Apple TV expert needed: questions before buying

[JT3Jon]

I was using my macbook as my media hub via the display port out and HDMI into my TV and it worked GREAT....until my display port stopped working. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2744833&stqc=true

Now looking for a cheap replacement device that will play my DVD's off my media server via ethernet, and stream both netflix and hulu. Can I make an ATV2 do all these things?

Can an ATV2 w/ XBMC stream Video_TS files and .dvdmedia files via ethernet connection? Also, is it possible to get the ATV2 to stream hulu? (Not Hulu+, but the normal web based hulu like I can on my mac)? I'm assuming I'll need to hack the ATV, but when I do will I still be able to stream netflix?

Its pretty sad you have to hack devices in order to do 100% LEGAL activities!! Its not like I'm stealing content, I just want to watch all my different media content on a single device! Perhaps there are better fit devices out there? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the help and reply! Its very much appreciated.

 

[margotspop]

I was using my macbook as my media hub via the display port out and HDMI into my TV and it worked GREAT....until my display port stopped working. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2744833&stqc=true

Now looking for a cheap replacement device that will play my DVD's off my media server via ethernet, and stream both netflix and hulu. Can I make an ATV2 do all these things?

Can an ATV2 w/ XBMC stream Video_TS files and .dvdmedia files via ethernet connection? Also, is it possible to get the ATV2 to stream hulu? (Not Hulu+, but the normal web based hulu like I can on my mac)? I'm assuming I'll need to hack the ATV, but when I do will I still be able to stream netflix?

Its pretty sad you have to hack devices in order to do 100% LEGAL activities!! Its not like I'm stealing content, I just want to watch all my different media content on a single device! Perhaps there are better fit devices out there? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the help and reply! Its very much appreciated.

I'm pretty sure it can stream these formats but the best place to ask is over on the XBMC forums - assuming, that is, that you're going to jailbreak the ATV2 and install XBMC. You could just download XBMC to your mac and use it to test - if it can play these files on your mac then it should be able to play them on the ATV2.

As for netflix - when you install XBMC all it does is add another option to the menu. It doesn't take away any of the original functionality of the ATV - it just adds to it. So, yes, Netflix will still be available. I don't know about Hulu though. There might be an add-on for it. Again, check over at the XBMC forums.

 

[cootersgarage6]

It depends

The Apple TV does have Netflix, but no Hulu. But, if you are on an iPod, iPad, iPhone, and SOMETIMES a PC or Mac you can use airplay to put in on the apple TV. Apple TV is just meant for playing your content on a bigger screen, like songs, videos, and picture, and YouTube.

 

[Dobbs2]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)

No hulu at all on the appletv. If you jailbreak it skip xbmc and go with plex it's more or less the same but more Mac friendly and more regular updates. Plex as far as I know will play all of those formats. I usually just rip my blurays to mkv and it plays those fine just downgrades them to 720p.

The appletv will require hacking for those features. Also only apple first party apps airplay at the moment and no one knows what apps will in the future.

Easiest route is buying a Mac mini and downloading plex, but the apple tv with a little fiddling can do most.