View Full Version : Apple TV rocks!
julesd68
05-06-2013, 10:53
My Apple TV landed today and I'm well pleased. :D
It's a diminutive black box with a reassuringly heavy, quality feel to it. Set up via a mega-slimline remote was a total breeze - took only a few minutes. The Apple menus are very easy to navigate and clear.
Onto the fun - I've been watching trailers for half an hour! I had expected the picture quality to be good, and it is. The trailers look damn good on my 32" 1080P TV and possibly the best is yet to come, as I'm not 100% they show the trailers in full HD. Whatever, pic quality is great. But the best bit is the audio - it is just staggering! So good in fact, that I wonder whether something is not quite right on my Blu-Ray player, it so superior. Using my very humble £30 Denon speakers and £30 QED amp I'm getting a massive sound, full of crunching dynamics and a very satisfying bass thud. This audio adds a whole new dimension to the experience - bit like going to the cinema really. It's so good, I'm actually really excited about watching some new movies for the first time in a long, long while.
I've been using Lovefilm for sometime but have got fed up with paying monthly fees and then hanging onto films for too long. With Apple you pay for the film, watch it, job done.
So will be renting a few 1080p movies from Apple and will also set up a 'Super HD' Netflix account. I've heard very mixed reports about this, quality-wise, but there's a free months trial so well worth giving it a go.
Audio Al
05-06-2013, 15:41
J
" IT'S Apple "
all the above comes as standard ;)
julesd68
05-06-2013, 16:35
Yeah I guess so Al, but always a nice surprise when stuff just 'works' ...
Done a bit more playing around and found out that the Apple TV controller was also controlling the volume on my Macmini! All I needed to do was to disable infra-red remote control ability in Settings and Preferences on the mini - yes, they do nearly think of everything ...
Also went into settings of my Sony Blu-ray player to see if I could improve the audio, and I did. There is a setting that allows you to have an 'uncompressed' sound for a much more dynamic presentation. Nice.
J
" IT'S Apple "
all the above comes as standard ;)
Exactly what I've been telling people for years lol
I love my Apple TV - excellent box of tricks for little money considering what you get for it :)
Connecting it to your PC / Mac and accessing iTunes is a breeze too.
P.
julesd68
07-06-2013, 08:57
Watched a Netflix "Super HD" film last night - the Vatican blockbuster "Angels and Demons". Quality of HD, streaming, and audio was near faultless.
One small problem, the selection of films on Netflix is pants. What little there is, is old and not very interesting to me - I was actually struggling to find anything I wanted to watch at all!
So for £5.99 a month it isn't worth it at the moment until they get a decent library; will cancel subscription at the end of the 'free month'.
Watched a Netflix "Super HD" film last night - the Vatican blockbuster "Angels and Demons". Quality of HD, streaming, and audio was near faultless.
One small problem, the selection of films on Netflix is pants. What little there is, is old and not very interesting to me - I was actually struggling to find anything I wanted to watch at all!
So for £5.99 a month it isn't worth it at the moment until they get a decent library; will cancel subscription at the end of the 'free month'.
Totally agree with you Julian, Netflix, for the majority has older films and not always the best either. One thing I would recommend prior to your free month expiring is "The House Of Cards" which is a Netflix only TV series, which I've watched and found thoroughly enjoyable.
P.
We love our Apple TVs. Mine is connected to my US account, my wife has one connected to her UK account, and we both live in Bulgaria, and ... everything works. Is great!
You can pick them up and take them anywhere and they work fine.
We watch our favorite TV series on them, though we probably spend a lot if you add it up...
Julian,
There is a feature to 'pair' a remote to a specific Apple TV (i.e. we have two remotes that work only with their assigned device) - that way you won't accidentally rent two movies at once ;) Not sure how this works with a Mac in the room, perhaps it works the same. Here are the details:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1555
There is a feature to 'pair' a remote to a specific Apple TV (i.e. we have two remotes that work only with their assigned device) - that way you won't accidentally rent two movies at once ;) Not sure how this works with a Mac in the room, perhaps it works the same.
