http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/plex-arrives-on-jailbroken-apple-tvs-video/
Plex arrives on jailbroken Apple TVs (video)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 4th 2010 5:32AM
posted Nov 4th 2010 5:32AM 
Showing posts with label apple tv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple tv. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Plex - on the new Apple TV??
Just saw this from Engadget - wow, if this will work, that's going to be really interesting. Right off the bat, you've just beat Boxee by $150. I've played with the new ATV, and the unit is SO small, so simple - anyway - check out the post directly here, or ready below:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/plex-arrives-on-jailbroken-apple-tvs-video/
Boxee might get all the attention but Plex is without a doubt one of our favorite Mac media center apps. So it's with wide-eyed interest that we tell you about the Plex client making its first tentative steps onto the second generation Apple TV platform. Naturally, Cupertino's not behind the initiative to replace Apple's own "Lowtide" 10-foot user interface -- this work is being done by the Apple TV jailbreak community. The ATV2 build is still just a proof of concept so it's buggy and limited to video playback (no music, images, or app management) for now. But hey, it's another iOS app for ATV2 and it does work as evidenced by the video after the break. Man, we're getting all tingly at the thought of scattering a few $99 boxes around the house to serve up the wide variety of codecs supported by Plex in addition to Apple's more limited AirPlay.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/plex-arrives-on-jailbroken-apple-tvs-video/
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Rumors regarding Apple / Apple TV and the living room
This post is not directly related to the mini and Plex, but it I thought it might be of interest to some readers - and if anything, spur some possible discussion or wishful thinking.
For at least a year, maybe longer, there has always been talk regarding AppleTV. Everything from its just a pet project of Steve Jobs to it is the reason the new mini doesn't have an HDMI port to now, rumors regarding its expansion into the living room.
I think there is no doubt the future of entertainment (be it audio or video) lies in ones and zeros. When was the last time you actually bought a physical CD? I know my friend John (who's mentioned in the blog several times) just sold his DVD player on craigslist, and is now straight up, no physical media. Which is basically where we're at as well on this blog. (Although I do have Blu Ray, John is ripping blu ray and no longer has a desire to buy a stand alone player).
Can Apple do for TVs what it did for phones? And really, to put it in a better frame - can Apple take what Plex or Boxee has made, and what we as users have done with it, and make it into another great product?
Imagine, the mac mini, no cable, integrated HDMI with proper screen output for TVs, a proper remote, official support from Netflix, Hulu, etc. with integration of iTunes and the App Store - which could wirelessly sync shows and audio between your computer, the new "Apple TV", iphone, the rumored tablet, rumored blu ray support in itunes 9, and whatever else they can think of...
What do you think? What would you like to see? Would it take the idea of TV show subscription via iTunes to the masses and really bring 25% of America to cut cable? Would cable companies freak out and cause chaos? What are your thoughts on this?
For at least a year, maybe longer, there has always been talk regarding AppleTV. Everything from its just a pet project of Steve Jobs to it is the reason the new mini doesn't have an HDMI port to now, rumors regarding its expansion into the living room.
I think there is no doubt the future of entertainment (be it audio or video) lies in ones and zeros. When was the last time you actually bought a physical CD? I know my friend John (who's mentioned in the blog several times) just sold his DVD player on craigslist, and is now straight up, no physical media. Which is basically where we're at as well on this blog. (Although I do have Blu Ray, John is ripping blu ray and no longer has a desire to buy a stand alone player).
Can Apple do for TVs what it did for phones? And really, to put it in a better frame - can Apple take what Plex or Boxee has made, and what we as users have done with it, and make it into another great product?
Imagine, the mac mini, no cable, integrated HDMI with proper screen output for TVs, a proper remote, official support from Netflix, Hulu, etc. with integration of iTunes and the App Store - which could wirelessly sync shows and audio between your computer, the new "Apple TV", iphone, the rumored tablet, rumored blu ray support in itunes 9, and whatever else they can think of...
