Buzz Out Loud Lounge: My Apple TV is.... useful
- 2/12/08 7:53 PM
My Apple TV is.... useful
by acedtect - 2/12/08 7:53 PM
Still not sure it was worth the money, however, the Apple TV now works with all the computers in the house, Mac and PC (and Mac running Windows). The interface is much improved and I don't have to have a computer on to to select a show, download and watch it.
It's like having a whole new machine and I didn't spend a dime.
Quality of downloads?
by Doug in L.A. - 2/12/08 9:04 PM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
Curious to read your opinions about download quality--especially HD-- when you get a chance. I'd like to get one, but I've grown a bit spoiled by blu-ray...
Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya
by kwahhn - 2/13/08 5:49 AM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
Oh lord, kumbaya
...but you can't rent HD movies via iTunes?!!!!
by thriftyT - 2/13/08 7:46 AM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
Question:
How do you watch an iTunes HD rental on your laptop?
I don't have AppleTV and I do not think there is a way.
sorry but...
by lemonlovr - 2/15/08 12:28 AM In reply to: ...but you can't rent HD movies via iTunes?!!!! by thriftyTHD movie rentals from Apple are *only* available on the Apple TV. They cannot be transferred off of the unit nor can they be rented on any other device. This is mostly because the only thing that supports HD resolution is an HDTV (ok, computer monitors can too) but certainly not iPhones or iPod touches (try 640x480). Sure it would be nice to watch the HD movie rentals on your laptop but it's so much better on that 50" plasma. Right?
Compression is the real issue!
by PortVista - 2/15/08 5:26 AM In reply to: sorry but... by lemonlovrI've watched HD movies on my monitor and they look amazing compared to standard def, while smaller standard def movies look crappy. I think the larger issue is compression. I've yet to see a DVD that didn't look blotchy, and cable TV is even worse, yet no one seems to realize this. I haven't seen blu-ray yet.
But with cable, they give you 500 extra channels that you don't even want or pay for while degrading the image quality on the channels you do watch. So if Apple TV has addressed this then that's an extra point for Apple TV at least.
I'm waiting for the day I can get rid of cable/sat entirely and line up and schedule all the shows I want to watch. Tivo seems to be the best answer for this so far, but you still need to pay for cable for it to work.
IPTV...Fios...Uverse???
by lemonlovr - 2/15/08 7:29 AM In reply to: Compression is the real issue! by PortVistaThe real solution is IPTV. But the even MORE real solution is IPTV with bigger pipes. Let's face it, the pipes most of us have going in to our homes - DSL or cable - do not have enough throughput to provide true HD IPTV at a decent level of compression.
I don't live in a Verizon area but I am in AT&T country and Uverse is wandering its way through. Maybe I'll give that a shot but I've heard you can only watch and/or record ONE HD program at a time with multiple TVs due to the bandwidth. I record two simultaneous HD with Comcast all the time...I'm not sure what AT&T's issue is: less bandwidth or less efficient compression.
720p h264
by Nicholas Buenk - 2/15/08 4:05 PM In reply to: Compression is the real issue! by PortVistaShould theoretically offer great 720p quality at say 1-2GB per hour.
I would be surprised of apple messed the quality up.
Here's the rub...
by thriftyT - 2/15/08 3:27 PM In reply to: sorry but... by lemonlovrSo I can't download an iTunes HD movie on my computer and output to my HDTV.
I must pay $229 for the privilege.
Blu ray that plays divx?
by PortVista - 2/13/08 7:56 AM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
What would rule all is a Blu ray player that also plays Divx, so you can download movies from anywhere, not just the Apple store, and burn them to DVD-ROM. Or play them on other devices, DRM free. I'd pay to download high quality Divx movies that could be played on anything.
I have a $30 Toshiba DVD player that plays anything I download, just not in HD. But this has been the best method for me over a "media center" hookup, because I can just drag my movie files over and make a DVD-ROM or play them directly on my computers.
People say they woudl pay - but don't
by nutjob - 2/13/08 9:32 AM In reply to: Blu ray that plays divx? by PortVistaHistory shows that people complain about additional costs for DRM free ( remember when iTunes went DRM for an additional 20 cents). To add divx would probably mean an additional $2-5 per disc.
I have always stated that whoever went to just playing divx first (itunes or Zune) they would have me for life. Right now I convert all my movies (home and others) to Divx.
hmm...good to know.
by shawnlin - 2/13/08 7:57 AM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
glad to know it's working well for you!
How about interest...
by fbbbb - 2/14/08 6:10 AM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
...while it was being completely unproductive last year?
AppleTV HD Comparrison
by TheBluePointe - 2/14/08 12:12 PM In reply to: My Apple TV is.... useful by acedtect
Bad comparision!
by PortVista - 2/15/08 5:43 AM In reply to: AppleTV HD Comparrison by TheBluePointeThis isn't a good comparison at all, because it doesn't take into account artifacts and color quality. Cable has a tendency to skip and stutter, display blocks, and look bad in darker scenes or where the scene has gradients such as a sunrise. Also, some of those images had poor color quality, but it could be his digital camera exposure causing it. Also, not all movies are equal -- most films need to be digitized and that process can be done very poorly. But I would think Blu-ray has the best chance of giving you the best picture AND sound, don't forget sound which is half the movie experience!!
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