Considering an Apple TV, have some questions

[Rudolphe]

Can I download apps to it? Would love to use Pandora and stuff like that.

Does Air Play work consistently?

I use Air Video on my iPad to watch videos, if you can download apps are you able to download Air Video for Apple TV?

Is Netflix and Youtube reliable and do they load videos fast?

I know they can be Jailbroken, what are the benefits of jailbreaking an Apple TV?

Can't think of anything else right now... i'll update this thread if I do, thanks!

 

[phoon61]

Can I download apps to it? Would love to use Pandora and stuff like that.

Does Air Play work consistently?

I use Air Video on my iPad to watch videos, if you can download apps are you able to download Air Video for Apple TV?

Is Netflix and Youtube reliable and do they load videos fast?

I know they can be Jailbroken, what are the benefits of jailbreaking an Apple TV?

Can't think of anything else right now... i'll update this thread if I do, thanks!

I too would like to know the answers to these as i want to buy apple tv.

 

[korp#IM]

There is an Internet radio but it is not pandora. Airplay works fine but I tend to just stream from my computers library.

I haven't seen any need to jailbreak since I have my iPad and iPhone to use apps on.

 

[takeshi]

Is Netflix and Youtube reliable and do they load videos fast?

No idea about Youtube but Netflix works well. Certainly as well as Netflix on my TivoHD (not hard to beat), Oppo Bluray and Panasonic TV. Loading speed depends on your connectivity.

Does Air Play work consistently?

It does. I prefer just using a digital cable with the iPad though. There are far more options for output to TV in my experience.

 

[fubaracing7374]

YouTube loads real fast and looks good. Love both my Apple TVs!!!


Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk

 

[hpcomputergeek]

My friend has one and it is great!

 

[Zed London]

Officially no, but everyone is hoping for an app store on it son. I can see it coming soon

 

[Mella]

I know they can be Jailbroken, what are the benefits of jailbreaking an Apple TV?

Well, I think the two apps for the ATV2...NitoTV and Plex is one of reason to jailbreak. General info on hacking the ATV2 can be found at AwkwardTV:
AppleTV 2 - AwkwardTV

Guide to jailbreaking ATV2:
Beginners Guide AppleTV2 - AwkwardTV

My friend said that to me before I jailbreak, "the best reason to jailbreak the ATV2 is Plex. Plex is a complete media management system that goes well beyond the capabilities of the ATV2 menu system. With Plex you can also also add over a hundred video and image plug-ins to access a whole host of other media and image sources such as CNET, Hula, CNN, MLB.com, YouTube, etc. " Very amazing?!
I would suggest that you install Plex on your Mac (assuming you have a mac) and check out the capabilities. I did and quickly decided this was reason enough to jailbreak my ATV2.

 

[PurpleDragon]

No hard drive

My biggest disappointment regarding Apple TV 2 was that it does not have hard drive and therefore it takes long time to download move and also wait to download again if you want to watch episode again.

 

[slalomskie]

If you don't have HDMI inputs only RCA can you run an ATV2?

 

[Fausty82]

If you don't have HDMI inputs only RCA can you run an ATV2?

There's no connection or cables for anything except HDMI. The only way to connect it to non-HDMI TV would be some sort of converter.

 

[phreddyl]

I am sorry if this is a stupid question but I am not sure what the interest in this is. It seems like it does pretty much the same as a blue ray with internet access. I love apple products. Just not sure what's so special about it.

 

[Nanci]

Well, I bought one because I don't have cable or sat TV. I have a Sony TV (as well as BD) that streams Netflix. But it's a constant struggle of establishing a wifi connection, refreshing content, checking the link speed, needing to reboot the DSL modem and router, sometimes having to refresh in the middle of a program! The Apple TV, as I had hoped, just works. I turn on the TV, I turn on the Apple TV, there's my Netflix- no screwing around.

 

[phreddyl]

Well, I bought one because I don't have cable or sat TV. I have a Sony TV (as well as BD) that streams Netflix. But it's a constant struggle of establishing a wifi connection, refreshing content, checking the link speed, needing to reboot the DSL modem and router, sometimes having to refresh in the middle of a program! The Apple TV, as I had hoped, just works. I turn on the TV, I turn on the Apple TV, there's my Netflix- no screwing around.

