[mythtv-users] Apple TV FE with DVD Player?

Scott D. Davilla davilla at 4pi.com
Sun Jun 22 17:43:26 UTC 2008


>  >Like you say though, the ATV can only do 1080i using MPEG2 with XvMC and you
>>can forget about 1080p (From tests I've heard).  So if you are looking for
>>something that has a little more power and a DVD player in it, get a Mac
>>Mini.  I'd also give that recommendation.
>
>We are unlikely to be using 1080p any time soon.  Both of our
>televisions are CRT models and neither is terribly large, so until
>and unless we buy new televisions, I think that the lower resolutions
>will be perfectly adequate.   In fact I don't think there'd be any
>advantage at all in being able to output 1080p, except as a hedge
>against future needs.

While the AppleTV can not render 1080p content, it can certainly 
output 1080p video. There a difference between video content 
resolution and video display resolution.

>The ATV has a high WAF, except we're not married, so maybe that
>should be SOAF.   It's small, quiet, reasonably attractive, etc.
>The only issue is that I can see my SO wanting to bring home a DVD
>and just stick it in a drive under the TV and play it.   We'll store
>stuff we've had for a while on the back end, but she will not want to
>stick the DVD in the back end and wait for it to rip and then go to
>the front end to play it.   She'll want it to be like it currently is
>with a drive under the TV where she can insert the DVD and push a few
>buttons.

That certainly supported. The AppleTV has only one USB port so if you 
need to connect more than one USB device you will need a USB 2.0 hub.

>  >Though the ATV is SUHWEET sitting under my TV, silent as a mouse.  They say
>>it has a fan in it...  I wouldn't know unless I cracked it open, it's _that_
>>quiet.
>
>All of those qualities plus the price at $199 refurbished or $229 new
>make it hard to beat, if it will function properly--and it sounds
>like it will.    I don't think I could build a small quiet PC with
>similar abilities for much less than $400.  It might end up with a
>bit more processing power, but I'm not sure  there's any use for the
>extra processing power, and it almost certainly would not be as quiet
>and inoffensive.
>
>The only other issue is how tricky configuring the remote will be and
>whether it will remain simple enough to get a high SOAF.   From
>reading the postings here it sounds like that could take a bit of
>doing.

Time == money again. The best bang/buck is to get a MS UBS mce IR 
receiver/remote (less than $30) and it's supported by most MythTV 
distros without having to futz with lirc and keymaps.



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