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Apple TV 2 vs 3 - which one to buy?

M

mpaulius

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 4, 2008
25
0
Dear iBrothers,

I just got my MacBook Air 13 2010 (Looove it!). I also have iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
I would like to stream movies, open photos on my HDTV using Apple TV.
Here are some questions i have:
1. Which gen Apple TV to buy?
I see that Apple TV 2 can be jailbroken, while 3rd gen cannot yet. But 3rd gen has 1080p. Jailrboken Apple TV 2 costs more than 3rd gen on eBay.

2. Will i have problems streaming video/audio using AirParrot?
Google says, Airplay streaming is not supported on my MBA 13 2010 (Mountain Lion). Will i have issues streaming divx movies using AirParrot?

Thanks :)
 
Just get the 3rd gen. They are working on the JB. The costs for the 2nd gen are absurd and will drop to nothing when the 3rd gen is finally able to be JB'd.
 
What do you want to do that the 3 won't do? I've had good luck using AirPlay with VLC for divx and such. If there are features you need that require JB then get the 2. I'm really loving my 3.
 
You'll still be able to stream movies if they're in iTunes without jailbreaking. If they're not in iTunes, then you're out of luck officially - perhaps it's time to think about re-encoding them?
 
No Problems

As for the jailbreak, the only reason to really do it is if you want to use non-itunes media (like wmv or divx). Unless you want to do that I would get the new ATV. 1st, it's cheaper, 2nd, it has a faster processor, 3rd, it has better wi-fi, 4th, it has better resolution.

You will have to leave you laptop on to stream photos, movies or music from it.

Now if your materials are bought from iTunes, you can stream almost everything the itunes store. If you pay the $25 for Itunes match, you can listen to all of your music (even stuff you did not buy on itunes) with out having the laptop on.

ATV also supports icloud for the last 1000 photos you have in iPhoto. I think ATV will support the IOS6 photo album sharing in which case you won't need the laptop on to look at shared photos.

Airparrot works just fine on those older machines. I have used it on a white 13' core duo, no problems. It also has the advantage of allowing you to stream only video (like with a power point) audio for example. Airplay is everything or nothing.
 
wwchris said:
As for the jailbreak, the only reason to really do it is if you want to use non-itunes media (like wmv or divx). Unless you want to do that I would get the new ATV. 1st, it's cheaper, 2nd, it has a faster processor, 3rd, it has better wi-fi, 4th, it has better resolution.

You will have to leave you laptop on to stream photos, movies or music from it.
Click to expand...

I would say that streaming content from a NAS on the network is a much more compelling reason to JB personally. The idea of leaving a computer spinning just to get access from the ATV seems counterproductive if you already have a NAS spinning.
 
Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Do i understand it correctly that i will not be able to stream divx movies (f.e. through VLC player) using ATV 3?

I guess I am still buying ATV 3 because of all the aforementioned reasons. And the fact that the JB for it should come in the future.

Unrelated topic, so looking forward to upgrade from iPhone 4 to 5! :)
Sep 28 baaaby!
 
mpaulius said:
Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Do i understand it correctly that i will not be able to stream divx movies (f.e. through VLC player) using ATV 3?

I guess I am still buying ATV 3 because of all the aforementioned reasons. And the fact that the JB for it should come in the future.

Unrelated topic, so looking forward to upgrade from iPhone 4 to 5! :)
Sep 28 baaaby!
Click to expand...

No, you can only play content via iTunes with an un-jailbroken ATV. Your only real option is to convert the video with something like handbrake and then load it up in your iTunes. It's annoying..

The real beauty of a jailbroken ATV is to run a media portal like XBMC or a Plex server.. This is why people are playing 200 bucks for an ATV 2.. While I won't go into the joys of this on the forums, google it and you'll see. It's basically allowed me to "cut the cord".
 
Atv

The ATV2 is 720p and the ATV3 is 1080p

----------

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Do i understand it correctly that i will not be able to stream divx movies (f.e. through VLC player) using ATV 3?

Correct, streaming is only possible via iTunes.
 
mpaulius said:
Thanks for all the info and suggestions. Do i understand it correctly that i will not be able to stream divx movies (f.e. through VLC player) using ATV 3?
Click to expand...

Are you on Mountain Lion? Because with ML you can mirror your screen to ATV3, so you should be able to play divx that way without a jailbreak. However, you would need to go to your computer to start it. You can't start it through the ATV 3 interface like you can itunes content.

http://www.apple.com/osx/whats-new/features.html#airplay
 
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