Excellent advice, I know it was intended for Julian, but thank you anyway :)
I have a Western Digital TV Live at the moment, which is pretty much the same thing, but when I get round to it, I'll will be building my own media server with a Raspberry Pi and XBMC :)
The Grand Wazoo
07-06-2013, 23:45
Apple
TV
Rocks
..........is this some kind of shopping list?
Werner Berghofer
08-06-2013, 07:50
Tim,
I have a Western Digital TV Live at the moment
me too, plus two WD harddisks (three terabyte capacity per drive) attached via USB. Really a great, little device with a lot of functionality.
Werner.
Apple
TV
Rocks
..........is this some kind of shopping list?
:rofl:
How does the Apple TV box fit into a system, ie what do you plug it into?
I've got TV in one room and computer in another.
Cheers
You plug it into your TV via a HTML cable.
Hi John,
Paul is correct - you plug it in to your tv via the hdmi connector.
Also, it occured to me that if you have never used one before, then you may also need to know that usually the Apple TV also connects to the internet via WIFI - however there is also an option to connect to the internet via a CAT 5 network cable.
So that way it can stream TV from the web into your TV.
There is also an optical out - which i have never used, but probably is good for dolby 7.1 into a suround sound system.
You will spend more renting movies/tv shows from apple than you think - but it is great!
why do you ask?
How does the Apple TV box fit into a system, ie what do you plug it into?
I've got TV in one room and computer in another.
Cheers
You will spend more renting movies/tv shows from apple than you think - but it is great!
why do you ask?
Thanks Stuart (and Paul).....I may run the risk of spending more on renting movies....but I can save on Sky Movies, Love Film and won't have to splash out on a new Smart TV, when the one I have is only a couple of years old! Will buy today :)
Will buy today :)
Great John, You'll have to let us know what you think.
P.S. I use the optical output and it works nicely through my surround sound system :)
julesd68
10-07-2013, 20:34
Thanks Stuart (and Paul).....I may run the risk of spending more on renting movies....but I can save on Sky Movies, Love Film and won't have to splash out on a new Smart TV, when the one I have is only a couple of years old! Will buy today :)
Enjoy! I don't think you will regret it. I am still amazed by the quality of the 1080p streaming.
People who want to see the latest films asap might want to run Lovefilm along side Apple TV, as it takes a while for you to be able to rent them on iTunes but not really an issue for me.
dave2010
11-07-2013, 21:00
Has anyone tried the Roku kit? I have a cheap Roku LT which works quite well, and a friend/colleague has a more upmarket Roku version. We have looked at the specs of the Apple TV, and perhaps there's no need to have yet more kit.
We can use a new Macbook Pro if we need to access C4OD or the ITV player, and our Freesat box copes with iPlayer for the HD TV. The Roku works well with smaller TVs which we happen to have in a couple of other rooms.
Honestly no and this is more to do with me being pretty wedded to Apple and the way they do business.
From what I understand however, the Roku boxes are good pieces of kit and the box looks surprisingly like the Apple TV, which is probably one of the reasons they used that design!
Also, a neighbour of mine demonstrated what the Apple TV could do prior to me getting one and I was hooked from then onwards, just sooooo easy to use!
Paul.
I have not tried the Roku either... so i can help much.
The thing i like about the apple TV (as with all apple products) is that IT WORKS without any fuss.
There is some debate on the topic, here are two opposing views:
http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2013/06/the-great-debate-roku-vs-apple-tv/
http://readwrite.com/2013/06/07/why-this-loyal-apple-user-switched-from-apple-tv-to-roku#awesm=~oboNBbHkzLNml3
Probably you would be happy with either... let us know what you decide.
dave2010
12-07-2013, 18:20
You plug it into your TV via a HTML cable.
:lol: Tim Berners-Lee would be amused too. That "laugh" smiley is just so OTT!
The thing i like about the apple TV (as with all apple products) is that IT WORKS without any fuss.
This is exactly my point and it is why Apple haters, one day must come out of the woodwork and understand!
:lol: Tim Berners-Lee would be amused too. That "laugh" smiley is just so OTT!
