I have just bought an Apple TV, what's the best way to stream movies

Forums › Online streaming services › I have just bought an Apple TV, what's the best way to stream movies

HelpAli

43 posts

Geek

#143723 24-Apr-2014 16:54

Hi,

I have just bought an Apple TV.

A friend has recommended using Plex but I think its just a server? I also need to get the moves from a website - which one?

I have heard Netflix is good but am not sure how to get Netflix, I tried setting up a VPN but can't get it working. I have a laptop and ipad, no PC.

Also, is it worth upgrading from ADSL to VDSL? I am changing from Vodafone to Telecom and could change quite cheaply now.

I am not scared of technology but am not up to date either - so please explain terminology.

I will appreciate any help - I am a single mother and trying to set up movies etc for my daughters at home as we enjoy 'movie nights' together. DVD's are often scratched so it would be great to just get movies online.

Thanks
Alison

antoniosk

2358 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1030726 24-Apr-2014 17:23

There's a number of ways an AppleTV can be used.... the simplest I find is Plex on a PC or Mac running as the server (and where your content is), and a recent model ipod/ipad/etc running plex client locally. discover content on your widget, redirect to the ATV and you're away.

That's an easy way to get started, but it is limited in form.... failing that, search the web for Apple TV/Plex, though I think the latest generation units can't be hacked to use Plex.

________

Antoniosk

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1030744 24-Apr-2014 17:52

This option will cost you a few dollars per week, but it's the best option out there. Go to Unblock-US.com and sign up (or if you're on slingshot, find out how to enable their global mode feature) - Unblock-US or global mode will enable you to view the internet as if you live in the US.

Which means a quick settings change on the Apple TV will now give you Netflix and a few other TV options.

Netflix costs $8 USD per month, and gives you unlimited streaming of heaps of great titles. Plenty of movies for the kids, and TV shows & foreign films for you.

Yeap it's not free, but maybe the same, or cheaper than renting several weekly's from the DVD store every weekend. Both Unblock-US and Netflix have a free trial period. So you can always see if you like it, before putting the dollars down. Just remember to cancel Netflix before the Unblock-US week long trial is over if you don't want to continue, or you will end up paying for Netflix even though you can't access it!

VDSL is faster most of the time, but also costs a bit more and will mean you will use your internet faster (e.g. your Youtube will play at higher resolutions by default, and you will be able to load more web pages given the same period of time) - if you're internet isn't feeling slow, you don't need to upgrade, but VDSL will make it snappier for sure.

geekiegeek

2513 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1030756 24-Apr-2014 18:21

antoniosk: There's a number of ways an AppleTV can be used.... the simplest I find is Plex on a PC or Mac running as the server (and where your content is), and a recent model ipod/ipad/etc running plex client locally. discover content on your widget, redirect to the ATV and you're away.

That's an easy way to get started, but it is limited in form.... failing that, search the web for Apple TV/Plex, though I think the latest generation units can't be hacked to use Plex.

All latest versions of Apple TV are supported but it does require some technical know how to get it going. I suspect (and not trying to belittle the OP in anyway) that the OP may not be at this technical stage at this point so your suggestion of using an ipad plex client with airplay is probably the easiest option.

If however the OP would like the full plex experience on the apple tv, the plex add-on you are after is called plexconnect and requires a change of DNS on the Apple TV and installation of a SSL certificate on the apple TV as well. There are step by step instructions here - https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect/wiki/Install-Guide

davidcole

6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1030803 24-Apr-2014 20:44

Plex does require done fudgery, but quite worth it if you get it going,

Itunes is the cheapest and easiest to set up, if a little expensive.

Next easiest would probably be netflix and if you have at goes. (Via unblock us) the. You can have crackle as well, which is free.

Personally I've got plex and Netflix on my apple tv3 covers pretty much anything I'd want to run on it.

Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight

Dairyxox

1594 posts

Uber Geek

#1030816 24-Apr-2014 21:11

I'm looking at getting one of these too, but imagined you'd (sometimes) use airplay mirroring from your mac to display any web content?

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1030858 24-Apr-2014 22:00

Dairyxox: I'm looking at getting one of these too, but imagined you'd (sometimes) use airplay mirroring from your mac to display any web content?

The mac has to be pretty new (2011 or newer), otherwise it won't work.

HelpAli

43 posts

Geek

#1030926 25-Apr-2014 09:18

macuser: This option will cost you a few dollars per week, but it's the best option out there. Go to Unblock-US.com and sign up (or if you're on slingshot, find out how to enable their global mode feature) - Unblock-US or global mode will enable you to view the internet as if you live in the US.

Which means a quick settings change on the Apple TV will now give you Netflix and a few other TV options.

Netflix costs $8 USD per month, and gives you unlimited streaming of heaps of great titles. Plenty of movies for the kids, and TV shows & foreign films for you.

Yeap it's not free, but maybe the same, or cheaper than renting several weekly's from the DVD store every weekend. Both Unblock-US and Netflix have a free trial period. So you can always see if you like it, before putting the dollars down. Just remember to cancel Netflix before the Unblock-US week long trial is over if you don't want to continue, or you will end up paying for Netflix even though you can't access it!

VDSL is faster most of the time, but also costs a bit more and will mean you will use your internet faster (e.g. your Youtube will play at higher resolutions by default, and you will be able to load more web pages given the same period of time) - if you're internet isn't feeling slow, you don't need to upgrade, but VDSL will make it snappier for sure.

