Michal Ždanský It hasn't been that long since the Czech Republic was born full iTunes Store content, i.e. shopping music a movies. Along with the launch of the films, the option to purchase the 2nd generation Apple TV also appeared in the Czech Apple Online Store. And that's exactly what we got our hands on to try.
Processing and contents of the package
Like all Apple products, the Apple TV is packaged in a neat cube-shaped box. In addition to the Apple TV, the package includes an Apple Remote, a power cable and a booklet with instructions for use. The surface of the device is made of black glossy plastic on the sides and matte on the top and bottom surfaces. The black color is probably chosen to match the majority of manufactured televisions and players, after all, silver would really stand out among the black devices.
On the other hand, the Apple Remote is made of a single piece of aluminum, where several black buttons with a control circle evoking the Clickwheel of an iPod stand out in a solid silver body. But don't be fooled, the surface is not touch-sensitive. The controller is typically minimalist and contains only two other buttons in addition to the mentioned circular controller Menu/Back a Play / Pause. In addition to the Apple TV, the Remote can also control the MacBook (using IRC technology). It often happened to me that I accidentally controlled both the MacBook and the Apple TV at the same time.
Inside the Apple TV 2 beats the Apple A4 chip, which is identical to the iPhone 4 or iPad 1. It also runs a modified version of iOS, although it does not allow the installation of third-party applications. On the back of the device we find a classic HDMI output, an output for optical audio, a microUSB port for updating the firmware via a computer and Ethernet. However, Apple TV will also connect to the Internet via WiFi.
Control
The user interface is adapted to the simple control of the included Apple Remote. You move horizontally through the main menus, and vertically between specific services or offers. Button Menu then works as Back. Although the control is very simple and intuitive, when entering or searching for anything, you will not enjoy the virtual keyboard (alphabetical sorting) from which you will have to select individual letters with the directional pad, especially if you enter long registration e-mails or passwords.
That's when iPhone apps come in handy Remote from Apple. It simply connects to the Apple TV as soon as it registers it on the network and in addition to the control, where the directional controller is replaced by a touch pad for finger strokes. But the advantage is the keyboard, which appears whenever you need to enter some text. You can also easily browse media from the app Home Sharing and control all playback as in the application Hudba or Video.
iTunes
Apple TV is primarily used to connect to your iTunes account and associated library. After entering the relevant data, you will be taken to the iTunes movies menu from the main menu (series are still missing). You can choose by popular movies, genres or search for a specific title. A nice item is the section In Theaters, thanks to which you can watch trailers of upcoming films. Trailers are also available for each movie to rent.
Compared to iTunes on your computer (at least in Czech conditions), you can only rent movies for between €2,99 and €4,99, while selected movies are also available in HD quality (720p). Compared to classic video rental shops, the prices are about double, but they are disappearing from the Czech market in large numbers. Soon, services like iTunes will be one of the few ways you can legally rent a movie. You can also display a list of actors, directors, etc. for each movie and search for other movies based on them if you are a fan of a certain actor. I would also like to remind you that there is no option for Czech dubbing or subtitles for movies on iTunes.
Apple TV can connect to iTunes on your computer using the Internet and thanks Home Sharing it can play all content from it, i.e. music, video, podcasts, iTunes U or open photos. There are a few limitations when it comes to playing videos. The first is the fact that Apple TV can only output up to 720p, it cannot handle 1080p or FullHD. Another, more serious limitation is video formats. iTunes can only include MP4 or MOV files in its library, which are also native to iOS devices. However, the user is out of luck with other popular formats such as AVI or MKV.
There are several ways to get around these restrictions. The first is to jailbreak and download a multimedia program such as XBMC. The second way is to stream video through the client to another associated application on the iPhone or iPad. It then streams image and sound using AirPlay. One such application is perhaps great AirVideo from Czech authors who can also handle subtitles. Although this is not a completely elegant solution, which also requires another device (and drains it), it is possible to play non-native formats without noticeable compression. In addition, the picture was smooth without lags or out-of-sync sound.
Air Video was very surprising in playing and streaming videos. It can wirelessly connect to a computer, whether it's a PC or a Mac, using a client, browse preset folders (stored, for example, on a NAS or a connected external drive) and play videos from them. It has no problem with subtitles in the classic format (SRT, SUB, ASS) or with Czech characters.
AirPlay
One of the big attractions of Apple TV is also the AirPlay function. As mentioned above, it can stream audio and video from other apps. These applications include, for example, i Keynote whether iMovie, where you can play your presentations or created videos in full screen width. However, the quality of the stream varies from application to application. While the native video player or Air Video program plays the image smoothly without lags or artifacts, another application, BLUE, has problems with smooth playback.
Another big thing is AirPlay Mirroring, which was introduced in iOS 5. Select devices (currently only the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S) can mirror everything that's happening on the screen, whether you're moving around the system or have any app running. While AirPlay playback was seamless, AirPlay Mirroring struggled with fluidity. Stuttering was fairly common, with a more demanding data stream, which might be running a 3D game, the framerate dropped to just a few frames per minute.
Several factors can affect the smoothness of the transfer. On the one hand, Apple recommends connecting to the Internet via an Ethernet cable. Another recommendation is to have the modem, Apple TV, and device in the same room. During our testing, these conditions were not met. A lot can also depend on the specific modem, its range and transmission speed.
However, many users around the world are also facing laggy mirroring, so it seems that the problem is more on Apple's side, it would be good if they improve this protocol as AirPlay works smoothly. If Apple TV is to become another gaming platform closely related to iOS products, the relevant engineers should work on it all the more.