This is now my favourite: :rfl:
dave2010
13-07-2013, 09:07
This is exactly my point and it is why Apple haters, one day must come out of the woodwork and understand!Unfortunately that is not true of all Apple products, though I'm broadly in sympathy with the sentiments. Arguably this is not always Apple's fault, but how are mere end users supposed to know that.
My daughter has a new iPad. She cannot use it with mail.
I had a look at it, got mail working, and everything was fine. Nope! As soon as she goes back to her flat, which has Virgin broadband, the mail fails. Apple "experts" - e.g Apple Store etc., have not been able to get it to work. There is probably a fix, but it seems too complicated to worry about.
I still have difficulties with the track pad on my Macbook Pro. It keeps on popping up a menu which I don't want, and it takes a few more key strokes and/or gestures to remove it to start over. Usually all I want to do is to select a link. I haven't noticed anyone else reporting this as a problem, but it's driving me nuts.
Another thing is the way the display windows are set out - I find them quite hard to manage - though I have the same problems with Windows, but perhaps to a lesser extent. It comes from having 30 applications open at the same time, but I wish it was easier.
Where Apple kit generally seems to work, IMO - though I know that not everyone here thinks this - is that I can expect it to work within a minute (even less nowadays) of my starting to use it. With PCs and Windows in the past there has been so much time spent trying to get things back into a stable and working state that hours later I had all all but forgotten why I wanted to use the machines in the first place, and lost the will to live in the process.
dave2010
13-07-2013, 09:12
PS: The extra annoyance with PCs and Windows is that as soon as everyone else discovers that one has the ability to kick them back into life when they lock up/go bad etc., then everyone brings their problems to you, so you have even less time to do your own thing, and fix your own problems. Grrrrr!
PS: The extra annoyance with PCs and Windows is that as soon as everyone else discovers that one has the ability to kick them back into life when they lock up/go bad etc., then everyone brings their problems to you, so you have even less time to do your own thing, and fix your own problems. Grrrrr!
What is the reward for good work?
Well, More work, of course!
;)
PS: The extra annoyance with PCs and Windows is that as soon as everyone else discovers that one has the ability to kick them back into life when they lock up/go bad etc., then everyone brings their problems to you, so you have even less time to do your own thing, and fix your own problems. Grrrrr!
I had this very same problem, my father used to 'pimp' me out for free to his friends to fix their PC issues. In the end I got so fed up I started charging and that quickly removed the majority of the annoying people chasing me every five blooming minutes... oh and I moved away (70 miles) which is a little extreme, but I moved for work LOL.
Unfortunately that is not true of all Apple products, though I'm broadly in sympathy with the sentiments. Arguably this is not always Apple's fault, but how are mere end users supposed to know that.
My daughter has a new iPad. She cannot use it with mail.
I had a look at it, got mail working, and everything was fine. Nope! As soon as she goes back to her flat, which has Virgin broadband, the mail fails. Apple "experts" - e.g Apple Store etc., have not been able to get it to work. There is probably a fix, but it seems too complicated to worry about.
I still have difficulties with the track pad on my Macbook Pro. It keeps on popping up a menu which I don't want, and it takes a few more key strokes and/or gestures to remove it to start over. Usually all I want to do is to select a link. I haven't noticed anyone else reporting this as a problem, but it's driving me nuts.
Another thing is the way the display windows are set out - I find them quite hard to manage - though I have the same problems with Windows, but perhaps to a lesser extent. It comes from having 30 applications open at the same time, but I wish it was easier.
Where Apple kit generally seems to work, IMO - though I know that not everyone here thinks this - is that I can expect it to work within a minute (even less nowadays) of my starting to use it. With PCs and Windows in the past there has been so much time spent trying to get things back into a stable and working state that hours later I had all all but forgotten why I wanted to use the machines in the first place, and lost the will to live in the process.
Sorry to hear about the issues with your daughters iPad, has she tried creating another Email address, say a GMail or something similar. I used to use UK2 and have had problems with that so moved over to GMail and iCloud (@me.com) accounts and all is well now.
The issue you describe with the Trackpad sounds like there is a rogue process running... Have you had opened up 'Activity Monitor' so see what is running at the time you use it.
