Apple TV: Worth it without Internet connection?

[andyheron]

Just after a bit of advice really...

I don't have a fixed broadband connection at home, just my iPhone 4 and 3G iPad.

I'm considering getting an Apple TV v2 as my girlfriend is pregnant with our first child due in June and I would love to take some HD videos on my iPhone and stream them to my TV by just hooking everything up to a Router without the Internet connection.

Does anyone think this is worth it? Or would I be wasting the ?100 without a broadband connection?

 

[JohnH59]

Is it worth it would be your decision. But, while at home I do use my Apple TV, Internet connected, to watch movies and stream content from my iPad. When we travel in our RV, I have a router set up so we can stream movies and content from our iPads/iPhones. It works great and we don't have to keep track of DVD's when we travel.

 

[Fausty82]

It still could be. Like JohnH59 says, it's great for streaming movies. We have 4 AppleTVs in various rooms in our home - family room, office, guest room and the grandkids' toy room. I have ripped all of our DVDs and store them on a Mac Mini which acts as a server to any/all AppleTVs in the house. No more lost/scratched/broken DVDs at our house, and the older grandkids know how to turn it on and que up their movie choice...

We do have internet access, so we also use them for iTunes radio, Netflix, YouTube and streaming from iPad, iPod, iPhone and computers...

 

[Mella]

yeah, it's great for streaming movies, and you can use it as your new home Media Centre that introduced in iFunia news blog, and it alos let you watch hulu videos: How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2

 

[Fausty82]

yeah, it's great for streaming movies, and you can use it as your new home Media Centre that introduced in iFunia news blog, and it alos let you watch hulu videos: How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2

Hulu requires an internet connection of some type. The OP's question was about no internet connectivity.

 

[vplc]

If all you want to do is watch videos from your iphone 4, it may be more cost effective to just get the vga cable or apple digital av adapter. personally, i like apple tv because i can watch netflix, go on youtube, and use airplay.

 

[impaler]

I think it's worthless without a broadband connection. It'll work, stream movies, etc., but you won't be able to get movies, TV shows, etc., from the TV.

 

[andyheron]

Thanks for all the replies!

Just wanted to say I ended up getting both a broadband connection and apple tv and I LOVE IT!

 

[FlopTech]

Thanks for all the replies!

Just wanted to say I ended up getting both a broadband connection and apple tv and I LOVE IT!

Yay! Glad to hear it.

 

[jec678]

Brilliant!

 

[ProMed]

Is it worth it would be your decision. But, while at home I do use my Apple TV, Internet connected, to watch movies and stream content from my iPad. When we travel in our RV, I have a router set up so we can stream movies and content from our iPads/iPhones. It works great and we don't have to keep track of DVD's when we travel.

That is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

 

[hYu]

Apple TV works great for streaming without internet!!!

Hi guys, just joined a moment ago. I thought I'd put this up because it was such a MAJOR pain in the butt to find the answer to this problem.

YES, it is 100% possible to use iTunes homesharing and stream all your iTunes content from your Mac/PC to the Apple TV. HOWEVER, you do initially need to connect it to the internet and "register" it for homesharing. After that, no freakin' problems. Works like a dream! Now I can access all 100GBs of movies, anime, shows, podcasts, music and photos from my TV. Totally awesome!

The area that I happen to live in has pathetic internet access 'cause its about just 500 metres or so out of range of the nearest local access point. So the only way to get internet is through a 3G (or dialup ).

Luckily I happen to have a 3G pocketWIFI device which acts as a portable router with internet access.
1. I connected the Apple TV to the pocketWIFI (WITH INTERNET ACCESS) first, went into Settings > Computers > Turn on Homesharing.
2. I then follow the prompts to set it up etc. Once you finish, DO NOT turn off homesharing otherwise you're probably gonna have to do this again, which was a total ordeal for me due to wireless problems.
3. At this point, you have to go to the network settings and disconnect it from the internet, otherwise it will keep searching for rentals, movies, youtube, etc.
4. Connect to your home network router with NO INTERNET ACCESS. Make sure it is a fairly good router with a strong solid connection. Mine is a relatively crap Netgear MBR624GU router (wifi b/g). I tried WPA2 at first, but it was very patchy. I then tried WPA and it works fine.
5. Enjoy your iTunes Library!!

I'm not entirely sure if ATV would remember your homesharing settings if you had to turn it off from the wall... maybe 75% sure it will though, so perhaps you could take the ATV somewhere with internet, register it for homesharing, then bring it back to your place with no internet access and it'll still work.

Good luck!
hYu

 

[diamonddialogue]

I really want Apple TV, I've just never made it priority over Macs, iPhones, and iPads.