Just got my first Apple TV...

[XDRoX]

Welcome to me

Last night I had a few cocktails and decided I needed an Apple TV.
I've heard about them but never seen one up close or used one. So I did the mature thing and asked my wife to drive to down to the apple store.

Pretty cool little device. I set it up last night and played around on it for a little while.

I'm a little disappointed that I could not get my iPad1 or iTouch 4thgen or iPhone4 to mirror Mirroring is one of the reasons I bought it.

I was able to get my wife's iPhone4S and my iPad3 to mirror and that was really cool. It should support landscape though and doesn't.

Also, when I was trying to get my iTouch4thgen to mirror I could get the audio from the games to transfer but not the video. To me that seems a little weird.

The sports channels on there look awesome. Tonight I need to try to link my PC to it. Hope it's easy.

Any other info would be great. Thanks.

 

[kornchild2002]

Mirroring only works in iOS devices with a dual-core processor (ie at least the A5 chip). The A4 processor in the iPad 1, iPhone 4, and 4G iPod touch (along with older models) is not graphically powerful enough to drive two displays. The only thing those devices can do is AirPlay which requires specific app support. Apps have to support audio/video output over AirPlay in order for that to work with the Apple TV.

The iPad 2/3 supports mirroring in landscape or portrait, I don't know about the iPhone 4S. Keep in mind that mirroring will be 4x3 and not fill a 16x9 widescreen TV. That's because the iPad's display is 4x3. The orientation of AirPlay mirroring can also be app dependent. iOS itself works in portrait or landscape and so do the built-in iOS apps. However, some apps (like Angry Birds) only work in landscape mode for AirPlay mirroring. The March Madness app is another example as that only works in landscape mode.

 

[rockmyplimsoul]

Last night I had a few cocktails and decided I needed an Apple TV.

Ahh, the Tequila made you do it

I was able to get my wife's iPhone4S and my iPad3 to mirror and that was really cool. It should support landscape though and doesn't.

Maybe it depends on the app, but I've seen a difference between landscape and portrait orientation of my iPad.

Also, when I was trying to get my iTouch4thgen to mirror I could get the audio from the games to transfer but not the video. To me that seems a little weird.

That's expected, since your Touch can only send audio to ATV.

Any other info would be great.

If you haven't done so already, get the free Remote app from Apple, works much better than the little remote that comes with ATV (which will likely get lost in the sofa at some point!) However, the Remote app disconnects from ATV after several minutes and takes about 5 seconds to re-connect -- this delay can be a problem if you want to pause the ATV immediately, so keep the little guy handy.

If you haven't done so already, enable HomeSharing on your computer, ATV, and your devices. HomeSharing lets you exchange media between libraries, but it also allows you to play your computer's library on your device, which is really cool if your library doesn't entirely fit on your device. Oh, and if playcounts are important to you, there is a setting in iTunes that lets you specify whether playback from a remote device updates your libraries play history or not.

At first I had difficulty understanding the differences between HomeSharing, AirPlay, and Mirroring ... and using the Remote can add a subtle twist which brings about various playback options:

- HomeSharing is the ability to share a library's contents (duh!) You can share between computers, or you can use HomeSharing to access a library from a capable device (not sure if all iOS devices can take full advantage, or what the iTunes/ iOS version requirements are). From the perspective of gaining access to a computer's library, I think of HomeSharing as "pulling" the information to your device, contrary to AirPlay. At this time, you can't use HomeSharing to let one iOS device access another iOS device's contents, but maybe someday that will be possible.

- AirPlay is the ability to output audio and (most) video to an AirPlay device such as ATV, AirPort Express (audio only), or a 3rd party AirPlay-capable device. I think of AirPlay as "pushing" the signal to another device. Except for my point (a) below, you can only AirPlay to one device at a time. The 1st gen ATV can do AirPlay, but I think only from a computer (not an iOS device) and it may only be for video output (but with audio content, i.e. not audio only like Music).

- Mirroring is just an additional option to AirPlay, but only some devices are capable of mirroring (to date, iPhone 4S and iPad 2 & 3). Mirroring lets you broadcast what you see on your device onto ATV, whether it be your home screen, Safari, or an app. Although some apps won't let you Mirror what you see on your device, probably due to licensing issues ("HBO Go" for example).

