Apple tv

Rooky007

Rooky007

Rooky007

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,693
I am thinking of getting the apple tv but like to know do any of you know what the min broadband speed we need to watch hd rental movies?

Also how does it play download movies does a USB hd go into it?

Lastly is there a way on apple tv just to show close caption movies reason being I am hard of hearing so close caption a must.
 
Okay, Apple TV 2 doesn't download anything, it has no storage.
You stream everything you watch.

Download speeds : Approx 6mbps for HD and 1-2mbps for SD films should be enough.
 
It's got no accessible storage. I did see a teardown which indicated it had 8Gb of RAM which is likely be used a a buffer for downloads.

Everything else it plays via the network from an iTunes library on a computer or via AirPlay.
 
You can play downloaded movies through iTunes (mov, m4v, or mp4) or through Airplay Mirroring*.
If you jailbreak your ATV2 then you can more video formats through XBMC.

* Requires an iPhone 4S or iPad2
 
Rookies said:
AirPlay mirrorring how this works as I do own 4s and iPad 2 :)
Click to expand...
Simples

Connect ATV2 and iPhone 4S/iPad 2 to the same Wifi network then press the Airplay button on the Multitask bar - see image below.

tn_ios5_mirroring.jpg
 
If you want to watch movies you've downloaded, providing they play in iTunes on your Mac or PC you'll be able to stream them to your Apple TV via "home sharing".

Or just stream it direct from your iPad over AirPlay.

I mainly use mine to stream music from my Mac upstairs, to the living room downstairs where the big TV, amp and speakers are. I then use the remote app on my iPad to act as a remote control.

I can browse the contents of my iTunes library via my iPad and just tap to play. Very nice solution.

There's a few haters out there. but for £100 its a great product, ESPECIALLY if you already own a Mac, iPad, iPhone etc as they all work in harmony perfectly.
 
Turbo-G said:
If you want to watch movies you've downloaded, providing they play in iTunes on your Mac or PC you'll be able to stream them to your Apple TV via "home sharing".

Or just stream it direct from your iPad over AirPlay.

I mainly use mine to stream music from my Mac upstairs, to the living room downstairs where the big TV, amp and speakers are. I then use the remote app on my iPad to act as a remote control.

I can browse the contents of my iTunes library via my iPad and just tap to play. Very nice solution.

There's a few haters out there. but for £100 its a great product, ESPECIALLY if you already own a Mac, iPad, iPhone etc as they all work in harmony perfectly.
Click to expand...

You can always install XBMC onto it as well, I've done that and it gives you the option to just stream things straight to it, but the software doesnt replace the actual ATV2 software so you can use either.

One advantage I find of having XBMC is that you dont have to convert EVERYTHING to Apple format, unless you want to of course =]
 
Right, hope the following helps - as already stated by others ATV2 is for streaming media not for downloading and saving as no HD. Again as already stated you can download much the same content and "save" it to iTunes. It is then simply a matter of streaming that content from iTunes on Mac or PC etc. direct to ATV2, wireless or ethernet makes little difference, it works a treat. You can also "mirror" from an iPad/iPhone etc. content such as BBC iPlayer, 4OD, iTV.com 5 or Sky Go through ATV2 onto your large panel TV.

There is also another nifty little option that doesn't include having to JB your ATV in order to play other media such as downloaded YouTube flash content, and that is Air Video. First download Air Video server and install on your Mac, then install Air Video app on your iPad (available for less than a couple of quid from the app store). Once you have done this your Mac acts as a server and you can watch your other media either on your iPad/iPhone or send it through to ATV2 and watch it on your TV. This app converts media on the fly, the quality on your 42" TV is just as good as watching it on your Mac.

Enjoy.
 
Faustus said:
Right, hope the following helps - as already stated by others ATV2 is for streaming media not for downloading and saving as no HD. Again as already stated you can download much the same content and "save" it to iTunes. It is then simply a matter of streaming that content from iTunes on Mac or PC etc. direct to ATV2, wireless or ethernet makes little difference, it works a treat. You can also "mirror" from an iPad/iPhone etc. content such as BBC iPlayer, 4OD, iTV.com 5 or Sky Go through ATV2 onto your large panel TV.

