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Got my AppleTV :)

CalMin

CalMin

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
1,931
3,872
Picked up a 160gb model last night at the Apple store. Still has v1.1 and old packaging even though the guy implied it had just come in.

Impressions? Well, so far so good - I wish I'd got it a long time ago. It's so much better watching video podcasts on TV, and the DVDs I had converted for use on my iPod touch are actually watchable quality. I used the handbrake iPhone presets to rip them, so I was surprised at how good they look on a TV. I'll re-rip them using the Apple TV presets when I get time. My dream of a clutter free life is almost realized - my CDs are in boxes in the garage, and now I can do the same with my DVD collection.

Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.

Looking forward to v2.0.

OH - and thanks to the member of this forum for advice and info!! There's some great info.
 
CalMin said:
Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.
Click to expand...

Couldn't you connect it via ethernet for the first sync, it's only 10/100 but that's a bit better than 802.11g.
 
samh004 said:
Couldn't you connect it via ethernet for the first sync, it's only 10/100 but that's a bit better than 802.11g.
Click to expand...

My house makes it logistically impossible to do this. I have a 25ft length of CAT5, but even that won't reach where the TV is. I'll just wait it out.
 
CalMin said:
My house makes it logistically impossible to do this. I have a 25ft length of CAT5, but even that won't reach where the TV is. I'll just wait it out.
Click to expand...

Why not just put the :apple:TV right next to your computer for the first sync?

And BTW, welcome to the ranks. If you don't see YouTube in your main menu, upgrade to 1.1.
 
CalMin said:
Picked up a 160gb model last night at the Apple store. Still has v1.1 and old packaging even though the guy implied it had just come in.

Impressions? Well, so far so good - I wish I'd got it a long time ago. It's so much better watching video podcasts on TV, and the DVDs I had converted for use on my iPod touch are actually watchable quality. I used the handbrake iPhone presets to rip them, so I was surprised at how good they look on a TV. I'll re-rip them using the Apple TV presets when I get time. My dream of a clutter free life is almost realized - my CDs are in boxes in the garage, and now I can do the same with my DVD collection.

Only issue so far is the slllloooowww sync. I left it overnight and only 20gb sync'ed. I don't have a great wireless setup - 802.11g and plenty of neighborhood interference. Streaming works great though.

Looking forward to v2.0.

OH - and thanks to the member of this forum for advice and info!! There's some great info.
Click to expand...
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)
 
NightStorm said:
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)
Click to expand...

so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?
 
NightStorm said:
Unless you are making a seperate encode for the AppleTV, remember that AppleTV encodes in Handbrake are incompatible with the iPhone/iPod Touch. Didn't want you to go through a bunch of work only to find that out. :)
Click to expand...

Didn't know that. Thanks for the pointer.

imlucid said:
That's a good idea. The ATV can run headless next to the computer. iTunes will show when the sync is done and you can move it back.

Kevin
Click to expand...

Great idea! Pity it doesn't sync via USB if I'm going through all that.
 
georgeoommen said:
so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?
Click to expand...
Honestly, if you don't want to experiment with a custom preset, I would use the iPod (High Resolution) preset. It will give you a 720-wide resolution at 1500kbps, which I have found to be a good medium between the two devices. The new update for the iPhone/iPod Touch has allowed the HB dev team to find ways to do some more advanced things (anamorphic, higher bitrates, etc), but a preset based on this is a long way off (if ever).

You could always just encode the movie twice (one for AppleTV and one for iPhone), but I personally don't like this approach as it makes the library look messy.
 
Got mine too!!

Went out over lunch and picked up a 160GB.

Just waiting to leave work so I can hook her up.
 
MikieMikie said:
Why not just put the :apple:TV right next to your computer for the first sync?

And BTW, welcome to the ranks. If you don't see YouTube in your main menu, upgrade to 1.1.
Click to expand...

Mikie - Awesome suggestion. The progress bar is flying. I hope it won't need to sync again when 2.0 comes out.
 
NightStorm said:
You could always just encode the movie twice (one for AppleTV and one for iPhone), but I personally don't like this approach as it makes the library look messy.
Click to expand...

