Apple TV for a Christmas Gift, some general questions

[Komskies]

I'm asking a few questions on behalf of my brother, who is considering purchasing an Apple TV unit for my dad for Christmas. I apologize in advance if any of the questions don't make sense, as I am not very familiar with the product. Bear with me here, I'm going off some rough notes.

- Movie Rental: How does the movie rental compare to Shaw on Demand, both in terms of streaming quality and price? Edit: selection as well.

- Airplay: Would he be able to stream content from his PC, or would he be limited to something like an iPad2?

- WiFi: How well does Apple TV work through a WiFi connection, compared to hard-wired. Because of space restrictions, it would need to connect through wireless. Will this cause any issues with streaming content regarding buffering

- Is the unit programmable with a Harmony remote (Harmony 880 model). Does it use IR or does it use Bluetooth?

Thank you in advance.

[Rathji]

- Movie Rental: How does the movie rental compare to Shaw on Demand, both in terms of streaming quality and price? Edit: selection as well.

I have never rented movies, but the price seems similar to what Shaw offers.

- Airplay: Would he be able to stream content from his PC, or would he be limited to something like an iPad2?

I can stream to my apple TV from my wife's iPhone, her iPad, my iPod, my Desktop and my wife's laptop. You can also get media servers that support itunes, but I have never looked into it.

- WiFi: How well does Apple TV work through a WiFi connection, compared to hard-wired. Because of space restrictions, it would need to connect through wireless. Will this cause any issues with streaming content regarding buffering

I have no problems with my Wifi and my Apple TV streaming over my wireless N connection.

- Is the unit programmable with a Harmony remote (Harmony 880 model). Does it use IR or does it use Bluetooth?

Apple TV can work with the included remote, Harmony remotes and there is a remote app available for more devices (phones, tablets etc). The one caveat is it can only use one physical remote at a time -ie if I set up the included remote, it unpairs the Harmony remote.

[Komskies]

I suppose in addition to the previous questions, maybe I could solicit some opinions from people who have either used the product before or are currently using it. Have you been satisfied with your Apple TV? Does it get a lot of use? Would you recommend purchasing one? ($119 right now at the Apple Store in Chinook)

[Aegypticus]

Komskies asked for me. My dad is getting an iPad for Christmas and he is not at all tech savvy. Is this device recommended for someone like that? My parents travel and take some photos and my mom asked about getting them on the TV. How is this as a media extender? I'm standing in the Apple Store right now waiting for some help.

[GrrlGoalie33]

Originally Posted by Aegypticus

Komskies asked for me. My dad is getting an iPad for Christmas and he is not at all tech savvy. Is this device recommended for someone like that? My parents travel and take some photos and my mom asked about getting them on the TV. How is this as a media extender? I'm standing in the Apple Store right now waiting for some help.

I would just pay the $40-$50 for the iPad-tv cable. You can get them in a couple of different formats I think. RGB and HDMI

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Komskies

I suppose in addition to the previous questions, maybe I could solicit some opinions from people who have either used the product before or are currently using it. Have you been satisfied with your Apple TV? Does it get a lot of use? Would you recommend purchasing one? ($119 right now at the Apple Store in Chinook)

I love mine, but I have been in the process of migrating all my DVDs to file for over a year, so every piece of content I have is available. My kids (and wife) don't destroy $30 Disney DVDs and I never need to find where someone put it. If you are willing to purchase (or otherwise obtain) content from iTunes, then it becomes even more valuable.

It also functions as a Netflix box, can watch online video's (Youtube and Vimeo I think?), MLB, Gamecenter, Hulu (US), and several others. New stuff is being added to this area all the time, but I don't often go into that menu.

One thing I love about it, that I never considered before buying it, is the slideshow feature. More often than not, it goes on with music and we watch a random flickr feed or my huge folder of Big Picture/National Geographic images.

[bossy22]

I have the apple tv and use it everyday. It's been great for us. The apple tv also has netflix, which has been pretty decent for my kids. Not a lot for me personally. I have rented and it's similar to shaw on demand, only slightly cheaper. $6 for a HD movie. I think shaw was $8. I could be wrong though.

I also use my ipad with the hdmi cable for when I travel. For this, I wish I had the 64GB ipad. Movies are large, and I fill my ipad up with a couple of shows, music, apps, etc.

Because I have both, I have the tv apps on my ipad and I use Airplay to watch the tv shows available from those apps on my tv without having to connect the hdmi cable.

[Burninator]

For the price is a pretty decent product. It works very well within the Apple ecosystem (ie. iTunes).

Rentals have been spotty with me. I believe iTunes is $1 or $2 cheaper than Shaw for new releases. The quality is either HD or SD (depending on what you rent) and I notice no difference between iTunes rentals and Shaw on Demand rentals. It's not like Netflix where the quality will drop if your internet slows down, instead it will stop and buffer. Buffering has been my biggest problem with the Apple TV, but most people don't seem to have this issue.

Would I purchase one again? No. But I would probably recommend one for someone else as they are very easy to use and have some nice features. I think it's a good media extender for music and photos. It also works very easily with iTunes videos.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Aegypticus

Komskies asked for me. My dad is getting an iPad for Christmas and he is not at all tech savvy. Is this device recommended for someone like that? My parents travel and take some photos and my mom asked about getting them on the TV. How is this as a media extender? I'm standing in the Apple Store right now waiting for some help.