There is also another nifty little option that doesn't include having to JB your ATV in order to play other media such as downloaded YouTube flash content, and that is Air Video. First download Air Video server and install on your Mac, then install Air Video app on your iPad (available for less than a couple of quid from the app store). Once you have done this your Mac acts as a server and you can watch your other media either on your iPad/iPhone or send it through to ATV2 and watch it on your TV. This app converts media on the fly, the quality on your 42" TV is just as good as watching it on your Mac.

Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Good call, but does mean needing to have the iPad doing this every time you want to watch something though. Could become annoying if you want to use your iPad whilst watching something or someone else wants to make use of it.

Something like XBMC still seems more streamlined and less hassle as you don't need to convert anything. Adding the iPad in there seems like an unnecessary step as a long term solution.
 
dav3evans said:
Good call, but does mean needing to have the iPad doing this every time you want to watch something though. Could become annoying if you want to use your iPad whilst watching something or someone else wants to make use of it.

Something like XBMC still seems more streamlined and less hassle as you don't need to convert anything. Adding the iPad in there seems like an unnecessary step as a long term solution.
Click to expand...

Depends how far you want to take it e.g. JB is not currently working properly with iOS5 as there are tethering issues plus you could end up invalidating your warranty. I think that with iOS5 the need to JB is no longer an imperative. Lots of other users on different forums are now saying much the same. You do need to use your iPad for using Airplay regardless. You do not need your iPad for streaming from iTunes to ATV2 to TV. You do need iPad or iPhone etc. for using AirVideo as your Mac is the server and the app for AirVideo uses iOS.
 
As far as I was aware you didn't void your warranty with Jailbreaks anymore...unless they have changed their minds again which frankly wouldn't surprise me =S

I think the Airplay solution works better compared to doing straight up home sharing though. As either one needs to have the Mac on at all times to make use of it. Also, am I right in thinking you can save the converted files? So you could add them to a library and not have to convert the same thing again? Thinking it would be a possibility to slowly build up an iTunes compatible library...although this relies of course on you watching the same shows/movies more than once

I think its a shame you can't just have a NAS on the network that the ATV2 can see. I think there are a few that can do it as they have the iTunes support built in, but again it all adds to the price that it will cost to get a working solution and even then still requires the conversion to an Apple format of sorts.
 
dav3evans said:
As far as I was aware you didn't void your warranty with Jailbreaks anymore...unless they have changed their minds again which frankly wouldn't surprise me =S

I think the Airplay solution works better compared to doing straight up home sharing though. As either one needs to have the Mac on at all times to make use of it. Also, am I right in thinking you can save the converted files? So you could add them to a library and not have to convert the same thing again? Thinking it would be a possibility to slowly build up an iTunes compatible library...although this relies of course on you watching the same shows/movies more than once

I think its a shame you can't just have a NAS on the network that the ATV2 can see. I think there are a few that can do it as they have the iTunes support built in, but again it all adds to the price that it will cost to get a working solution and even then still requires the conversion to an Apple format of sorts.
Click to expand...

1. Regarding having to have your Mac on all the time - yes and no, I leave mine in sleep with iTunes open in the dock. When ATV2 or Air Video is in use the monitor doesn't wake up, just the HD is accessed so not a great drain on power.

2. With Air Video your files remain in whatever format you have them in i.e. the files are converted on the fly, there is no permanent conversion on your Mac's HD so no need to build up an iTunes compatible library. The conversion is almost instant on pressing play.

3. There has been a report today that AirPlay is to be added to Lion very shortly so you will be able to AirPlay direct without needing your iPad/iPhone.
 
Faustus said:
1. Regarding having to have your Mac on all the time - yes and no, I leave mine in sleep with iTunes open in the dock. When ATV2 or Air Video is in use the monitor doesn't wake up, just the HD is accessed so not a great drain on power.

2. With Air Video your files remain in whatever format you have them in i.e. the files are converted on the fly, there is no permanent conversion on your Mac's HD so no need to build up an iTunes compatible library. The conversion is almost instant on pressing play.

3. There has been a report today that AirPlay is to be added to Lion very shortly so you will be able to AirPlay direct without needing your iPad/iPhone.
Click to expand...

I'm same, mac is always on in sleep mode. Hard disks can still be accessed when needed.

Regarding point 3, I'm confused. You can do this anyway from iTunes on the Mac, e.g AirPlay to a an airplay speaker or use the macs speakers during playback.
 
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