Confession: I hate my Apple TV

[aphex]

Great article over at TUAW

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/05...my-apple-tv/#continued

 

[Kaido]

Plex ftw

*hugs his ES2L*

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Plex ftw

*hugs his ES2L*

Ditto. Best money ever spent.

 

[mugs]

I have one, and I don't use it as much as I'd have hoped. Boxee works fine as a uPnP media player. The Internet streaming performance wasn't great, so I didn't really bother with that. The Apple TV's music player is great, because it gives you everything the way you have it organized in iTunes. I just hate switching between AppleTV and Boxee, so I mostly use it for music. I already have four other uPnP media player devices (2 Xbox 360s, a PS3 and an Xbox with XBMC), so I guess I don't really need another one. For a non-technical user, it might be nice. I haven't actually tried any of the video capabilities other than watching trailers and video podcasts. That is, I haven't tried streaming video from iTunes.

 

[mshan]

I thought the Apple TV was great, if you use it as Apple intended.

I tried Boxee and it would just hang everytime I tried to do anything within Boxee. Seems way to underpowered for Boxee (1 gHz processor, 256 MB RAM, mobile 7300 video (?)), and someone told me Boxee code wasn't optimized for Apple TV either.

It is much more silent than my Mac Mini, in that it's case fan never seems to spin up at all (I believe enclosure acts as heat sink).

HDMI output and better graphics are also a plus, but I can use Hulu and Slingplayer on the Mac Mini without having to do extensive hacks to get them working properly.

 

[mugs]

I don't think it even has a fan.

I think a revised Apple TV with more powerful hardware and built-in uPnP support would be pretty awesome.

What I'd really love is if Roku added uPnP support to their Netflix box. $99 is crazy cheap, but I don't watch much Netflix streaming.

 

[mshan]

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2951&p=4

Never heard it spin up, even in a rather warm upstairs bedroom, though.

 

[ric1287]

I bought a aTV, sold it. Bought another one, sold it again. Its just too much of a hassle to get things working properly, the interface is nice, but too much work on the back end.

Popcorn Hour may be my next move

 

[Kadarin]

I can't really justify getting one, as I've got the functionality mostly duplicated in other ways already. I'm using an AE to stream music to my HT via AirTunes, and I use my Tivo series 3 to do Netflix streaming or Amazon Unbox.

 

[mmntech]

The Apple TV is an interesting concept but it's just to limited to be practical. I use my PS3 or my desktop PC to do pretty much the same thing. Better value by far.

 

[dmk11]

Yeah, I agree. I just sold my ATV w/ Boxee. I went with the PS3 route before, but I want this as a media server in my bedroom and I don't really need a PS3 in my bedroom.
I recently took the plunge and bought a new up& comer Xtreamer. Haven't received it yet, but the reviews/specs looks good.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: dmk11
Yeah, I agree. I just sold my ATV w/ Boxee. I went with the PS3 route before, but I want this as a media server in my bedroom and I don't really need a PS3 in my bedroom.
I recently took the plunge and bought a new up& comer Xtreamer. Haven't received it yet, but the reviews/specs looks good.

Let me know how that works for you. I'd love something cheap that would allow me to move my PS3 downstairs. Right now I have it hooked up to a SDTV in my bedroom so I can watch stuff before I go to sleep.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: ric1287


Popcorn Hour may be my next move

menu system isn't as slick as the WD but the video performance is great:beer:

 

[Pliablemoose]

I love my dual tuner, BR, HTPC. It's the coolest PC I've ever built, and Windows 7's Media Center is a hella slick front end for it

 

[ric1287]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: ric1287


Popcorn Hour may be my next move

menu system isn't as slick as the WD but the video performance is great:beer:

need network connectivity and after researching it, its highly customizable if you put in the effort.

Movie App

 

[alm99]

Same here, bought and sold it with boxee installed. Thought it would be great for upstairs in the bedroom, but was just way too limited and a hassle to keep shows in sync that were not from iTunes. Replaced it with a refurbed mac mini, best choice ever.

 

[Davegod75]

anyone know if Plex w/new mac mini (9400 with/ 256mb) can play Hulu w/o stuttering?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Davegod75
anyone know if Plex w/new mac mini (9400 with/ 256mb) can play Hulu w/o stuttering?

I see no reason why it wouldn't be able to, the system itself can handle it in the browser.