Internet services
Because Apple TV is tied to content in the cloud, it allows native viewing of content from various multimedia sites. Popular video services include YouTube and Vimeo. In addition to viewing content, you can log in to the service under your account and take advantage of other benefits, such as a list of your videos, subscribed or favorite videos, etc.
As for iTunes, you can access an extensive library of podcasts from the Internet services that you can watch via streaming. This means you don't have to download them on your computer and then use Home Sharing to play them, you can watch them directly. Internet radio has also made its way from iTunes to Apple TV. Although the device does not have an FM Tuner, you can choose from a wide range of world internet radio stations and thus relax from the ever-changing playlists from your library.
Among other services, there is access to galleries on the popular Flickr server, if you have your photos on MobileMe, you will also have easy access to them from Apple TV. A new feature is the display of Photo Stream, i.e. photos from iOS devices that are wirelessly synchronized with iCloud. In addition, you can make your own screen saver from these photos, which will turn on when the Apple TV is idle.
The last services are American video servers - news Wall Street Journal Live a MLB.tv, which are Major League Baseball videos. We would certainly welcome other services in our Czech conditions, such as access to the archives of our TV channels, but Apple is, after all, an American company, so we have to be satisfied with what is available to Americans.
Verdict
Apple TV has a lot of potential that is largely untapped. It's definitely not a media center, more of an iTunes TV add-on. Although it is possible to use the black box's potential to a large extent by jailbreaking, in its default state it certainly does not serve as well as a connected Apple Mini, which plays DVDs and videos of any format, and also has its own storage and connects to a home server or NAS, for example.
However, compared to other solutions, Apple TV costs "only" 2799 CZK (available at Apple Online Store) and if you're willing to accept some compromises, the Apple TV can be a great inexpensive addition to your TV set. If you normally use iTunes for shopping and playing videos, this black box may be a good choice for you.
Hopefully, in the future, we will see the expansion of functions and perhaps the possibility of installing third-party applications, which would make Apple TV a versatile multimedia device with a rich range of possible uses. The next generation should bring an A5 processor that can handle 1080p videos, Bluetooth that will bring wide possibilities for input devices. I'm also hoping for more storage that third-party apps could use.
The picture chopping was probably really your wifi network, I have wifi at home from timeCapsule and everything works as it should, before that the hullahopwei ;) and that was really bad.
I don't know how it is with iOS in Apple TV, but to avoid controlling multiple computers with one remote, I can pair it with my Mac… see. e.g. http://www.searchgrid.org/index.php?lang=cs&cat=44e&month=2011-06&id=50256
i had this problem when i turned on my new apple tv... the controller also controlled my imac in the same room. And both controls work on both devices... But considering that I have never used a remote control on my iPhone, I simply deactivated it in the system and that's it :-)
Otherwise, I praise Apple TV and after installing PLEX and XBMC, I think I will get rid of my Popcorn C-200 with bluray, which I have hardly turned on since I jailbroken Apple TV...
Good day, I have a new apple tv and I'm not familiar with it yet. How do you use plex and xbmc in practice? Thank you
Apple TV can learn to work with any controller, there is an item for this right in the menu. So you can set unused buttons on the TV remote, etc.
Cropping the image? I don't know anything like that after using ATV2 for a year. Via AirPlay, I watch, for example, a 720P live HD stream from EyeTV and everything is fine, the same with games. Of course, your problems are probably with some SHIT WiFi Point, as was written above.
As I wrote in the article, many factors can affect it, and the router can also be to blame
I had similar problems if the image was in a higher resolution without the H.264 codec. The image is then not decoded by hardware and ATV2 cannot keep up.
I've had an Apple TV 2nd gen for a year from the US and it hasn't had a remote here and there, has anyone had the same experience?
The driver is identical to what comes with, for example, the iMac. You can also use the older one from ATV1G – white.
As I wrote above, you can use any other, Apple TV can learn it.
I'm using the driver from the iMac, but I didn't ask about that here….
Hmm, this, together with CinemaDisplay, is perhaps the only thing that is not worth buying from Apple. Because there are products a level cheaper and incomparably richer in functions. Otherwise I have almost everything from them :-)
Which device please let me VideoAirPlay from iOS5 besides this one if you are so experienced?
None. Standic is just too smart somehow. :-)
Boxee box
Well, I personally have a WD HD TV Live player that is about 2 years old, which does not have wifi, but can be supplemented with a USB card. Playback of things from the network, YouTube and similar servers and USB port. It is also possible to use a USB HUB and expand the 2 USB ports on the device. The FULL HD playback device can handle MKV and many other movies, music or photos.
And one last thing: with the help of the "WD TV LIVE MEDIA HD" program, it can be played directly from an iPhone or iPad via air play.
You mention XBMC and BOXEE here. I recently moved the mini 2010 under the TV to play videos and installed these applications one by one. I have a new Lion. Basically, everything would be fine for me, if only I hadn't noticed that playback was eating up my ram memory. with 8 GB on the mini, I end up with a choppy picture after 90 minutes at zero. I also had MOVIST and it did the same thing. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it have anything to do with Lion?
I would like to ask if apple TV would be the right solution for me to wirelessly connect a macbook or ipad, only with an audio signal (I would probably have to use a reduction from the digital interface to a classic 3,5 mm jack).
To what extent is the sound transmission quality, and can this box be used without any connection to the TV, just as an intermediate station for sound?
Thank you.
I forgot to add that I intend to connect the macbook or ipad to the amplifier (speakers)