Who's getting an AppleTV? - Page 2

Hondamaker · 05-27-2008, 02:19 PM

I may try ebay, cause Apple is selling them for 229, only 5 dollars more than LA and Amazon.

freakydeaky dutch bastard · 05-27-2008, 07:47 PM

I've been looking for a wireless media solution for some time now. There really aren't that many choices out there, however. Still a developing technology for video, I guess. I was looking into the ATV so I could stream movies from the macbook to the TV, wirelessly. I've been hesitant to purchase because of the less than stellar reviews I've encountered. Most of the complaints that I've read about concerned video format compatibility. Most of my stuff is in .avi format and while I use perian to play them in FrontRow, I have to wonder how it would all translate to the ATV?

ravman · 05-28-2008, 03:50 PM

Have you guys checked out that device in Best Buy? It's like Apple TV (can't remember what it is called now), but it pumps out in 1080P. Not that any TV provider uses 1080P yet, but it's there.

Netflix have one too and it's way cheaper than AppleTV:

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008...reaming-device

You pay $99 for the box and your usual monthly fee and you can watch as many DVDs as you like.

freakydeaky dutch bastard · 05-28-2008, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by ravman

Have you guys checked out that device in Best Buy? It's like Apple TV (can't remember what it is called now), but it pumps out in 1080P. Not that any TV provider uses 1080P yet, but it's there.

Netflix have one too and it's way cheaper than AppleTV:

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008...reaming-device

You pay $99 for the box and your usual monthly fee and you can watch as many DVDs as you like.

I haven't seen the one in BestBuy, I will check it out. As for Netflix, I just canceled my subscription this week because I just never used it. The set-top box you linked to sounds pretty cool, but the selection of movies Netflix has on the instant viewing thing is pretty lousy.

ravman · 05-28-2008, 06:42 PM

The only downside to the Netflix one, is that it only pumps out in 480P. It has a HDMI connector, but 480P is 480P.

I think the one in Best Buy is called NuVu or something? It looks pretty cool.

Originally Posted by freakydeaky dutch bastard

I haven't seen the one in BestBuy, I will check it out. As for Netflix, I just canceled my subscription this week because I just never used it. The set-top box you linked to sounds pretty cool, but the selection of movies Netflix has on the instant viewing thing is pretty lousy.

freakydeaky dutch bastard · 05-28-2008, 06:54 PM

Besides ATV, this D-Link box is the other option I've been considering. I just can't pull the trigger for some reason..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1504&CatId=197

soloudinhere · 05-28-2008, 09:35 PM

I have a 160GB appleTV. I'm thinking of selling it, as I just don't get $329 worth of use out of it.

It's neat though when I do use it...

ravman · 05-29-2008, 04:58 PM

I used to have one of them. They are designed for streaming music/movies from your PC to your TV. Not from your TV to your PC. A PS3 does the same thing also.

They are a pain to configure with Windoze Vista.

Originally Posted by freakydeaky dutch bastard

Besides ATV, this D-Link box is the other option I've been considering. I just can't pull the trigger for some reason..

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1504&CatId=197

freakydeaky dutch bastard · 05-29-2008, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by ravman

I used to have one of them. They are designed for streaming music/movies from your PC to your TV. Not from your TV to your PC. A PS3 does the same thing also.

They are a pain to configure with Windoze Vista.

Right, that's what I want to do PC.. well, Mac to TV. How was the quality of the stream, both audio and video? Any issues you ran into?

ravman · 05-29-2008, 05:33 PM

Using wireless was just a waste of time, you need to hardwire the unit to your home network to get decent thruput for movies.

To be honest with you, it was just a pain having to switch the TV to another input, turn the media player on, mess about the the darn thing finding the media software on my PC and everything. I didn't like the thought of leaving the TV on when just listening to music. I don't want burn in on my LCD screen.

Plus I can stream movies on an external hardrive through my DVD player, using the USB connector. So the media player just ended up gathering dust.

I sold the darn thing in the end and just fed the PC sound to my home sound system directly.

Originally Posted by freakydeaky dutch bastard

Right, that's what I want to do PC.. well, Mac to TV. How was the quality of the stream, both audio and video? Any issues you ran into?