- When you throw Remote into the mix, then things get really fun (and confusing). With Remote you can do things like:

(a) Control playback of your computer's library, with or without AirPlay output from your computer to one or multiple AirPlay devices simultaneously, with independent volume control of each. I have two ATVs and an AirPort Express and it's really cool to be able to stream audio around the house with independent audio control right from my iPhone.

(b) Control all of your ATV's functions -- playback, menu selections, changing settings, etc.

(c) You can use Remote to control your computer's library per (a) above, but you can also use Remote to guide your ATV to access your home library via HomeSharing.

Here's where it can get weird -- if you're wanting to use Remote to control your computer's library and stream it to an AirPlay device as in (a), you might find that you don't have an AirPlay icon on Remote, thus no way to control the volume and find it blasting extremely loud. Here's what happened -- if you've been using Remote to surf ATV per (c) above, and then navigate to your "library", what you've actually done is used Remote to initiate HomeSharing between your ATV and your computer. Since HomeSharing does not have volume control (it relies on the host device) and ATV has no volume control of its own, the audio is cranked and you can only control volume on whatever audio system your ATV is plugged into. Trust me, this is a serious party-foul!

Instead, after surfing ATV you need to back out to Remote's main menu and select the computer as the host device instead of ATV. That way you're using AirPlay and have the ability to control the volume right within the Remote app. I learned this one the hard way :shake:

 

[XDRoX]

Wow, a lot of info. Right now some of it is confusing but after I play with it some more I bet it will all make sense.

I already did download the remote app, it's pretty cool. Tonight I'm going to link up with the library on my PC. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

 

[XDRoX]

I'll try to be as simple as possible. I've been playin with this thing all night.
Using remote it appears I have two options. Either use my iPad to control the ATV or to control my computer.
For example. I can choose a song to play on my ATV or my computer. I can see my whole library on my iPad but it either must play through my ATV or my PC. Is this correct?

What I'm wondering is can I pick up my iPad and have access to all my music on my PC? And play them out of my iPad?

 

[rockmyplimsoul]

What I'm wondering is can I pick up my iPad and have access to all my music on my PC? And play them out of my iPad?

Yes you can, I mentioned that above about HomeSharing. First, make sure that your library is up and running, and that your computer and iPad are both on the same network (obviously). Launch the Music app on your iPad and at the bottom of the screen tap "More" then "Shared" then select your library name. It may take awhile to load, so be patient.

 

[kornchild2002]

Home Sharing was something I had my doubts about back when Apple unveiled it. That was partially due to me having an original Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive built-in and, for whatever reason, I had the school of thought that my computer shouldn't have to be on for me to access my iTunes library. However, Home Sharing is pretty damn solid and provides a nice experience. I even use it with my iPad when I get home so that I can access my iTunes library over my wi-fi network. I sync just enough content to my iPad to get me through the week/month (in terms of movies and TV shows) and then rely on Home Sharing for the rest. It really is a nice way to experience an iTunes library without having to actually sync content over.

 

[XDRoX]

Wow, I feel like an idiot that I didn't know about Home Sharing before

I turned it on on my devices and it works great. I never thought I'd be able to access 12k songs on my 8GB Touch

And it does work great. No lag time or problems at all. Very solid interface. I've lately had my Touch on a dock in my living room hooked to my stereo and stream Pandora from it. But now that I know about Home Sharing I think I will work on some play lists for future enjoyment.

Thanks guys.

 

[sonosuser]

I have the 1st gen Apple TV and some of the movies I have downloaded from iTunes are no longer available on my Apple TV, but they do appear on my PC when logged into iTuens - any ideas?

 

[kornchild2002]

Well, if they are 1080p HD, they won't show up on the older Apple TV. I have also come across examples where newer movies, even if they are 720p or 480p, won't play on the older Apple TV as they were encoded using new standards and/or are using an updated version of Apple's DRM. It seems that the solution to these problems is to just buy a new Apple TV. At $100, they really aren't a bad investment.

 

[Traqqer1111]

The "real" Apple TV

I also have a first generation Apple TV which I had thought was going to be pretty "big." Rather than upgrading, I think I'll just wait for the "real" Apple TV (or iTV) that Apple is supposedly working on: a TV built from the ground up. I know I should resist the temptation to believe in rumors like this, but if Apple could indeed come up with a cool transparent TV, they could have another hit on their hands.

