WD LIve or Apple TV - Will they do what i want?

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gehenna

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#452504 27-Mar-2011 18:40

The USB port in the aTV2 is only for connecting the device to a computer and restoring the firmware (or jailbreaking).

All media has to be streamed to the device from a shared folder on your LAN, or from the internet. As long as you have a shared network drive then you're good to go.

It will stream TVNZ OnDemand if jailbroken and XBMC is installed.

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steve74

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#452520 27-Mar-2011 19:23

Sweet. The apple tv will do everything i need then with a few "jail breaks".

as, i said, If it can access my folders from my windows7 PC then im happy. I was just woried that i needed a Mac to do that.

cheers, steve

trig42

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#453047 29-Mar-2011 09:57

I have the WDTV Live. It is a great little media player, but is a bit of a pain accessing network shares (I use it with a 1Tb USB drive plugged into it and I transfer stuff to that drive from any of my Windows PCs over the network). It plays pretty much everything I chuck at it.

I would love to see an aTV2 jailbroken running XBMC, and would happily get one if it did all that the WD does and more. I do need to know if it runs happily with a Harmony and if the Apple Remote App (for iPhone/ iPod touch) will operate it if it is jailbroken.

timmmay

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#453063 29-Mar-2011 10:38

I use a PS3 for this. It has a fairly ugly interface, but it works really well. Of course the PS3 is quite expensive, so it's only an option if you think you'll use it for other things, games, singstar, etc.

I think the xbox can do the same thing, and has a nicer interface.

Some of the newer AV receiver can do some or all of this too, they might be worth a look. From a bit of reading yesterday the new Onkyo units can do audio, but I don't think they've added video or picture support yet.

allan

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#453091 29-Mar-2011 11:35

As a somewhat cheaper option, you could try an Apacer AL460 - see http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=DVAAPA0460.

There's a review at http://www.mamakuku.co.nz/apacer-al460-network-media-player-review.html and a search on here will find a discussion.

JimmyH

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#453298 29-Mar-2011 22:14

The main pluses for the WD over an Apple TV (even jailbroken) are the wide range of file types supported, and the ability to use local USB drives. Makes things simpler if you just want to play files of a disk or USB drive. Having said that, my experience with playing over a network (wirelessly) has been pretty positive as well.

The main negative for the WD is that the menus/interface arrangement is very ugly and clunky - albeit functional. Plus the remote isn't that good, although it (apparently) supports wireless mini-keyboard arrangements which I am contemplating as it would make searching a large movie volume easier.

I would still go with the WD if buying again, as it just works fairly flawlessly out of the box, but I could be persuaded if there were real advantages to xmbc.

Won't ever go the PS3 option - loathe and detest Sony - 'nuff said.

plod

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#454762 3-Apr-2011 11:25

I have been using the PS3 option for the past 2 years, along with ps3media server with good success, not the prettiest option but one that worked. Had the original atv since the released but never really used it.
But got a new TV last week with built in media player, connected it to the network and it see's and plays all my files. Now making the ps3 redundant for media. Definitly something to look into when buying a TV. Has a usb port which I haven't tried yet

freitasm

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#454777 3-Apr-2011 12:25

What about something like the new Netgear NeoTV 350? I just received one here for review, and it's a big step up from the old Netgear EVA200 unit we reviewed before (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=8582).

The new version has component and composite in addition to the existing HDMI. It now supports three USB device plus a SD card (currently I have a Lexar 64GB SD card in it and it's working fine). It supports DLNA (great if you have a DLNA server for example Windows Media Player or Windows Home Server or a smartphone). And most importantly, it now supports 1080p, it plays Flip videos, and it supports MKV, MP4, MPG, AVI, WMV and Xvid files.

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timmmay

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#454802 3-Apr-2011 14:07

plod: I have been using the PS3 option for the past 2 years, along with ps3media server with good success, not the prettiest option but one that worked. Had the original atv since the released but never really used it.
But got a new TV last week with built in media player, connected it to the network and it see's and plays all my files. Now making the ps3 redundant for media. Definitly something to look into when buying a TV. Has a usb port which I haven't tried yet

Doing things this way you need to run an optical out from the TV to the receiver, if you have one, which apparently loses some of the 5.1 type sound things. If you're using the PS3 for playing DVDs anyway you don't really gain much.

plod

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#454803 3-Apr-2011 14:11

timmmay:
plod: I have been using the PS3 option for the past 2 years, along with ps3media server with good success, not the prettiest option but one that worked. Had the original atv since the released but never really used it.
But got a new TV last week with built in media player, connected it to the network and it see's and plays all my files. Now making the ps3 redundant for media. Definitly something to look into when buying a TV. Has a usb port which I haven't tried yet

Doing things this way you need to run an optical out from the TV to the receiver, if you have one, which apparently loses some of the 5.1 type sound things. If you're using the PS3 for playing DVDs anyway you don't really gain much.

Should of stated, I'm in the fortunate situation of not having a HT system.

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