Apple TV2; my opinion.

Posted by: Flame on 06 January 2012

Hello everybody;

 

It has been a while since I posted. Some of you know that I am a home theater fan and I enjoy my Naim integrated HT setup. I recently received an iPad2 as a gift and found it fitting to purchase an Apple TV2. Here is what I found.

 

The Apple TV and iTunes are both very impressive in terms of user friendliness and functionality. This really is technology for dummies. Connected to a 42" Panasonic plasma, the HD content -actually HD ready- looks very impressive. Connected to my home theater, the results were different.

 

I connected the Apple TV via ethernet to my home network and plugged it into my Onkyo AV receiver via HDMI. The image quality was nice. 720p is not bad. certainly above DVD quality but not up to the image quality of 1080p Bluray discs. The difference was not clear on the plasma screen, but a 92" projector screen will reveal faults more clearly.

 

The audio is where I was really left hoping for more. The audio from iTunes movies is in 5.1 Dolby Digital format and the sound quality was thin and lack luster. I am guessing that this is more due to the Apple TV itself rather than the digital content. Afterall, it is a tiny box with a tiny internal power supply. To put things into context, DVDs played on a PS3 or my Bluray player sound significantly better.

 

In conclusion, I found the Apple TV2 to be a nice and smart little piece of kit. The quality of video is good and the audio just acceptable. However, the content available on the iTunes store is what makes the Apple TV2 a nice addition to my home theater.

 

Regards...

Posted on: 06 January 2012 by rackkit

My sister has just had an Apple TV2 and i noticed it has an optical out on the back. Maybe you could try that into your Onkyo AV reciever with a half decent optical lead and let the receiver do the sound processing via it's DAC instead of the Apple TV2's DAC? 

Posted on: 07 January 2012 by tonym

Thanks for the very informative posting Flame. I do wish Apple will learn to catch up with modern standards for video and sound. Still, an interesting device.

Posted on: 07 January 2012 by Huwge

I love mine running into an n-DAC, I think one needs to be careful challenging the performance of a device that costs just a little north of GBP 100 and that does so much with so little effort. You get access to your entire iTunes media library and, if you are that way inclined, numerous hacks that allow other options. For Mac users, given the poor support currently provided by Naim it is truly a vfm solution and when combined with a third party DAC provides perfectly acceptable sound in a 2-channel system.

Posted on: 07 January 2012 by Huwge
Originally Posted by Huwge:

I love mine running into an n-DAC, I think one needs to be careful challenging the performance of a device that costs just a little north of GBP 100 and that does so much with so little effort. You get access to your entire iTunes media library and, if you are that way inclined, numerous hacks that allow other options. For Mac users, given the poor support currently provided by Naim it is truly a vfm solution and when combined with a third party DAC provides perfectly acceptable sound in a 2-channel system.

It's also important not to forget the Airplay integration which allows you to stream directly from your iPad / iPhone and lets me, as an ex-pat, wirelessly watch the BBC iPlayer for iPad app on my TV

Posted on: 07 January 2012 by tonym
I accept it's good VFM, but really not good enough if you want surround sound and full HD video - not exactly rocket science these days.
Posted on: 07 January 2012 by Huwge

Tony, I'd be interested to know of a one stop alternative in a similar price range. I like Apple, for its convenience and have yet been able to find something that just works.  It needs to be something that can access an iTunes media library, even though everything + FLAC files are backed up to a NAS. Any tips / recommendations?

 

I guess the HD limitation can be pointed at the fact that not everything in the iTunes Music Store is HD. Most of the stuff I seem to be able to get from BBC / ITV isn't and a lot of (read most) non-US films or TV, particularly in foreign languages. From a music perspective, whilst it does purport to play lossless files it must surely be geared to the majority of listeners who are buying from the iTMS at a much lower coding. Even so, for everyday listening its fine and when things get serious I can always stick a USB in the n-DAC or play an LP.

Posted on: 07 January 2012 by tonym
That's the frustrating thing with Apple Huwge, their stuff (and I'm a real Apple fanboy) is so great in most ways, yet they seem stubbornly determined to plough their own furrow when it comes to adopting modern mainstream solutions. Witness how long it took them to take HD sound formats on board.

