New Apple TV - Jailbroken: now with a Flash browser, Last.fm, and Plex

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Anyone have trouble with their Harmony Remote and Apple TV?

I set it up and when I switch to the Apple TV activity and it does not have control over any device. So then to control the Apple TV I need to manually change it, and to change the volume I need to change to my reciever etc.

All my other activities work without any problems.

I added the Apple TV device to my Harmony config, updated the remote, then had to manually pair the Harmony remote with the Apple TV (I forget now but it was something like put the remote 2 ft away from Apple TV and hold play for 5 seconds). After that was done I set up my Apple TV activity with receiver control, etc. and it worked fine.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Well thanks a lot for the response. The fact that I'd have to screw around with video formats is a real pain for me...

Depends on the type of videos you download. I download almost exclusively MKV x264 files, which the Apple TV can actually decode just fine, it just doesn't like the MKV container. You don't need to do any video conversion, it just has to be remuxed into something Apple TV likes.

There's an app called iFlicks that does this automatically, and imports the video into iTunes, complete with metadata. The only system I've seen that does a better job of importing videos to it's library and scraping for metadata retrieval is XBMC. It's really, really simple and really fast (less than a minute).

If you are still using xvids or something you need to re-encode, but everything is available in x264 MKVs or MP4s (or M4Vs) now, so there's no reason to download xvids.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

Depends on the type of videos you download. I download almost exclusively MKV x264 files, which the Apple TV can actually decode just fine, it just doesn't like the MKV container. You don't need to do any video conversion, it just has to be remuxed into something Apple TV likes.

There's an app called iFlicks that does this automatically, and imports the video into iTunes, complete with metadata. The only system I've seen that does a better job of importing videos to it's library and scraping for metadata retrieval is XBMC. It's really, really simple and really fast (less than a minute).

If you are still using xvids or something you need to re-encode, but everything is available in x264 MKVs or MP4s (or M4Vs) now, so there's no reason to download xvids.

Yeah to me that sounds like just enough hassle to make it annoying, though. You can throw any video format at a PS3 and it loves it. I don't download stuff too often though, but if I ditch cable TV completely I'll probably have to more so I'm looking for the option that will make my life the easiest.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You can throw any video format at a PS3 and it loves it.

PS3 now has mkv support? I know about using PS3 Media Server, but that's not exactly native.


Edit: Looked it up. Turns out that PS3 and Apple TV video support is almost identical (the only difference is that PS3 does DivX/AVI which is almost irrelevant these days). It's the PS3 Media Server (3rd-party server) that makes the PS3 useful for downloaded movies.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yeah to me that sounds like just enough hassle to make it annoying, though. You can throw any video format at a PS3 and it loves it. I don't download stuff too often though, but if I ditch cable TV completely I'll probably have to more so I'm looking for the option that will make my life the easiest.

The entire process is: right-click, open with iFlicks, click "Start" button.

Does the PS3 support metadata or do you just skip that?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

The entire process is: right-click, open with iFlicks, click "Start" button.

Does the PS3 support metadata or do you just skip that?

I actually don't even know what metadata means.

I guess the only thing I'm going on is I remember trying to put videos onto my 80gig iPod video a couple of years ago. It was a PITA and I was worried the Apple TV would be the same.

I just know that say I put a DVD in my PS3 with a bunch of random video formats of file extensions I've never even heard of (granted that could be pretty much all of them) it plays them without making me do any work.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by silentsim

I have no issues with the setup. In your Harmony programming what category did you set the Apple TV under? On the computer app.

Media PC --> Apple TV I think. I will have to check when I get home.

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

I added the Apple TV device to my Harmony config, updated the remote, then had to manually pair the Harmony remote with the Apple TV (I forget now but it was something like put the remote 2 ft away from Apple TV and hold play for 5 seconds). After that was done I set up my Apple TV activity with receiver control, etc. and it worked fine.

I didn't have any problems at all with the pairing, but tried that just inc ase it was the issue.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

PS3 now has mkv support? I know about using PS3 Media Server, but that's not exactly native.


Edit: Looked it up. Turns out that PS3 and Apple TV video support is almost identical (the only difference is that PS3 does DivX/AVI which is almost irrelevant these days). It's the PS3 Media Server (3rd-party server) that makes the PS3 useful for downloaded movies.

