Comments on: Apple TV hands-on

By: Brian Frahm

Brian Frahm — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:41:17 +0000

The flaw of much of your logic is when you start talking using terms like Linux, XBMC, squid, etc… the general public won’t likely EVER figure out that solution… a hockey puck sized device from their local Apple store? That will be an easier sell.

I don’t think Apple delivered completely on this, but the price is cheap enough for me to take a gamble on it.

By: MacGyver

MacGyver — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:25:03 +0000

It suffers from lack of native format support, the on the fly encoding you have to use to make up for the lack of native codec support is a poor excuse for a media streamer, and the ability to find and select media sucks, and the database based access to the media is prone to not being updated or buggy especially if you have ripped ALL your DVDs to your media server, which can be in the hundreds of files.
If you have never used something like XBMC, I can see why you would not know what you are missing. I have been using it for 7 years and know why things like multi-source bookmark sources and the ability to natively play every format out there is important and necessary. WMC sucks in just about every way I can think, from blindly executing maliciously formed .wmvs to blocking resolutions above VGA for non-encrypted monitors. I can choose any interface I want with XBMC, and if one doesn’t exist that has every tiny little thing I want, I can make an entirely new interface in the span of a day, I can emulate the crappy interface of ANY media center out there, or blend the best of each into one.
I have been spoiled by XBMC, and anyone that argues against it, clearly hasn’t used it.

By: Sircolby45

Sircolby45 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:34:30 +0000

I never said it couldn’t do all of that….

By: Cynyr

Cynyr — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:24:29 +0000

Okay, Zune market place not so much of a go for me. But linux server with TV card running mediatomb and squid + PS3 with netflix disk (shortly to be “app”) can do all that you listed as well, and has the advantage of playing my bluray movies as well.

For the GP, you know the Apple TV2 doesn’t have local storage, so it will need your computer on to play anything you downloaded. Also it has a horrible format selection. speaking of which i need to add a mkv -> mpegTS transcoder to mediatomb, because my ps3 can’t do mkv’s natively.

By: Sircolby45

Sircolby45 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:29:32 +0000

“I can name two things wrong with this statement, “Xbox 360 paired with Windows Media Center”, that’s like saying “PS3 and a DNLA server is great”.”

How so is it wrong. If you are going to tell me I’m wrong back it up. The 360 paired with WMC can watch live TV, stream Neflix, stream vidoes over DLNA, rent movies over the Zune Marketplace, and also stream Hulu using Playon without the need for Hulu Plus.

By: MacGyver

MacGyver — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:30:41 +0000

$99 is a good price, but not if it can only do mp4 and only what Apple wants and I have to run iTunes to share those formats, I’ll pass.
Unless I can load XBMC on it, that is.
I can name two things wrong with this statement, “Xbox 360 paired with Windows Media Center”, that’s like saying “PS3 and a DNLA server is great”.

By: Sircolby45

Sircolby45 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:10:08 +0000

I personally am highly unimpressed with this. It doesn’t bring anything at all new to the table. My Xbox 360 paired with Windows Media Center can do everything this can and much more.

By: ScottG

ScottG — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:43:41 +0000

I’m sorry to hear about that but yes you just might be the very last one without an HDTV :(

By: bartmann

bartmann — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:24:45 +0000

You can use the qwerty on your iPhone/itouch when using the remote app to control apple TV. At least I can with my old style apple tv.
I would imagine it’s the same with the new one.

By: Cynyr

Cynyr — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:07:19 +0000

Am I the only one around these days without a hdmi TV and a digital receiver?

Really, a 3.5mm audio jack and a rca/svideo out were too much to ask for?