New Apple TV info

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old3eyes

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#18604 16-Jan-2008 09:00

FYI.

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Still a $500 brick here in NZ as far as I'm concerned. Still lacks wider codec support though no doubt hacks will come out very soon after it's released..

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#105131 16-Jan-2008 09:09

Apple TV is a kind of a joke outside the U.S. in my opinion since the new movie rental only works in the U.S. It won't connect to a cable service, so it's not actually "TV".

I am muc more inclined to get a Windows Media Center or Mac mini and run VLC to play DVDs stored on my home server than I would be inclined to get an Apple TV. The Windows Media Center or Mac mini option would do exactly what the Apple TV does, and more.

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#105133 16-Jan-2008 09:13

This product and business model however is very, very cool.

chiefie

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#105137 16-Jan-2008 09:25

Another bite, rental movie initiated from Apple TV, stays in Apple TV and cannot be transferred elsewhere... unlike if you get it straight from Itunes software. So Apple TV is limited.

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#105148 16-Jan-2008 10:24

I've said it before and I'll stand up on my soap box again (because it isn't very big). The int3rweb and devices like Apple TV are going to make the whole Blu Ray vs HD-DVD war meaningless since the future is internet based delivery, not a physical medium like a piece of plastic.

Gigs

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#105164 16-Jan-2008 11:41

And you're right[1].

[1] Unless you're outside of the US where no provider except maybe joost will give you the content all those living in the US can sign up for. ;) (For eg hulu.com, hell pandora for radio, etc etc)

In joosts case not even the content you can get from itunes and other TV services.

Whilst most of us see the internet as not having boundaries, that doesn't stop the content providers from imposing them. (Sigh)

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#105166 16-Jan-2008 11:47

I can't see those boundaries existing for much longer. Why? Because if legitimate options then piracy will only get bigger. You could argue with music that piracy occured because people could get something for free and the quality was no different. With video people want a HD version with 5.1 sound, they don't want a crappy copy of a movie and a very large legitimate market exists and Apple are now taking full advantage of this. If the companies aren't making options available elsewhere for people to legally obtain products then it's only logical that people will pirate them.

mortonman

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#105193 16-Jan-2008 13:15

1] Unless you're outside of the US where no provider except maybe joost will give you the content all those living in the US can sign up for. ;) (For eg hulu.com, hell pandora for radio, etc etc)

Pandora is back on www.gloabalpandora.com listening to it at work at the moment

(sorry don't know how to box previous posts or add hyperlink)

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#105202 16-Jan-2008 13:49

old3eyes: FYI.

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Still a $500 brick here in NZ as far as I'm concerned. Still lacks wider codec support though no doubt hacks will come out very soon after it's released..

I'm using one of these: http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/. Its got a silly name but its a very nice device based on the Sigma Designs SMP8635 chipset, and will play just about anything - including files recorded from our H.264 DVB-T broadcasts.

From the specs:

Video containers:

MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
VOB
AVI, ASF, WMV
Matroska (MKV)
MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4

Video codecs:

XVID SD/HD
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
- MP@HL
MPEG-4.2
- ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
WMV9
- MP@HL
H.264
- BP@L3
- MP@L4.0
- HP@L4.0
- HP@L4.1
VC-1
- MP@HL
- AP@L3

Audio containers:

AAC, M4A
MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
WAV
WMA

Audio codecs:

WMA, WMA Pro
AAC
MP1, MP2, MP3
LPCM

Audio pass through : DTS, AC3

Photo formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF

Other formats: ISO, IFO

Subtitle formats : SRT, SMI, SUB, SSA

old3eyes

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#105228 16-Jan-2008 16:29

I just ordered one yesterday. Due to be shipped Feb 04. Have you had many problems with it ?? i.e. over heating in playback, file formats??

At about NZ$280 landed it's a bargin

Did you have to pay anything after it arrive like customs clearanace to DHL or the like as some overseas seemed to have had to do??

TIA.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#105237 16-Jan-2008 17:06

Looks good... But no wireless LAN.

What does "ISO" means? Can you load a DVD ISO image and play it?

sub

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#105250 16-Jan-2008 18:05

old3eyes:
I just ordered one yesterday. Due to be shipped Feb 04. Have you had many problems with it ?? i.e. over heating in playback, file formats??
At about NZ$280 landed it's a bargin

Yeah, its a good price. I've not had any problems with it so far.

Its played my .mpg and .ts files without any problems. It also seems to play high def x264 .mkv files well, but has a problem seeking within this file type, but apparently this problem is being worked on.

I've not tried many other files types yet, other than a brief play of a few .avi files.

Did you have to pay anything after it arrive like customs clearanace to DHL or the like as some overseas seemed to have had to do??
TIA.

No, I didnt have to pay anything.

sub

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#105251 16-Jan-2008 18:11

freitasm: Looks good... But no wireless LAN.

Thats find by me, I'm not interested in doing wireless video stream. I pretty much only use wireless for light internet surfing from my laptop.

That said, they did say on their forums that they were intending to add support for a USB 802.11n adapter, and possibly introducing a 802.11n version in the future.

What does "ISO" means? Can you load a DVD ISO image and play it?

Yes, they do mean a DVD iso image. I havnt personally tried, but others have indicated they're using this feature, so I have to assume it works.

old3eyes

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#105261 16-Jan-2008 18:44

Thanx Sub for the info. Counting the days down ..

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#105618 18-Jan-2008 23:35

I've bought a Mac mini and installed Windows Vista using Bootcamp. With MyMovies plugin for Windows Media Center and DaemonTools it automatically mounts ISO images and plays them - even over wireless - with no problems.

OrangeDrink

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#106730 25-Jan-2008 14:27

Anyone heard anything about Archos TV+ being useable in New Zealand at all? Seems to be a much better option that Apple TV...

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