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Should I buy an Apple TV2 if I own a PS3?

MrXiro

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
I like the idea of the ease of use of the ATV2 streaming my iTunes content... but streaming everything else to my PS3 isn't that tough either. The only HUGE advantage I see is Airplay and HD Youtube access. I DO own an iPad and an iPod Touch 4.

What does everyone else think? Is the ATV2 worth buying if one already owns a PS3?
Should I even bother or save the 99 bucks for something else? ie a year+ worth of Netflix streaming...

For those of you who own both... is it worth owning both?
 
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With the new Cinavia protection introduced in update 3.10 to the PS3 I am ready to throw it out of the window.

All new BluRays are protected by Cinavia, so I cannot stream any MKV's (or mp4) to it without getting sound disabled.
 
I own both and really the ATV might as well be an airport express for my purposes. I do love airplay but I want to airplay videos taken with the phone.

I figure it will get better but PS3 is pretty badass at this point.

I am also getting a roku for christmas. Figure I have room for all devices. The roku will go in the bedroom. I have whole house music through the ATV and two AEs. It's a slick setup on the cheap.
 
Pressure said:
With the new Cinavia protection introduced in update 3.10 to the PS3 I am ready to throw it out of the window.

All new BluRays are protected by Cinavia, so I cannot stream any MKV's (or mp4) to it without getting sound disabled.
Click to expand...
On mine, version 3.50, I can stream all my .mkv and .mp4 videos and I don't have any sound issues.
 
PsyOpWarlord said:
On mine, version 3.50, I can stream all my .mkv and .mp4 videos and I don't have any sound issues.
Click to expand...

That is because you haven't run across any of the new movies that feature such protection.

Try 'The Other Guys' or 'Resident Evil Afterlife' and tell me if you do not get the Cinavia copy protection message, which disables sound.
 
Neither XD

Apple TV 2 in it's current form is pretty awful for most users. it ONLY supports a single video format for christ's sake! If Apple TV had an air video (like) app on the other hand.... it would have been a completely different ballgame.

PS3 works well enough but again, finicky format support (half my avi files work while the other half isn't supported XD), weird DRM thingy and for people that care power drain.

I've been racking my head for a while and honesty I think the best way to go is either, nettop, Roku or the Boxee Box.
 
I'm actually kind of digging the PS3 and Media Server. It took me a few hours to figure it all out as far as the right settings for my network and such but once that is up and running all my videos look great and the sound is fantastic. Also just signed back up to Netflix and that new PS3 app is really good! The only thing I wish the PS3 did was have a youtube app that does HD. The browser sucks but oh well... I usually have my iPad on my anyway.
 
I'm thinking of adding an ATV2 to my setup (currently only using PS3) mainly because streaming from my Powerbook via MediaLink can be so finicky. Not all of the songs in a given playlist will appear, for example, and streaming photos/video is also tricky. I like the Netflix app on the PS3 and would probably continue using it for that (and the Blu-Ray of course) but I envision doing all the music/photo stuff with the ATV2.
 
I own both a PS3 and original Apple TV, My PS3 cost me over $1000 (original 60gig now upgraded to 500 gig) I placed about 60 gig of music on it but i only use it for music while in game, the rentals take longer to download and are larger in general. If I can't be bother encoding the file into itunes I will stream it over from my mac or place it on the hard drive. The apple TV is used HEAPS and it comes down to a far better UI and faster rentals. I am now going to get an ATV2 for the bedroom plus another PS3 for either the "man cave" or the bedroom (bluray in the bedroom)

The PS3 is now used for catch up TV for ABC or channel 7 if i miss recording it. If you are looking for streaming solutions i had nullriver but after one of the updates it lost its activation and the co$k heads at nullriver will not respond to any emails for support at all!! so I moved to a free and far better solution
http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/downloads/list

I just dont like the interface or playlist creation on the PS3

Good luck with your decision :)
 
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I currently have both, but the PS3 is used solely as a gamng machine. ATV handles all streaming content. The advantages make it totally worth the low price, such as iTunes content, lighting fast rentals, and the WAF of the GUI.
 
MrXiro said:
Can u stream 5.1 audio from your iTunes to the Atv2?
Click to expand...

Yes you can. And if you're streaming from an iOS device with Airplay it will still stream the 5.1 to the Apple TV even though the iOS device only plays stereo.