What do you think? What would you like to see? Would it take the idea of TV show subscription via iTunes to the masses and really bring 25% of America to cut cable? Would cable companies freak out and cause chaos? What are your thoughts on this?
Apple expected to push for greater living room presence
Published: 12:25 PM EST
Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, said in a note Thursday that he believes a new Apple TV will arrive in the next several months. Beyond that, he believes the company will launch a "connected television" in 2011.
Munster suggests a new Apple TV would bolster iTunes video purchases with a subscription model. He cites the popularity of Hulu and Netflix Watch Instantly as a reason Apple should offer iTunes video subscriptions.
"Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 or $40 per month)," Munster writes. "Such a product would effectively replace a consumer's monthly cable bill (~$85/month) and offer access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels."
Munster goes on to say that he believes the timing could be impacted by the negotiations Apple would need to conduct in order to have the rights to offer a subscription model. However, he predicts that when a deal is finalized, Apple would simultaneously release the offering with a new Apple TV, or updated Apple TV software, within the next year.
He predicts that Apple will become more aggressive in the living room, citing a number of factors, including:
An upgraded Apple TV with subscription capabilities, the analyst says, could access the device's untapped potential.
As for the "Apple Television," Munster believes that is a long-term goal for the company, within the next two to five years. He suggests such a device would have DVDR and home media center functionality built in to the set. Recorded shows, he predicts, could sync with other Apple devices, like Macs, iPhones and iPods, all wirelessly.
"The device would push apple further into the digital living room with interactive TV, music, movie and gaming features (with the iPhone or iPod touch as a game controller)," Munster states. "Such a device would command a premium among the competitive field of budget TVs."
Munster acknowledges that TV hardware is a "challenging business," but the analyst expects that Apple would "change the rules of the game," as it has done in the phone market.
Piper Jaffray has said before that it expects Apple to offer both a connected television, and Apple TV with DVR. A similar report was issued earlier this year, though Thursday's new analysis provides more recent examples to justify the prediction.
A new market analysis predicts that an update or overhaul to the Apple TV could arrive soon, perhaps with iTunes TV show subscriptions and DVR capabilities.
Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, said in a note Thursday that he believes a new Apple TV will arrive in the next several months. Beyond that, he believes the company will launch a "connected television" in 2011.
Munster suggests a new Apple TV would bolster iTunes video purchases with a subscription model. He cites the popularity of Hulu and Netflix Watch Instantly as a reason Apple should offer iTunes video subscriptions.
"Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 or $40 per month)," Munster writes. "Such a product would effectively replace a consumer's monthly cable bill (~$85/month) and offer access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels."
Munster goes on to say that he believes the timing could be impacted by the negotiations Apple would need to conduct in order to have the rights to offer a subscription model. However, he predicts that when a deal is finalized, Apple would simultaneously release the offering with a new Apple TV, or updated Apple TV software, within the next year.
He predicts that Apple will become more aggressive in the living room, citing a number of factors, including:
- Apple executive Tim Cook said on a recent earnings call that the company would "continue to invest" in the Apple TV.
- Patents the Cupertino, Calif., company has filed regarding TV recording.
- A five-year, $500 million agreement with LG Electronics for supply of LCD screens.
An upgraded Apple TV with subscription capabilities, the analyst says, could access the device's untapped potential.
As for the "Apple Television," Munster believes that is a long-term goal for the company, within the next two to five years. He suggests such a device would have DVDR and home media center functionality built in to the set. Recorded shows, he predicts, could sync with other Apple devices, like Macs, iPhones and iPods, all wirelessly.
"The device would push apple further into the digital living room with interactive TV, music, movie and gaming features (with the iPhone or iPod touch as a game controller)," Munster states. "Such a device would command a premium among the competitive field of budget TVs."
Munster acknowledges that TV hardware is a "challenging business," but the analyst expects that Apple would "change the rules of the game," as it has done in the phone market.