I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
 
CalMin said:
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I re-encode using handbrake when I need an iPhone movie or two. I name it (in MetaX) z(MovieName) so that it's at the end of the iTunes library section. I sync it, pop out my iPhone, then delete it from iTunes. No harm, no foul. ;)
 
CalMin said:
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
Click to expand...
That was my approach as well, but I've recently come around and started building a custom preset with anamorphic and CRF encodes that, while a little on the large side, works with both devices and is high-quality. The stuff the devs have put into the next release is really fantastic; I do miss being able to use b-frames though...
 
CalMin said:
I think that's the approach I want to take. Messy library vs. picture quality wins my vote. I hope Apple comes up with hierarchal libraries and/or movie playlists so that I can separate the different encodes in time.
Click to expand...

You could also just add the movies to two different playlists, one for ATV and one for iPod/iPhone.

You can sync movies by playlists.

Kevin
 
georgeoommen said:
so whats the best encoding to use if i want to use the same file for apple tv, itunes (on mac mini connected to second TV) & iphone?? Is such an encoding even possible?
Click to expand...

I use the iPod high rez preset in Handbrake but I change the resolution to 640x400 (16:10). iTunes won't send any video over 640 pixels wide to the iPod and the 16:10 ratio fits my iMac and TV exactly and is closer to iPhones 1.5:1 screen. (Never understood why we have 16:10 screens to watch 16:9 movies on.) Also 1500 kbps is the highest bitrate the iPod and iPhone will handle.

If you don't have an iPod to worry about I would use the iPod preset (iPods and iPhones need the iPod encoder not the Main profile) and switch the resolution to the anamorphic setting. This preserves the exact pixels of the original DVD. Most of the movies I have encoded like this will play on my iPhone but not all. The iPhone didn't originally support anamorphic so maybe Apple is still perfecting it. If you find some that don't work you could just reencode them as neccessary.
 
WarMace said:
I use the iPod high rez preset in Handbrake but I change the resolution to 640x400 (16:10). iTunes won't send any video over 640 pixels wide to the iPod and the 16:10 ratio fits my iMac and TV exactly and is closer to iPhones 1.5:1 screen. (Never understood why we have 16:10 screens to watch 16:9 movies on.) Also 1500 kbps is the highest bitrate the iPod and iPhone will handle.

If you don't have an iPod to worry about I would use the iPod preset (iPods and iPhones need the iPod encoder not the Main profile) and switch the resolution to the anamorphic setting. This preserves the exact pixels of the original DVD. Most of the movies I have encoded like this will play on my iPhone but not all. The iPhone didn't originally support anamorphic so maybe Apple is still perfecting it. If you find some that don't work you could just reencode them as neccessary.
Click to expand...
This is not true... the iPhone/iPod Touch/current generation iPods can handle highter bitrates than 1500kbps. You can also sync 720-wide content (and now even anamorphic) to an iPod Touch/iPhone. Also, the reason for 16:10 monitors is because you are supposed to be able to fit 2 pages of text side-by-side comfortably on the screen at this ratio.

For now, use the iPod High-Resolution preset if you want good quality on all of your Apple devices.
 
Just got a 160Gb one today. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet as it's been syncing with my iTunes library & iPhoto albums since 3PM (it's 11:30PM now)

The syncing process is looooooong!!! I'll let it do its thing overnight and will play with it tomorrow morning. :)

So far, the installation is straight forward and very easy. The unit is just beautiful and simple, just the way Apple do things! lol :apple:
 
DarkMCS said:
Just got a 160Gb one today. Unfortunately, I haven't tried it yet as it's been syncing with my iTunes library & iPhoto albums since 3PM (it's 11:30PM now)

The syncing process is looooooong!!! I'll let it do its thing overnight and will play with it tomorrow morning. :)

So far, the installation is straight forward and very easy. The unit is just beautiful and simple, just the way Apple do things! lol :apple:
Click to expand...

Congrats to you too. I found the sync slow too, but after reading the tip above, I moved it next to the computer and had it done in less than a couple hours. Subsequent wireless syncs (updated podcasts and photo's so far) are relatively painless.
 
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