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Goodbye Apple TV, Playstation 3 rules!

dangrib said:
an afterthought?
Click to expand...

The fact is that people don't buy a PS3 because it's a media streamer, they buy it because it's a game system (or perhaps a Blu Ray player). Media streaming is secondary.

PS3 is to Apple TV what Zune is to iPod. Perhaps it gets the job done, but not as well. It's just not specialized for such capability.
 
The fact that you use the Zune as an example of a product not getting a job done is just biased Apple crap. Just because its a different device (and not an iPod) doesnt mean it doesnt get the job done.

Whether you think its an afterthought or not. The PS3 gets :apple:tv's job done. Then it keeps going on and doing more. And more. And eventually that afterthought turns out to be really powerful.

I didnt say whether people are buying the PS3 for media capabilities or not. I am stating that if they do go out and buy one, they are going to get a whole lot more than a games console (and an :apple:tv)
 
Downloadable vs. physical media

Those who believe the future belongs to downloadable media, try living outside of the U.S. for a while. Here in Canada, we have no Netflix streaming, no PSN movie store, no Hulu, and our iTunes movie & TV selection is meager at best compared to what you have in the U.S., and frankly there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of interest in improving our situation. I suspect it's the same for most non-economic-superpower nations where the potential market size doesn't justify the expense of all the legal wranglings necessary to provide downloadable media.
So, for much of the rest of the world, it's Blu-Ray for us for the next generation.
 
I have Connect360 and an Xbox streaming from a Mac Mini and I was disappointed that I can't organize my movies by folders, by metadata, or anything. It is just one long list. Insult to injury is it ALSO doesn't support the movie artwork, etc.

Does a PS3 with the nullriver solution streaming from a mac Mini support these features?
 
Love my PS3 for full 1080p onto my 130" 2.35:1 curved screen, lossless 7.1 audio.

Sure Apple TV is "nice", has better HMI (Human Machine Interface), but for full HD video and audio can't compare to the PS3.

If you have 50" -60" or so screen at 11' back maybe 720p does not matter, but a 130" screen 11' back you do need that 1080p resolution.
(somewhere I saw that resolution vs distance chart that showed when 480p/720p/1080p became relevant)

I'm a long time (25 year) Apple buyer also. Just realize limits of aTV.

screen picts:
KFP%20Wushi%20Finger%20Hold2.jpg


IMG_0819.JPG


IMG_0818.JPG
 
akm3 said:
I have Connect360 and an Xbox streaming from a Mac Mini and I was disappointed that I can't organize my movies by folders, by metadata, or anything. It is just one long list. Insult to injury is it ALSO doesn't support the movie artwork, etc.

Does a PS3 with the nullriver solution streaming from a mac Mini support these features?
Click to expand...

Medialink is nullriver's PS3 software. Runs just like Connect360 does.

PS3mediaserver is amazing. It will transcode anything I have thrown at it. HD mkvs with movie artwork on the fly from my Mac.

ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com
 
dangrib said:
why doesn't it get the job done as well?
Click to expand...

Apple has better usability and better connections into on-demand content like YouTube. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not aware that the PS3 even has capabilities built around video podcasts or Flickr slideshows, does it?

Compare this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn15LxCa2oA

...to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLT_T0xHzTc

Apple just understands user experience better.

Beyond the better interface, and more remote-friendliness, you also have the Apple ecosystem around Apple TV. You can use your iPhone as a remote and input text with it. You can stream music to a different room from the Apple TV's hard drive to an Airport Express, you can buy/interact with content on your computer as well as your TV. You can take your videos with you on your iPod just through normal iTunes syncs, etc.

Apple has a much more holistic media experience.
 
I'm sorry, but PS3 has full 1080p HD possibilities (blu-ray and true HD files) and Apple TV does not, so if your looking for the best picture PS3 wins hands down.
 
mastershakess said:
I'm sorry, but PS3 has full 1080p HD possibilities (blu-ray and true HD files) and Apple TV does not, so if your looking for the best picture PS3 wins hands down.
Click to expand...

sigh...only if you have a 1080p TV does that even matter.

basing which is better on a single spec does not make it better all around.
 
Sdashiki said:
sigh...only if you have a 1080p TV does that even matter.

basing which is better on a single spec does not make it better all around.
Click to expand...

We are talking about which is better and if you are talking about picture you better have a 1080p TV. Better picture and sound is everything for me, what else could you even want?
 
Don't forget about the "chick" factor mentioned earlier in this thread... it is a reality..
 
so wait ... I should invest in a ps3 for my movies instead of a apple tv. I think that's gonna be my next move. Is it really that good...
 
mastershakess said:
We are talking about which is better and if you are talking about picture you better have a 1080p TV. Better picture and sound is everything for me, what else could you even want?
Click to expand...