Piper Jaffray has said before that it expects Apple to offer both a connected television, and Apple TV with DVR. A similar report was issued earlier this year, though Thursday's new analysis provides more recent examples to justify the prediction.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Could Apple's rumored 10" tablet device be a replacement - or the future - of the Mac Mini HTPC?
Engadget makes some interesting points. And this is not the first time I've heard talk of Apple working into the TV market. With Samsumg and LG already producing TVs with internet connections and net based widgets, its not hard to think about Apple merging the Cinema Display with the Apple TV with the rumored touch pad and everything else out there to bring a real mass media solution. After all, 5 years ago if you said Apple going to make a phone, who wouldn't have laughed....
Click here for the official link or read below:
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Much of the speculation around an "iPad" -- a rumored 10" Apple tablet -- has portrayed it as an Amazon Kindle-killer or a large-screen iPod touch, but there's a strong case that such a product could effectively serve as a replacement for – or more a compelling complement to -- Apple's non-platform sleeper Apple TV.
Apple faces a dilemma in moving iPhone apps to a larger screen size or higher resolution. It must either scale them (ugly), ask developers to create a large-screen version (cumbersome), or run them in a window (which would beg some level of multitasking at least beyond what the iPhone OS does today. Not only that, but a 10" device is simply inconvenient for some of the iPhone's apps. Just try focusing on the road with a 10" navigation screen suctioned to your windshield.
The base version of Apple TV is 40 GB, just a bit over the 32 GB that has been offered on the iPod touch and iPhone. By the end of the year, a 64 GB flash product could be well within reach for a flash–based iPad. That would easily store many consumers' photo libraries and a Netflix queue's worth of movies. Rumors about the "Cocktail" music experience notwithstanding, the tablet would make an excellent platform for watching and displaying video and photos. a 10" screen would be a fine fit for 720p video and the small size would mask artifacts that could show up on the 50" television. But the iPad would be even more versatile than Apple TV.
Perhaps the most popular digital tablets that are in the market today are digital picture frames. They've sold well because they've been cheap, but even companies that have had success with them believe the key to greater utilization is in connecting them. TV is becoming a more personal experience, especially for video downloaded from the iTunes store. The iPhone delivers an okay video experience (fine for YouTube) given its screen size, but it's not something most people would ideally like to watch a movie on.
Having full-time access to the screen would allow Apple to, for example, put Dashboard-like widgets on the display when it wasn't being actively used. That's something that Apple TV's walk-on role in the home theater makes more challenging. Like Apple TV, the iPad could serve as an Apple "media center extender."
The iPad would also be a great opportunity for Apple to introduce support for desktop Flash as its larger case could accommodate a more powerful processor and larger battery. Hulu's content partners would also be less likely to rally against supporting such a device since it would not compete as directly with the large-screen cable TV experience (although, that said, HDMI or DisplayPort would be a natural port for such a device).
The iPad could also be a great fit for in-vehicle video viewing. It would take about ten minutes for one of the iPod accessory companies to announce a case that allows it to be slung over a drivers' seat as an alternative to the portable DVD player. And Apple's recent embrace of stereo Bluetooth could enable backseat listening without headphone cables.
Finally, it would help Apple test the waters of the television market without having to compete head-to-head with Sony, Samsung and Vizio. An Apple television could simply be an iPad with a tuner, inputs, and programming guide. The integrated display of the iMac has made it far more more successful than the Mac mini. There's a clear opportunity for the iPad to similarly show up the Mac mini's living room cousin.
Click here for the official link or read below:
Switched On: The iPad could succeed Apple TV
by Ross Rubin
Much of the speculation around an "iPad" -- a rumored 10" Apple tablet -- has portrayed it as an Amazon Kindle-killer or a large-screen iPod touch, but there's a strong case that such a product could effectively serve as a replacement for – or more a compelling complement to -- Apple's non-platform sleeper Apple TV.
