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Well, I just got mine and I would say it's worth the $103 BUT -

I expect a big update.
I want some sort of this "Live" aspect we all talk about ie - a CNN, Fox News, or something with mainstream breaking news.
I don't want it but I expect the social networking aspect will in fact be the next logical step.

How do you turn on Apple TV without a remote?

I don't think you can. Although, you could set ATV to never sleep, and just always leave it on. It is very energy efficient.
 
I recommend getting the latest nightly build of Handbrake and use the high profile setting. Be sure to change RF to 18 an turn off filters. Its way better than the old apple tv setting.

I tried this last night. Probably a stupid newbie question, but every time I went in to change the RF to 18 and turn off the filters, Handbrake would get out of High Profile preset and call it "custom". I hooked my MBP up to TV to look at the movie when I was done and it looked really good, but I just don't know if I could have made it better. Did I do it right?
 
I tried this last night. Probably a stupid newbie question, but every time I went in to change the RF to 18 and turn off the filters, Handbrake would get out of High Profile preset and call it "custom". I hooked my MBP up to TV to look at the movie when I was done and it looked really good, but I just don't know if I could have made it better. Did I do it right?


Hey what's the purpose of turning off the filters?
 
The filters are for detelicining and deinterlacing interlaced content (like 1080i). DVDs and Blu Rays aren't telecined or interlaced. They are 480p and 1080p so deinterlacing is not needed. If you leave the filters on and nothing is required to be done, it won't hurt anything but it will slow down your encode a bit.
 
Does anyone have the old white ATV as well as the new? Is there any real difference in reality one over the other, hard drive aside?

I have the old and wondering why I need the new!

Chris
 
Does anyone have the old white ATV as well as the new? Is there any real difference in reality one over the other, hard drive aside?

I have the old and wondering why I need the new!

Chris
I own the old one as well as the new one.

I am actually taking my Apple TV 2 back. I love the old one and will not part with it.

The stutter while playing back HD material (Handbraked or Itunes rentals), buggy homesharing, mishandling of Itunes metadata, not displaying subtitles correctly etc. have simply made it a 'not quite ready for prime time' investment, in my opinion.

There are plenty on these boards who love it, it just doesn't work well for me.

I am confident though, that Apple will fix the problems listed above. It is a nice piece of hardware with some nice capabilities. Hope it's not abandoned.
 
I tried this last night. Probably a stupid newbie question, but every time I went in to change the RF to 18 and turn off the filters, Handbrake would get out of High Profile preset and call it "custom". I hooked my MBP up to TV to look at the movie when I was done and it looked really good, but I just don't know if I could have made it better. Did I do it right?

Yes you did it correctly. I love my new apple tv.
 
Does anyone have the old white ATV as well as the new? Is there any real difference in reality one over the other, hard drive aside?

I have the old and wondering why I need the new!

Chris
The only reason (at present) why you might want the ATV2 is for the Netflix integration. Otherwise, the original model is just fine and perhaps even better in some respects (when not even considering the integrated hard drive in the ATV1).

P.S. I have both the ATV1 and ATV2 but just today I've loaned my ATV2 to my parents so that they could try out Netflix. If they like it I may just allow them to keep it since my ATV1 is still serving me well and I can already get Netflix on my PS3.
 
Thats a great idea. My macbook pro internal hard drive is getting full of movies. I will use an external hard drive and connect it to my airport extreme and have Itunes point to that when adding movies. I can save so much space doing what you said above.

If i need to travel, i can always connect my external hard drive to my macbook pro to view movies on my computer.

That's the setup I'm running. WD Passport Studio via USB at the AirPort Extreme. Hands free...no need to have your HD plugged into your Mac. This way...my MacBook Pro stays mobile. Runs great....couldn't be happier. Used to have to run a Mini-port to HDMI adapter from the Plasma to the Mac. Loving my ATV2 and can't wait for the JB and apps.
 
Coming from a Media Gate 350HD I can say I am enjoying my ATV2. I do not have this stuttering problem that a few are complaining about. I have been playing with the ATV2 for a few days now. It is connected to my wireless network. My internet speed is 18Mbs down. I have watched 2012 that I ripped to my 2TB HD with Handbrake. No complaints there. Last night I watched Fast and Furious from Netflix, Again no problems. I also used the ATV to stream my music in Itunes, to my Hi Fi system. LOVE MY NEW TOY, ATV2. Almost forget. I tried Youtube, and internet radio features. They all work great. Not bad for $100. I will be buying 2 more Units from the Apple Store. I pre-ordered my first ATV2 and hate the wait. I won't do that again.
 
Yeah the wait sucks but Apple's site is now reporting shipping times of 5-7 days whereas before it was 2 to 3 weeks.
 