I only use my PS3 now for games and the occasional Blu Ray disc. The Apple TV is far better for streaming, isn't a power sucking vampire like the PS3 nor makes any sound, and the user interface and general usability is much better on the Apple TV.
 
I have both but the ps3 is hooked to my main big HDTV, and the appletv is connected to our 32" bedroom HDTV.

The ps3 is really the best box out there. Netflix, hulu, vudu, ps store, in addition to bluray. There is nothing better. I really just got the appletv so i could stream movies and podcasts to our bedroom tv. I can rip a bluray and stream it to the appletv in 720p. I thought about buying another ps3 or bluray player for the bedroom, but they were more expensive than the $99 appletv.
 
I own both and think they're good for different purposes.

The PS3 obviously wins for games, and it's also a clear winner in terms of picture quality because of the Blu Ray capabilities (streamed or downloaded content comes nowhere close to Blu Ray quality, despite what some claim).

Apple TV, on the other hand, provides a better interface to Netflix, YouTube, and video podcasts, has the ability to stream purchased iTunes content, has a vastly superior new release movie rental store experience, etc.

It can be controlled with an excellent iPhone Remote app, it gets screen savers from your Flickr photos and you can use the iTunes gift card you got for Christmas to rent your movies.

The Apple TV hardware is also much better suited for media streaming. I found the PS3 to be very noisy, which I thought threw off my home theater chi, and the Apple TV consumes literally about 20x less electricity.

In short, I'd fully recommend getting one, even with a PS3.
 
Ps3 atv2

PS3 = Hulu Plus + Blu-Ray (from Netflix where streaming isn't available)

ATV = Netflix (Streaming) + iTunes (usually for Cable channels that won't show on Hulu Plus)

Definitely worth having the two for now ... until AirPlay get's Hulu Plus pushed to the Apple TV.
 
I own both. I use my PS3 for streaming high quality mkv files using PS3 Media Server, which btw works great, even with DTS. I also play a game or two and watch Blu-Ray films.
I use my AppleTV2 to access my iTunes library on my Mac Pro. Straming music, watching photos and surprisingly, I use it to keep a film library, by converting my mkv files using Handbrake and applying Metadata using MetaX. I don't think that all films deserve the space taken by a 1080p mkv file, so I prefer to convert them to 720p H.264 for the AppleTV. The exception to that are the films I like the most, which I keep in mkv format or in Bluray.
My movies library looks great when browsing it from the AppleTV.
Of course it would be great if the AppleTV supported 1080p...
 
petvas said:
I own both. I use my PS3 for streaming high quality mkv files using PS3 Media Server, which btw works great, even with DTS. I also play a game or two and watch Blu-Ray films.
I use my AppleTV2 to access my iTunes library on my Mac Pro. Straming music, watching photos and surprisingly, I use it to keep a film library, by converting my mkv files using Handbrake and applying Metadata using MetaX. I don't think that all films deserve the space taken by a 1080p mkv file, so I prefer to convert them to 720p H.264 for the AppleTV. The exception to that are the films I like the most, which I keep in mkv format or in Bluray.
My movies library looks great when browsing it from the AppleTV.
Of course it would be great if the AppleTV supported 1080p...
Click to expand...

I suppose you haven't run across any newer mkv's which activated the Cinavia copy protection on the PS3 yet?
 
I had both, but not being much of a gamer I gave away my PS3 about a week after I got the AppleTV 2. The bulk of my "tv time" is now NetFlix streaming, and AppleTV does it better than PS3 - at least in my opinion.

I bought into the iTunes eco-system a few years ago, so for me, AppleTV plays all of my content as well as it can be played. I believe that the AppleTV is the best playback device for the items that it plays, the UI and form factor are simple and elegant, as iDevices all tend to be.

As of now, the PS3 has access to more file formats and more services than the AppleTV, but if you are willing to be restricted to iTunes and NetFlix, the AppleTV offers a better experience.
 
I have both and i got a few of my friends using the ps3 as a media center and it's great. but if you are a mac head like me, looking for ease of use, use itunes a lot like i do, use netflix and youtube then apple tv is probably the way to go. Im really suprised at how good media streamed to this device looks. Even movies i had converted to watch on my iphone look good on the apple tv streaming thru airplay.
 
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