Should I get one?

[Bill McNeal]

Ok, I've been reading about ATV and I had a few questions about it. Here is what I'm looking to do:

I have been ripping my movies to the computer, I have close to 3 TB of storage on it, not filled, but filling up. I want to be able to watch this on my TVs. Right now I have a blu-ray player that will play most anything I throw at it via USB port. Most of my stuff is in avi (xvid) and the newer stuff is MKV (h.264).

What I'm considering:
getting a dell zino off craigslist for about $250 and turning it into a HTPC, won't require much in the way of upgrading.
Apple Tv and streaming from my desktop
building a dedicated HTPC machine
getting a WDtv or a similar device by seagate.

What I want out of the device I get:
I really just want to be able to watch the MKV of xvid movies on my TV with the least amount of effort on a daily basis, I want my non-tech savvy wife to be able to navigate it without trouble, and that is why I'm leaning toward Apple TV, I just can't quite figure out if it will work for what I want it to do. Thanks for any help you can provide, I apprecaite it!

 

[rangerbob]

i have always been hunting for that "perfect" media streaming device.
i have currently in use:
ASRock
WDTV LIVE
Apple TV 2 - or whatever this new one is called.

i love all the devices above. the ASRock is a PC, and operates the best. only downside is the price tag.

i bought the Apple TV2 knowing that someone will Jailbreak it, and find a way to stream MKV's to it. would i suggest buying it, yes, if you have a big itunes library. i have an ipad and iphone so i do have to convert some movies already, but that's the problem, the converting.
with the latest news about NitoTV, i am really hoping that it will pull thru soon.
if you have the cash, look at a mini PC, mac mini, or like i did, the ASRock.

 

[Bill McNeal]

Thanks aweber. Just got back from the apple store, picked one up. I moved last weekend and haven't finished setting up my computers and network yet, but that's today's project. Can't wait to play with it tonight.

And thanks again for the advice, I was thinking the same thing wrt jailbreak. Have you jail broken yours yet? I will probably do that tonight as well.

 

[whmurray]

I have just given my Apple TV away. My relatively new Sharp Aquos will not do sound over HDMI, which Apple TV requires. They did not tell me that that was a requirement when I bought the device.

 

[rangerbob]

i haven't JB my ATV yet, still waiting for NitoTV.
i am also patiently waiting for iOS 4.2 so i can try Airshare

 

[sting7k]

I have just given my Apple TV away. My relatively new Sharp Aquos will not do sound over HDMI, which Apple TV requires. They did not tell me that that was a requirement when I bought the device.

How does your Aquos not do sound over HDMI? That's kind of the point of HDMI, all in one digital cable. I have 2 Aquos TVs and both accept sound from HDMI from all manner of devices.

 

[Dryland]

How does your Aquos not do sound over HDMI? That's kind of the point of HDMI, all in one digital cable. I have 2 Aquos TVs and both accept sound from HDMI from all manner of devices.

He must be plugging it into a DVI port... thats the only way HDMI isn't going to have sound.

 

[Bill McNeal]

So I finally got internet yesterday, after about 2 weeks of Comcast being, well, being Comcast. I couldn't login to Netflix right away, around 8:30 PM EDT, but i was able to login around 10:30 PM EDT. Watched an episode of 30 Rock, looked great.

So far pretty happy with it. I wish it played MKV or AVI, but I am building a new 4 GHz 6 core computer that should be able to transcode my files pretty quickly. As opposed to the 6-7 hours it takes now for 720p.

 

[MAGNUS]

I wish it played MKV or AVI, but I am building a new 4 GHz 6 core computer that should be able to transcode my files pretty quickly. As opposed to the 6-7 hours it takes now for 720p.

That's gonna be one beastly rig... I'm also waiting on the JB to allow mkv playback. I really dig the ATV UI and the control feature with my phone. I have a half decent machine but dont want to spend time converting videos.

If all else fails, my tv (Samsung C650), streams media and supports mkv playback.