Apple TV have I bought another useless box???
Discussion
TheHeretic said:
onlynik said:
Yes 50% more at £150
New? Don't sell it yet. You can use Mirroring from MacBook with Apple TV when Mountain Lion is launched (end of this month). You will then be able to press play on your MacBook/ iMac and mirror to your Apple TV what your main computer screen is shown.
Failing that you can use mirroring on an iPad/ iPod Touch/ iPhone with Apple tv. Just launch iPlayer and press play through Apple TV.
Off you go....
Failing that you can use mirroring on an iPad/ iPod Touch/ iPhone with Apple tv. Just launch iPlayer and press play through Apple TV.
Off you go....
If your already in the Apple Eco System it makes a lot more sense .. as stand alone device not so.
As to what you can do with it I will say what I do with mine and you can decide if its for you.
I have all my media (M4V format) stored on a muti TB drive linked to a small form factor desktop pc (Win 7) if I buy a new blu ray the first thing I do is rip it to the media server and promptly leave it there.
I also have all my ripped music on the box. I also use iTunes so the next step was to put it round the house.
I have one Apple TV linked to my main unit via the HDMI switching amp (SONY). I also have a couple of Airport Express units (80 Quid) hanging out the back of a couple of hifi units round the house.
This allows me to fire up the remote app on ipod / ipad and choose the video I want to watch then choose where I want it to play. I can also choose music in each particular room and control the volume independently from within the App. This plays direct from the server and is not going via the idevice.
As an aside I the aiport units can act as a sleep proxy so I have my PC set to sleep after 15 minutes. If any device requires the itunes service the sleep proxy sends a Wake PAcket and 10 seconds later the PC is online and ready deliverying the content. This way I dont need to leave main pc running all the time.
You COULD rewrap the MKV you have into an M4V and iTunes would then stream it, you dont need to fully rencode.
There are mutiple options on how to do this but in my case I went down the ATV / AP Express route as I basically added whole house audio .. well about 5 rooms .... for about 400 quid but this was due to the fact I already have one or two idevices about the house.
For a single room solution its pretty useless but if you already use itunes its the prefect extension, it purely relies on which eco system you choose and there is a judgement call on that.
For the record even tho i do like the apple gear I also refuse to buy any video on itunes as I want 1080p at a higher bitrate/quality than itunes store provide, plus the fact I already had about 50 Blu ray discs.
As to what you can do with it I will say what I do with mine and you can decide if its for you.
I have all my media (M4V format) stored on a muti TB drive linked to a small form factor desktop pc (Win 7) if I buy a new blu ray the first thing I do is rip it to the media server and promptly leave it there.
I also have all my ripped music on the box. I also use iTunes so the next step was to put it round the house.
I have one Apple TV linked to my main unit via the HDMI switching amp (SONY). I also have a couple of Airport Express units (80 Quid) hanging out the back of a couple of hifi units round the house.
This allows me to fire up the remote app on ipod / ipad and choose the video I want to watch then choose where I want it to play. I can also choose music in each particular room and control the volume independently from within the App. This plays direct from the server and is not going via the idevice.
As an aside I the aiport units can act as a sleep proxy so I have my PC set to sleep after 15 minutes. If any device requires the itunes service the sleep proxy sends a Wake PAcket and 10 seconds later the PC is online and ready deliverying the content. This way I dont need to leave main pc running all the time.
You COULD rewrap the MKV you have into an M4V and iTunes would then stream it, you dont need to fully rencode.
There are mutiple options on how to do this but in my case I went down the ATV / AP Express route as I basically added whole house audio .. well about 5 rooms .... for about 400 quid but this was due to the fact I already have one or two idevices about the house.
For a single room solution its pretty useless but if you already use itunes its the prefect extension, it purely relies on which eco system you choose and there is a judgement call on that.
For the record even tho i do like the apple gear I also refuse to buy any video on itunes as I want 1080p at a higher bitrate/quality than itunes store provide, plus the fact I already had about 50 Blu ray discs.
Edited by recalluk on Wednesday 4th July 15:06
TheHeretic said:
I thought iTunes did 1080p now? What is their bitrate?
They do provide 1080p and its pretty close (not sure on bit rate but it’s pretty close in quality).For me the larger factor was download speed and fact I have a blu ray collection already. This may well change with new releases if they are costed well against the equivalent disc in Asda etc.
onlynik said:
Yes 50% more at £150
You can build a HTPC for under £100 that will play 1080p files without breaking a sweat.The other month, I took my old 10 year old PC, rebuilt it into an HTPC case, added a new graphics card and gigabit network card and stuck XBMCbuntu onto it.
Cost around £90 and plays literally anything you throw at it. Could have done it for £40 had I used the original case. Any old PC from the last decade will do the job (as long as it has a PCI-E slot and you stick a new graphics card in). The card does the bulk of the work, so mine only uses 20% CPU when playing 1080p.
Before I go and buy one...Mirroring what I'm watching on the iPad on the TV, do I need the PC to be on or is a straight signal from the iPad to the Apple TV box and on to the TV via HDMI?
I'm kinda assuming the term 'mirroring' means exactly what it says and no other kit is required to be running to achieve this other than the iPad/Apple TV/Lounge TV.
I currently run a wire direct to the TV from my iPad to acheive this but want a more complete/uncluttered solution.
Oh, and I have 2 iPads (well the wife has one too) so I assume the Apple TV can handle 2 different devices?
Cheers chaps/chapettes.
I'm kinda assuming the term 'mirroring' means exactly what it says and no other kit is required to be running to achieve this other than the iPad/Apple TV/Lounge TV.
I currently run a wire direct to the TV from my iPad to acheive this but want a more complete/uncluttered solution.
Oh, and I have 2 iPads (well the wife has one too) so I assume the Apple TV can handle 2 different devices?
Cheers chaps/chapettes.
TheHeretic said:
You do not need the PC to be on to mirror, unless you are streaming something from said PC.
Damn...On Saturdays I stream live footy from my PC (Sopcast program) to my iPad (Goodplayer App). This displays the match on my iPad and I run a wire from the iPad to the TV to watch it on telly if the wife is out.As the footy is showing on my iPad won't mirroring just duplicate what I'm watching on the iPad onto the TV then?
im said:
Damn...On Saturdays I stream live footy from my PC (Sopcast program) to my iPad (Goodplayer App). This displays the match on my iPad and I run a wire from the iPad to the TV to watch it on telly if the wife is out.
As the footy is showing on my iPad won't mirroring just duplicate what I'm watching on the iPad onto the TV then?
I don't know how good player works. If you use mirroring, then the ipad screen will be on the TV as is. If you use airplay, (which you should be able to), then you should be able to do other things, just as I can when I stream video to my Apple TV. As the footy is showing on my iPad won't mirroring just duplicate what I'm watching on the iPad onto the TV then?
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