Well, since you asked what else I could even want.... I'll take my 720P projector with 93" screen over your (what? 42" maybe 50" ?) 1080P TV. Most people raving and drooling about 1080P in this thread have relatively small televisions. 720P at 93" looks pretty darn good and like a small movie theater while 1080P on 42" or even 50" looks like a very sharp television, but definitely NOT ANYTHING like a movie theater. You'd never mistake the two. I mean my 24" LG monitor here is HIGHER resolution than 1080P, but come on, it's 24". I don't want to watch a movie on it! Heck, I don't even want to watch TV on it unless I'm using the computer it's connected to (2nd monitor) as a way to pass boredom while doing something else. It's just too small. I will eventually get 1080P projector some day and perhaps Blu-Ray will be a good option then (maybe there will be some good 1080P streaming or download options by then I might prefer instead). But for right now, 1080P offers little improvement on a projector that has to scale it down anyway. As a previous post shows, the compression artifacting some make a huge deal about aren't quite what they are made out to be.

Now this thread is entitled in such a way that it does not address WHAT ASPECT of the PS3 "rules" compared to Apple TV. Maybe 1080P is all YOU care about, but for some of us it's one piece of a much larger package. My Apple TV units are a part of a whole house entertainment system. First and foremost, they are part of a whole house audio system. That is where I started from. I was not looking at the PS3 or the Popcorn 110. I was looking at the Squeezebox and Sonus systems. Those don't even do video for goodness sake! They are whole house streaming audio solutions. They cost as much (Squeezebox) or MORE (Sonus) than a single AppleTV on a per unit basis. The fact that Apple TV can ALSO do music videos, RENT and display movies (up to 720P), TV Shows and show all my photos on my giant 93" screen and with a little hacking, couch surfing is just a bonus to me. I use my iPod Touch as a whole house WiFi remote and I can play each room individually or all synchronized together for a continuous sound wherever I go (nice on laundry day or for parties, etc.). The PS3 is not designed to do whole house audio. Yes, it CAN stream photos and music, but it certainly cannot synchronize the house and I cannot control potentially dozens of units from a single iPod Touch.

So what are we talking about here? The PS3 is a GAMING platform that can play BD movies and stream media to a single room per unit. I cannot sync it from within iTunes with the same media library as my iPod. I cannot synchronize a whole house speaker system. I cannot control multiple units from one remote anywhere in the house.

With Apple TV, I cannot watch 1080P movies (a hacked one cannot play certain compressed formats above 540P due to high CPU overhead). There is no such thing as 1080P television; whether 1080i is 'better' than 720P is another matter; they are in fact very similar in actual usable resolution). Apple TV is not a gaming system either. Those are it's only limitations compared PS3. For some, it's a deal breaker. They only care about 1080P movies and/or gaming. Some will want BOTH a PS3 and an Apple TV. They are not mutually exclusive. Others have 720P projectors and/or TVs and have no real need for BD at the current time period.

I may very well get a BD player of some kind in the future, but it will not replace the components of my whole house audio system (made up of Apple TV and Airport Express units). Is PS3 "better" than Apple TV. I'm "sorry" but that entirely depends on your needs. They are not entirely Apples to Apples comparisons (pardon the pun).
 
mastershakess said:
We are talking about which is better and if you are talking about picture you better have a 1080p TV. Better picture and sound is everything for me, what else could you even want?
Click to expand...

I can agree that Playstation wins in video quality if you count the Blu Ray drive, but I contend Apple TV is king because of these superior factors among others:

  1. Better on-demand video capabilities (movies/rentals, video podcasts, YouTube)
  2. Ability to stream music from its hard drive to a location elsewhere in your home (via an Airport Express)
  3. On a related note, the ability to control the Apple TV (what movies it plays, what audio it streams) wirelessly via an iPhone app
  4. Portability of content (my video can come with me on an iPod)
  5. Quality/ease of use of the user interface
  6. Ease of management with iTunes on your computer
 
lol.. i'm the opposite now...

i dont really play games.. and if i do, i'm a nintendo boy anyway...
i just want easy access to my media and therefore i am going for an apple tv with a 250gb hdd upgrade :D

superior pq doesnt bother me that much... the appletv can display fair decent pictures on a 40" screen
 
I was considering getting an AppleTV at one point, even after getting a PS3.

That all very quickly changed after the PS3 Media Server came out. With no need to convert mkv's anymore and to be able to stream flawless 1080p content iMac to PS3 has been amazing.

Speaking of convering mkv's...anyone else been having problems with Handbrake stopping through an MKV to M4V (PS3 setting)? 9 times out of 10, Handbrake freezes up for me. VisualHub has been giving me issues too. No problems when converting, but getting some issues when playing the file.
 
CKtoph said:
I was considering getting an AppleTV at one point, even after getting a PS3.

That all very quickly changed after the PS3 Media Server came out. With no need to convert mkv's anymore and to be able to stream flawless 1080p content iMac to PS3 has been amazing.

