AppleTV plunge

[chris]

I finally took the plunge. I love movies and all things Mac, so it made sense to add AppleTV to my collection of tech toys. I'm a big BluRay guy, but I think AppleTV will fill a niche in my home theater setup. Time to fire up Handbrake and start digitizing my movie collection.

[IphoneTony]

what size apple tv did you get?

[chris]

I opted for the 40GB. I did a little research and most whose libraries were going over the 160gb were resigned to streaming anyway (which requires you keep your Mac on). I always have my Mac on, so that wasn't an issue either. Plus, I found a good deal on a new 40gb -- $210 shipped.:laugh2:

I'm not sure which of the features appealed most to me. I have a TiVo HD and PS3, but I'm thinking the AppleTV will fill the void not filled by those devices. In particular, online rentals and streaming my iTunes videos. I forget the blog, but found a good write up of someone with a similar setup. My biggest complaint about AppleTV was the lack of HD. Take Two seems to address that with HD rentals.

Ordered from CA, so should be a week or so before it arrives.

[Youngbinks]

I've been interested in Apple TV for a while now. I've been digitizing my movie collection ever since iDay and I haven't even made a dent in them. But having Apple TV to watch them on would be awesome as opposed to having to use my laptop. I just wonder about the picture quality of a SD video once you put it on a larger screen.

[chris]

I just wonder about the picture quality of a SD video once you put it on a larger screen.

I think that would depend on how you encode it. I'm using the AppleTV presets in Handbrake and will let you know how it turns out.

[The Apple]

Have you got it yet????? Have you got it yet??????

[chris]

Feb 25, 2008 11:47 PM


In transit


BLOOMINGTON, CA


Next scheduled tracking update: Feb 28, 2008

10:42 PM


Left origin


ANAHEIM, CA




6:11 PM


Arrived at FedEx location


ANAHEIM, CA




4:42 PM


Picked up


ANAHEIM, CA

[chris]

Looks like Friday at the earliest.... headed to NY from CA.:angry:

[Ramesh]

Anaheim! W00t!

Anyway, post back and let us know, b/c I'm thinking of getting one too....

[mittenman]

I would get one in a heartbeat if it also had a DVR built in. I don't really own very many movies, as I don't really watch many more that once or twice. I would like the rental feature. I've got alot of upgrading to do in my home theater though, and an Apple TV is not very high on my list. Still rockin' a rear projection TV, and it's starting to show it's age. Was an awsome unit when I bought it, right before the flat-panel boom.

[chris]

I'll definitely post my feedback when it arrives. For me, I don't think it's one killer feature, but rather a combination of useful features. I think I'll use the HD movie rentals (to support my Netflix account), bring music to my living room from iTunes (had Airport express, but enjoy having the AppleTV interface) and the wild card will be my library. I'm wondering if I'd be more apt to watch a movie or TV show if it's on my AppleTV.

-Chris

[blacklabel775]

I've had a question about video encoding for a while
and I thought this might be a proper forum.

I have been ripping my DVDs onto my external HD with handbrake. I've been formatting them for the iPhone, but I am thinking about buying an apple tv and I figure that the iPhone formatted videos won't play as well on my 56 incher. I have burnt DVDs from the iPhone video files and they come out looking pretty sloppy on the big screen.
Does anyone know what setting to apply so that the videos can play with good quality on both an iPhone and a big screen TV? I tried using the apple TV preset on handbrake but its not compatible with the Iphone.

[Kabeyun]

I finally took the plunge. I love movies and all things Mac, so it made sense to add AppleTV to my collection of tech toys. I'm a big BluRay guy, but I think AppleTV will fill a niche in my home theater setup. Time to fire up Handbrake and start digitizing my movie collection.
Congrats! I've been looking into this as well. Right now I just don't have enough video to make it worth it. Until recently, iTMS movies have been no better rez than DVD's - of which I own a ton - and I didn't see the point spending weeks ripping DVDs just to get them on my computer. Now things may have changed... <salivation here>

The the other good news is that when Macs do get BluRay drives (soon, now that it's over for HD-DVD), AppleTV's current 802.11n should handily [ref (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/07/10/hd-wirelessly-over-802-11n/), ref (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070119-8662.html)] stream even 1080p. :2cool:

-K

[The Apple]

have you received it yet? I am really interested in what users have to say about this AppleTV!!

[chris]

have you received it yet? I am really interested in what users have to say about this AppleTV!!
So far so good. Rented a few HD movies and quality was on par with the quality you'd see on DirecTV. Definitely not as good as BluRay, but I didn't have to leave my couch.

I haven't done a great job with my movie converting, so that's hindered the "My Movies" aspect of the device. Also, I hooked it up to a switch and now iTunes doesn't see it (it did when I hooked up directly into my router).

Still early, but overall it's a nice device. It's what I expected. Nothing earth shattering, but does a lot of little things well.

I have to figure out the switch issue and see if you can share multiple iTunes libraries.

At $200, it makes for an easy entry to HD rentals, for those who haven't purchased a PS3 (Blu-Ray).

YouTube quality is well...YouTube quality. That in mind, it's another medium that you wouldn't normally find through your TV. Watched the Damon/Affleck/Jimmy Kimmel videos -- hysterical.

BTW, I got the 40GB and I have AppleTV set to sync only my photos. Streaming "my movies" was seamless and just reaffirmed my decision to go with the smaller HD.

-Chris

[joe]

I love my AppleTV. Got it last year and the software update is amazing. Anyone can stream their iTunes stuff to it which is very cool. Another feature that is just amazing is the built-in AirTunes. This is the future of movies and movie rentals; not BluRay.

[Kabeyun]

This is the future of movies and movie rentals; not BluRay.
I completely agree. But I expect BluRay will be around a long time. The hardware to stream/store/play HD movies will always be much more expensive than a simple disc player. MP3s have been around for 15 years but the CD is still healthy. (OK, maybe a head cold, but you get my point. :smile:)

-K... saving for an AppleTV

[dimensiondvdrob]

I have a 160GB Apple TV and I love it! I hooked mine up to an Airport Extreme Base Station (instead of a switch) and it works perfectly. I have not used the streaming set-up yet. If I choose streaming, will I still be able to sync at the same time?

But for now, this is awesome for ripping my Blockbuster Online rentals during the week, sending them back to the store for another free movie rental, ripping that also, sending it back to the store and watching a whole lot of movies on the weekends. I am going to start in the next few weeks ripping my DVD collection. I can't wait until I am done with my Seinfeld collection, so I can sit and watch some classic Jerry, George and Kramer antics.

I am also interested if anyone can provide a good solution to which setting works well for both iPhone and Apple TV. Maybe someone could suggest a good way to have an iPhone collection and Apple TV collection.