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Apple TV

Maestro

Maestro

Vice Admiral
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I'm thinking about getting an AppleTV unit to try to help tie a lot of my media together so it can be better viewed on my TV. I know at least one BBS member has AppleTV, but I don't know who else might.

I have a 2 Mbps internet connection (which is sufficient for Netflix streaming), and a decent LAN system within my house. My wife and I are both running the latest versions of iTunes on our PCs. We've got a Samsung tablet skulking about, and we both have 4th gen iTouches.

Pros to AppleTV? Cons? Consider our set-up?
 
I have an AppleTV. I absolutely love this device. I use it every day. It's one of the main reasons I cut the cord and got rid of cable. You can listen to music, watch TV shows and movies (or rent them), use Internet services like NetFlix and YouTube, and even access sports like MLB, NHL, NBA, etc.

And it is very easy to set up. Basically all you do is give it your wireless network name and password.
 
That'd be a bit on the slow side but I think it will still work. Depends on what you want to do with it. The ATV can do Netflix, so that should be OK.
 
It will run via my LAN anything I have downloaded into iTunes, so Netflix is the only thing I'd be running off the web on ATV.

What I should do regarding Netflix, is check it on my Wii. If it runs on the Wii, then we're good.
 
Maestro said:
It will run via my LAN anything I have downloaded into iTunes, so Netflix is the only thing I'd be running off the web on ATV.

What I should do regarding Netflix, is check it on my Wii. If it runs on the Wii, then we're good.
Click to expand...

Well, at best the Wii streams @ 480p. I believe the Apple TV does 720p video, so it will take more bandwidth.
 
The lack of DLNA support would be a deal-breaker for me. I use TVersity to stream all my stuff to a PS3, Xbox 360 and our iDevices. I don't use iTunes, though, so I'm not sure my perspective has much merit here.
 
I have an iPod Touch, a Samsung Galaxy tablet, a Wii, and a slightly out of date HP Pavilion. None have any problems streaming Netflix with our 2m connection.

I have not rehooked our Blu-ray player into the network since we upgraded to 2m.
 
What are your reasons for getting one, just Netflix? Or iTunes too? We've used several devices for Netflix including a Roku box, Playstation, and now it's built into the tv or something so we don't even need that stuff.

I'm just wondering if you need Apple specifically or would be better off getting something else. It seems like its best not to limit yourself to one brand unless you need to?

Then again I have no idea about most of this stuff, so feel free to ignore me!
 
I want to stream Netflix on my living room TV. All the streaming gadgets are in the basement. I also want to be able to stream things that, uh, end up in iTunes to a TV.

The AppleTV will accomplish these things.
 
I have a nice Internet enabled Samsung TV, not that I stream much to it. Use it occasionally to watch something on iPlayer, that I missed watching live.
 
I have an Apple tv and I really enjoy having it as an addendum piece. I wan't to get a second one, for our TV upstairs but I'm waiting to see if an upgrade comes out this year. I'm in no real hurry, so I can wait and see. However with the speculation on the Apple TV coming in the near future, that maybe an option as well. Supposedly it will have Siri on it. However the rumors also speculate that the Apple TV will only be available only up to 37", that would be a real deterrent for me. I'm looking for my next TV to be around 70" and with 3D. I'm a true believer in 3D, I totally love it. So my next TV will definitely be a 3D set.
 
I have no interest in 3D whatsoever. I thought about waiting until Apple came out with its own set, but I decided that 1) it would probably not have a large enough screen, and more importantly, 2) having things "built-in" is overrated. What if the "AppleTV" functionality breaks? Or Apple simply updates it, as they probably will do soon? Having an AppleTV box separate from the set makes both of those problems go away.

And as much as I like Siri, I don't need it in a TV.
 
I just bought one yesterday. I was able to stream a movie from my personal computer just fine but when I went to preview movies available for rent it was extremely slow. There may be an issue with Comcast (midwest cable provider) and DNS settings on my Airport Extreme router so will play with that this afternoon.
 
Tom Hendricks said:
I'm looking for my next TV to be around 70" and with 3D. I'm a true believer in 3D, I totally love it. So my next TV will definitely be a 3D set.
Click to expand...

Are you sure that's big enough?

Any online stuff we wanna watch/listen to, we just hook up the laptop to the TV with a HDMI cable (wireless mouse as remote control), problem solved.
 
I got myself an ATV in October and I'm happy with it.

Netflix streams fine over my 3 mpbs connection (iTunes does not and if you rent from there with HD, you will need a 3 hour window to get the file downloaded) but its a nifty little box.
 
An Officer said:
Any online stuff we wanna watch/listen to, we just hook up the laptop to the TV with a HDMI cable (wireless mouse as remote control), problem solved.
Click to expand...

But...but...this would involve carrying the laptop around and stuff...

Wow, that sounds even lazier typed out! :rolleyes:

vampgrrl said:
I got myself an ATV in October and I'm happy with it.

Netflix streams fine over my 3 mpbs connection (iTunes does not and if you rent from there with HD, you will need a 3 hour window to get the file downloaded) but its a nifty little box.
Click to expand...

I agree. I figure Apple will eventually wake up to the fact they're losing all the revenue and improve on the iTunes streaming experience. In the meantime, Netflix and streaming from my computer work great. Being able to play all my music and photo slides hows on the larger screen has been nice too.
 
The Apple TV is a decent device. The only way to get the most out of the box though, is to jailbreak it. A jailbroken ATV with XBMC installed is a wonderful device.
 
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