General Forum

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

Harry2008 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:19:47 GMT

Indeed very lovely and needed. I think I will give it a try when I have reinstalled my iMac with OS X 10.6. Thanks for the link

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

Flappo The Grate — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:32:13 GMT

this looks grate !

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/22580/

eyetv elgato on the iphone / ipod touch

AT LAST !!

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

cooldude — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:45:04 GMT

Dear soundproof.

I do need to clarify that the ATV I owned indeed was a first generation unit bought about a year or so after they first came out. So, upon you reply, I did check them out at the apple store again and I admit they seem to work alot smoother now. Mine sure didn't.....
I don't want to bash the ATV as I still think it's a very capable little machine that I do love ( I did own one after all...) but in my case was such a frustration that I basically gave up on it. Also it dependence on the itunes store or it's need for hacking has put me off.

1) my mac mini does the same job just as fast, and can do a bit more than the ATV.

2) My library is now too big to store on any ATV, also I have no intention of traveling with my setup (though the ATV is perfect in that sense.) I also do NOT want to buy or rent movies through the apple store or any other online store. Used the apple store only once to setup the apple tv and to try out some HD content.

3) The wireless connection is more stable on my mac mini, something my ATV didn't accomplish as it had a myriad of problems connecting to my 1TB nas. So satisfied that I have now started ripping some of my regular dvd's with the mac mini to the NAS server. The NAS will be extended to 2or even3 TB if possible

4) My ATV setup was done correctly and was tried with several SD and HD files from downloaded, ripped and Itunes origin on one hand and the blu-ray player with SD and BD disks on the other. I DID notice the difference in image quality on my plasma. Both the atv and BD player were connected through hdmi to my screen ( also I did plug them in the same HDMI port with the same cable, just to make sure..... ) I suppose newer screens will probably have better video processors built-in to further upgrade the image. Also, the larger the screen, the more you'll notice the difference. Sound quality indeed does differ as well.

The mac mini should play video to the same quality as the atv. Still not to the HD quality of the Blu ray player on my screen. ( I did try all possible settings....) but that could just be my plasma and this situation could be different on other screens.

In my case it was easier (at that point in time) to just sell my atv and buy a BD player with it. I only paid $195 (Canadian icnl tax) which I consider even now a fairly good deal for a BD player (samsung bd1600). Also our local video rental place sells off their excess BD disk for 6$ to 10$ when they move them from the 'new arrivals' to the 'regular' shelving (usually one month or so after they hit the shelves). They also come with a full warranty. Just like the fact that I have most of my music now digitally stored I still want a back-up original copy.

I did add the mac mini mainly for playing music (though I still play cd's and records more often) as my wife prefers this. The video part has only been added now to store some of her favorite (older) movies and shows as our library is getting pretty big and some of it will have to go into storage.

Regards

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

soundproof — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:56:47 GMT

cooldude:

I used to have an apple tv which I ended up selling rather quickly as I found it fairly slow in use, needs my computer to be always on, unstable wireless connection and an image quality (even the HD rentals) is barely at par (even connected with hdmi) with a regular SD image upgraded through the Samsung Blu-ray player's hdmi...

I've also got a MacMini, but compared to you, my ATV experience is as follows.

1. Very fast - has movies up and running in a few seconds, including HD. Retrieves content immediately, switches easily between sources, accesses content on other computers or storage devices without any trouble.

2. No - the computer doesn't need to be on, and I've even gone with just the ATV in my bag to hotels, the cabin, etc., to watch content stored on it, or just connecting to the Ethernet there, to go on the net to watch movies, using my account without any problems.

3. The wireless connection is flawless on mine. Fast and reliable, with no drop-outs.

4. The HD quality is excellent, which makes me believe yours was set up wrong, or not properly updated. Have mentioned this before, but a friend of mine who is a leading cinematographer, dropped building a BD library when he carried out comparisons between a properly set up ATV-HD feed and a variety of BD sources. Yes - the sound quality will differ, and if you are projecting onto a very large screen, you will appreciate the enhanced BD resolution. But otherwise, very nice from the ATV, IMO.

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

shirleyyang — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:37:57 GMT

Blu-ray to Apple TV is attacking the converter market with the intensity as an earthquake registered 7. 8 on the Richter scale. The Blu-ray to Apple TV rocks the customers with strong functions as converting blue ray to Apple TV. Not only suit for the one type of Blu ray to Apple TV, the Blu-ray to Apple TV also supports the conversion of such video formats as avi, mpeg, mp4, mpg, wmv and so on. Much more, the Blu ray to Apple TV can excerpt the audio formats as mp3, MP3, AC3, AAC, WMA, WAV, and OGG to Apple TV. It supports various devices such as iPod, iPhone, GPhone, PSP\PS3, XBox, Mobile Phone, Windows Mobile and so on.
Blu ray to Apple TV, the best choice of you as you are converting Blu-ray to Apple TV.
Come to have a try and you will like it!

