Howdy,
So I got the new Apple TV yesterday and put it in my system. It's sure is tiny. While awaiting this device, I ripped my whole CD collection into Apple Lossless and stuffed it in a QNAP server (they have an iTunes Server built-in). However, silly Apple decided that those aren't good enough. A dedicated PC/Mac must be on running and sharing iTunes library (via Home Sharing) in order for the ATVG2 to work. GRRRR.
Also, I am not sure if the audio out is bitstreamed or not...I think it's PCM and has be re-encoded too. SIGH My SSP reads DISCRETE, PCM, 48K for the ALAC files but iTunes shows them as 44.1K. So ATV changes the audio from CD to video's audio format??
The GUI is nice and simple (and missing TV for us Canucks) and would be painful to navigate on a regular basis if not for the Remote App. I use the iPad and iPhone and it's pretty good. Much, much faster to move around than the OEM remote.
I really like their slide show with music...I can entertain the kids (only 2) for quite a long time. Cool transitions too. Picture quality is A+++.
Sound-wise, it's not bad and having all my music readily accessible is nice. Especially it's so much cheaper than a Sooloos and can do videos too. Once ATVFiles gets a hack/mod available, this should also be able to stream the most popular formats direct from network storages...however, not being pure bitstream on the output still bugs me.
For vids, although it's only 720p, it's not bad. My plan is to use the Netflix/iTunes for viewing movies that I want to watch but not really sure I want to own. Small price to pay (even less than my cable provider's view-on-demand prices). For the must-haves, I'll still get the BD media anyway. As mentioned, it's surprisingly good. Stream speed via wifi is more than quick enough. And I just put in one of those MOCA network in case I need to go wired.
In fact, the sound off Youtube was a pleasant surprise. I watched the ubiquitous Drifting video from Andy McKee and the sound was superb. Is this really YouTube??
For the price, I think Job's little "hobby" is definitely worth pursuing. It would be interesting to see this vs the GoogleTV/Boxee/other streamers as time goes on.
Anyone else use one of these?
Cheers,
-Hedwig
So I got the new Apple TV yesterday and put it in my system. It's sure is tiny. While awaiting this device, I ripped my whole CD collection into Apple Lossless and stuffed it in a QNAP server (they have an iTunes Server built-in). However, silly Apple decided that those aren't good enough. A dedicated PC/Mac must be on running and sharing iTunes library (via Home Sharing) in order for the ATVG2 to work. GRRRR.
Also, I am not sure if the audio out is bitstreamed or not...I think it's PCM and has be re-encoded too. SIGH My SSP reads DISCRETE, PCM, 48K for the ALAC files but iTunes shows them as 44.1K. So ATV changes the audio from CD to video's audio format??
The GUI is nice and simple (and missing TV for us Canucks) and would be painful to navigate on a regular basis if not for the Remote App. I use the iPad and iPhone and it's pretty good. Much, much faster to move around than the OEM remote.
I really like their slide show with music...I can entertain the kids (only 2) for quite a long time. Cool transitions too. Picture quality is A+++.
Sound-wise, it's not bad and having all my music readily accessible is nice. Especially it's so much cheaper than a Sooloos and can do videos too. Once ATVFiles gets a hack/mod available, this should also be able to stream the most popular formats direct from network storages...however, not being pure bitstream on the output still bugs me.
For vids, although it's only 720p, it's not bad. My plan is to use the Netflix/iTunes for viewing movies that I want to watch but not really sure I want to own. Small price to pay (even less than my cable provider's view-on-demand prices). For the must-haves, I'll still get the BD media anyway. As mentioned, it's surprisingly good. Stream speed via wifi is more than quick enough. And I just put in one of those MOCA network in case I need to go wired.
In fact, the sound off Youtube was a pleasant surprise. I watched the ubiquitous Drifting video from Andy McKee and the sound was superb. Is this really YouTube??
For the price, I think Job's little "hobby" is definitely worth pursuing. It would be interesting to see this vs the GoogleTV/Boxee/other streamers as time goes on.
Anyone else use one of these?
Cheers,
-Hedwig
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