Speaking of convering mkv's...anyone else been having problems with Handbrake stopping through an MKV to M4V (PS3 setting)? 9 times out of 10, Handbrake freezes up for me. VisualHub has been giving me issues too. No problems when converting, but getting some issues when playing the file.
Click to expand...

You are aware you don't need to convert mkv to m4v if your using a PS3 right? Take your mkv and run it through MKV2VoB (http://www.mkv2vob.com/). This process will take a few seconds and it will just change the mkv to a VoB file, without converting anything. The VoB file will play on fine on the PS3 and its still in its original HD quality.

I have all the Planet Earths in vob for my PS3, they look awesome!
 
mastershakess said:
You are aware you don't need to convert mkv to m4v if your using a PS3 right? Take your mkv and run it through MKV2VoB (http://www.mkv2vob.com/). This process will take a few seconds and it will just change the mkv to a VoB file, without converting anything. The VoB file will play on fine on the PS3 and its still in its original HD quality.

I have all the Planet Earths in vob for my PS3, they look awesome!
Click to expand...

Wow, no I didn't know that. Do you know if they have a Mac OSX version? I couldn't find one on the website. Or am I going to have to cross over to the dark side to change the mkvs to vobs? :p
 
petvas said:
Let me start by saying that I have owned an Apple TV since day 1 it became available. I loved the thing, I showed patience with all its problems, I converted all my DVDs to mp4 and then I also jumped on the rentals thing, hoping to see better quality picture on the movies I rent/own.
Even with HD resolution I found out that Apple TV's quality was mediocre. Despite that I convinced myself that the quality was great...

Two weeks ago my DVD player died, so I decided to get a playstation 3 in its place that would give me DVD, Blu-Ray and Games (I only play a game of soccer now and then, nothing major though).
I also bought two Blu-Ray titles and when I played them on my PES3 I show the difference!!! There is absolutely no comparison between HD on Apple TV and Blu-Ray. The difference is dramatic. Blu-Ray looks sharp and AppleTV blurry. Artefacts are not existant on Blu-Ray...The sound is also much better (DTS)....After a couple of minutes I started asking myself what I have been doing the last 16 months, converting all those movies to AppleTV and enjoying mediocre quality...I then thought that the Playstation couldn't totally replace my AppleTV....I was wrong!!! I downloaded Nullriver's Medialink and in a couple of minutes I was streaming pictures, music and Films from my Mac to the Playstation! Streaming quality is excellent and there are no interruptions like with the Apple TV. try streaming a HD movie to Apple TV with a bit rate of 3500kbps....I stream movies with 10Mbit bit rate over to my playstation with no problems!!! (over gigabit ethernet).
The AppleTV is also limited in the bit rates and formats it supports. The Playstation plays almost anything with no Bit Rate limits!!!
The only downside is the interface (I find it ok, but nothing special) and the fact that it cannot play music and films bought from the iTunes Store...If that bothers you then stay with the Apple TV...
I have made the switch, sold my Apple TV and enjoy real HD content on my Philips HD TV. I enjoy Blu-Ray rentals for 2 Euro pro disc and the discs come to me, I don't have to go to a video club. Here in Germany there is a nice service offered by www.videobuster.de that allows you to rent movies online. The discs get delivered to your home address...

Overall I am very happy I got rid my Apple TV, I believe it is very flawed and needs to address the quality issues it has. Yes, I know that it's compressed content, but I don't care! Why should I??? I can get for the same prices much better qualty and If I want to keep a movie I like a lot, I can always buy the Blu-Ray disc....
For all other media types I own, I can play them without problems on my Playstation, much better than the Apple TV, and if I want to play a game, then the PES rules!
Click to expand...

For me - unless one is absolutely sold on rentals from iTunes, I have no use for ATV. A Mac Mini with Plex or XMBC does more and with a slicker front end.

However, PS3 is a terrific way to go until you get to file formats that it elects not to handle. I say this because the hardware is capable but SONY doesn't want to support certain files. A fair example of a failure of the PS3 is not handling M2TS VC-1 files. Nothing is sadder than archiving your blu ray, only to find PS3 wont play it and now having to do a conversion that impacts the quality just to get it to play back. I have done this on several occasions and with several different formats and compressions. None are near identical to the original.

As for the front end - I stream most of my media. I have set up my NAS into folder structure that suits my way of looking up movies so for me, the interface is no big deal...just ugly. I can live with ugly.

Plex on Mac or XMBC for Linux/Windows systems does a very nice front end and with enough power, plays back m2ts type files very well. It is good enough and while not the power of the PS3, it remains a doable item. ATV's ability has hit a ceiling and in that, either Apple needs to do a serious upgrade of the hardware/firmware or continue to disappoint many of its customers.

- Phrehdd
 
How the PS3 organize the files? Can it present the files like the Apple TV with artwork and descriptions or just a nasty list of filenames with a frame thumbnail. I'm looking to see if the PS3 or the 360 or even Windows Media Center can do that, so far I haven't seen anything yet as good as the Apple TV in that area.
 
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