Easiest way to play .avi movies on ATV?

[rgarjr]

Ok so the majority of my movie collection rips are in .avi format. It would take forever to convert them down to .mp4 format.

 

[Chris Rogers]

Boxee will play them NO PROBLEM at all.

 

[akm3]

I have a hacked ATV but is there anyway to get AppleTV to play / stream NON-iTunes files without using boxee or xbmc? Ideally create a 'movies' folder in the AppleTV section that links back to a folder on my Mac Mini file server? Then I wouldn't really need Boxee.

 

[akm3]

Boxee will play them NO PROBLEM at all.

*or* Do you have a way to get all my iTunes content into Boxee so I could just use that 100%?

 

[Chris Rogers]

I have a hacked ATV but is there anyway to get AppleTV to play / stream NON-iTunes files without using boxee or xbmc?

No...

*or* Do you have a way to get all my iTunes content into Boxee so I could just use that 100%?

Try it out, not 100% sure. Boxee plays EVERYTHING

 

[duky]

Try it out, not 100% sure. Boxee plays EVERYTHING

Have you tried 720p mkv files on Boxee? Do those work?

 

[Wardotron]

I know it's a long, slow pain in the arse but conversion is your best bet. iSquint or the latest Handbrake can convert to the right formats. Simply queue up the files and leave overnight.

 

[Chris Rogers]

Have you tried 720p mkv files on Boxee? Do those work?

yep, they work well

 

[duky]

yep, they work well

That's so strange, I hear the exact opposite from some people while some people say what you say. I wish they had no restocking fee, cause I'd definitely like to try one out to see whether it plays the types of files I'm interested in.

 

[rgarjr]

What exactly is Boxee, is it software that runs on the ATV?

 

[aristobrat]

That's so strange, I hear the exact opposite from some people while some people say what you say. I wish they had no restocking fee, cause I'd definitely like to try one out to see whether it plays the types of files I'm interested in.

I had no luck with 720p MKVs using Perian on the AppleTV, ... lots of stuttering. Maybe Boxee does something different, ... I'll have to try them again.

 

[aidricksdad]

boxee can not use to full power of the apple tv like its built in software can thats why it has trouble with some hd movies but on the factory side it plays hd just fine...the best way is to convert them and stick em in itunes...if its just sd movies and shows then boxee is great if you can get used to the ui wich i dont like...i wish plex could run on apple tv i would be all over that

 

[tom1971]

Just install the necessary codecs and get ATVfiles to play them... simple and effective

 

[duky]

Just install the necessary codecs and get ATVfiles to play them... simple and effective

ATVfiles?

 

[Chris Rogers]

What exactly is Boxee, is it software that runs on the ATV?

Exactly, but it plays ALL video files whereas normal Apple TV only plays mp4 and mkv(I think MKV)

It also links into Hulu's site, comedy central, cnn, mtv, and a few others (free).

 

[rgarjr]

Woah so Boxee sounds like a nice add-on to get for your TV then. Would definitely consider that app then.

 

[tom1971]

ATVfiles?

It is a plugin for AppleTV that allows you to play these kind of files, if the correct codecs are installed.

 

[tom1971]

Woah so Boxee sounds like a nice add-on to get for your TV then. Would definitely consider that app then.

Try it out, but I am sure, you won't like it that much. The UI is rather complex and clunky as opposed to other plugins that adhere to the Apple UI.
But trying it out won't hurt

 

[PaulMoore]

...I wish they had no restocking fee...

Amazon doesn't have a restocking fee. I've tried an Apple TV (and returned it for a full refund... I have a 4:3 SD set and it looked terrible even in the right aspect ratio).