I still find ass-tons of avi out there. Basically anything in standard def seems to be avi.

Ironically I've found the HD mp4 files that work fine on my apple tv don't always play nice on my iPad and I haven't found a way to get them to work. If I manage to convert them they just end up with a high pitched tone as the audio track.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I just know that say I put a DVD in my PS3 with a bunch of random video formats of file extensions I've never even heard of (granted that could be pretty much all of them) it plays them without making me do any work.

Don't get an Apple TV.

[Sliver]

Well Mick, I've decided to get an Apple TV. I appreciate your advice, but I don't want to become a dinosaur with this sort of thing so anything I don't get right away I'll learn. If I don't like it I'll just throw it on Kijiji and buy a PS3 instead.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Well Mick, I've decided to get an Apple TV. I appreciate your advice, but I don't want to become a dinosaur with this sort of thing so anything I don't get right away I'll learn. If I don't like it I'll just throw it on Kijiji and buy a PS3 instead.

If you want to use Netflix & iTunes movie rentals, and AirPlay, AppleTV is the ####. If you want to stream your downloaded content to it, it can do that, but there are better options.

Come back with your "how do I convert this file into an .m4v" questions - we're here to help

[Russic]

Hey Sliver are you on a Mac or a PC?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Russic

Hey Sliver are you on a Mac or a PC?

I'm on a PC, but it's getting on in years. May get a Mac next time...not sure yet.

[Russic]

Ah damn ... there are some dead easy applications to get your videos into apple tv format and itunes on the mac side. I'm sure the same exists for PC, but I'm unaware of them.

[Sliver]

Yeah, the more Apple stuff I get the more apparent it is becoming what my next computer will have to be.

With the 160GB Apple TV, do you guys know if you can just plug a jump drive into the USB port and drag and drop movies/music/pics/whatever? Or even read right off the jump drive?

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yeah, the more Apple stuff I get the more apparent it is becoming what my next computer will have to be.

With the 160GB Apple TV, do you guys know if you can just plug a jump drive into the USB port and drag and drop movies/music/pics/whatever? Or even read right off the jump drive?

You can if you do something called "patchstick"
It allows you to install XBMC on the AppleTV which will play ANY codec- but these models struggle on 720p content.

[CKPThunder]

Originally Posted by Russic

Ah damn ... there are some dead easy applications to get your videos into apple tv format and itunes on the mac side. I'm sure the same exists for PC, but I'm unaware of them.

I'm interested in this as well. What applications should I get to get videos into ATV format?

On a related note, if I have an external network hard drive with ATV compatible videos, can I leave them there and somehow get itunes to link to them without having to move the videos onto my computer which probably wouldn't have enough room to accomodate them? I hope I explained this correctly.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by CKPThunder

I'm interested in this as well. What applications should I get to get videos into ATV format?

On a related note, if I have an external network hard drive with ATV compatible videos, can I leave them there and somehow get itunes to link to them without having to move the videos onto my computer which probably wouldn't have enough room to accomodate them? I hope I explained this correctly.

iFlicks is the mac app.

Open iTunes, go to preferences, under advanced do not have "copy files to itunes media folder when adding to library" checked. add your files from your external network drive to iTunes.
They will stay on the external and be playable on the atv.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by silentsim

You can if you do something called "patchstick"
It allows you to install XBMC on the AppleTV which will play ANY codec- but these models struggle on 720p content.

Hmmm, that kind of sucks. I'm planning on hooking up the ATV to my projector, so HD is fairly mandatory or it's going to look like garbage. Oh well, I'll figure this out.

Thanks for the info, though. I looked up XBMC and it seems fairly simple to do.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Hmmm, that kind of sucks. I'm planning on hooking up the ATV to my projector, so HD is fairly mandatory or it's going to look like garbage. Oh well, I'll figure this out.

Thanks for the info, though. I looked up XBMC and it seems fairly simple to do.

Well by struggles on 720p i mean if you are using 720p content NOT from the iTunes store...so basically .mkv files you get off the Interweb.

It plays HD content from the iTunes store fine.
Yes the Patchstick is very easy to use, there are paid ways to do it, but it is possible to be done for free (free methods, not pirating)