apple tv for music

I do.

quote:

Originally posted by nap-ster:
I do.

Should i take that as a answer to #1 ???

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:

quote:

Originally posted by nap-ster:
I do.

Should i take that as a answer to #1 ???

Think i misread your reply how good is it in comparison with a macbook etc

I did, but relegated the appletv upstairs and put a mini in its place. Full res output for those that are interested and full HD 1080p video streaming from a drobo in the garage to my TV.

A full family system.

If you are only interest in music replay an appletv will do it, but a mini is more configurable and not tied to the ATV interface and apples pathetic restrictions on formats.

I think the AppleTV is fantastic in many ways....The one drawback it has over a laptop/mini/iMac//tower is you cannot output higher bit rates, as garyi has already mentioned....As to whether this is really an issue, depends on your uses and needs...??

Steve

Gary,
could you explain how you view the video content, can you still view content purchased from iTunes?
I am interested in switching out my Apple TV for a mini, purely because of its ability to output higher res audio files and had naively assumed that I would use the mini for audio and the ATV for video, rather than having the option of using the ATV in another room.

For the original poster, the ATV outputs at a lower rate than the new macbooks so for critical audio listening and given access to high-res audio files, the macbook is to be preferred. My preference, per Gary, would be a mini over a laptop if to be used primarily for audio replay. Others probably like the portability of a laptop.

Huwge I use PLEX its a media server. It only runs on Leopard but is a port of the ever popular XBMC (which incidentally can be put on an ATV as well, but the ATV is not meaty enough for high def, regardless of what they tell you)

Plex needs a little setup, you need to initially point it at your sources, in my case a folder called films on the drobo and a folder called TV shows there also.

You tell plex that this folder contain film and tv shows and provided your films are sensibly named and your tv shows follow naming conventions then plex will scrape the data and return full res colour DVD covers, 'Fanart' (interesting background picture relating to the movie) and all the details of the movie.

Once done you simply scroll through, pic your movie and up it pops, if teh right kind in full res 5.1 surround sound (Mine feeds through an NVI)

I'm just interested in music not video.

The Atv suits my needs fine. Especially with the remote app.

Oh, and it sounds so much better with your choice of DAC.

Sound, i thank you, that should slake his thirst for knowledge on this subject for a while

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
Huwge I use PLEX its a media server.

Thanks Gary, will investigate.
I am assuming I can navigate PLEX from the mini with my iPod / iPhone or am I missing something, i.e. in the ATV-less scenario, the mini is connected to the TV so am I now able to use this as a monitor for the mini as well? Sorry if that seems a dumb question.

Sorry if this is moving off-topic, but probably of interest as the mini seems to be a more than viable alternative to a MBP or MacBook.

Huwge, the new mini has support for two screens.

But yes behind plex is your normal OSX which can be run on the screen, or you could VNC into from another pc or mac if you need to do anything.

Basically I treat mine as an appletv, that is to say no keyboard or mouse.

PLEX has full support for Harmony Remote, so thats what I use, or you could use the apple remote.

Just treat it like an ATV, the plex interface is set to navigate with remotes. For more complex issues such as software updates just VNC in, or indeed a wireless keyboard and mouse will do.

One more thing, this is not as easy as ATV in terms of set up, it requires a bit of work from the user perspective, i.e. importing DVDs (Or torrenting) making sure the names are correct for scraping etc. Its a bit of a geeks but once set up is stunning in implementation. Everyone who has seen it in action wants it.

What does make it easy is no conversion is needed, video ts folders, isos, DIVX, AVI, MPEG4, H264 etc etc is all supported.

Gary thanks, looks like I'll be buying a mini!
Huw
P.S. Another dumb question, PLEX will still allow me to view content purchased from the ITMS? I am quite dependent on this for English language viewing. It has been a big part of the appeal of the ATV and it's only been recently that I have begun to appreciate the audio side of things.

Well bare in mind if it won't run on plex for what ever reason then there is still front row or itunes. Its a computer after all,

Deadlifter,

I use mine for music, pictures and home movies. It is one of those products that you cannot see a reason for until you have one and then you cannot live without it! A great product that I cannot recomend highly enough.

I am planning to get a Beresford DAC for the ATV and my HDD/DVD player to run through.

I would also second the remote app on a Touch or iPhone. It really makes life simple.

Jono

quote:

Originally posted by Jono 13:

I am planning to get a Beresford DAC for the ATV and my HDD/DVD player to run through.

Jono,

Beresford works very well in this configuration, but it is also worth having a listen to some other options if you have time and access.

re Beresford, the 7520 seems to have a richer voicing compared to the 7510 and you have to change the settings on the ATV as the Beresford can only manage a 2 ch. signal.

Huw

The 7520 is easily modded. The op-amps are socket mounted rather than soldered.

I use an ATV for music as well. Sounds great and is no fuss. I am definitely interested in exploring hi-res down the road, but I'm not happy with the current implementations of it. I may dabble with a mini or other solution depending on how I feel about the Naim Dac.

Slightly weird moment just. Having selected some music via Remote from my touch, I then switched on remote speakers from my PC and hey presto both different songs were playing at the same time!

Pausing via the touch sorted it out.

Jono

ATV -> Bel Canto DAC3 -> Genelec active sub and monitors. Brilliant!

I have an ATV, but do not use it as a music server at the moment. A few quick follow up questions

1. How do you get high quality rips onto the ATV?
2. What format presents reasonable compromise on quality (lossless?)?
3. What cheapish Dac (Beresford?) so you use?
4. Anyone hacked apple TV to be able to access other content?

Thanks

Hi Dave,

Rip your CDs in lossless format to iTunes> create a smart playlist for these> ensure that ATV is set up to copy this playlist> sync ATV and voila! your lossless music is now available on your ATV. I use a DAC Magic with Chord optical cable.
Cheers,
John.

quote:

Originally posted by David Quigley
4. Anyone hacked apple TV to be able to access other content?

I haven't hacked mine but there are some pretty powerful alternative interfaces that allow an apple tv to play a wide range of formats. I think one of them even plays hulu.

I sync my entire music collection to the device just like an iPod (lossless where possible) with a DacMagic performing d/a duties.