Apple faces a dilemma in moving iPhone apps to a larger screen size or higher resolution. It must either scale them (ugly), ask developers to create a large-screen version (cumbersome), or run them in a window (which would beg some level of multitasking at least beyond what the iPhone OS does today. Not only that, but a 10" device is simply inconvenient for some of the iPhone's apps. Just try focusing on the road with a 10" navigation screen suctioned to your windshield.
The base version of Apple TV is 40 GB, just a bit over the 32 GB that has been offered on the iPod touch and iPhone. By the end of the year, a 64 GB flash product could be well within reach for a flash–based iPad. That would easily store many consumers' photo libraries and a Netflix queue's worth of movies. Rumors about the "Cocktail" music experience notwithstanding, the tablet would make an excellent platform for watching and displaying video and photos. a 10" screen would be a fine fit for 720p video and the small size would mask artifacts that could show up on the 50" television. But the iPad would be even more versatile than Apple TV.
Perhaps the most popular digital tablets that are in the market today are digital picture frames. They've sold well because they've been cheap, but even companies that have had success with them believe the key to greater utilization is in connecting them. TV is becoming a more personal experience, especially for video downloaded from the iTunes store. The iPhone delivers an okay video experience (fine for YouTube) given its screen size, but it's not something most people would ideally like to watch a movie on.
Having full-time access to the screen would allow Apple to, for example, put Dashboard-like widgets on the display when it wasn't being actively used. That's something that Apple TV's walk-on role in the home theater makes more challenging. Like Apple TV, the iPad could serve as an Apple "media center extender."
The iPad would also be a great opportunity for Apple to introduce support for desktop Flash as its larger case could accommodate a more powerful processor and larger battery. Hulu's content partners would also be less likely to rally against supporting such a device since it would not compete as directly with the large-screen cable TV experience (although, that said, HDMI or DisplayPort would be a natural port for such a device).
The iPad could also be a great fit for in-vehicle video viewing. It would take about ten minutes for one of the iPod accessory companies to announce a case that allows it to be slung over a drivers' seat as an alternative to the portable DVD player. And Apple's recent embrace of stereo Bluetooth could enable backseat listening without headphone cables.
Finally, it would help Apple test the waters of the television market without having to compete head-to-head with Sony, Samsung and Vizio. An Apple television could simply be an iPad with a tuner, inputs, and programming guide. The integrated display of the iMac has made it far more more successful than the Mac mini. There's a clear opportunity for the iPad to similarly show up the Mac mini's living room cousin.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
This is how it starts
My good friend John was in town this week, and we were talking about our respective Home Theater setups. I already knew he did a lot of torrents and was using a server (Vista based) to transfer over his TV shows to an MVIX , which then played on his TV. What I didn't know about, was that he had this system automated. I had wrongfully assumed that he was manually searching and downloading these torrents and I was being very slick with my Tivo setup. Clearly, I was wrong lol.
Basically, he has Mico set up as his torrent client and he has it setup with RSS feeds of tv shows he gets from TVRSS and he has it set to auto download new episodes. The more we talked the more I started thinking this was the way to go, and that my Apple TV isn't going to cut it.
My current set up is:
Samsung 46" 720 DLP
Tivo Series 3 HD
Onkyo Surround Amp with 4 HDMI inputs.
Apple TV
Sony BlueRay (ver 2.0)
Mac Pro desktop in a different room
Airport Wireless N router
Netgear XAV101 plug in ethernet adaptors (for making an internet hardline connection out of a wall plug)
For movies, my system was to take the DVDs and use MactheRipper (which is excellent) to rip into Video TS folders and save them onto an external drive as backup. Then I would use handbrake to convert them to Apple TV format and insert them into iTunes.
After that, I would do a quick grab of the cover art, and copy paste the movie info into the meta for movie in iTunes and I could access the movies remotely from iTunes via the Apple TV and be good to go.
It was nice because now you can scan a ton of movies, see the cover art and read about it and decide if you want to watch or whatever - people loved it. But, it was a bit of work and one that you might miss is that you just have the movie and not the actual DVD - which means no
subtitle access, or extra features.