Sorry, this might be like teaching you to sucking eggs, but hopefully something will work :)
Paul.
dave2010
25-11-2013, 11:49
I've been away for a while - will do a reply for msg 30 and maybe one or two others in a short(ish) while. [day or two, maybe]
I've been rethinking whether to buy an Apple TV. Right now it's not such a big deal, but I'm wondering whether having it work with our system would save having to plug/unplug devices so often - for example pushing cables into sockets on my MBP. No problem right now, but I don't want this (my MBP) to fail in a year or two, as it would be expensive to repair.
I was rather hoping that I'd be able to access Channel 4 and ITV - and the catchup services, using my Roku device, but it seems that's not totally simple. I believe the situation is not much different with Apple TV.
I don't have the 1080 Roku unit, and what I've got is OK with small TVs. An Apple TV would give higher resolution, but what would I use it for? I could echo the screen from my other iMacs, which might be useful. I'm not sure I can do that with my iPad, as I only have a first generation model. In fact I'm rather sure that I couldn't do that - so although I can get C4OD on my iPad, I don't think I could have that on our TV even with an Apple TV. Am I right? If not, then that would definitely make an Apple TV worth it for us, as I could then put off purchase of another iPad until next year's model comes out!
How fast does the Apple TV respond, for example, for watching photos? We can do slide shows using a few other boxes - older DVD players, Blu-Ray and Freesat receiver, but they are a bit slow. I can see some potential for making these smoother and slicker. Also, how well does it do HD video - for example from a camera? Some HD video is tricky, and I have at least one video sequence from our cameras which I've only seen work well on a few high performance computers. However, I can get it to work by doing a very minimal compression using Handbrake. I figured that much of the problem with such videos is due to the size of the data file, and buffering from a disc drive - which reminds me that I should test out on my MBP which has SSD. If the files are converted to mp4 with Handbrake, then the minimal quality loss is offset by the benefits in the smoothness of the video.
I read that audio output is good from the Apple TV - so that might be helpful, and if there's an optical feed out, than I could divert the signal via a DAC to my "hi-fi".
I have also seen mention of Apple Express devices here. Does the Apple TV do similar things, at least as regards audio? I don't need any more network bridge devices as such, so it may still find a role within our establishment.
How are others getting on with films? I can watch Netflix on our Roku box, and so far we haven't got far with that. Perhaps there just isn't enough choice of good films with Netflix - so I'll take out a trial, and watch House of Cards when we have spare time. Unfortunately I read a page recently which pointed out that Apple are somewhat mean about the time for watching a film, and that one really has to watch within 24 hours, and things can get expensive if one wants to spread watching out over several days. There are other film services, but I've not explored them. Google do a new one - I don't know much about that.
Is there any chance that Apple will update the Apple TV in the next year? If so, any idea how they might do that?
We are still using Lovefilm, and currently getting through Spiral (Season 3), having watched all the others (1,2,4). It's still not bad, but maybe some of the online services are getting better. We don't really want to spend a lot on films, but having online access to some newish ones might be good. Comments?
julesd68
25-11-2013, 12:20
Hi Dave,
I can't help with much of this as I only use the Apple TV for film but will chip in on what I can ...
I cannot fault the 1080p picture quality and the sound is truly excellent - I output audio using the headphone socket on my TV to my 2 channel hi-fi amp into a small pair of speakers.
You have 48 hours to watch a movie from when you first start to watch it and you can watch it as many times as you want.
I found the choice of films on Netflix pretty hopeless last year but maybe things have improved. They are much better for TV series like House of Cards as you mention.
I ditched Lovefilm as we ended up keeping DVD's forever without watching and returning them and wasted a small fortune in this way. The latest films on Apple TV aren't cheap but at least you pay once and once only! I like to watch classic films mainly with the occasional new release and there's plenty of older films at slightly cheaper prices to keep me entertained.
The one thing that I would really like on Apple TV that it doesn't have is access to BBC iplayer like some other units do ... Apparently if you have an iphone or ipod you can stream iplayer to your Apple TV but I don't have either. I'm going to look at streaming it via a Macbook we have ...
dave2010
25-11-2013, 13:14
The one thing that I would really like on Apple TV that it doesn't have is access to BBC iplayer like some other units do ... Apparently if you have an iphone or ipod you can stream iplayer to your Apple TV but I don't have either. I'm going to look at streaming it via a Macbook we have ...If you have a recent Macbook (2011 or later I think), you should be able to pick up iPlayer on those quite easily. My understanding is that you can then use Airplay to show this on your Apple TV.
