Hmm that I also have a PS3 and still dont understand why they dont have the same streaming apps that are on all the other Sony Internet connected devices. Why does the cheapo Bluray more options than the flagship PS3?
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Was going to get AppleTv, now wondering how many dang devices are needed!
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Hmm that I also have a PS3 and still dont understand why they dont have the same streaming apps that are on all the other Sony Internet connected devices. Why does the cheapo Bluray more options than the flagship PS3?
Not necessarily 100% true. Remember, Youtube.com is flash based as well.
Yet, an HTML 5 version of it has been available for iOS devices since they debuted, I believe.
So, Hulu could develop an HTML 5-based app for iOS, if they wished.
I mean straight up Hulu, basic that you don't HAVE to pay for and still sit through commercials for.
First off, as has been widely noted already, Airplay is the link you already have that you are missing. Really, paired with an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad (and with some hacking, your computer), anything you can listen to or view on any of those devices can be watched on your TV. This pairing is bar none the best livingroom media setup I have ever seen. Especially for something like Pandora, it's perfect. Otherwise you have to have the TV on in order to manipulate the menus. With Airplay, the remote does EVERYTHING.
Still, it's not perfect, and some of that blame lies with the content owners (who won't make an app like Hulu Airplay compatible, or won't make content that is freely available on a regular computer available on phones or tablets.) It's been this way for years, and it's not really getting any better.
Apple is also to blame because the ATV won't natively play straight DVD rips or many other kinds of video formats. You either have to re-encode (which reduces quality) or jailbreak your ATV. I do a combination of re-encoding for things we will watch often, and encoding on the fly through AirVideo and Airplay for things that it doesn't make sense to store two versions of permanently. Both work well enough, but the ATV would be totally killer if it natively could stream any video in your library AND could play a DVD from a computer located elsewhere in the house (as it is, I have to keep a DVD player hooked up that gets used about 5 times a year). Still, all in all a GREAT product.
First: I was in your same situation a few months ago. I was actually considering plunking down $600 for a mac mini to connect to the TV, giving me access to everything a computer can access on my TV. Instead I've made it work with just a $100 ATV2.
I feel your pain that there isn't currently one "catch-all" solution that doesn't involve either some hacking or multiple devices. But given that is the situation, and you still want access to Pandora and Hulu on your TV, I advocate the one-device-with-some-hacking solution, rather than the multiple device solution. The former (using ATV2) only takes a little extra time and no extra money. The latter (ATV2 plus blu ray player plus roku, etc.) takes extra time (to set up and use these multiple devices) AND extra money (to buy them).
You don't need an iPad, and you don't need a Pandora app on the ATV2 itself. There is a Pandora app for iPhone. Just start your Pandora app on one of your iphones and use Airplay to stream to the Apple TV. Done.
I do this all the time with the "This American Life" iphone app. It's easier to navigate the apps on the iphone with your finger than the ones on the ATV with a remote, anyway. (For example, even though there is a YouTube app on the apple tv, I prefer to use the YouTube app on my iphone and then Airplay the video to my apple tv, since I can search and navigate on the iphone more quickly than on the Apple TV.) Very easy solution, no hacking required. Only downside is that it tasks one of your iphones, but you can start the airplay and then lock your iphone to turn off the screen, to reduce battery usage.
(If there is no Airplay icon in the Pandora app on your iphone, just double-tap the home button while Pandora is playing to get the task manager, and slide over to the left to the play/pause/rewind/volume controls. There will be an iOS-wide Airplay icon there, which should also let you send audio to the ATV.)
Yes, ATV2 does Netflix, and it does it better than the other devices, in regards to user interface.
Yes, ATV2 also does Hulu, but only after some hacking. But it is worth it. I watch the Daily Show on my Apple TV 2 in XBMC via Hulu. I am not a hacker, and I was able to get this up and running in about an hour one evening.
Your blu-ray player, I'm guessing, probably only gives you HuluPlus (not regular free Hulu). And even then, it probably forces you to watch commercials, right?
I jailbroke my ATV2 a month ago, and the biggest benefit is that now I get Hulu (both Hulu Plus and regular free Hulu, but I'm not a Hulu Plus subscriber so I only use free Hulu) on the ATV2 . . . (wait for it). . . WITHOUT COMMERCIALS. It streams beautifully in 480p.
