Just wondering if there are anywhere selling the apple tv 2 for below the RRP of $129?
Cheap Apple TV 2
fungi79 on 21/01/2011 - 13:39
Comments
I spose your post would have something to do with this then…
http://xbmc.org/theuni/2011/01/20/you-asked-for-it-xbmc-for-…
Yes indeed :)
Ohhhh - now THAT is worth looking at.
I didn't want an Apple due to the lack of flexibility, but this changes everything!
tbh i think the wd live is a better deal. At least you have guaranteed ability to plug in usb's and wireless adapters * are accepted.
It may not be slick hockey puck, but it's $30 cheaper, and has two rival 3rd party firmwares.
XBMC has a far superior interface to what the WDTV has. Apple TV has built in wireless so when you throw that into the cost of the wdtv it's much of a muchness in terms of cost. WDTV not being able to play rmvb is a deal killer for me.
Just found out apple tv plays 1080p but outputs it at 720p, not gonna touch it now since I have a 65" tv and the difference is really noticable.
mmmmm im sure the interface will improve over time. "b-rad" seems to be releasing firmware updates.
Still, ftp/webserver/usb hub support etc seem to make it better imo
- external dvd drive capability with cd-manager-0.7 fixed
- ext2 & ext3 filesystem support ** (un)officially supported now **
- ext2 & ext3 hotplugging
- all media (including network shares & optical devices) can be viewed in ‘All Videos’
- USB Hub support
- mounting of WDTV Optware package (if available) at boot, for access to ~1300 additional programs
- mounting of app bin packs (if available) at boot, for plugNplay addtional functionality
- mounting of OSD overlay (if available) at boot, for full theming (sample)
- limited USB Ethernet support
- IP via DHCP (by default, configurable)
- Samba/CIFS support aka windows share mounting (requires Samba app pack)
- Experimental wireless adapter support (thx to Zorander) (requires wireless-mod-wdlxtv app pack)
- Ximeta NDAS device support (requires ndas app pack)
- Telnet server
- pure-ftp server (requires pure-ftpd app pack)
- configurable to automount NFS shares (requires nfs app pack)
- user customizable background & screen saver images ** new **
- selectable 4/8/10/12/21 video thumb view (see Changelog)
- selectable 4/6/8 file list view (see Changelog)
- sleectable 10/15 photo/music thumb view (see Changelog)
- user customizable init.d scripts for full os customization ** new **
- emergency flash recovery
720p? BUM POO! I'm just in the process of re-downloading / re-ripping our media to 1080p.
What sort of modern media player cannot output Full HD? Typical dumbed down Apple device for the fanboys (and a degree of false advertising too)
GRRRR how disappointing :-(
Kinda sick of seeing people who buy apple products called a fanboy. Not very witty or constructive if you ask me. They've just posted a $6 billion profit so there must be a lot of fanboys out there then.
I do agree crippling it to 720p is a deal killer for a few people, but bearing in mind:
-It's intended as a media STREAMER and mostly stream from the net. There isn't enough bandwidth atm to stream a 1080p movie off the net.
-There are hardly any 1080p downloadable contents of quality (even torrents) unless you rip it yourself.
- Most people have a tv that is 50" or under and you can't tell the difference at that size anyway.So it kind of make sense as a mainstream product, if you were going to use it for it's original purpose. Just because now I want to hack it and make it do something else that it can't doesn't mean it's a bad product. Just not for me that's all.
There are hardly any 1080p downloadable contents of quality (even torrents) unless you rip it yourself.
revision3.com
twit.tv1080p: yes.
Quality: no :)
Maybe it's just me, but TV shows that I watch are usually encoded at 720p and they're about 1gb each. A movie I downloaded at 720p was at 7gb. What would it be for 1080p? 1.5gb and 10gb? You wouldn't stream that over the net and I argue if it's worth downloading when they're that size.
Yeah, but TV Shows generally aren't 1080p anyway - the source is 720p maximum.
I have plenty of bandwidth - a 10GB download doesn't concern me if I want 1080p. But I wouldn't stream it because the source isn't stream-able, and then I'd have to watch in realtime.
Your argument defending Apple is like saying that a new Apple iCar would be great (even if it is hardware-limited to 80kmh) because 80km is the current speed limit on normal main roads in urban areas of Australia.
No, my argument is more in lines of buying a family sedan, which is a good product and a right choice for a lot of people, and complaining about it not beating a porsche in a drag race after you've put new tyres on it.
It's the right product for a lot of people, it's just not right for tweakers like you and me, like I've already mentioned. There is also no product (that i know off) that you can install xbmc/plex/boxee for under 150. So it might even be the right choice for tweakers as well and if I had a smaller tv, say 32-40" I have no problem with 720p output.
[quote]
Just found out apple tv plays 1080p but outputs it at 720p
[/quote]Even with XBMC it scales down 1080p to 720p. I have not reads that it does that anywhere. Unless your talkin about the native software.
Thanks and damn
in saying that, a cheap small form with an awesome UI in XBMC is still good.
Hang on a minute - If 1080p isn't important, how come people here NEG deals for Standard HD Televisions?
I already have a Media Player than does 1080p native under hardware - I use it all the time. If I want to look at 576 or 720p, it can play that too.. or 640x480.. or… AND that is a 3 years old device!
I'm not interested in streaming content off the net - I have a perfectly good NAS full of stuff for that!
Apple devices are cleverly marketed. I was just disappointed that a potentially fabulous product would be released in crippled form… I have never considered an AppleTV (even if it was 1080p), because of the inflexible and largely useless Apple interface and HORRID need for iTunes. But if it was 1080p AND the firmware was opened up, then that would be reason for me to upgrade.
Well, there was a thread in another forum about 1080p vs 720p and this person was slamming 720p and saying how good netflix looked on his 42" tv. He claimed to be an AV enthusiast and have heavily invested in equipments.
He then had to eat his hat when someone told him that netflix is only 720p and he admitted he couldn't tell the difference.
As for why people complain, 1080p maybe good for future proofing, or maybe another brand offers 1080p for the same price or someone wants to use one as a monitor. Who knows, everyone wants the best spec for the purchase price and that's normal.
I still think the apple tv is a good product, it's small, cheap, and now with the firmware opened up it's extendable. I can see a lot of people grabbing one for xbmc.
I am still serious tempted… simply due to XBMC.
When I heard about AppleTV I checked the specs, then instantly dismissed it. Too inflexible and ewww @ more iTunes :-(
I'm desperately trying to find a replacement Media Player, because the one I have now is capable of everything "technically" but the interface is built into the firmware and it's pretty crap. It's functional but poorly executed - it's a 3 year old player with a Realtek 1073 chipset, but no longer really being updated.
But I am not going to "downgrade" to an AppleTV. Perhaps they will release a new one with 1080p next year? Or maybe I need to look at other, more capable devices that can use a XBMC front end?
I think the limitation is related to the Hardware used.. New Dual core ARM processors that are about to come out in phones (Apple TV is also an ARM device) will be able to do 1080p.. It'a likely that AppleTV3 will have such a chip.. And now that the iOS software has a xbmc port, it's just a matter of someone jailbreaking the AppleTV to allow installation on that device if/when it's released.
Applestore USA…
Selling it for $99
Good luck having them deliver it though.
eBay USA might get you more luck..
Maybe hang out for a DSE sale (they have 10% off Apple occasionally), or try bargaining at JB HiFi.
also, keep your eye out on this Apple Store Australia Refurb page:
http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/specialdeals/ipod/appl…