If that works, then you can perhaps also do the same for C4OD and for ITV Player - both of which should work well enough with new MBPs. I think there is also a C5 player, but we don't bother with Channel 5 much.
Also, my understanding is that the same should work from new iPads. My earlier query was whether there's any compatibility with the the 1st generation iPads. If there's any hope, then buying an Apple TV would be cheaper than buying a new iPad.
Re alternative devices, the cheap Roku LT model does support iPlayer - rather well actually, so if you don't already have a PVR, or if you want to feed a spare TV, then that is a cheap option for small TVs. However, the cheaper models only do up to 720 HD. You can get them from places like Argos for as little as £39 - maybe lower, though the price is sometimes closer to £50 from Amazon.
The more expensive Roku (3?) does do full 1080 HD. It's worth checking the specs if you are at all interested in the Roku products, as they don't all have the same connectivity. Some TVs and other kit may work better with the earlier LT model, while others may work better with the new ones. Check this - for example if you have a TV without HDMI does anyone still? - or if you want wired internet connections or audio outs etc.
julesd68
25-11-2013, 14:20
My earlier query was whether there's any compatibility with the the 1st generation iPads. If there's any hope, then buying an Apple TV would be cheaper than buying a new iPad.
The answer appears to be yes!
http://robskinner.net/2012/06/13/how-to-play-bbc-iplayer-on-apple-tv/
Done a bit more research and it turns out my mac mini is just 'late' enough to stream iplayer to Apple TV. Going to try it now.
julesd68
25-11-2013, 17:17
Well it turned out to be a breeze gettting iplayer by setting up the airplay from the macmini to the Apple TV ...
The only problem I have is that the streaming isn't flawless like it is when watching a film I've rented on the Apple TV. I suspect my 10mb wi-fi isn't quite up to the job - having the strain on the wi-fi of 'live' iplayer and then airplay from the macmini seems to be a bridge too far - the motion isn't handled very well and there's quite a bit of judder and 'stepping'. But it's ok for casual viewing. The way to avoid this is to download the iplayer programme in HD to my macmini hard-drive if I can be bothered, which makes it handle motion much better since there's less of a strain on the wi-fi.
dave2010
25-11-2013, 20:07
Well it turned out to be a breeze gettting iplayer by setting up the airplay from the macmini to the Apple TV ...
The only problem I have is that the streaming isn't flawless like it is when watching a film I've rented on the Apple TV. I suspect my 10mb wi-fi isn't quite up to the job - having the strain on the wi-fi of 'live' iplayer and then airplay from the macmini seems to be a bridge too far - the motion isn't handled very well and there's quite a bit of judder and 'stepping'. But it's ok for casual viewing. The way to avoid this is to download the iplayer programme in HD to my macmini hard-drive if I can be bothered, which makes it handle motion much better since there's less of a strain on the wi-fi.I'm not quite sure what you mean by a 10 mb wi-fi, except basically you don't think it's handling the data flows well enough. I wonder if it's possible to connect the Apple TV to your router by Ethernet - that ought to take some of the load off your wi-fi network. If the other devices could also be connected wirelessly that could take more of a load off. However, I have noted some reports of problems with mixed wired/wireless networks and the Apple TV. Several people seem to have found that, though perhaps some have solved the issues. I don't know enough about the protocols used by Airplay. It may be that by opening up ports on the router everything can be made to work. Some (most?) routers have wired and wireless connections effectively on different Ethernet segments, so configuration is needed to get the networks to work. Indeed, sometimes it is easier to use Ethernet switches rather than routers, which often make connections simply by plugging the cables in, and the switches just sort it all out.
I have found that generally wired connections give much better results than wired, but there may be protocol reasons why the Apple TV works better with wi-fi than wired connections.
dave2010
27-11-2013, 15:13
The comments re the Apple TV generally seem to think it's good, and easy to set up. I may try one later.
