Whats the point of an Apple TV

[ftaok]

I love my Apple TV and I can never understand why people either hate it or don't "get it" so frequently. I wish Apple would do more with it but even as is, its fantastic. I had a couple ROKU boxes that I paid over $100 for JUST to stream Netflix. That's ALL it did when it first came out. Now they've added a ton since then and in fact, surpassed ATV, but in the mean-time, I've put most of my vast DVD collection on my hard drive and now have access to over 600 movies plus a way to stream my music collection to my main stereo, plus Netflix, etc. etc. I LOVE it.

I think the main thing that keeps the aTV from taking off is the availability and cost of content. For me, rentals and purchases for Movies is too costly compared to other options. I'll gladly go to Redbox to rent a movie for $1. We go to the grocery store just about every day and even if we're not, it's not that big a deal to stop by on the way home.

The TV rentals were a good idea, but the networks had other thoughts. Personally, I only watch TV shows once, so buying episodes doesn't make sense for me.

I would prefer seeing a few things on the Apple TV that may separate them from the rest of the pack.

Sign up with Comcast an put the Xfinity app on the aTV. This would allow me to move (or add) an Apple TV to the kitchen TV so that we could view the OnDemand content there. To me, Airplay is a bit of a waste for this in that I tie up an iPad and the TV, not to mention hitting the home network 3 times instead of once.

Alternatively, if Apple could secure deals with the networks (or perhaps the production companies) that allow for monthly subscriptions to certain channels or a block of shows, that could start a new trend in media consumption. Of course, the networks and cable providers would likely poop on this idea.

ft

 

[hafr]

These forums are civilized and we want to keep them that way.

Forum Rules
Instantly Bannable Offenses

These offenses can result in temporary forum suspensions or permanent bans. If you get a warning, heed it!

Insults. Direct personal insult of another forum member (e.g., "You are an idiot.") and other name-calling. Why? Because this isn't grade school. People should be able to discuss or even dispute other's posts without insulting people.

That's great, fantastic even. But the answer to his questions are in this thread, and even if he didn't have the time or the energy to read the thread before answering in it, it would take him a few seconds to find the answers on google.

To me, it's a sign of disrespect to ask those kinds of questions in these kinds of situations. I'm glad to help if I can, but why would anyone assume that people want to help them if they're clearly not even interested enough to do a simple google search or read the thread they're posting in?

 

[whooleytoo]

That's great, fantastic even. But the answer to his questions are in this thread, and even if he didn't have the time or the energy to read the thread before answering in it, it would take him a few seconds to find the answers on google.

To me, it's a sign of disrespect to ask those kinds of questions in these kinds of situations. I'm glad to help if I can, but why would anyone assume that people want to help them if they're clearly not even interested enough to do a simple google search or read the thread they're posting in?

Strange that you're willing to spend so much time criticising him, but not one second answering his question.

Sure, he should have looked for the answer first; but this is a big, busy forum where a lot of info gets lost, and needlessly duplicated. And for that reason, lots of people are willing to help out.

To answer the original question - you can't attach an external USB drive. To use the USB port you have to unplug the HDMI; so either you only use optical for audio, or have some weird, combined HDMI & micro-USB plug (unlikely). In any case, I don't believe USB storage is supported, even if the device is jailbroken - AFAIK.

On the NAS, no idea. I've only ever streamed from my Mac and iPad.

 

[jmhays]

I regret purchasing the ATV2, I was hoping it would replace my dvd player so I ripped a whole bunch of DVD's, however I cannot store them all in itunes due to lack of space on my laptop, so no movies on demand
I'm more in the market for a WDTV i feel, has wifi, streams from PC, can connect two drives to it and plays any file.

You already ripped all your movies, instead of getting rid of the Apple TV 2, buy a small NAS (Network Attached Storage) device and copy all your movies onto your NAS. You can watch any of the movies on the Apple TV without needing to have your laptop running and you can use the NAS to backup the files on your laptop in case the laptop hard drive fails.

Just be careful because one you have all that empty space on your NAS deivce you will be very tempted to fill it up with more movies...

 

[hafr]

Strange that you're willing to spend so much time criticising him, but not one second answering his question.

Sure, he should have looked for the answer first; but this is a big, busy forum where a lot of info gets lost, and needlessly duplicated. And for that reason, lots of people are willing to help out.

To answer the original question - you can't attach an external USB drive. To use the USB port you have to unplug the HDMI; so either you only use optical for audio, or have some weird, combined HDMI & micro-USB plug (unlikely). In any case, I don't believe USB storage is supported, even if the device is jailbroken - AFAIK.

On the NAS, no idea. I've only ever streamed from my Mac and iPad.

I already have, that's kind of the whole point... You mean you haven't read the thread either?

 

[ScottGL1966]

iTunes is the point...

Here is the basic answer: iTunes. If you are not an iTunes user or a fan, then you don't need a Apple TV.

Personally I love iTunes. I have over 30GB of music and about 500GB of movies, all accessible from my living room HDTV. The UI is gorgeous and easy to navigate (other than having a full keyboard).

I think the new smart TVs are amazing, but I don't want to pay $500+ and then worry about any issues of compatibility with the content I have purchased off of iTunes. I have looked at other set-top boxes, but until I can confirm full compatability with all my mp4 iTunes content I will stick with the AppleTV.

