Apple TV 2

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Hetzkes Ballet Teacher

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Anyone got one, jailbroken it and put XBMC on?
 
I intend to next month when my bonus comes through.

I know it can only display up to 720p though.

Why do you want to know?
 
I was thinking about it but I'm going to get build a AMD Fusion HTPC using this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/253358?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products.
Should be able to build a whole system for just north of £200 which will give much more functionality.

Infinitely more capable, but also more than twice the price! Those AMD boxes are going to be everywhere like.

I intend to next month when my bonus comes through.

I know it can only display up to 720p though.

Why do you want to know?

If it's any good (with XBMC)! I know there's a few XBMC users on here so I wondered if any had played with it on an ATV too, and could compare.
 
I have aye, very good and makes good a box which is pretty much useless out of the box in all honesty!

I'm tempted. $90 for a 720p networked XBMC client is extremely good value. Only shitter is that you can't use USB and ethernet at the same time apparently.

I really wish someone would put a complete Linux distro on it, but I'm guessing that's impossible?
 
I'm tempted. $90 for a 720p networked XBMC client is extremely good value. Only shitter is that you can't use USB and ethernet at the same time apparently.

I really wish someone would put a complete Linux distro on it, but I'm guessing that's impossible?

You can't whack it for the price mind, tiny and silent too. The only USB port on the mis a micro USB and afaik no use for file transfer at all, I just use it via ethernet into a homeplug to pull files from other PC's on the network.

If you can be arsed it can also be used to stream Netflix which is pretty good - but then you have the hassle of VPN's to get access to that, once setup works very well though.

I just got a cheap buffalo router, flashed it with dd-wrt firmware, then configured strongvpn on it and works a treat. Also needed to use an entropay card to subscribe to netflix, fart on to start with but then it's fine n dandy after that. Very cheap for what you get!

Installing Linux on it may not be quite impossile but not sure anyone would be arsed to take that sort of project on it, the underlying OS is actually quite nice once you jailbreak and get XBMC on there, one click and your into XBMC.

Could someone explain to me what an Apple TV is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV

In a nutshell, tiny device which plugs into your TV, you can stream music/vid/pics from iPhone/iPod/iPad to it, rent movies/tv shows from iTunes, hack it and install XBMC on it to stream music/movies from other PC's in the house.
 
Installing Linux on it may not be quite impossile but not sure anyone would be arsed to take that sort of project on it, the underlying OS is actually quite nice once you jailbreak and get XBMC on there, one click and your into XBMC.

Aye, as long as all you want to do is watch stuff. With Linux on you can also use it for all sorts of other things too (nice little networked ARM box with USB). Asterisk box, broadband router, automated home controller, interactive video station (webcam), NAS, printer sharer, etc, etc.

I usually buy Asus routers to do that but, cheap as they are, they're twice the price and don't have the general grunt of an 800mhz Cortex ARM, 802.11a WiFi or a video output.

I'm sure that if it were possible, someone would have done it for those reasons and others. I'm guessing one of the reasons Apple did their own ARM chip was to lock that possibility out, for all their products.
 
Aye, as long as all you want to do is watch stuff. With Linux on you can also use it for all sorts of other things too (nice little networked ARM box with USB). Asterisk box, broadband router, automated home controller, interactive video station (webcam), NAS, printer sharer, etc, etc.

I usually buy Asus routers to do that but, cheap as they are, they're twice the price and don't have the general grunt of an 800mhz Cortex ARM, 802.11a WiFi or a video output.

I'm sure that if it were possible, someone would have done it for those reasons and others. I'm guessing one of the reasons Apple did their own ARM chip was to lock that possibility out, for all their products.

That is probably exactly right, Apple have locked it down enough to only realistically run iOS....tut!

Saying that mind for the price it really is a nifty bit of kit once XBMC is on it.

There are also other things such as atv-flash which make it even better. Lots of scope for extra goodies!
 
Aye. It's mint like. In the process of ripping all my DVDs to save a little bit of space around the house. :)

XBMC? What format/level are you ripping to? I was wondering if XBMC can cope with high profile H.264 on an ATV (even if the output is 720p).
 
You can't whack it for the price mind, tiny and silent too. The only USB port on the mis a micro USB and afaik no use for file transfer at all, I just use it via ethernet into a homeplug to pull files from other PC's on the network.

If you can be arsed it can also be used to stream Netflix which is pretty good - but then you have the hassle of VPN's to get access to that, once setup works very well though.

I just got a cheap buffalo router, flashed it with dd-wrt firmware, then configured strongvpn on it and works a treat. Also needed to use an entropay card to subscribe to netflix, fart on to start with but then it's fine n dandy after that. Very cheap for what you get!

Installing Linux on it may not be quite impossile but not sure anyone would be arsed to take that sort of project on it, the underlying OS is actually quite nice once you jailbreak and get XBMC on there, one click and your into XBMC.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_TV

In a nutshell, tiny device which plugs into your TV, you can stream music/vid/pics from iPhone/iPod/iPad to it, rent movies/tv shows from iTunes, hack it and install XBMC on it to stream music/movies from other PC's in the house.


Netflix is belting, $8 per month for all that streaming. I take you you have to hide your IP in the UK?
 
Out of interest, what do you reckon of these:

WD-TV-Live-Hub

No wireless (my router is next to the telly anyway) but has 1tb storage. £150 on Amazon.

IIRC you can get custom (homebrew) firmwares for that, adding all sorts of extra features, like torrenting from it, in much the same was as you can with some routers and Dreamboxes.

I'd buy it over the ATV for that alone, sad to say.
 
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