I'm struggling slightly with my Roku LT box - trying to get it to work with Plex on my MBP to watch downloaded videos and also slideshows.
In the meantime, has anyone tried the NowTV box? It looks cheap enough (under a tenner), and I think it's possible to avoid getting locked in to a subscription? https://shop.nowtv.com/
See also http://www.eyeondemand.com/2013/08/07/skys-now-tv-set-top-box-review-for-uk-services/
dave2010
28-11-2013, 13:43
I have round that generally wired connections give much better results than wired, but there may be protocal reasons why the Apple TV works better with wi-fi than wired connections.Aren't I allowed to make corrections to previous posts if I've had another post since?
The section above from msg 36 has two obvious errors at least -
I have found that generally wired connections give much better results than wired, but there may be protocol reasons why the Apple TV works better with wi-fi than wired connections.
The Grand Wazoo
28-11-2013, 18:39
I've corrected them for you Dave.
You only have 24 hrs to make edits to your posts.
In the meantime, has anyone tried the NowTV box? It looks cheap enough (under a tenner), and I think it's possible to avoid getting locked in to a subscription? https://shop.nowtv.com/
See also http://www.eyeondemand.com/2013/08/07/skys-now-tv-set-top-box-review-for-uk-services/
I've got one for the kitchen - mainly for the Spotify interface (only works if you are a Premium subscriber - works great and looks super slick) - I'm already a Sky customer and use Sky Go and the username/password appears to be the same - logged in, then exited from "Now TV" and just use all the other apps - Vevo video is great, if you enjoy watching Britney Spears videos in HD... :eyebrows: BBC Iplayer, Demand 5 and as of today 4OD are all available in the Roku Apps store - not much else of use (for me) apart from Sky News - but for £9.99 what's not to like! Well, only HDMI output or 3.5mm stereo jack - but fine to feed my little Myryad RS system for when I'm cooking. :)
dave2010
29-11-2013, 10:46
If you wanted an Apple TV (it's not obligatory) today - Friday 29th November - is a good day to buy one. £84 for today only - free delivery - from the Apple Store.
dave2010
29-11-2013, 10:52
I've corrected them for you Dave.
You only have 24 hrs to make edits to your posts.Thanks Chris. I use another board with a similar interface - also using the same underlying software I think - and the rules are different there. Good to know this though.
Thanks again.
dave2010
29-11-2013, 10:59
I've got one for the kitchen - mainly for the Spotify interface (only works if you are a Premium subscriber - works great and looks super slick) - I'm already a Sky customer and use Sky Go and the username/password appears to be the same - logged in, then exited from "Now TV" and just use all the other apps - Vevo video is great, if you enjoy watching Britney Spears videos in HD... :eyebrows: BBC Iplayer, Demand 5 and as of today 4OD are all available in the Roku Apps store - not much else of use (for me) apart from Sky News - but for £9.99 what's not to like! Well, only HDMI output or 3.5mm stereo jack - but fine to feed my little Myryad RS system for when I'm cooking. :)I have Spotify, so could be good for that.
I'm not a Sky person, and unlikely to become one. Will it work "as is" without a subscription? I've heard that some people may have found ways of modifying the software anyway, but if I can get one for under a tenner, and get iPlayer etc. that'd be great. Could be worth a punt anyway, but if others already know the answers, it would be cheaper (i.e I wouldn't order one...) if it doesn't do what I hope.
I've already got a Roku set up working - well, at least partially working - some of it works, but getting Plex to work is a bit of a pain on the LT model. Possibly the HD Roku models are better in that respect.
PS: Can one order more than one NowTV, for example to give away as Christmas presents? Maybe need different postcodes for each order?
dave2010
29-11-2013, 11:15
If you wanted an Apple TV (it's not obligatory) today - Friday 29th November - is a good day to buy one. £84 for today only - free delivery - from the Apple Store.
Actually Amazon have it even cheaper - I assume the same thing - could be a one day offer though - http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Apple-TV-Latest-Model/dp/B0040GIZT8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385723591&sr=8-1&keywords=Apple+TV
Anyone experienced ATV as WiFi receiver to DAC via Toslink. Since Mavericks ATV disappears from network when set as output device.