So the Tivo is pretty obvious, and works great. And now they have Watch it Now for Netflix, which is is nice so you don't need a Roku box or Xbox.
So why am I changing? A few reasons.
1. The Apple TV system is not perfect. Its good, but could be better. To many steps to get the DVDs formatted properly, missing all of the DVD, etc..
2. The money - I am paying $80/month for Digital Cable and the basic HD package which has the major networks and a few other things like HDNet. Plus, $13/mo for Tivo. Which works out to $93/month or $1,116 per year. Over $1,000 a year for TV?!?! DAMN! Yes, that's crazy when you look at it like that. Especially when you consider I pretty much never watch TV unless it has been Tivo'd. I don't like to, nor have time to, just sit around and surf channels for no reason, plus I have grown to HATE commercials and like everyone already knows, there is never anything on TV anyway. So why am I paying $1,000 a year to watch Lost, 24, BSG, Top Chef and a few other shows? Especially when you can watch any of them for FREE the next day on Hulu or the network web sites.
I'll tell you why - because no one wants to huddle around a computer monitor with a bunch of friends. Although I have a nice 24 inch HD monitor, the 46 inch DLP is still nicer and with better sound.
Yeah, from time to time my GF and I have hooked up her macbook to the TV and it works great, but still, yo uhave to go through the process.
Which leaves me at the 2009 mac mini - and which is where I'll pick up next time :)
Basically, he has Mico set up as his torrent client and he has it setup with RSS feeds of tv shows he gets from TVRSS and he has it set to auto download new episodes. The more we talked the more I started thinking this was the way to go, and that my Apple TV isn't going to cut it.
My current set up is:
Samsung 46" 720 DLP
Tivo Series 3 HD
Onkyo Surround Amp with 4 HDMI inputs.
Apple TV
Sony BlueRay (ver 2.0)
Mac Pro desktop in a different room
Airport Wireless N router
Netgear XAV101 plug in ethernet adaptors (for making an internet hardline connection out of a wall plug)
For movies, my system was to take the DVDs and use MactheRipper (which is excellent) to rip into Video TS folders and save them onto an external drive as backup. Then I would use handbrake to convert them to Apple TV format and insert them into iTunes.
After that, I would do a quick grab of the cover art, and copy paste the movie info into the meta for movie in iTunes and I could access the movies remotely from iTunes via the Apple TV and be good to go.It was nice because now you can scan a ton of movies, see the cover art and read about it and decide if you want to watch or whatever - people loved it. But, it was a bit of work and one that you might miss is that you just have the movie and not the actual DVD - which means no
subtitle access, or extra features.So the Tivo is pretty obvious, and works great. And now they have Watch it Now for Netflix, which is is nice so you don't need a Roku box or Xbox.
So why am I changing? A few reasons.
1. The Apple TV system is not perfect. Its good, but could be better. To many steps to get the DVDs formatted properly, missing all of the DVD, etc..
2. The money - I am paying $80/month for Digital Cable and the basic HD package which has the major networks and a few other things like HDNet. Plus, $13/mo for Tivo. Which works out to $93/month or $1,116 per year. Over $1,000 a year for TV?!?! DAMN! Yes, that's crazy when you look at it like that. Especially when you consider I pretty much never watch TV unless it has been Tivo'd. I don't like to, nor have time to, just sit around and surf channels for no reason, plus I have grown to HATE commercials and like everyone already knows, there is never anything on TV anyway. So why am I paying $1,000 a year to watch Lost, 24, BSG, Top Chef and a few other shows? Especially when you can watch any of them for FREE the next day on Hulu or the network web sites.
I'll tell you why - because no one wants to huddle around a computer monitor with a bunch of friends. Although I have a nice 24 inch HD monitor, the 46 inch DLP is still nicer and with better sound.
Yeah, from time to time my GF and I have hooked up her macbook to the TV and it works great, but still, yo uhave to go through the process.
Which leaves me at the 2009 mac mini - and which is where I'll pick up next time :)
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