 

[gooberq]

Jailbreak , Install XMBC, then you will know

 

[Irishman]

I already have, that's kind of the whole point... You mean you haven't read the thread either?

Yes, you're right! It's not you, it's the rest of us who are jerks.

 

[sachman]

While fully aware of it's Pro's & Cons before I bought it, I expected it would be more useful than it ended up being. So I sold it and upgraded to the latest Samsung 60" LED 8000 Series Smart TV (UN60D8000YF).

It's an amazing unit that has a smooth, fast and very slick web browser built in. It easily integrated with my home theater gear, which now comprises a very complete and enjoyable system.

I have that TV but don't really use it for internet, I want to be able to stream things from my laptop and iPhone - I assume having a smart TV alone won't make possible, I'd still need ATV2?
Also I've heard streaming videos in HD to a HDTV results in loss of quality, is this true?
I also want to stream music to my hifi attached to the TV, can apple TV do this too or do I need something like airport express/extreme?

 

[hafr]

Yes, you're right! It's not you, it's the rest of us who are jerks.

I haven't called anyone a jerk, and if you feel I am that's totally fine.

What gets to me is the lack of respect. I can understand not everyone gets how to search in a forum, or that they rather ask a question instead of trying to google for the answer. But what I can't understand is why someone would klick a thread with no more than a handful comments, ignore everything that's been written and then ask a really simple question that has already been answered.

 

[Irishman]

I haven't called anyone a jerk, and if you feel I am that's totally fine.

What gets to me is the lack of respect. I can understand not everyone gets how to search in a forum, or that they rather ask a question instead of trying to google for the answer. But what I can't understand is why someone would klick a thread with no more than a handful comments, ignore everything that's been written and then ask a really simple question that has already been answered.

1. I don't have to defend myself to you.

2. The lack of respect gets to me, as well. Is it the question itself you deem disrespectful? Or is it the fact that you feel you have to call me out for having asked it? If it's the former, then that's on you what you choose to be offended by. If it's the latter, noone is forcing you to respond in a negative manner to posters. You're choosing to do that to both myself and whooleytoo. You accused me of two things, including questioning my literacy, my forum competence, and of failing to meet your personal standard for forum etiquette (having read every post in the thread before asking my own question). Take a step back and consider this: of the two of us, whose actions prompted a moderator response?

 

[ajohansson]

Really whats not to like!

I have a mac mini (my home computer) with iTunes home sharing on hooked to a 2 TB glyph drive with every DVD I own in m4v format. The mac mini is on the home network so I see all of my movies on the ATV2. I can control the ATV2 with my iPad, touch or iPhone (way better than the remote). I never have to load a dvd or worry about scratching it. My whole library is accessible to the rest of the family on their iPads/itouchs or other ATV2's in other parts of the house. I can put iTunes movies on other devices to be played in my cars video screen (hello 240 GB iPod classic and keeping kids happy).

Granted it took me awhile to rip my entire library but it was easy with handbrake. I love having everything on the glyph drive ready to sync to anything I want.

I have also JB my ATV2 and running VMware on the mac mini so I can use Playon with xbmc for other content like amazon etc.

For 99 buck what else could be better, oh and all my movies in 720 look just fine on a 55" samsung. I don't own a blue ray player because in all honesty the regular movies look just fine.

 

[SurfMacJpMtb]

For us the primary point of an Apple TV is to enjoy our computer’s iTunes media library and digital photo collection on our televisions.

We enjoy having random photos and music playing on our TV’s as we take care of our daily business. In addition, we use the ATV to enjoy home via iTunes.

 

[hafr]

1. I don't have to defend myself to you.

Yet you seem to feel the need to...

2. The lack of respect gets to me, as well. Is it the question itself you deem disrespectful?

Haha, are you for real? This whole thing started with you ignoring what was written and asked a question to which the answer was just a few posts further back, and now you're asking a question to which the answer is found in the very post you're quoting...

You accused me of two things, including questioning my literacy, my forum competence, and of failing to meet your personal standard for forum etiquette (having read every post in the thread before asking my own question).

Questioning your literacy just became so much easier, considering the previous quote... Let me ask you, do you think you're the first one to ever ask the question you asked? How come you didn't at least google it at first? And how come you didn't read the thread before you asked your question?

 

[dnelms]

Maybe someone can let us know know the ATV2 can stream content from either an external USB hard drive or from a NAS?

I don't use mine for that but I imagine it's possible if jailbroken.

The content that comes to my ATV from my computer is iTunes stuff. But video, both TV shows and movies that I have ripped come from 2 (2TB) external HD's. Streams fine once you point the movies/tv shows to the right places in iTunes. I do not store the media under the iTunes folder (except music)... I just use the iTunes to provide the path to find them.

Not jailbroken at all. I also have a Roku 2, so I only use the ATV for watching local video content or music.

 

[Irishman]

The content that comes to my ATV from my computer is iTunes stuff. But video, both TV shows and movies that I have ripped come from 2 (2TB) external HD's. Streams fine once you point the movies/tv shows to the right places in iTunes. I do not store the media under the iTunes folder (except music)... I just use the iTunes to provide the path to find them.

Not jailbroken at all. I also have a Roku 2, so I only use the ATV for watching local video content or music.

Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful!

Have a great holiday.