Alternative to Apple TV2 for running XBMC

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#434904 3-Feb-2011 15:50

gehenna:
reven:
gehenna: When I did a reset from the remote (Menu+Down) I had to tether again to boot it up. So essentially remote reset is a waste of time because you have to end up doing a hard reset and tether anyway.

thanks for that, they will make me think twice about buying it. AT1 always required a reset from the remote (about every 3 days for me). if they can get around that, then i will definitely buy one (1080p scaled down to 720p doesnt bother me, as long as it can playback everything without stuttering).

Been running for a week today without a reset. Once a non-tethered jailbreak comes out I'll be redoing everything so it's not a problem for me right now. Just have to realise it's early days so far, may as well be talking about jailbreaking the first gen iPhone :)

yeah i get that its early days, and hopefully it will be a full jailbreak in future. people should just be aware of this issue, and decide for themselves.

i was planning on putting one in my kids room so they could watch all their videos/movies from a network HDD. but if they unplug something, or if it locks up, it will be annoying having to constantly jailbreak it.
just my experience from xbmc on ATV1, it was good, 720ps played fine with crystal hd, but it did lock up a bit.

gehenna

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#434908 3-Feb-2011 15:54

Yep I get that, and xbmc themselves are pretty on to it when it comes to laying out the issues - i guess if you're going to go and jailbreak your aTV you'd be the type of person that would do a bit of reading first - especially given its complexity. There's no accounting for some people though and you're right, someone will eventually get tripped up.

No stability issues for me so far anyway, and I've been using it daily with a variety of media. So that's something i guess. Can only see it getting better over time.

jonherries

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#435446 4-Feb-2011 18:38

Green poison has just released an untethered jailbreak.

Maybe a week before it gets incorporated into season pass.

Jon

reven

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#435489 4-Feb-2011 19:46

jonherries: Green poison has just released an untethered jailbreak.

Maybe a week before it gets incorporated into season pass.

Jon

cool, looks like ill be buying one in about a week then. (maybe 2...)

th3r3turn

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#438867 13-Feb-2011 15:32

i would like to know a couple of things, i hear you only get 720p output, and how well M2TS movies play!

Dunnersfella

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#439438 14-Feb-2011 20:18

720p output is correct, I have been playing with Greenpois0n today... but am frustrated because it won't let me install the 3rd party apps like XBMC. I had previously been running this on the Seas0npass jail break - and it was fine.
I'm picking when the Greenpois0n bugs are ironed out it'll be popular. No tethered boot required, easy to do for both Mac and Windows users...
The holy grail for the ATV2 is surely the unlocking of the USB port?

Handle9

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#439445 14-Feb-2011 20:35

Umm I ran Greenpoison (windows), installed Cydia (inject menu from Greenpoison) and then installed XBMC from there. I'm not sure why you need seasonpass?

Works like a charm unthethered and it's awesome getting XBMC on a decent hardware device.....

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StarBlazer

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#439595 15-Feb-2011 08:33

I keep thinking about the options but keep coming back to the issues that ATV2 is still only 720p and can't put a USB drive directly on to it. This means that I would still have to get a USB network adapter for my drives

Still think I'm going to wait and see what WD come out with over the year.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

reven

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#439615 15-Feb-2011 09:09

StarBlazer: I keep thinking about the options but keep coming back to the issues that ATV2 is still only 720p and can't put a USB drive directly on to it. This means that I would still have to get a USB network adapter for my drives

Still think I'm going to wait and see what WD come out with over the year.

assuming you already have a network, you dont need another network drive, just connect the ATV to you existing network and access your videos from wherever you keep them now.

the beauty of the ATV is its size (and price), its a tiny device, if you plugged in another HDD into it, it wouldnt be tiny anymore. and if you want multiple ATVs, having a HDD plugged into one would mean the other couldnt access it.

garvani

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#439629 15-Feb-2011 09:37

Not everyone has network attached storage, some people only have external usb drives.

XBMC announced a few months ago that Sigma are porting XBMC onto there platform, this means that new devices using the SMP8656 and SMP8910 chipsets will be able to run XBMC natively. They do not plan on porting it backwards too there old chipsets which are in the current wdtv, popcornhour, acRyan offerings, but does mean that wdtv etc can release a new media player that runs xbmc as its frontend (the new chipsets have 3d acceleration which makes all this possible). There hasn't been an announcement yet of any media players using these chipsets, but its only a matter of time! You can find out more here and here

Edit: Talked to our supplier about Boxee.. DSE have them locked down in this country for the forseeable future, didnt stop me getting two units in though.. Have been playing with one for the last 24hours, have to say im not all that impressed. Boxee sure have gimped the interface.

StarBlazer

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#439672 15-Feb-2011 10:58

garvani: Not everyone has network attached storage, some people only have external usb drives.

True - I currently have a NSLU2 which is about as slow as a slow thing on planet slow whilst on a go slow! I'd love to get rid of it!

That's what I like about the WD units, when you connect it to the network, any drives you connect become visible to the rest of the network - which is pretty much what a NAS does.

I'll also be able to retire the XBox which will mean less clutter in the TV stand - the wife will be happy - which will be the sales pitch.

I just hope they don't take too long or cost too much!

Procrastination eventually pays off.

jonherries

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#439691 15-Feb-2011 11:20

With xbmc on apple tv, any network share becomes available, ie. My USB drive connected to my airport extreme can be tapped for this through a samba implementation in xbmc.

Without xbmc, any local running iTunes library is visible.

Might be worth downloading it for your pc/mac and checking xbmc out, I believe the apple tv version is feature complete.
Jon

gehenna

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#439693 15-Feb-2011 11:27

jonherries: With xbmc on apple tv, any network share becomes available, ie. My USB drive connected to my airport extreme can be tapped for this through a samba implementation in xbmc.

Without xbmc, any local running iTunes library is visible.

Might be worth downloading it for your pc/mac and checking xbmc out, I believe the apple tv version is feature complete.

Jon

The point is that the aTV doesn't support locally attached storage via USB, whereas the WDTV does.

jjnz1

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#439713 15-Feb-2011 11:52

It is not even possible to plug both the HDMI cable and USB cable in at once! Both the cables footprints overlap one another, so either HDMI or USB. I know which one I would have.

Any one device is not perfect for everyone, but I think the Apple TV2 will cater for a lot of consumers out there. Maybe only the ones who have a PC running 24/7 or who own a NAS solution, but hey, who on Geekzone doesn't own or want those? ;).

PANiCnz

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#439732 15-Feb-2011 12:18

The pogoplug is a good replacement for the nslu2 however not easy to get in nz

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