Assuming I won't pay for content, just what does it bring to the table?*
*I'm sorry if it is obvious, but I feel like my dad did when he realised I was just more 'savey' than him, I think I have lost touch with the kids 
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Apple TV, why would I want it?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I have one of the old models and I have found it is a fab way of accessing the media on my main computer. It has a very polished UI and, in my experience, really does "just work".
TBH - I'll be surprised if you never purchase content from it - I was off work on Friday with a cold and rented a movie - 5 minutes after buying, it's ready to play. Brilliant.
Rachel
Posted 1 year ago # -
You can send content from your laptop or iPhone to it. Say start watching a youube video on phone then hit a button to send to it. Browse iTunes on various computers etc.
As a massive Apple fan I'm kind of underwhelmed with it. In the US they have Netflix on it which has a far larger selection of movies which I'd love. It's a bit rubbish without that really. Guess it's all due to content licensing.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Is this not basically the same thing that my Sony TV's, PS3 and £90 Blu-Ray player do?
Serious question, not being sarky.
Posted 1 year ago # -
paulosoxo - Member
Is this not basically the same thing that my Sony TV's, PS3 and £90 Blu-Ray player do?Serious question, not being sarky.
Sort of. Trouble is those systems don't let you play things you bought from iTunes which is really annoying. My xbox will stream stuff from my computer, but only video that doesn't have Apple's DRM. To play the films and TV programmes i've paid for, i have to pay more money to Apple.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm still at a slight loss. As it stands I can stream from my lap top to the telly via HDMI, but I'm about to move my 'office' to a place a physical connection would be a pain, Is apple TV a solution?
Cheers.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes - it's pretty much the same thing, except the "experience" is really very good with the AppleTV. Mine just seems to magically sync new media when it appears on my iTunes in the background. So, I don't have to bother getting the computer out, finding the media and making it available to the telly somehow. It's just that little bit easier.
Rachel
Posted 1 year ago # -
An xbox 360 or playstation 3 connected to your wireless network could do much the same.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I had the salesman in the apple store trying to convince me about as I was also curious.
In the end I decided I was happy with using my ps3 to stream music from my computer.
As far as drm goes on movies & music from itunes it really winds me up - if I pay for a movie on the itunes store I cannot stream it to my telly via the ps3 - but if I download it illegally I can, it's never right.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The DRM on iTunes movies and TV shows is something Apple has no control over and is trying to get rid of (like they did with music) - hopefully the content providers will see sense and agree to it.
The new AppleTV (the really tiny one) has a couple of new features that the old one didn't have - the chief among them being the Airplay software so you can stream to it from all of your iDevices and pick up where you left off seamlessly and so on. It can also stream out of your iTunes library.
It is essentially an Apple-only version of XBMC (and many people have actually installed XBMC on the old Apple TV since it is ideal for under the TV).
So, "why would you want one" depends on whether you are totally inside the ecosystem already - if you only have iTunes content then it is a microscopic HDMI-enabled link to your TV from any of your iTunes/iPhone/iPads in the house. It won't play content that is in any other format than H.264 though, so any Xvid stuff you have (say, from torrents) will not play on it - but you *could* user the hardware and put XBMC on it, and then use it in the same way.
If you're going to do that, there are other small boxes (like the Acer Revo) that can do the same job, but are more expensive - the new Apple TV is quite a deal at £99, but it does lack a hard drive so you really do need to stream everything to it, unlike the old AppleTV that had a drive in it so you could stream or store locally.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Posted 1 year ago #
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Thanks all, I think I'll look into a box that can stream everything from my PC.
Cheers.
Posted 1 year ago # -
A second hand Mac Mini from ebay (make sure it is an intel one) or an Acer Revo will do that job superbly - both small, silent and look nice under the TV. Stick a copy of XBMC on there (it's available for Mac, Windows and Linux, or as a "live" version that replaces the main OS and boots a customised version of Linux as its core).
It will play just about anything you throw at it and streams it beautifully. I have it running on top of my iMac, but also have a copy on an old powerbook (the G4 chip and graphics card struggle a bit with the menus and with HD content) that I have hooked up to the living room TV to stream content from upstairs.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It's the licencing that will sink this product. Itunes is a pain with DRM films. I have a Sony TV with a hard drive under it for movies but unless I pay apple 90 quid I cant watch the ones I've actually payed for on the television. Simple solution - I'll buy them elsewhere. You've dropped the spud on this one Apple.
Posted 1 year ago # -
sling box?
a low form factor pooter running VNC? (I tend to use 'remoter' on my iphone to VNC)
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
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