If you are starting from an out-of-the-box fresh ATV2, then enabling Hulu on it will take maybe an hour of your time following step-by-step guides. It basically involves:
1. Jailbreaking your Apple TV2 by plugging it into your computer directly and running Seasonpass by Firecore:
http://blog.firecore.com/5180
(scroll down to the comment posted by "Anonymous" on Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:51 pm. Should take you ~20 minutes to perform this install. )
2. Installing NitoTV (this is sort of like an App Store for the ATV2. You do this in the Terminal on your computer by SSH'ing into your ATV2. Sounds hard but it isn't, just follow the instructions linked in step 1)
3. Installing XBMC from NitoTV (you do this on the ATV2 using your remote)
4. Downloading Bluecop Repository from inside XBMC (you do this on the ATV2 itself using your remote)
http://www.appletvhacks.net/2011/03/...on-apple-tv-2/
5. Installing the Hulu plugin from Bluecop Repository (This may happen automatically as part of step 4. . . I forget exactly)
6. Once it is installed, you can go to XBMC --> Video Add-ons --> Hulu and watch Hulu to your heart's content. You can also enter your Hulu account info. If you have a Hulu Plus account, you'll get Hulu Plus access. If not, you can still make a free Hulu account (on your computer), and it will allow you to select favorite Hulu shows to watch using the Hulu website on your computer. Then on your ATV2, your Hulu account will show you your "favorites" making it much easier to select from shows you're interested in, instead of having to navigate or search through the thousands of shows/movies in the Hulu database.
I feel your pain that there isn't currently one "catch-all" solution that doesn't involve either some hacking or multiple devices. But given that is the situation, and you still want access to Pandora and Hulu on your TV, I advocate the one-device-with-some-hacking solution, rather than the multiple device solution. The former (using ATV2) only takes a little extra time and no extra money. The latter (ATV2 plus blu ray player plus roku, etc.) takes extra time (to set up and use these multiple devices) AND extra money (to buy them).
You don't need an iPad, and you don't need a Pandora app on the ATV2 itself. There is a Pandora app for iPhone. Just start your Pandora app on one of your iphones and use Airplay to stream to the Apple TV. Done.
I do this all the time with the "This American Life" iphone app. It's easier to navigate the apps on the iphone with your finger than the ones on the ATV with a remote, anyway. (For example, even though there is a YouTube app on the apple tv, I prefer to use the YouTube app on my iphone and then Airplay the video to my apple tv, since I can search and navigate on the iphone more quickly than on the Apple TV.) Very easy solution, no hacking required. Only downside is that it tasks one of your iphones, but you can start the airplay and then lock your iphone to turn off the screen, to reduce battery usage.
(If there is no Airplay icon in the Pandora app on your iphone, just double-tap the home button while Pandora is playing to get the task manager, and slide over to the left to the play/pause/rewind/volume controls. There will be an iOS-wide Airplay icon there, which should also let you send audio to the ATV.)
Yes, ATV2 does Netflix, and it does it better than the other devices, in regards to user interface.
Yes, ATV2 also does Hulu, but only after some hacking. But it is worth it. I watch the Daily Show on my Apple TV 2 in XBMC via Hulu. I am not a hacker, and I was able to get this up and running in about an hour one evening.
Your blu-ray player, I'm guessing, probably only gives you HuluPlus (not regular free Hulu). And even then, it probably forces you to watch commercials, right?
I jailbroke my ATV2 a month ago, and the biggest benefit is that now I get Hulu (both Hulu Plus and regular free Hulu, but I'm not a Hulu Plus subscriber so I only use free Hulu) on the ATV2 . . . (wait for it). . . WITHOUT COMMERCIALS. It streams beautifully in 480p.
If you are starting from an out-of-the-box fresh ATV2, then enabling Hulu on it will take maybe an hour of your time following step-by-step guides. It basically involves:
1. Jailbreaking your Apple TV2 by plugging it into your computer directly and running Seasonpass by Firecore:
http://blog.firecore.com/5180
(scroll down to the comment posted by "Anonymous" on Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:51 pm. Should take you ~20 minutes to perform this install. )
2. Installing NitoTV (this is sort of like an App Store for the ATV2. You do this in the Terminal on your computer by SSH'ing into your ATV2. Sounds hard but it isn't, just follow the instructions linked in step 1)
3. Installing XBMC from NitoTV (you do this on the ATV2 using your remote)
4. Downloading Bluecop Repository from inside XBMC (you do this on the ATV2 itself using your remote)
http://www.appletvhacks.net/2011/03/...on-apple-tv-2/
5. Installing the Hulu plugin from Bluecop Repository (This may happen automatically as part of step 4. . . I forget exactly)
6. Once it is installed, you can go to XBMC --> Video Add-ons --> Hulu and watch Hulu to your heart's content. You can also enter your Hulu account info. If you have a Hulu Plus account, you'll get Hulu Plus access. If not, you can still make a free Hulu account (on your computer), and it will allow you to select favorite Hulu shows to watch using the Hulu website on your computer. Then on your ATV2, your Hulu account will show you your "favorites" making it much easier to select from shows you're interested in, instead of having to navigate or search through the thousands of shows/movies in the Hulu database.