ATV questions before purchase

[Clark80]

Hi, apologies if my questions are slightly of the noob variety but I thought I would ask before I buy.

I am based in the UK and currently have a MBP and iPhone.

I want to be able to play stuff from my iPhone (videos I shoot from it) directly to my TV - I have considered a cable for this.

I also want to be able to play movies I currently have on MBP.

Can ATV help me with the above?

Thanks in advance

 

[saving107]

Earlier betas of iOS 4.2 had an AirPlay button in the photos app, but that is no longer their in the GM version, so I am not sure if you will be able to play your videos that you record from your phone to the new Apple TV (without a cord).

if you sync your photos/videos to iPhoto, then iTunes 10.1 that was released last week enables you to share both with the new Apple TV.

As to your second question, thats what an Apple TV is, it plays your media content from your Mac/PC to your Television, just enable Home Sharing on your Mac and Apple TV will recognize it immediately and you can begin to watch your movies or listen to your music in whatever room you have an Apple TV (all videos have to be the correct formate of .MOV or .mp4 and be in iTunes for your Apple TV to recognize it)

 

[Clark80]

Earlier betas of iOS 4.2 had an AirPlay button in the photos app, but that is no longer their in the GM version, so I am not sure if you will be able to play your videos that you record from your phone to the new Apple TV (without a cord).

if you sync your photos/videos to iPhoto, then iTunes 10.1 that was released last week enables you to share both with the new Apple TV.

As to your second question, thats what an Apple TV is, it plays your media content from your Mac/PC to your Television, just enable Home Sharing on your Mac and Apple TV will recognize it immediately and you can begin to watch your movies or listen to your music in whatever room you have an Apple TV (all videos have to be the correct formate of .MOV or .mp4 and be in iTunes for your Apple TV to recognize it)

Thank you.

Silly question - my MBP must be on to stream what is stored on it?

If I convert and then add my movies to my iTunes library and enable sharing I can then flick on ATV and take advantage of my HDTV?

I think I'll be buying the ATV this weekend

 

[optophobia]

Thank you.

1 Silly question - my MBP must be on to stream what is stored on it?

2 If I convert and then add my movies to my iTunes library and enable sharing I can then flick on ATV and take advantage of my HDTV?

I think I'll be buying the ATV this weekend

1 Yes your MBP MUST be on.

2 Yes. Try using Handbrake to convert your files. Its free and easy, and has an Apple TV preset

 

[Clark80]

Thanks v much.

Having slept on it I need some more advice please...

Would I achieve the same result by connecting my MBP directly to the TV?

Does anyone know if Apple will eventually go down a cloud based iTunes route? (My wife always turns everything off if not in use - I can see her asking me why I paid £99 to have a wireless box when I could purchase a wire for half of that)

 

[KeithJenner]

Thanks v much.

Having slept on it I need some more advice please...

Would I achieve the same result by connecting my MBP directly to the TV?

Does anyone know if Apple will eventually go down a cloud based iTunes route? (My wife always turns everything off if not in use - I can see her asking me why I paid £99 to have a wireless box when I could purchase a wire for half of that)

If you just want access to your videos etc on one TV and the computer with your iTunes library on it is easily accessible then a lead will do the job just fine, although the Apple TV UI is nicer, in my opinion, than either iTunes or FrontRow.

The Apple TV is really a device for those people who want their media accessible on more than one TV, or where it is not possible to use a lead (i.e. if the computer is in another room).

The other advantage of Apple TV is that you can obviously use your MBP for other things whilst streaming from it, whereas if you use a lead then you can't do anything else with it.

 

[Clark80]

If you just want access to your videos etc on one TV and the computer with your iTunes library on it is easily accessible then a lead will do the job just fine, although the Apple TV UI is nicer, in my opinion, than either iTunes or FrontRow.

The Apple TV is really a device for those people who want their media accessible on more than one TV, or where it is not possible to use a lead (i.e. if the computer is in another room).

The other advantage of Apple TV is that you can obviously use your MBP for other things whilst streaming from it, whereas if you use a lead then you can't do anything else with it.

Well put. I'm back on the path to investing more money into Apple