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Heads Up UK folks, refurb Apple TV 2 in stock.

I'm sticking with my hacked Apple TV 1 for now. The new one currently doesn't do enough to warrant upgrading.

If Netflix decides to come to the UK or Apple add LOVEFiLM then I might change my mind.
 
Why is it pretty much useless in the UK?

I have one, and think it's brilliant.

Sure it's a bit of a pain converting everything to get it into iTunes but I think it's worth it. Everything works together and airplay is brilliant.

If it gets the app store it would be even better, if you were able to get things like iPlayer, 4OD & last.fm

I don't think it deserves all the negativity!
 
so-marc-said said:
I don't think it deserves all the negativity!
Click to expand...

I think it's probably because two of the big new features that were announced for the Apple TV 2 are only available in the US (and Netflix in Canada).

Also, pricing it a lot higher in the UK (even allowing for exchange rates and taxes) when you are not getting all it's features doesn't help it's case.
 
so-marc-said said:
Why is it pretty much useless in the UK?

I have one, and think it's brilliant.

Sure it's a bit of a pain converting everything to get it into iTunes but I think it's worth it. Everything works together and airplay is brilliant.

If it gets the app store it would be even better, if you were able to get things like iPlayer, 4OD & last.fm

I don't think it deserves all the negativity!
Click to expand...

i wasnt talking about converting things into itunes...im fine with that.

its useless because it wont play back your pal content at the right hz! it only outputs at 60hz which is the ntsc not the standard 50hz pal output.

so that is why its useless in the uk!

im sure its great in America though :D

As soon as they solve that problem i will buy one again
 
heliocentric said:
its useless because it wont play back your pal content at the right hz! it only outputs at 60hz which is the ntsc not the standard 50hz pal output.

so that is why its useless in the uk!

im sure its great in America though :D
Click to expand...

Wow, I hadn't heard about that! :eek:

That's quite a faux pas from Apple. It works fine on the old Apple TV.
 
OllyW said:
Wow, I hadn't heard about that! :eek:

That's quite a faux pas from Apple. It works fine on the old Apple TV.
Click to expand...
What effect does this have in practice? Most tv's will display 60hz without a problem so I'm guessing you have some native 50hz content that plays a bit too fast?

I'm a bit worried as I just ordered one this morning.
 
cb31 said:
What effect does this have in practice? Most tv's will display 60hz without a problem so I'm guessing you have some native 50hz content that plays a bit too fast?

I'm a bit worried as I just ordered one this morning.
Click to expand...

it makes the 50hz / 25fps content 'judder'
 
cb31 said:
What effect does this have in practice? Most tv's will display 60hz without a problem so I'm guessing you have some native 50hz content that plays a bit too fast?

I'm a bit worried as I just ordered one this morning.
Click to expand...

You might run into problems if you want to watch home videos and Eye TV recordings.
 
OllyW said:
You might run into problems if you want to watch home videos and Eye TV recordings.
Click to expand...
oh that's not good, does anyone know if it is a hardware limitation or can it be fixed with an os update?
 
so-marc-said said:
If it gets the app store it would be even better, if you were able to get things like iPlayer, 4OD & last.fm

I don't think it deserves all the negativity!
Click to expand...
I have XBMC on mine, and have iPlayer, iTV player and YouTube (a version which can play the 4oD content).

Also re. the 60Hz limitation: something weird has happened. When I first got my ATV1 a couple of years ago, and played back some Handbrake encodes (of PAL DVDs, obviously) it was stuttering appallingly. I went to settings and sure enough it was set to 60Hz, so I switched it to 50Hz and it fixed it.

Now with my ATV2, there's no such menu choice BUT I have not seen the stuttering with my content (which is from PAL DVDs). This is with two different Sony Bravia TVs (not particularly good ones at all). Either my brain has gone mushy and I can't see the problem anymore, or somehow the TV seems to be coping. It's probably the former, but regardless, the fixed 60Hz output has turned out not to be a deal-breaker for me (and I was posting all over the place, sounding off about it, when the ATV2 was released, and long before I got my own).