Hi, thank you, I have set up unblock-us and Netflix. I know it must be correct because now I can get on to the Netflix website. When I try to do anything on Netflix it says I need the Netflix app.

How do I get it the USA app? As before there is a lot of conflicting information all costing different amounts of money. It looks like I somehow need to log onto the USA App Store?

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1030929 25-Apr-2014 09:28

HelpAli:
macuser: This option will cost you a few dollars per week, but it's the best option out there. Go to Unblock-US.com and sign up (or if you're on slingshot, find out how to enable their global mode feature) - Unblock-US or global mode will enable you to view the internet as if you live in the US.

Which means a quick settings change on the Apple TV will now give you Netflix and a few other TV options.

Netflix costs $8 USD per month, and gives you unlimited streaming of heaps of great titles. Plenty of movies for the kids, and TV shows & foreign films for you.

Yeap it's not free, but maybe the same, or cheaper than renting several weekly's from the DVD store every weekend. Both Unblock-US and Netflix have a free trial period. So you can always see if you like it, before putting the dollars down. Just remember to cancel Netflix before the Unblock-US week long trial is over if you don't want to continue, or you will end up paying for Netflix even though you can't access it!

VDSL is faster most of the time, but also costs a bit more and will mean you will use your internet faster (e.g. your Youtube will play at higher resolutions by default, and you will be able to load more web pages given the same period of time) - if you're internet isn't feeling slow, you don't need to upgrade, but VDSL will make it snappier for sure.

Hi, thank you, I have set up unblock-us and Netflix. I know it must be correct because now I can get on to the Netflix website. When I try to do anything on Netflix it says I need the Netflix app.

How do I get it the USA app? As before there is a lot of conflicting information all costing different amounts of money. It looks like I somehow need to log onto the USA App Store?

Go on to the unblock-us website, they have all the tutorials you need for changing the DNS setting on iPad and Apple TV http://www.unblock-us.com/how-to-set-up/

You can change the location of your Apple store by following this guide... super simple. You will lose access to the apps you've already downloaded through the NZ store though, until you've switched back to the NZ store. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6119

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1030934 25-Apr-2014 09:42

HelpAli:
Hi, thank you, I have set up unblock-us and Netflix. I know it must be correct because now I can get on to the Netflix website. When I try to do anything on Netflix it says I need the Netflix app.

How do I get it the USA app? As before there is a lot of conflicting information all costing different amounts of money. It looks like I somehow need to log onto the USA App Store?

It should be possible to do it for free, but yes you will need a US iTunes account for the NetFlix app to be shown. It is possible to create a US account without adding credit card details (which is required at the time of account creation). See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2534 for advice on how to do this.

The one potential wrinkle with having a US iTunes account is that it can complicate the hiring of movies from the iTunes store (which are priced competitively with an old school video store). If you don't have a US credit card, you will need to switch to a NZ iTunes account to do this (losing the NetFlix app in the process, until you switch back). However, if you have a credit card that allows foreign currency (such as the Air New Zealand OneSmart card), you can use that.

Alternatively you can load up your US iTunes account with credit from iTunes gift cards. But be aware that you will have to purchase gift cards specifically designed for it. You can't use a gift card purchased locally with the US store.

An advantage of having the ability to purchase from the US iTunes store is they have much greater content (including hiring/purchasing TV shows), and tend to get movie releases a lot sooner than then NZ store does.

davidcole

6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1030936 25-Apr-2014 09:47

If getting a us itunes account, I'd ditch the nz one for media. It's useless by comparison.

Of course when I did it, I'd never bought a movie off the nz itunes.

HelpAli

43 posts

Geek

#1031241 25-Apr-2014 17:15

macuser:
HelpAli:
macuser: This option will cost you a few dollars per week, but it's the best option out there. Go to Unblock-US.com and sign up (or if you're on slingshot, find out how to enable their global mode feature) - Unblock-US or global mode will enable you to view the internet as if you live in the US.

Which means a quick settings change on the Apple TV will now give you Netflix and a few other TV options.

Netflix costs $8 USD per month, and gives you unlimited streaming of heaps of great titles. Plenty of movies for the kids, and TV shows & foreign films for you.

Yeap it's not free, but maybe the same, or cheaper than renting several weekly's from the DVD store every weekend. Both Unblock-US and Netflix have a free trial period. So you can always see if you like it, before putting the dollars down. Just remember to cancel Netflix before the Unblock-US week long trial is over if you don't want to continue, or you will end up paying for Netflix even though you can't access it!

VDSL is faster most of the time, but also costs a bit more and will mean you will use your internet faster (e.g. your Youtube will play at higher resolutions by default, and you will be able to load more web pages given the same period of time) - if you're internet isn't feeling slow, you don't need to upgrade, but VDSL will make it snappier for sure.

Hi, thank you, I have set up unblock-us and Netflix. I know it must be correct because now I can get on to the Netflix website. When I try to do anything on Netflix it says I need the Netflix app.

How do I get it the USA app? As before there is a lot of conflicting information all costing different amounts of money. It looks like I somehow need to log onto the USA App Store?

Go on to the unblock-us website, they have all the tutorials you need for changing the DNS setting on iPad and Apple TV http://www.unblock-us.com/how-to-set-up/

You can change the location of your Apple store by following this guide... super simple. You will lose access to the apps you've already downloaded through the NZ store though, until you've switched back to the NZ store. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6119

Thank you so much, we have movies on our tv now!