That's the setup I'm running. WD Passport Studio via USB at the AirPort Extreme. Hands free...no need to have your HD plugged into your Mac. This way...my MacBook Pro stays mobile. Runs great....couldn't be happier. Used to have to run a Mini-port to HDMI adapter from the Plasma to the Mac. Loving my ATV2 and can't wait for the JB and apps.

Glad to hear that you are running you ext hdd from your Airport Extreme, right now i have my Ext HDD running from firwwire on my iMac but i am planning to upgrade to an Airport Extreme and run the Ext HDD from the USB port.
 
Some other reasons you might want atv2:
- netflix (as stated above). Excellent interface.
- buffering is much better. I can ffw and rew my movies now with no problem, and it keeps the buffer as long as it can. This was a big win for me.
- handles 720p better and higher bit rates. My old atv couldn't play my 720p movies well, this one has no problem.
- airplay, will be out next month.
- .99 tv show rentals, though selection makes this feature pretty limited at this point.
- more choices for screensaver (not a big deal, but I like oragami :) )
- Don't need to sync with itunes. When I add a video to itunes it just shows up.

Agree that the way tv shows are organized is annoying, hopefully it will get fixed.
 
The big deal for me is that the picture quality is better. Not so much for HD material, but SD is MUCH better. If you rip a DVD using Handbrake on the High Profile setting you will get a picture which is practically identical to the original DVD. With my old ATV SD was so poor I couldn't bring myself to watch anything unless it was HD.
 
The big deal for me is that the picture quality is better. Not so much for HD material, but SD is MUCH better. If you rip a DVD using Handbrake on the High Profile setting you will get a picture which is practically identical to the original DVD. With my old ATV SD was so poor I couldn't bring myself to watch anything unless it was HD.
YMMV, but lots of people ripped DVDs for their ATV1 and felt that the copy was almost indistinguishable from the original.

As for 720p playback, I've never had much of a problem with that on my ATV1 (as long as I kept the bitrate and framerate within the stated limits of the device). It's true that the ATV2 handles higher bitrates and it also supports 720p at 30fps (the ATV1 stops at 24fps), so that's a plus if you have 30fps content that you want maintain at full 720p resolution.

Thus, beyond Netflix and the support for 30fps HD I can't really say that the new ATV is that much better than the original. Of course, this situation could change with a few software updates to the ATV2, so in another year (or less) the situation could be totally different.
 
Agree that the atv2 is definitely evolutionary, and even there not dramatically. But for me the netflix integration is huge, gives me one place to watch movies (rent, stream from netflix, or stream my own). And I forgot to mention the 30fps on 720p, that is also huge (original atv can't even play video from the iphone!) Most of my home movies now are in 720p/30 so this makes a big difference for me as I watch home movies through the atv.

How much or little the new atv is better than the previous really depends on how you use it.
 
The only reason (at present) why you might want the ATV2 is for the Netflix integration. Otherwise, the original model is just fine and perhaps even better in some respects (when not even considering the integrated hard drive in the ATV1).

P.S. I have both the ATV1 and ATV2 but just today I've loaned my ATV2 to my parents so that they could try out Netflix. If they like it I may just allow them to keep it since my ATV1 is still serving me well and I can already get Netflix on my PS3.

Count me in. I have 2 ATV1s and pre-ordered my ATV2. I don't really like it. I LOVE my old ones.

Problems with ATV2 IMO:

1. Rental only is lame. I like to buy HD movies where possible, and without internal storage this is not possible. Have to do it on one of the macs which after so many years of one click purchase on ATV1 which is then seamlessly/automatically sent to the Mac and then synced to the other ATV1 in the bedroom this feels like a step backward.

2. Rental only is lame. Part 2. Limited partners for rental TV is frustrating. I missed an SNL I wanted to see, so i whipped out the IP4 and started searching for SNL on the new ATV2 using Remote. Nothing came up! Took a while before it clicked that since its rental only and NBC isn't on board the show doesn't exist to ATV2. LAME!

3. Interface sucks! They need to handle shared libraries the same way as its done on ATV1. "My X" under the media type rather than a whole separate menu which doesn't remember where you were last. LAME!

Basically, my ATV2 is sitting on my desk unplugged, waiting for iOS 4.2. It's really the only thing that I see as a benefit. Streaming from my iP4 or iPad will be cool, I hope. If not, the ATV2 will have no place in my life.
 
Count me in. I have 2 ATV1s and pre-ordered my ATV2. I don't really like it. I LOVE my old ones.

Problems with ATV2 IMO:

1. Rental only is lame. I like to buy HD movies where possible, and without internal storage this is not possible. Have to do it on one of the macs which after so many years of one click purchase on ATV1 which is then seamlessly/automatically sent to the Mac and then synced to the other ATV1 in the bedroom this feels like a step backward.