Ok that makes sense. Thanks.

 

[bschroed37]

AppleTV is awesome!!! But AppleTV + XBMC is unreal!!! XBMC is like PLEX (mentioned earlier in this thread) but it also allows you to stream media from the intenet on demand. Simply by installing some easy plug-ins (something called IceFilms) you can get access to a library of free, streaming TV & movies that is WAY BIGGER and BETTER than Netflix.

The AppleTV + jailbreak + XBMC + Icefilms = best tv experience ever!! The only thing that keeps me from cancelling my cable bill is live sports.

 

[pwgearguy]

My ATV2 is just a gimmick at the moment. Without a hard disk, it is impossible to download films at peak times when I want to watch something. So the only use I have for it is with AirVideo. And I could use the HDMI cable for that.
In case anyone is wondering, I found it impossible to send just audio by AirPlay, and keep video on screen.
XBMC sounds good.

 

[irawkmac]

I have an AppleTV v.2 and I have never been so happy with a purchase ever. I've gone about hooking it up to 5.1 Surround Sound, HDMI to my t.v., ethernet for faster load times, and I've got Home Sharing set up between it, my Macbook, and my iPhone 4. They are all made to work together and do so flawlessly. I convert and load movies into my iTunes on my Macbook and they stream with absolute ease over to the AppleTV in HD. I can start Pandora on my iPhone while laying in bed and it will AirPlay through my speakers on my AppleTV. Through the iPhone I have absolute control over my Macbook and my AppleTV via the Remote app provided by Apple. It's really a great experience if you're willing to do what it takes to make things look nice and perform well together. Don't half ass your setup and you'll be very satisfied just like me!

 

[cjvitek]

Many of these questions may have been answered already, but here are my responses (to the best of my knowledge)

Can I download apps to it? Would love to use Pandora and stuff like that.

AFAIK, there are no official apps aside from what it built into the box (like Netflix, MLB.com, etc). You may be able to jailbreak, and I think there are some developers working on apps, but I don't think there really are any yet.

Does Air Play work consistently?

I haven't had any problems with it, assuming I am using an app that supports it. Occasionally I have had a few problems making sure it gets sent to the correct Apple TV (I have two of them) but usually that is due to my own mistakes.

I use Air Video on my iPad to watch videos, if you can download apps are you able to download Air Video for Apple TV?

See my previous comment about apps. From what I understand, iOS 5 will be including major updates to AirPlay options, including maybe letting third party apps (like Air Video) use AirPlay to send video to the Apple TV.

Is Netflix and Youtube reliable and do they load videos fast?

Initially I would get some problems with the failure to connect (you are not authorized to view this content) error messages, but I haven't had any problems within the past couple of months. I don't really watch You Tube too much, but we do a lot of Netflix through the Apple TV, and everything seems fine. The only times there seems to be any lag is if another computer on the network is doing something with the internet connection.

I know they can be Jailbroken, what are the benefits of jailbreaking an Apple TV?

I just posted this same question on the jailbreak forums.

Chris

 

[FlopTech]

My biggest disappointment regarding Apple TV 2 was that it does not have hard drive and therefore it takes long time to download move and also wait to download again if you want to watch episode again.

Yeah, downloading and buffering takes a while for me too. But I'm certain Apple TV will never get a hard drive or more than a few GB of onboard storage. Apple seems to be heading toward streaming everything from iCloud.

And I think iCloud is the key to Apple's plans for the future of television. Now, if only I had faster internet access...

 

[FlopTech]

Does Air Play work consistently?

I've had zero problems with it when used with the Remote App. The Remote App reliably wakes up my iMac when I want to use AirPlay with podcasts I've already downloaded, and I've never had any problem after playback has started.

The Remote app actually wakes up the iMac much more reliably than "Wake for network access" feature in System Preferences -> Energy Saver.

Can't speak for other apps that use AirPlay, but the technology itself seems to be solid.