Will a jailbroken AppleTV 2 with XBMC do this for me?

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stevenz

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Reply # 558686 16-Dec-2011 13:11

My ATV2 outputs an 1080p signal via XBMC. At least, that's what the TV identifies it as. I think the issue is something like the video encoder will only handle up to 720p, but the actual signal generator will scale that to 1080p during output. Something along those lines, basically you get a 720p resolution but at a 1080p output. It's still as good/better than what you get from a regular DVD or Freeview anyway

If you've got an Onkyo 609 then you can that to access either a DLNA share, or stream music to it from an Android or iOS device, or play music from a USB device plugged into the front of it, OR stream internet-radio directly. All via the front LCD panel. TP-Link make a compatible wireless USB adaptor as well so you could get one of those in lieu of running a network cable to the receiver.

@KnightNZ

jonherries

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Reply # 558715 16-Dec-2011 14:23

Couple of notes:

I can control xbmc from my iphone using the apple remote app (free). This mechanism also works from the ipad and ipod touch.

You do get a remote with the apple tv, which also works with XBMC.

I have set up a server running on an old emac in the garage which serves the itunes library for the apple tv and iphone/ipad2. The emac runs Leopard which can run the latest version of itunes.

I have a macbook which I use to record tv using a usb Elgato HD tuner. This gets sent to the emac server and drive for storage when converted to a more convenient format.

xarqi

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Reply # 558790 16-Dec-2011 18:44

stevenz: My ATV2 outputs an 1080p signal via XBMC. At least, that's what the TV identifies it as. I think the issue is something like the video encoder will only handle up to 720p, but the actual signal generator will scale that to 1080p during output. Something along those lines, basically you get a 720p resolution but at a 1080p output. It's still as good/better than what you get from a regular DVD or Freeview anyway

Ok - some sort of "weakest link" thing.

If you've got an Onkyo 609 then you can that to access either a DLNA share, or stream music to it from an Android...

That's the approach I'm taking at the moment, but I still have to get to the bottom of the reasonably frequent sound drop-outs. They are very short in duration - maybe just 100 ms - but annoying. It's not a problem on the ethernet link to the 609 since it got no worse when I was doing a simultaneous file transfer between two other devices. Looking at the lights on my hub, it looks like either the 609 is not requesting new data soon enough, or the X1 is too slow to respond, and I'm getting a buffer under-flow.

...or iOS device, or play music from a USB device plugged into the front of it,...

That's a plan B, but the ability to queue music and do so remotely using Twonky Mobile for Android is very alluring (if it weren't for those pesky drop-outs). Also, navigation using the front LCD on the 609 is not that easy given it's only 2 lines high.

...OR stream internet-radio directly.

Yeah - that's a great feature. I'm using vTuner, but I'm definitely considering a subscription to aupeo.

All via the front LCD panel. TP-Link make a compatible wireless USB adaptor as well so you could get one of those in lieu of running a network cable to the receiver.

The wired LAN is in place now, with a hub there for the TV, BDP, Vu+ Duo, and 609. As for WiFi, I only have 802.11g though, and that's the highest that the Vu+ supports anyway. It's not quite enough bandwidth for HD unfortunately, but it should be bucketloads for MP3s.

---
@jonherries: Thanks for the input.

stevenz

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Reply # 558911 17-Dec-2011 09:06

There are some recent-ish firmware updates for the 609, it might be worth checking that if you haven't already? I've run some streaming audio through mine and it hasn't missed a beat.

@KnightNZ

xarqi

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Reply # 558927 17-Dec-2011 10:38

I did do an update when I got it, just a couple of weeks ago: the most visible change was availability of more online services, like aupeo. Streaming "radio" from the net works very well, with only very rare pauses for rebuffering, probably due to server overload. Streaming over my wired LAN from my mac is also not a problem in that respect either, so I don't think the problem lies there.

It's just when I do it wirelessly from my phone using an android DLNA server. That some server apps are worse than others makes me think the problem is at the phone end, and my current suspicion is that the X1 is just not quite up to it in terms of processor speed. Another possibility is that some of the server apps I tried were just poorly written, and that the tiny memory I have in the phone is a limitation for Twonky - the phone is grizzling about low memory. I'm awaiting a 32GB SDHC card, and when that arrives I'll be able to see if Twonky works better, and also try some other servers, in addition to loading more than a few trial albums.

A new phone isn't an option, especially if I have to get one just to test a theory, so I'll probably end up using the best android DLNA server I find for "ordinary" use only if the drop-out problem isn't resolved, and attaching via USB for special occasions when even the rare drop-out would spoil the moment (I'm looking at you Mr Beethoven!)

xarqi

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Reply # 559129 18-Dec-2011 00:57

I tried iMediaShare, another android DLNA server, and guess what? No drop-outs*! Excellent!
I think I've got my solution.

The IMS interface doesn't seem to be quite as powerful as the Twonky one, but that may just be that I haven't read the "how to" information yet.

As an aside, both Twonky and IMS were able to "beam" music to my Onkyo 609, but neither could see my Panasonic 50V20 TV (which could see and access either server - go figure), and I was not able to beam photos or video to the 609, nor could it access them from either DLNA server. Maybe the 609 only supports music via DLNA.

While hunting for relevant apps, I did see the official Onkyo remote app for android, which may have some of the functionality I want, but unfortunately it is not supported by my Huawei X1 phone - I think the screen resolution is too low - QVGA or something.

* - Well, there was a spate of drop-outs when I was accessing the android market and using a web browser from the phone while streaming, but I put that down to the rendering required sucking up the phone's limited processor capacity. That won't be a problem in practice for me.

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