Alternatives to a JB Apple TV?

prashantnew

prashantnew

prashantnew

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So I was recently exposed to an Apple TV2 that was jail broken. Initially I was skeptical, but then I saw the *ahem* capabilties opened up by the jail break. I was wondering if there were any alternative products, that OC users have tried and tested, which can do similar things?

Products that my research brought up were; WDTV Live, Roku 2 XS, and boxee.

But can these be jail broken to open up a world of free streaming etc..?
 
The Boxee doesnt need to be jailbroken to enable things like that. There are lots of streaming options right out the box with it :)
 
Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc works surprisingly well.

Got iPlayer , 4od, 5ive player, ITV Player, Ted Talks and several other things running very well on it.

Very impressed for a sub £30 device.
 
Marvt74 said:
The Boxee doesnt need to be jailbroken to enable things like that. There are lots of streaming options right out the box with it :)
Click to expand...

Apart from Netflix in the UK! (I know the op didn't ask for it but it being unsupported still riles me). Also, despite the Boxee being the most epic media player known to man, development for it has pretty much ended now.
 
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Ooh I've been thinking about picking up these boxes, but the paid services aren't so much my area, exception being Netflix UK. Wasn't sure which kind of streaming device to buy. Some recommendations would definitely be nice :).
 
Flibster said:
Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc works surprisingly well.

Got iPlayer , 4od, 5ive player, ITV Player, Ted Talks and several other things running very well on it.

Very impressed for a sub £30 device.
Click to expand...

Flibster, is it okay if I PM you some questions please?

I know nothing about programming etc...was the Pi easy to set up?
 
Get an Android box, size of a matchstick box, almost as quick as my galaxy s3, runs every android app with an interface/loader designed for tv and costs between £30 -50.
 
prashantnew said:
Flibster, is it okay if I PM you some questions please?

I know nothing about programming etc...was the Pi easy to set up?
Click to expand...

The Pi is very simple indeed.

Microusb power adaptor, HDMI lead, SD Card and an Ethernet connection.

I prefer wired connections over wireless, but wireless can be set up with certain usb adaptors.

Download Raspbmc installer, run it - that installs the image onto the SD card, then plug in the Pi with the SD card and let it continue the download and install.

I then followed this to get the various stream apps on it. TV Catchup is available directly from tvcatchup.com

I've bought the VC-1 and Mpeg licences as well, added them through the Raspbmc settings.

With all early releases, it's got a few little issues, but it works well for me.
 
prashantnew said:
I've never seen an android box, which do you have? Is it possible to run xbmc on it?
Click to expand...

Yes, runs XBMC through Android. Boxee, AppleTV etc is old hat now that these things are coming from China and so cheaply, you are getting dual and quad core 1.6ghz processors and Quad Core Gpus that runs emulation perfectly, 1080p without a hitch and can run the newest games (deadspace, shadowgun etc) full speed, all with the thousands of Android apps for half to a 3rd of the price of Apple tv, Boxee, roku etc.A no brainer really.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ztfRBFbJw&feature=related
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone, especially DB and Flibster.

So I think I've narrowed it down to the Pi and an Android box:

The Pi seems attractive because it'll probably be a little challenging for me to setup, so will need to find a complete idiots guide to setting it up, Flibster, do you have a case for your Pi? Also where did you get yours from? I've just seen Maplins do the following bundle:



The Android box will be easier, but less capable? Is that the case? I searched youtube for android box tutorials, and a lot of the comments say things like it crashes, lags on xbmc etc... Is that the case with you DB? Oh and where would be a good place to get one or is there a make that you recommend?

Thanks
 
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I got a case and Pi from ModMyPi.

Used a random microusb cable, an old 2gb SD card and just pulled the lan cable out of the back of my old xbox *original one... running XBMC*

Haven't needed a keyboard or mouse on it yet. I control it through the official xbmc remote app on my android phone.
 
db2431 said:
Yes, runs XBMC through Android. Boxee, AppleTV etc is old hat now that these things are coming from China and so cheaply, you are getting dual and quad core 1.6ghz processors and Quad Core Gpus that runs emulation perfectly, 1080p without a hitch and can run the newest games (deadspace, shadowgun etc) full speed, all with the thousands of Android apps for half to a 3rd of the price of Apple tv, Boxee, roku etc.A no brainer really.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ztfRBFbJw&feature=related
Click to expand...

Normally it'd be a straight and easy choice but they don't have ethernet which is the only downside for me.

So just be wary of that one thing
 
I have Boxee and had a few Pis but I found myself preferring a N40L upgraded with a SSD and a cheap ATi card in my main room with xbmc. In conjunction with sabnzbd sickbeard and my nas its superb.
 
Deep said:
Normally it'd be a straight and easy choice but they don't have ethernet which is the only downside for me.

So just be wary of that one thing
Click to expand...


You can plug an ethernet adapter in to the usb, they cost peanuts, you can also plug in multiple usb devices using a hub, wireless usb mice and keyboards are just plug and play.
 
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