 

[kornchild2002]

Just what is a transparent TV? Are you talking about some futuristic type TV that is just a slate of glass and the images show up on it using black magic (like in Minority Report, the craptastic Avaturd, or a countless number of other sci-fi movies)? Or are you talking about a TV with clear plastic for the housing?

Either way, not upgrading your outdated Apple TV (which could be done for less than $100 if you went with a 2010 Apple TV 2) in the vague hope that Apple will release their own TV is definitely not the best route. Let's not forget that Apple often charges a premium for their products and, if they use the same type of panel as in their IPS cinema displays, you will be spending about $2000 for a 32" model. Now, if you were really talking about having a glass TV like in the movies, a 25" model would set you back by $5000. Not really practical and definitely not enough to make a hit product.

 

[Sparkee]

I do like my Apple products but I would pass on a "real" Apple TV for a set top box type Apple TV. Apple has a tendency to stop supporting old products such as the first gen ATV not to mention many other products, usually for a good reason. If I have to, upgrading a $100 ATV is a lot cheaper than a $2000 TV. Even when looking at new TV's I only look at how well the display itself is rather than any internet connected features it may support. The way we are obtaining IP content on our TV's is changing so much I find it would be easier, and cheaper, to get the next best "box" and plug it into your favorite TV set. Adding your own cable box, satellite, Roku, Boxee Box or Apple TV would be much easier and cheaper than investing a large amount of money in a TV dedicated to one provider.

I still believe when Steve Jobs stated they "cracked" TV it was not a TV set, but a way to break into the cable and satellite dish industries business by making agreements with the content makers to provide on demand type services. I may be wrong, but that's the way I see it.

 

[kornchild2002]

Right, replacing a set top box is always going to be less expensive than the actual TV. Imagine Apple coming out with a new TV every single year. It is already bad enough with the expensive iPad, a TV would cost at least twice as much as the 64GB 4G iPad 3. That is asking too much from consumers especially when we know that the TV will only be supported for 2 or 3 more release cycles after that. What's next? People are going to start having a stockpile of Apple TV units that they no longer use? 4 years down the line and people have spent $8000 while only using one or two TVs. A $100 Apple TV box though? Much easier to buy.

I too never looked at the online features of TVs whenever I purchased mine. I had an Apple TV, Xbox 360, and PS3. My Xbox 360 is great for Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Go; my PS3 for Blu-ray playback; and my Apple TV sometimes for Netflix (if I don't feel like hearing my Xbox 360's fans) along with Apple content. I could replace all of those once every new generation and it would still be less expensive than this mythical Apple TV unit.

 

[Traqqer1111]

Transparent TV

Instead of focusing on the details of the TV specs, try to imagine the appeal of aesthetics. Apple can and will eventually come out with a formal television and it will need to be dramatically different, not just in functionality, but also in the design. Think of how much more appealing the original iPod was due to it design - the software interface and the underly electronic specifications were good, but the design was what drew your eye in the first place.

 

[kornchild2002]

You are making a pretty bold statement by saying that Apple will eventually come out with a TV. They may never release a TV, nobody ever truly knows outside of Apple's own research teams. Additionally, there is absolutely no way Apple can revolutionize the design of TVs. They all have the same foundational design with additional features. You can't change any of that as you wouldn't have a TV just as Apple's Mac lineup isn't revolutionizing the designs of desktops and notebooks but rather enhancing some elements.

The appeal of the original iPod wasn't so much in its hardware design. Players had come along before that and had solid designs as well. The iPod was successful as it was one of the first portable players that focused on the combination between the player itself and running easy to use software on the computer. Pretty much everyone else had either relied on third party software (Windows Media Player, MusicMatch, etc.) or their own software was clunky. The iPod didn't really blow up until iTunes came out for Windows (as Apple had been using MusicMatch for PC management before) and they stopped releasing two separate iPod models for OS X and Windows. The hardware design was minimalistic but it definitely wasn't the reason why the iPod was so successful.

Either way, Apple can change the design of this mythical unicorn TV all they want. It won't matter if they pack it with an IPS display and a bunch of other aspects that are going to increase the price beyond what the common consumer is willing to pay. People definitely aren't going to shell out $1000 for a 32" Apple TV with an IPS display when they can shell out less to buy a bigger LED LCD HDTV and even throw in a PS3 for Blu-ray playback, Netflix, and Hulu.

 

[peterthomas]

If Tequila can make one buy Apple TV, I wonder what other stuff can this Tequila do , I just hope you don't regret your decision after coming back to full conscious!