Thinking about Apple TV-should I?

[rich67]

I don't know a lot about this device, but I have been hearing some good things from my friends so I decided to look into it. I started browsing on EBay and found a bunch of "jailbroken" ATV2's, which claim you can get all the free movies (including new releases) you can watch, UFC and live sporting events for free, etc. etc. So here's arey questions:
1) Are the Ebay ads B.S.? I find it very hard to believe I can get a free pay-per-view event streamed to my TV in 720p for nothing.
2) I could care less about Netflix, to me it's worthless. I am purely interested in being able to stream my Mac's content to Apple TV (I do have .avi and .wmv files and .mpeg's that I can convert with Handbrake if need be, but I heard ATV doesn't play these formats?) and watch Youtube and Vimeo on my TV.
3) I would love to have sporting events, (I watch NHL and UFC primarily) and if the claims of the jailbroken ATV's are true, it sounds like a killer way to go. Is there a sports "app" that you can get to watch all this on an un-jailbroken ATV similarly?

Thanks in advance. I know I sound like a total noob, but I just recently developed an affinity for Apple products, and am on my first Iphone 4s and switched to Mac from PC, so go easy..lol

 

[Netomat]

I dont know much about these promises on ebay... but unless there is some network they can get you into to watch them there is no way thats possible. The ATV2 has no HD space to store the content, so there has to be a way to access it via the internet. Maybe they give you access to a remote plex server or something...?

I have my ATV2 jailbroken and running plex for playback media from my home server running Plex Media server. If you are un-familiar with plex you should check it out. It's a lot like XBMC if you know what that is. If not, this is basically a program that contains all your media and can scrape metadata from a bunch to retrieve information about said media.

The end result is an experience similar to netflix or the ATV stock setup, where you can browse media and check out all relevant information from one screen in a very organized manner. You can bring up a plot summary from IMDB, view fanart, watch the trailer, check ratings from other sites and much more. The only difference is that it is using your media. For someone like me with 10+ terabytes of movies/TV/music this is a dream. If you want to stream unsupported media, plex is the way to go.

In terms of webstreams plex allows you to stream media from quite a few online video hosting sites, such as TED, Mpora, Foxnews, comedy central to name a few off the top of my head... there are even a few plugins for sites like icefilms that will allow you to stream tons of pirated content. (im not advocating this)

There are a few plugins for sports if memory serves correctly, there is an MLB and NHL app. I could be mistaken though.

The plex for ATV2 app is a 3rd party app which has been taken up by many devs and the progress comes in but is often slow to update and usually the experience is buggy. you should check out the forums for plex ATV2 plugin and see if it's what you are looking for.

I hope something in this wall of text helps you. if you have any questions I am happy to try and answer.

 

[rich67]

61 views and no input?? Was the question that stupid? lol

 

[Laelipoo]

1&3 I cannot answer for you; we never jail broke ours. As for 2 you can. Turn on home sharing in iTunes and the apple tv can play any music, movies and tv show in your library. I use a program called iSquint to convert my files for the apple tv (better at batch files IMO) but handbreak is great too.

Best part is that you can use your iPhone or iPad as a remote. The metal one kept trying to pair with my Mac. I turned off remote access in iTunes to fix that.


Beamed from a galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk!

 

[Netomat]

I posted a very long comment yesterday but it said it would need to be approved before being posted due to my low post count.

Basically the gist of what I said is I have never heard of these eBay promises. I'm quite interested in knowing where the content they claim they will give you comes from since the arv2 has no hard drive space to store said content. They probably tell u how to install Xbmc with icefilms plug in and navi-x app. These are aggregators of pirated content for streaming.

Basically your best bet is to jailbreak and install plex or Xbmc. These apps have remote servers that run on your computer to serve up media to the atv. They are great because they scrape metadata to include a great layout with incredible organization. Check out plex and Xbmc to learn more because they do A Ton!

I bought my atv2 exclusively for this purpose as I have 12tb of media and none of it is in .mp4, so to me the stock atv2 is useless.

 

[rich67]

Thanks guys. Here is the link to the Ebay auction for the item:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
I actually installed XMBC on my Mac, and messed with it the other day. It was a very user-friendly interface, but none of the movies or other things would load-it kept shutting down-so I got a bit nervous about making the investment. Additionally, none of the WMV files played either. I'm guessing it's not the same as using it in a jailbroken environment like the ATV2.

 

[Laelipoo]

On my Mac, I use VLC. Great interface, open source, plays just about anything. But to stream, you would need iTunes or xmbc.


Beamed from a galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk!

