Apple TV - my verdict

31-12-2010, 15:25

I have just got Apple TV for Xmas and I am highly impressed for the following reasons

Ease of initial setup
Clean and simple menu to operate
Excellent streaming of media content from your computer (through ITunes)

I know there are negatives in the product like no 1080p video support, but I am now a covert to streaming media around your house wirelessly

I would love to know your experiences in streaming media at home?

**Hugh** · 31-12-2010, 15:43

Agreed - I got one a couple of weeks ago, and it is so easy to use.

Only pain is converting everything to MP4, but that is a minor niggle.

31-12-2010, 16:00

I use EyeTV to record favourite Freeview programmes on my MAC, then use the export option in the software and compress it to Apple TV quality (1024x576).

The thing I am happy about it unlocks my 120gb + worth of video out of ITunes, I still prefer to watch video on my TV and not my computer! I am now going through my sad TV SciFi series like Time Tunnel

Stuart · 31-12-2010, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlayzell

I have just got Apple TV for Xmas and I am highly impressed for the following reasons

Ease of initial setup
Clean and simple menu to operate
Excellent streaming of media content from your computer (through ITunes)

I know there are negatives in the product like no 1080p video support, but I am now a covert to streaming media around your house wirelessly

I would love to know your experiences in streaming media at home?

That's what I like about Apple stuff. It generally just works, and works well together.

Will I get an atv? Probably not. While I would like one, I don't currently have a HDTV (I'll get one when the current Sony dies), and I was given a shuttle PC by work that (using XBMC with an ok video card) does a brilliant job of streaming videos from my 1TB NAS and with little or no re-encoding.

It did, however, take the best part of an afternoon to set up and get working. The shuttlebox had a dead HDD, and while work also gave me a spare one of those, I still had to install it and install windows 7 on it.

31-12-2010, 16:47

Yes with the second gen apple tv, the av connection is HDMI only and requires HD support to 720p.

Another thing I forgot to mention was the apple remote app works well with this unit!

looper35uk · 03-01-2011, 21:22

The two things I love about the Apple TV are
1: AirPlay, streaming music through Apple TV from my iPhone to to my AV amp.
2: On demand films are cheeper than on Virgin Media.

SnoopZ · 03-01-2011, 21:25

I use the Xbox 360 to stream HD stuff and i can also stream wireless to my samsung tv DivxHD.

**Damien** · 03-01-2011, 21:32

Will it work off a NAS? It's why I haven't go one. Most of my videos are ripping from my own collection and not on iTunes, the library is far too big to fit on my hard drive and import into iTunes and I don't want to store my iTunes library on my NAS as it would prevent access to my music when I leave the house.

iTunes won't let you spilt content either (music on hd, videos on NAS).