In this case it recks.
dave2010
29-11-2013, 18:14
Anyone experienced ATV as WiFi receiver to DAC via Toslink. Since Mavericks ATV disappears from network when set as output device.
In this case it recks.Yuk! Is that a bug or a feature? It's things like that which are keeping me from "upgrading" to Mavericks.
I'm still trying to figure (I don't think I ever will ..) why some USB cards/camera memory cards are not recognised on some of my Apple kit, and yet they pop up OK on others. Even following hints about settings doesn't give a result.
Presumably you had an ATV working via Toslink to a DAC before Mavericks came along. In due course I expect I'll be able to provide the information you asked for, but it might take a while - possibly January 2014.
I have Spotify, so could be good for that. Will it work "as is" without a subscription?
You need an account, so I think the only way is to register and then either go for the free trial (one month of Sky movies) and cancel, or maybe do at least one pay per view of Sky Sports which is £10 a day I think. There are lots of links around the web so you can probably get around it.
PS: Can one order more than one NowTV, for example to give away as Christmas presents? Maybe need different postcodes for each order?
I was going to order 2 but there was no way of changing the quantity - not sure if they restrict additional purchases subsequently.
julesd68
29-11-2013, 21:39
Been using the Apple TV every day now since I discovered I could 'Airplay' BBC iPlayer ...
dave2010
02-12-2013, 10:11
Been using the Apple TV every day now since I discovered I could 'Airplay' BBC iPlayer ...Can you Airplay C4OD, ITV Player and the C5 player?
julesd68
02-12-2013, 19:11
Can you Airplay C4OD, ITV Player and the C5 player?
Not tried them but I presume so - Airplay just 'mirrors' whatever is on my macmini desktop ...
Interesting, how does Airplay work?
julesd68
17-12-2013, 21:37
Interesting, how does Airplay work?
Very simply!
Here is the navigation on your mac -
system preferences > hardware > displays > then switch on 'airplay mirroring' option and also tick 'show mirroring options in the menu bar when available'
Then switch on Apple TV. Click on your new mirroring icon in menu bar and select Apple TV. Your desktop screen will then be streamed directly to whatever monitor your Apple TV is linked to.
So then you can watch whatever you like on your mac, put it into full screen mode and then enjoy it on your TV. There are some options on the menu bar to adjust the display preferences such as resolution and refresh rate.
To get the smoothest playback you need a pretty good broadband connection IMO since you are downloading to your mac and then streaming to the Apple TV.
You might get smoother playback still if you actually download the programme you want to watch off i-player or whatever first, and then stream it to the Apple TV.
Hi Julian, thanks for this heads-up I'll give it a go :)
Very simply!
Here is the navigation on your mac -
system preferences > hardware > displays > then switch on 'airplay mirroring' option and also tick 'show mirroring options in the menu bar when available'
Then switch on Apple TV. Click on your new mirroring icon in menu bar and select Apple TV. Your desktop screen will then be streamed directly to whatever monitor your Apple TV is linked to.
So then you can watch whatever you like on your mac, put it into full screen mode and then enjoy it on your TV. There are some options on the menu bar to adjust the display preferences such as resolution and refresh rate.
To get the smoothest playback you need a pretty good broadband connection IMO since you are downloading to your mac and then streaming to the Apple TV.
You might get smoother playback still if you actually download the programme you want to watch off i-player or whatever first, and then stream it to the Apple TV.
Hi Julian,
I had a go and it doesn't appear to work for me. Do you have to have the latest OS installed? I am currently running Lion as it is the latest OS I can install on my machine (Late 2006 iMac).
Paul.
julesd68
18-12-2013, 17:09
Hi Julian,
I had a go and it doesn't appear to work for me. Do you have to have the latest OS installed? I am currently running Lion as it is the latest OS I can install on my machine (Late 2006 iMac).
Paul.
I found this article which suggests you can only use it with 2011 models onwards - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5404
I found this article which suggests you can only use it with 2011 models onwards - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5404
Damn, looks like I need to get me a new iMac :)… wifey will be pleased :lol:
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