 

[rich67]

Ok, thank you! VLC is awesome...

 

[Laelipoo]

It is! Fun tip on Mac- press command+f for full screen, and two finger scroll controls volume.


Beamed from a galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk!

 

[Netomat]

Thanks guys. Here is the link to the Ebay auction for the item:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
I actually installed XMBC on my Mac, and messed with it the other day. It was a very user-friendly interface, but none of the movies or other things would load-it kept shutting down-so I got a bit nervous about making the investment. Additionally, none of the WMV files played either. I'm guessing it's not the same as using it in a jailbroken environment like the ATV2.

ditch XBMC and go with plex. Much better option on mac imo.

If you can't deal with intermittent issues I would suggest another route. The ATV2 isn't a fully stable environment. There are tons of bugs, lots of crashing, and lots of things are simply not supported.

If you dont have some time and willingness to invest and tinker with the setup you will just be disappointed in the end. But then again, this is really a shortcut on a budget so you can't be too upset about that. And things are getting better over time. you should have seen what it was like a year ago when plex was first getting started on the ATV2.

I tried to set one up for my parents last xmas and it was fiasco since they were not able to troubleshoot a lot of the minor issues that seem to crop up regularly.

The ATV2 has a small amount of internal ram and HD space, so lots of times you can be watching a movie and it will just crash out unexpectedly from memory insufficiencies. This can also happen if you have a large library like me and try to scroll through lists too fast.

you should look into getting an HTPC on the cheap or one of the other streaming options that has better support. Apple really doesn't want any other file types involved in their hardware, so you aren't going to get any help from there.

Lifehacker did an article about setting up an HTPC with xbmc live, you should check it out. They used an acer aspirerevo, which you used to be able to get for $200 and it was able to playback 1080 content. for an extra $100 that is an option worth looking into.


EDIT:

just checked the ebay link, its exactly what i expected. they are charging you $55 for stuff you can get for free. its just a few plugins ( that are mostly unreliable). don't waste your monies.

 

[rich67]

I ended up going with a Roku XD and installing Plex to watch my media from the Mac on the Roku. It's pretty decent. I also ordered an Apple TV for my living room since the prospect of being able to Airplay things from my 4S to the ATV was very intriguing. I'm looking forward to getting the Apple TV. Will post up my experiences with both as soon as I have time to mess with it.

 

[linds15]

im now debating the atv2, the main thing i want to do is stream my nba.tv access to my tv, via my ipad, but when i tested it out in store the display on the tv was very small. is there a native app i can play on the tv that will allow me to playback my app somehow?

also is there a guide anywhere with all the different things you can do with a jailbroken atv? and lastly, is the currently availible atv jailbreakable? i mean i dont know which software comes on a current atv if i go to apple and buy one

 

[rich67]

I did a lot of research on jailbreaking the ATV2. It is jailbreak-able, but it really isn't all that worth it, IMO. With the shutdowns recently of sites like Megaupload and other filesharing sites, it has pretty much rendered a jailbreak pointless. On the current ATV2 you do get access to NHL, NBA and MLB.tv, access to Youtube (something Roku doesn't yet have), and access to all your media on your PC using iTunes. I've been using mine regularly now for about 2 months, and it's awesome.
Here's what I did: I hooked both the Roku up and ATV2 up on my TV, and now I have pretty much everything I need:
ATV2 streams NHL tv, my computer's media, and Youtube videos.
Roku streams Amazon Prime. I use my Roku purely for that. I paid $60 for the Roku and $100 for the ATV2, which is about what you'd pay for an already jailbroken ATV2 on EBay. Amazon Prime is AWESOME for $80 a year, I get tons of free streaming movies and TV shows, and the rental rates are usually a lot less than what you'd pay for on iTunes. Their selection is huge too. PLUS, you get free 2 day shipping on certain items from Amazon, which is pretty much the dealmaker for me.
So until ATV comes out with an app for Amazon TV, I'll be using the Roku for that. Once ATV hooks us up, the Roku will be up on Ebay. lol

 

[Mella]

Well, it's all depends on your needs.
FYI, after jailbreak, you can add additional functionality by installing XBMC, Plex, and Nitro TV, and enjoy it on the go.
if you like live sports, stream movies, Live ESPN3, Amazon VOD, Hulu and more you can watch with a Jailbroken Apple TV 2.
For more info, these site might do some help:
Apple TV Hacks
AppleTV 2 - AwkwardTV

 

[alicesmith]

Apple TV is the most unique device that is designed and manufactured by Apple. It is an amazing digital media receiver that is used as i Pad accessory and helps you to enjoy apple TV shows.