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

The_Beonic_Man — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:48:05 GMT

I use an 80gb Sony PS3 and an Apple TV on a BV7-40 Mark III. I can see no difference in picture quality personally. Tested with The Dark Knight download and disk. Can't comment on sound too much as I can't have surround in my living space. Big fan of the ATV and of the PS3. Bought both last year and had no problems with either ... so far.

Simon.

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

cooldude — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:19:06 GMT

Flappo The Grate:

from what i've read on the net the difference between appletv hd and blu ray is minimal at best , especially on screens 40" and less

plus the appletv has the convenience factor , and i'm much more impressed by the reliability of apple's hardware than sony's

i'm on my 3rd ps3 now and i just don't trust the hardware anymore

while everyone i know with an appletv is really happy with it

just make sure you go for the 160 gig model ;)

I used to have a PS3 which was one of the better blu-rays available back at the beginning .... just that the machine is totally unreliable.
After 2 returns and and a new one in under a year , I gave up and traded in for a samsung BD player

The samsung never gave me any grieve and performs all disks perfectly so far. (over 50 BD rented so far )
I had a problem with one disk I rented, but that ended up being because of a dirty disk !!!
Rental price here is same for BD or SD disks.

Extremely happy with the quality of image and sound coming from my BD player.

I used to have an apple tv which I ended up selling rather quickly as I found it fairly slow in use, needs my computer to be always on, unstable wireless connection and an image quality (even the HD rentals) is barely at par (even connected with hdmi) with a regular SD image upgraded through the Samsung Blu-ray player's hdmi...
A dedicated mac mini now serves as hub for itunes and plex for music and hd downloads which ended up being slightly better and more versatile.

My screen is a 42" pro panasonic plasma and believe me, nothing beats the blu-ray for image quality in sharpness, depth and speed. Sounds is also very good .....even with my 'antique' AV7000.....

Just my 2 cents worth ....

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

Flappo The Grate — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:11:59 GMT

from what i've read on the net the difference between appletv hd and blu ray is minimal at best , especially on screens 40" and less

plus the appletv has the convenience factor , and i'm much more impressed by the reliability of apple's hardware than sony's

i'm on my 3rd ps3 now and i just don't trust the hardware anymore

while everyone i know with an appletv is really happy with it

just make sure you go for the 160 gig model ;)

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

ptwb123 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:38:22 GMT

Agreed. Though, movie rentals are definitely why i bought it. The number of movies is not really "very limited", as somebody said. I think there's plenty of movies in HD to rent. Blu-ray to Apple TV

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

moxxey — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:33:11 GMT

mbee:

I just don't see the point spending 10k€ on a B&O home cinema and then...

Yes, but out of principle, we should have to spend £14 or more on a Blu-ray when the same film is almost a third of the price on SD. Just because we *can* afford to spend, it doesn't mean we *should*. That's reason the world's in the mess it's in right now. A flippant attitude to throwing cash for the best 'experience'.

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

mbee — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:52:14 GMT

I just don't see the point spending 10k€ on a B&O home cinema and then watching what can be stated as correct quality DVDs, but not state of the art HD... B&O has very good upscalers for SD, but a kikinoko screen with a HD signal beats B&O with SD...

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

MGBGTV8 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:22:58 GMT

blu ray does have problems

cant read disc errors

long load times even on latest players

long layer change times

large amount of bluray laser failures on ps3 i wonder if that effects other brands as well

ill stick to dvd great sound on 5.1 surround sound nice filmic quality bluray can look a bit unnatural and some sd dvd can nearly match bluray quality

you can buy casino royale on dvd for £2.99 uk price great buy

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

soundproof — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:01:00 GMT

What do you have against swahili?

Maybe worth checking the settings for the projection connection.

A cinematographer I know, and who is very critical of image quality, connected the best of the InFocus projectors to his AppleTV, via HMDI, and decided not to build a Blu-ray library. Sound is vastly superior on BD - IF the movie company has taken the bother and not just upsampled from a regular mix.

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

Flappo The Grate — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:56:20 GMT

thing i like aboot the dloads is the lack of so called special features and the uber complex interfaces that most bd's exhibit

i just want to see a film - nothing more

no interviews with the second lighting cameraman in swahili in 4 x 3 from 1974 thank you

Re: Apple TV HD vs Blue-Ray Movies

mbee — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:55:45 GMT

I don't agree :

You can rent blu rays for a very low price, and more importantly, you can RESELL blu rays, or buy them second hand... So the price can be LOWER than crappy HD on iTunes!