So, it maybe worth a try. And seriously, get XBMC on it (you'll need to get a recent build, which was linked to from somewhere on here, for iPlayer etc).
 
The technical specifications on Apples website state it outputs 50/60Hz. Indeed the first Applecare chap I spoke to said that UK ones would default to 50Hz. When I explained I bought it from Apple retail he seemed to change his mind.

http://www.apple.com/uk/appletv/specs.html

I should imagine it will be fixed in a future update, but as of now 25fps PAL content (DVD Rips, Camcorder output etc) doesn't play without stutter, which is why mine went back - it spends most of its time playing my video library.

It is a great step up though, its much faster with menu transitions and loading the metadata of a large library. I will be buying again as soon as they fix it.
 
Last edited:
PilotWoo said:
I should imagine it will be fixed in a future update, but as of now 25fps PAL content (DVD Rips, Camcorder output etc) doesn't play without stutter
Click to expand...

That's what I had feared before buying an ATV2 but I bought one 2 weeks ago and I'm not seeing the stutter!
(As mentioned above, I definitely could produce it by setting my old ATV1 to 60Hz).

No stutter on my PAL DVD encodes, and no stutter from e.g. iPlayer streaming via the XBMC plugin. Presumably the iPlayer content is 25fps?
 
tallyho said:
That's what I had feared before buying an ATV2 but I bought one 2 weeks ago and I'm not seeing the stutter!
(As mentioned above, I definitely could produce it by setting my old ATV1 to 60Hz).

No stutter on my PAL DVD encodes, and no stutter from e.g. iPlayer streaming via the XBMC plugin. Presumably the iPlayer content is 25fps?
Click to expand...

Can you check to see if your ATV is outputting a 50Hz signal? On my Samsung TV there is an "Info" button on the remote that when pressed, shows details of the incoming signal. I'm intrigued by Applecare telling me the UK ones should be 50Hz.

I tried the new AppleTV2 preset on Handbrake which uses variable frame rate (?) from a DVD source but it still stutters.
 
PilotWoo said:
Can you check to see if your ATV is outputting a 50Hz signal?
Click to expand...

I'm away for the weekend but will investigate next week. All I know is that I was aware of potential 60Hz issues ahead of buying my ATV2 but have not found any (...yet?)

I've just thought of a possibility for people to try before they buy though - now that we have airplay, could you put a Handbrake encode of a PAL source onto an iPhone and then visit an Apple Store and see if they will demonstrate airplay using your video?
 
heliocentric said:
i wasnt talking about converting things into itunes...im fine with that.

its useless because it wont play back your pal content at the right hz! it only outputs at 60hz which is the ntsc not the standard 50hz pal output.

so that is why its useless in the uk!

im sure its great in America though :D

As soon as they solve that problem i will buy one again
Click to expand...

Think you may be wrong there, here's mine running at 720p 50hz

6afc4d4a.jpg
 
Thanks. That confirms that the box can do 50Hz then, and also explains why only some uk customers are seeing the issue.

I'll be going to the Apple store today to get them to find me a 50Hz one :)
 
Apple Store didn't have a TV so couldn't test any of their stock. Therefore I came away empty handed and will buy when they release a software fix.
 
I wonder how the ATV2 works out whether to output 50Hz or 60Hz? There should be no hardware or firmware difference between ATV2s from different regions. Does it just query the TV for its preferred settings? That would lead to problems playing 24/60Hz material in 50Hz regions. Maybe it goes off what iTunes Store you use? It doesn't seem to switch based on the file you're playing because there's no HDMI reset.

Gazpilot, are you able to persuade the ATV2 to output at 60Hz instead by changing any settings? My TV won't tell me whether it's at 50 or 60Hz so I can't test.
 
I don't think it uses the Apple Store account as I used my UK one.

I tried a factory reset and connecting to other TV's (LG as well as my Samsung).
 
I think they must auto sense the TV input, just tried the same Atv on a TV upstairs and the output was 60hz but still the same excellent quality.
 
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