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Apple TV do anything my PS3 or XBox 360 don't?

alexjholland

alexjholland

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 3, 2011
851
854
Bali, Cambridge, Sydney.. anywhere.
Hey, I have an iMac with 110Gb of music and 1Tb of 720p movies that I share to my PS3 and 360 into my plasma/5.1 cinema kit using an awesome program by Yazsoft called 'Playback'.

I get Youtube/internet via my iMac/HDMI out.. And would rarely rent an online movie, but can do this via either my 360 or PS3.

The AppleTV is a neat device for £99, but I can't see what I'd do with it.

Anyone want to sell me?
 
If you have an iPod touch or iPhone it is pretty seamless using the remote app for streaming. Also, very easy to use interface compared to the 360 and ps3. I have all three ATV2, PS3 and 360 fyi.
 
I say yes.
I was using Playback to stream to the 360. The ATV2 interface alone is far superior, which should come as no surprise.
How?
1. Easier to find movies songs, photos. I'm watching the movie on the ATV2 before I can even get to the movies folder on the xbox.
2. Updates to itunes (new movie, coverart, etc) don't always show up on xbox without a cache reset. (instant update on ATV2)
3. The big one: The xbox won't accept the higher bitrate/framerate settings on Handbrake of either the ATV2 or High profile preset. Works fine with the ATV1 preset. What this meant for me was unacceptable picture quality for the xbox. (choppy motion on slow pans, fuzzy detail) On a 50" plasma, i have to run the Handbrake RF to 17 to get acceptable detail, even though most people say you can't see the difference below 18 (I can, and I have 40 year old eyes).
4. ATV2 you can turn subtitles on and off for your rips, no on xbox.
5. I can stream my local radio stations via itunes, on ATV2. xbox/playback won't accept streams thru itunes.

Are there things I wish the ATV2 could do that it can't or won't? Yes, and I haven't bothered to JB.
The ATV2 youtube interface sucks. It seems to want to cache the entire stream before allowing it to play. Frankly I find it unusable.

The bottom line is this: I wanted the xbox to do it for me, I really did. But in actual use, it was too clunky for me. The ATV2 gets used all the time.
 
kirsch92 said:
The ATV2 youtube interface sucks. It seems to want to cache the entire stream before allowing it to play. Frankly I find it unusable.
Click to expand...

I have maybe a 4-8 second lag as it caches, but no more than that. What is your internet speed?

We probably watch more YouTube on it than anything else actually because my 3yo LOVES Christmas lights set to music and he can watch 45 minutes of various clips at a time. :) The lag is not an issue to us. I find it no more laggy than YouTube on my computer.

As for the OP...I really don't see why you NEED to buy an AppleTv as you have an iMac, PS3 and XBox all hooked up which can do the same thing. The only suggestion would be to buy one to consolidate all of the functions in one location...although your iMac could accomplish this too fairly easily if you don't want to spend the money.
 
mstrze said:
I have maybe a 4-8 second lag as it caches, but no more than that. What is your internet speed?
Click to expand...

I only have 1.5 dsl, which doesn't help, I know.

But my mac, directv dvrbox and my bluray player all allow me to start playback almost immediatetly, whereas the ATV2 spins and spins. I can see it loading and the progress bar moving. It wants way more loaded in memory than it should need.

The dvr and bluray have other useability issues, so I remain stuck to the small screen for Youtube.
 
I have had a PS3, Xbox 360, Mac mini, etc.

reasons why I love my aTV2

no noise. low noise is no good I need no noise
no moving parts
small
low power


I hate noise and even the newest slim PS3 and xbox make too much.
reduced power bill wear and tear will pay for the Atv2

if you don't need the xbox and PS3 the sooner you sell them the more you will recoup and they loose value everyday.

The apple TV is so small that when I go to hotels I bring it with me to have netflixs
 
If I lived on my own, I would just have a PS3 and use that.

Instead I have a wife and two young kids, so I have an ATV2 as well for them to use. The interface and ease of use of the ATV just blows PS3 out of the water. To me, that's the only thing the ATV beats the PS3 on, but it is a dealbreaker in those circumstances.
 
cfedu said:
I have had a PS3, Xbox 360, Mac mini, etc.

reasons why I love my aTV2

no noise. low noise is no good I need no noise
no moving parts
small
low power


I hate noise and even the newest slim PS3 and xbox make too much.
reduced power bill wear and tear will pay for the Atv2

if you don't need the xbox and PS3 the sooner you sell them the more you will recoup and they loose value everyday.

The apple TV is so small that when I go to hotels I bring it with me to have netflixs
Click to expand...

A huge +1!

I do the same thing when I go to hotels. Even better if the hotel room has a hi-speed LAN port. I plug my Airport Express into the port, create a secure wireless-N network, hook up my AppleTV 2, and I'm ready to go. Takes about 10 minutes to set-up and it's like I'm at home.
 
Ok guys, thanks for the replies - here's the dealbreaker: can it handle XVid/5.1 720p movies in AC3 format? That's what my entire collection is in.

I currently share them using Yazsoft's 'Playback' from my iMac.

Also, what's this handbrake thing? How does it affect me streaming my movies to UPnP devices?
 
alexjholland said:
Ok guys, thanks for the replies - here's the dealbreaker: can it handle XVid/5.1 720p movies in AC3 format? That's what my entire collection is in.
Click to expand...
Do these videos play in iTunes or on other iOS devices?
The answer to your question, will relate directly to the answer of my question being yes or no.
 
alexjholland said:
Ok guys, thanks for the replies - here's the dealbreaker: can it handle XVid/5.1 720p movies in AC3 format? That's what my entire collection is in.
Click to expand...

ATV supports XVID when muxed in to mp4, but only for SD (640*480) and under, 'officially'. The specs that Apple state for ATV are actually well below the ATV's capabilities, so you never know. Also you'd need to add a stereo AAC track as ATV can't decode AC3, but it can still be passed to a reciever for decoding, should you want it.
 
1) using a xbox controller for movies sucks.
2) the apple tv is quiet vs the 360.
 
If you have an iOS device that supports AirPlay, it is nice to open an app like pandora/iheartradio/etc.. and have it stream to the ATV2.
 
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