoTV without ssh'ing into the ATV and requires zero technical skill. To install the add-ons requires a bit more skill but with some research can be done pretty easily with a FTP software such as Cyberduck and Filezilla.

Personally if you're already use to streaming and don't have cable it's great but I find the annoyance of streaming sites going down too much for me.

I would recommend buying one from Best Buy or Futureshop (they have 30 day return policy as opposed to 14 at Apple), jailbreaking it and installing all the add-ons and then using for a couple of weeks. If you don't like it, restore it back to the factory settings via iTunes and simply return it.