I think having iCloud and an Apple TV would work really nicely. The images sync to your iTunes and then you can display them and have music etc in the background. You can also just play the content wirelessly from the iPad. Especially if the option is a $40 or $50 cable.

Unless you would get zero other use out of it, then just go with the cable.

[red sky]

In order to stream from your iPad/iPod you have to obviously convert any *cough*downloaded*cough* movies. Any recommendations on this? If I am streaming from a laptop I still need to do it through iTunes correct? So regarless I would have to convert the files?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Apple TV can work with the included remote, Harmony remotes and there is a remote app available for more devices (phones, tablets etc). The one caveat is it can only use one physical remote at a time -ie if I set up the included remote, it unpairs the Harmony remote.

I can use the Apple remote and my Harmony 880 at the same time. But I might be missing the use of the word "pair" here.

[Rathji]

Yes, for content obtained through other sources, be it DVD, torrents etc, you need to convert to a compatible format. I use Handbrake to do so.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I can use the Apple remote and my Harmony 880 at the same time. But I might be missing the use of the word "pair" here.

Could be I am mistaken. I tried it when I first got the Apple TV last Christmas, and it only let me use one or the other. I didnt put much effort into figuring out why, since at the time I didn't have the audio set up properly and my harmony remote was almost useless.

[MickMcGeough]

Movie rental quality is excellent. It's the best-looking HD content I've streamed from a major service personally, though there are higher-quality services out there. My wife can't tell the difference, FWIW. (Keep in mind the ATV is limited to 720p).

I've never had any WiFi issues with my AppleTV but I did a lot of network tweaking before I ever got it. In general, the internet connection will the be your bottleneck, not your local WiFi.

I use my AppleTV only for Airplay now. If you're ok with only using iTunes Store & Netflix for on-demand streaming, or you need Airplay, it's a pretty good buy. If Airplay's not a big deal or you want something that will stream more formats, I'd check out a Roku or something.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by red sky

In order to stream from your iPad/iPod you have to obviously convert any *cough*downloaded*cough* movies. Any recommendations on this? If I am streaming from a laptop I still need to do it through iTunes correct? So regarless I would have to convert the files?

I just use the boxee app for this. No converting. It will play on my ipad, or I can use airplay and play it through my appletv. If I want the movie on my ipad for when I travel, then I use vlc player. You copy the video into the app on itunes and it's available to play using the vlc app.

[Ne7en]

Likes:
Ease of use
Optical audio output
Size
HDMI connection
Compatiblity with apple products & itunes
Movie selection was good (itunes)
Believe it now has NHL Gamecenter?
Audio Stream flawless besides podcasts

Dislikes:
720p is highest output
Stream was very choppy (video and podcasts only). Used with Airport Express (might just be me)
Lack of screensavers while playing music

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Ne7en

Likes:
Ease of use
Optical audio output
Size
HDMI connection
Compatiblity with apple products & itunes
Movie selection was good (itunes)
Believe it now has NHL Gamecenter?
Audio Stream flawless besides podcasts

Dislikes:
720p is highest output
Stream was very choppy (video and podcasts only). Used with Airport Express (might just be me)
Lack of screensavers while playing music

It certainly will play photos while playing music. You might want to check your settings.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by bossy22

I just use the boxee app for this. No converting. It will play on my ipad, or I can use airplay and play it through my appletv. If I want the movie on my ipad for when I travel, then I use vlc player. You copy the video into the app on itunes and it's available to play using the vlc app.

I can't recommend a Plex setup highly enough for this. I can stream any of my content to my laptop, iPhone, or iPad anywhere I have an internet connection.

VLC was taken down from the App Store long ago, wasn't it?

[CKPThunder]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Movie rental quality is excellent. It's the best-looking HD content I've streamed from a major service personally, though there are higher-quality services out there. My wife can't tell the difference, FWIW. (Keep in mind the ATV is limited to 720p).

I've never had any WiFi issues with my AppleTV but I did a lot of network tweaking before I ever got it. In general, the internet connection will the be your bottleneck, not your local WiFi.

I use my AppleTV only for Airplay now. If you're ok with only using iTunes Store & Netflix for on-demand streaming, or you need Airplay, it's a pretty good buy. If Airplay's not a big deal or you want something that will stream more formats, I'd check out a Roku or something.

Quick question for you Mick. Have you tried running the Plex app on your iOS device and then use airplay to stream it to your TV? If so, how was the quality in terms of video and buffering?

I'm curious because I'd like to find a simple solution for my wife without having to convert our entire library to m4v.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by CKPThunder

Quick question for you Mick. Have you tried running the Plex app on your iOS device and then use airplay to stream it to your TV? If so, how was the quality in terms of video and buffering?

I'm curious because I'd like to find a simple solution for my wife without having to convert our entire library to m4v.

If you are using a Mac, Get iFlicks. It allows you to remux movies to add them to iTunes without fully converting them (For x264 and avis). Therefore, it takes about 30 seconds to a minute to add the file into iTunes, and is playable on any A4+ device. (which includes apple tv 2) It will also add metadata to these files.