No seriously... tell us how you really feel :) The AppleTV2 product is like a Roku but for the walled garden from Apple. Best output you can expect to get from this device is 720p, though the new one (ATV3) will likely push out 1080p.
Breaking out of the walled garden was easy though, I initially setup and still use "airVideo" product ( http://www.inmethod.com ) and I can honestly say that I truly love it. It's super easy to get to my video "anywhere" and I don't have to copy convert video to my portable devices. That being said, the device is more powerful than Apple allows, these guys at firecore have unlocked all it's goodness. ( http://firecore.com/atvflash ), it allows for a more fluid experience and allows me to not have to resort to my "airVideo" solution I have in place for local viewing by allowing direct NAS streams and allows the ATV2 to playback more formats than just the apple H.264 video. for me, it just works, I have local video and remote video on all my iOS devices. So why would you care, both Roku and AppleTV2 do NOT require you to leave your PC running, however because I use airvideo I do in order to stream over 3G/remote wifi video. So you could buy a Roku for as low as $50 bucks, but you still only get 720p and No local video streaming... you "must" shuffle data to the device directly to watch any local video. For streaming that's a great solution if all you want to do is Netflix, but if you already have an Xbox, PS3 or Wii, just use those devices and save yourself from dumping any added $$. With the Roku you get 720p at any pricepoint and only get access to 1080p for the XD/XS products, but Roku currently does not support DLNA, ( http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=33425) so because I have local video on my network I'd like to stream that to my Roku, how the heck do you do that? They advertise USB ports and expandable memory (microsd) to allow you to watch your own movies/tv. To get 1080p you still spend as much as the AppleTV and for all the cool things you get on Roku, such as games, and a motion controller, you still don't get network access to your NAS. Hold on, I stand corrected (thanks interwebs) this just in...I just learned about this site ( http://roksbox.com/home/ ) I cannot comment on if it's easy or what it can playback as of yet, but it claims local streaming of videos from a local webserver. My Home Video setup:---- NAS: Popcorn Hour A100 / Asus Router N56U (new) was previusly the Netgear WNDR3700v1 Players: Popcorn Hour, ATV via atvFlash, Android DLNA phones, and iOS devices (iphones, ipods, ipads) via AirVideo I have a PopCorn A100 "still running smoothly" in my home and I stream video from it all over the house thanks to airvideo (I don't need to pre-convert any video) and with appleTV it also just streams to that device as well so I am not limited to a 10" screen, and yes it's 720 for a lot of my video (I also have the option to stream directly from iTunes my video / audio purchases), which is why recently I was looking into the Asus Router :-P Personally, I like the AppleTV2, it satisfies my current environment handsomely (minus 1080p) and I avoid needing to shuffle media to the device anytime I want to watch something new. The Roku always sounds best on paper especially because of the lower pricepoint however buying the 1080p that argument is moot, but if I need to shuffle media back and forth, that's a deal breaker because I don't watch a lot of tv/movies, and when I do, I want it to be as easy as possible. Performance: ATV2 rocks streams just work, when used with the iOS remote, it is even easier and quicker to do anything Roku, works, though because it will only stream over the net and I'm too lazy to shuffle media to it, it has one usb flash drive attached and is rarely used, I have been planning on getting rid of it, but will try the roksbox solution first to see if it comes back into my digital life.... but meh, that's just me. -Francisco http://bit.ly/sqlthis | Tsql and More... <http://db.tt/JeXURAx> On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 12:42, <[email protected]> wrote: > Honestly unless you spend a ton on itunes who knows. Video quality sucks. > Performance sucks. Audio is always downmixed. Control interfface blows. > No storage. > ------Original Message------ > From: Thane Sherrington > Sender: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > ReplyTo: [email protected] > Subject: [H] Apple TV > Sent: Nov 21, 2011 2:38 PM > > Why would I want an Apple TV? (I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just > wondering what it does that makes it better than regular TV or better > than other options.) > > T > > > > Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T >
