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Thread: Apple TV

  1. #1

    Apple TV

    Anyone used this? Any good?

    I need to find a way of streaming videos and accessing the internet (particularly BBC iPlayer) from a TV in our bedroom. Don't want the faff of trying to hook up Sky to it as it's rarely used and I thought it might do the trick - unfortunately can't seem to find anything definitive about whether it's got the full UK iPlayer?

  2. #2

    Re: Apple TV

    I bought one a couple of weeks ago on a whim, it doesn't have iPlayer or indeed anything much useful. You can watch Youtube and Vimeo videos and stream stuff from iTunes but that's about it. I'm disappointed TBH, I think it's a waste of £100.

    Cheers,

    Plug

  3. #3

    Re: Apple TV

    The Apple TV does not have iPlayer built in to it. You can use AirPlay to stream iPlayer from an iPhone or iPad.

  4. #4
    Master Christian's Avatar
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    Re: Apple TV

    I've got one and love it. I use mine as a device to play my music through my TV/home cinema system. It's perfect for sitting on the sofa, scrolling through the music on the iPad and listening/watching on the TV. This was enough to warrant the £100 alone. You can also slideshow your pictures on it or watch movies and trailers if your Internet is quick enough (my 1.0Mb connection isn't!).

    If you buy it thinking it is a mac-mini or anything other than a device to allow airplay to your TV, then you will be disappointed...it does what it says on the box!

  5. #5

    Re: Apple TV

    I might get the next generation one that does 1080p.
    "Bite my shiny metal ass."
    - Bender Bending Rodríguez

  6. #6
    Grand Master zelig's Avatar
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    Apple TV

    A friend of mine uses his Nintendo Wii to access BBC iPlayer.

    Works well.

    z

  7. #7

    Re: Apple TV

    I have a Sony blu-ray player that can stream music, video and photos from my iMac and has quite a decent iPlayer app on it too. It cost about the same as the Apple TV does.

    As a bonus, it can play blu-ray discs too.
    "I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked ... it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed."

  8. #8

    Re: Apple TV

    Hadn't realised the Wii could do that. We've got one of those sitting doing nothing at the moment.

    I'll give that a go first, although I hadn't really thought about using a Blu Ray player - might be a better option considering that the main use will be for kiddies programmes on a Sunday morning.

  9. #9
    Master Christian's Avatar
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    Re: Apple TV

    Quote Originally Posted by Meesterbond
    Hadn't realised the Wii could do that. We've got one of those sitting doing nothing at the moment.

    I'll give that a go first, although I hadn't really thought about using a Blu Ray player - might be a better option considering that the main use will be for kiddies programmes on a Sunday morning.
    When I was looking at Blu Ray players, this one seemed the best value for money with iPlayer, youtube etc...

    http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu ... dps570-blk

    The cheaper Sonys require a separate dongle to connect to wifi or an ethernet cable.

  10. #10
    Master senwar's Avatar
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    Re: Apple TV

    I'd been debating selling on my ATV2 until I found out you could mirror with the latest updates. This is a fantastic feature. Very impressed.

    Other than that it doesn't do too much but it's decent if you have an iPhone or iPad for AirPlay alone. I bought mine from refurb store so it was only £85.

  11. #11
    Craftsman
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    Re: Apple TV

    If anyone uses quidco they have a 25% discount deal through ebuyer i got my ATV through them for £95 and although i'm waiting for the cash back its a decent deal.
    Just stick XBMC onto it and you have a something a lot more useful.

  12. #12
    Master
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    Re: Apple TV

    Superb for iTunes content (I rip all DVDs that are any good to iTunes) however crap if you want a more flexible "play any file" system.

    Really is for Apple iTunes!!

  13. #13

    Re: Apple TV

    We're an Apple house and we loved our ATV2 which we used to stream content from the Macbook Pro that held all our stuff - video, photos and music. We sold it as we got a Mac Mini to hook up to the TV, running Plex, for our video content. The Apple TV is lovely however.

    I did jailbreak it at one stage, because I could, and tried XBMC on it. This gave the benefit of being able to play non-iTunes format video but the interface was a bit clunkier and laggier than the native ATV GUI so I got rid of XBMC and returned to factory defaults.

    There's no iPlayer, which I'm surprised about - I felt sure it would arrive before now - but that wasn't an issue for us as we use Get iPlayer Automator to download iPlayer content which we can watch at our leisure outside of the BBC's 7 days thing.

    Nice bits of kit for the money - I'll be interested to see what ATV3 brings, rumoured to be with us around March.

  14. #14

    Re: Apple TV

    Thank you for the info. I was looking for it this xmas.

  15. #15

    Re: Apple TV

    Quote Originally Posted by Meesterbond
    I need to find a way of streaming videos and accessing the internet (particularly BBC iPlayer) from a TV in our bedroom.
    Have you thought about a PS3? This will do what you want. It has iPlayer, 4oD and the ITV version and you can stream stuff from other computers in the house via a wifi network. It also has a blu-ray player and an internet browser and if you've got a LoveFilm account, you can stream the movies direct to the PS3.

    With a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, you wouldn't even realise that it's also a games console. :D

  16. #16
    Craftsman Lazydonkey's Avatar
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    Re: Apple TV

    boxee is quite good. Either as a standalone box or as soemthing you can install on an old PC.

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