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+--- Thread: Apple TV clearly a complete failure (/showthread.php?tid=71725)
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Filliam H. Muffman - 02-05-2009
DRR wrote:
Wow. Almost 70 posts of arguing and bitching. I'll never know why something like a dumbed down computer box causes so much divisiveness.
Because people want something to satisfy their needs. The ATV is an interesting exercise, but falls short in many areas because of the designed in limitations.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Filliam H. Muffman - 02-05-2009
Article Accelerator wrote:
Filliam:
1) I said NOT needing another computer to stream files from. *You have dodged answering the point, why is why I made the comment about you not being serious.*
And I answered, but you apparently missed it so I'll try again:
The Apple TV does not need another computer to stream files from. In fact, in can be used effectively by those who do not own a computer at all.
So how do I play HD DIVX files from my network/external storage?
Article Accelerator wrote:
2) See *. And how many does the ATV support out of the box, 2 or 3?
Perhaps I'm being too subtle here. My point is, which of the 62 would you like Apple TV to support? Do you think everyone agrees with your choices? What do you want Apple to do?
All of the main non DRM formats that WMP, DIVX, and VLC. I have about 400 GB of FLV files that I got off sites before they started embedding content in hidden streams that do not get cached on disk.
Article Accelerator wrote:
3) See *. My $40 gigabit switch enabled my home network to support it. I think many people would find it acceptable to start a 1080/24p movie downloading early in the AM or while they are at work, so they could watch it that night.
And I think few would expend the mental energy required for that kind of forward planning. And fewer still would be willing to pay for a 10-12 GB download on a regular basis.
I just saw Lost season 4 in HD online somewhere. 18 GB.
As for forward planning, anybody that sets up a DVR to record the upcoming nights show qualifies as that kind of person.
Article Accelerator wrote:
4) See *. It is UPSCALING 720p, not native 1080i format support. I would have to rip a Blu-Ray movie and encode it at 720p, then play it through a computer for the ATV to display it. Too much work.
- Yes, it upscales 720p24
- Why would you rip a Blu-ray movie?
- No, you don't have to play it through a computer. See *
- Yes indeed, your contrived and silly straw man example would be too much work
Sheesh.
Not contrived at all. It is an example of wanting the highest quality version that is IDENTICAL to the process of the people that have already said what they have done with their DVD collections. You are the one putting up straw men.
Article Accelerator wrote:
5) See *. So what is your personal experience with having an EyeTV hooked to the ATV to watch TV shows?
Similar to that of guitarist. BTW, the EyeTV is not hooked up to Apple TV. I bet you knew that.
You asked for things I wanted in the ATV. I said a tuner. You said EyeTV. I asked how it worked with the ATV. You said hooked up to another computer. See 1). WTF is wrong with your reading comprehension?
Article Accelerator wrote:
6) See *. Something like a full version of Safari.
I still don't understand. Do you want to use your HDTV as a computer monitor?
If I had a YouTube video streaming on the HDTV, what is so wrong with wanting to hop to Google to search for related videos that might not be on YouTube? Simple convenience.
Article Accelerator wrote:
7) See *. More internal storage, eg. not needing another computer to stream from. It that really such a hard concept to understand? It has been mentioned in other ATV threads several times before.
See *. You do not need another computer to stream from. You don't need a computer at all.
So how do I play HD DIVX files from my network/external storage?
Article Accelerator wrote:
8) I do not think I am mistaken, otherwise the ATV would do more out of the box.
See my post above.
Still avoiding the actual question.
Edit: I asked if you were serious and you said yes. Your avoidance of the questions proves you are not. I will not respond further.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Article Accelerator - 02-05-2009
I agree with you--Apple TV is not a suitable entertainment appliance for Filliam H. Muffman.
I will not respond further.
That's a relief.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - guitarist - 02-06-2009
Agree with Article Accelerator. Fillman needs a computer video-file tinker-toy hardware suite, not a Home Theater appliance.
Thankfully Apple Inc. isn't obligated to the micro-minority, and isn't in the business of catering to the peculiar whims of a few thousand computer hardware hobbyists. The rest of us--tens of millions of customers--are plenty satisfied.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Rick-o - 02-06-2009
Article Accelerator wrote:
[quote=guitarist]
To make it more visually navigable, using Google picture search, I added the movie posters for each of these movies, in the Artwork preference in iTunes, a drag-and-drop process that's effortless.
Dayum! Thanks for that tip, guitarist. I'm embarrassed to say I never thought of that...
Agreed! Great tip! However, when I tried it last night I noticed that while the pic files I used from google (50-100k) looked fine in iTunes, up on the big screen they looked...bad. I was trying to stay with smaller pic files, but after seeing the quality, I guess I need to grab a larger size.
What would you say is the best overall size to use?
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Article Accelerator - 02-06-2009
I grabbed "medium" size files (>500 pixels in the smallest dimension) and they look quite good.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Rick-o - 02-06-2009
Thanks AA. I'll give that a try.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - guitarist - 02-06-2009
I often grab the largest image that's immediately accessible in Google's search results. Huge, giant posters!
There seems to be no penalty for oversized images.
But as mentioned above, there is a visible penalty for undersized ones.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - Article Accelerator - 02-07-2009
I just discovered a new little trick for Apple TV: It can play Internet radio.
Just go to iTunes on the host computer and create a new Radio playlist. Drag-and-drop your favorite radio channels from the Radio pane to your new radio playlist. Synchronize the playlist to Apple TV and enjoy.
Re: Apple TV clearly a complete failure - guitarist - 02-07-2009
There's an even shorter path to creating the visual catalogue of movies, for those that are trying this at home.
After some trial-and-error, I discovered that it doesn't even require the image to be local. You can drag an image right off a web page, into preferences. From the Google Image Search web page location, directly into the iTunes Artwork preference pane window. Voila!
Not a huge leap, granted, but it saves a few moments, and desktop cleanup afterwards, if you're attaching images for large batches of movies in a single sitting.