As far as I know, there's no real alternative to the Apple TV-type device if you want to use iTunes (and I can't be doing with anything else). When Apple decide to drag themselves into the present with sound and video formats then I'll be in the market for an Apple TV.
Posted on: 07 January 2012 by rackkit

Is it worth the OP trying the optical out of the Apple TV2 into the DAC of his Onkyo receiver?

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by tonym

As far as I know, there's no real alternative to the Apple TV-type device if you want to use iTunes....

A Mac Mini works fairly well but not great. We can successfully play iTunes video content on our TV but with a few problems.

 

One trick is that you have to have the Mac Mini selected as the input on the TV BEFORE launching any HD content, or the copy protection says it can't find a compatible display.

 

We use the SuperNait DAC for sound but the sync isn't perfect.

Posted on: 10 January 2012 by garyi
Hack it with xbmc, lots more audio options up to 7.1.
Posted on: 10 January 2012 by rackkit
Originally Posted by winkyincanada:
Originally Posted by tonym

As far as I know, there's no real alternative to the Apple TV-type device if you want to use iTunes....

A Mac Mini works fairly well but not great. We can successfully play iTunes video content on our TV but with a few problems.

 

One trick is that you have to have the Mac Mini selected as the input on the TV BEFORE launching any HD content, or the copy protection says it can't find a compatible display.

 

We use the SuperNait DAC for sound but the sync isn't perfect.

Is this the latesr Mac Minis and using the HDMI output? 

Posted on: 12 January 2012 by Flame
Originally Posted by rackkit:

Is it worth the OP trying the optical out of the Apple TV2 into the DAC of his Onkyo receiver?

Hi there,

Sorry for being away from the thread and the forum as a whole for a bit. Life does that sometimes. The option of optical is something that I hadn't thought of until you mentioned it. I wonder, isn't the HDMI signal output digital anyways and decoded in the Onkyo? If so, then the only difference I am looking at is cable A vs. cable B.

 

Regards...

Posted on: 12 January 2012 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by rackkit:
Originally Posted by winkyincanada:
Originally Posted by tonym

As far as I know, there's no real alternative to the Apple TV-type device if you want to use iTunes....

A Mac Mini works fairly well but not great. We can successfully play iTunes video content on our TV but with a few problems.

 

One trick is that you have to have the Mac Mini selected as the input on the TV BEFORE launching any HD content, or the copy protection says it can't find a compatible display.

 

We use the SuperNait DAC for sound but the sync isn't perfect.

Is this the latesr Mac Minis and using the HDMI output? 

No, not the latest Mini. A few years old.

Posted on: 12 January 2012 by rackkit
Originally Posted by Flame:
Originally Posted by rackkit:

Is it worth the OP trying the optical out of the Apple TV2 into the DAC of his Onkyo receiver?

Hi there,

Sorry for being away from the thread and the forum as a whole for a bit. Life does that sometimes. The option of optical is something that I hadn't thought of until you mentioned it. I wonder, isn't the HDMI signal output digital anyways and decoded in the Onkyo? If so, then the only difference I am looking at is cable A vs. cable B.

 

Regards...

Well worth trying though for the sake of an optical cable you might already have or getting one for a few pounds from Amazon or the like. 

Posted on: 30 January 2012 by dc_williamson

@garyi has it spot on.  Look, the little Apple TV is great - whether it's still as bought or jailbroken and running XBMC (Google SeasonPass and XBMC for details on how to do this).  The output over the optical TOSLINK port or over the HDMI is raw digital - it's just passes on what it gets!  Use those ports to connect to your external DAC for better processing and leave the little ATV2 with it's A5 processor to handle the video work.  The sound I get from my ATV2 connected to a decent DAC is pretty good - limited by the DAC, amp and speakers not the ATV2!

Posted on: 30 January 2012 by Iver van de Zand
Dear Flame,

Just a thought: did you ever get the chance to look at the HdDune players ? They are in a similar price range as the Apple TV. HdDune offers several models with and without HDD and/or with and without BlueRay player. i have one. Though not a video expert at all, my experience is that both the audio and video quality os superb. I use the HdDune for streaming videos from my NAS. It has an optical out which feeds my DAC. I have only a 2 channel system so cannot judge the Dune's surround sound capabilities. Cheers, Iver