2. Rental only is lame. Part 2. Limited partners for rental TV is frustrating. I missed an SNL I wanted to see, so i whipped out the IP4 and started searching for SNL on the new ATV2 using Remote. Nothing came up! Took a while before it clicked that since its rental only and NBC isn't on board the show doesn't exist to ATV2. LAME!

3. Interface sucks! They need to handle shared libraries the same way as its done on ATV1. "My X" under the media type rather than a whole separate menu which doesn't remember where you were last. LAME!

Basically, my ATV2 is sitting on my desk unplugged, waiting for iOS 4.2. It's really the only thing that I see as a benefit. Streaming from my iP4 or iPad will be cool, I hope. If not, the ATV2 will have no place in my life.

Well if it makes you feel any better, all snl episodes are coming to netflix and new episodes will be online the day after they air live.
 
I loath syncing.

When I plug in my iPhone. I dread what's it's going to do. Do you want to sync contacts notes, music. I click what I feel is best and wait in anticipation, usually my iPhone is screwed up and I have to manually rebuild it!


One final thing can you explain what syncing means when I plug my iPhone into iTunes. I'm a simpleton engineer who needs these things spelling out..

May I suggest MobileMe? It might be worth the 60 day free trial, at least. Then for you it's AU$119 a year, but you probably can find it on amazon for about 1/2 (we can in the US, anyway). It's seamless syncing, and I have contacts, calendars, bookmarks all synced on 3 macs, an iphone, an ipod touch, and an ipad. It all works great.
 
May I suggest MobileMe? It might be worth the 60 day free trial, at least. Then for you it's AU$119 a year, but you probably can find it on amazon for about 1/2 (we can in the US, anyway). It's seamless syncing, and I have contacts, calendars, bookmarks all synced on 3 macs, an iphone, an ipod touch, and an ipad. It all works great.

I think they mean media syncing. OTA syncing like MobileMe/Gmail is so good and hopefully Apple will be able to extend OTA syncing to Video, Music and Photos.

My dream would be to have an iTunes server, with all of my (and the household's) media on it, serving everything to all of my devices (dependent on what each user wants/is allowed).
 
After reading so many posts here, I WONT be getting one in a hurry.

OFFS......I couldn't resist!:rolleyes:

I was in a genius store and couldn't resist it. I had to have it!

Everything was so spakley and new! I was like my wife in a shoe shop. Walked out with a new trackpad, keyboard, and.........ANOTHER apple tv.

Well, at least I'll be able to throw some comparisons up between old and new models!
 
The only reason (at present) why you might want the ATV2 is for the Netflix integration. Otherwise, the original model is just fine and perhaps even better in some respects (when not even considering the integrated hard drive in the ATV1).

P.S. I have both the ATV1 and ATV2 but just today I've loaned my ATV2 to my parents so that they could try out Netflix. If they like it I may just allow them to keep it since my ATV1 is still serving me well and I can already get Netflix on my PS3.

No reason to go for the new then - I understand that Netflix is not yet available here.
 
No Problems

I just picked up my new AppleTV2. With all the threads of problems here and on other sites, I thought it was useful to report a positive experience. :)
I also have an older AppleTV (160GB). I hooked up the new one and moved the old to a different TV and had everything setup and working perfectly on both TVs in about 20 minutes. No issues at all. Both are connected via ethernet, so I avoided any possibility of wifi issues. But I have had no issues with home sharing or netflix passwords, Dolby Digital issues or anything like that. Couldn't have been easier to setup for me...

Positives of the new over the old
- I like that it is runs cooler and uses less electricity
- The Netflix interface ROCKS compared to my Panasonic BlueRay. Picture quality appears to be excellent on my internet connection.
- It plays some 720p home movies perfectly that caused my old ATV1 to skip and stutter in places.
- Minor thing, but I like the black, it matches the rest of my AV equipment better

Negatives of the new vs old
- I liked the old GUI arrangement of My Movies and My Music much better than having to scroll over to the Computers area in the new interface. I think I remember the old ATV having a similar menu arrangement originally, so hopefully this will be improved in future software updates.
 
So far I am very impressed with the new ATV. Unboxed it last night and in about 20 min I was streaming material from my iTunes library. I signed up for a Netflix account also and that seems to work great (I wish that the iTunes store had a monthly subscription like Netflix). I like the ui for the ATV and was very simple for the kids and even had a great response from my wife (she is not very gadget friendly).

Played around with the youtube access and that also worked well.

A couple of questions, i am thinking about getting an iPad and would like to use the remote app to control the ATV. Can the remote app also control other devices like the TV, DVD player or cable box.
 
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