Be Excellent To Each Other

Is there anything in iTunes that prevents UK customers downloading TV episodes that haven't yet been aired over here, out of interest?

UK iTunes accounts have access to UK content which is negotiated entirely separately from the US side, so yes. Also: you can't get a US account with a US credit card and billing address.

You don't need a card to set up a US account. Go to the US store and try to download a free app and you'll be able to set up an account without a payment method, then use US giftcards.

So the Apple TV is even more useless then - no Netflix and only access to our crippled late syndicated TV shows.

I know this is the iPhone thread, but this seems to be the place where we discuss the new Apple kit. Maybe someone should split the thread or something

Having scoffed at the Apple TV and it's idea of HD, I am slowly coming round to the idea of getting one.

For n main reasons:
1) it only costs £99 so if I don't like it, nothing lost, especially as I expect to get at least £70 for it on ebay if I don't like it after a week or so.
ii) I currently have a media pc running 24/7 under the TV, which is starting to get louder fanwise as it gets older, and it isn't power efficient by any means.
c) I already convert videos into iPad playable format anyway.
four) The main stuff I watch is downloaded TV shows which are 720p.

So with all that in mind, a silent, cheap, tiny box that does most of what I want is probably worth the compromises.

I'm not sure that it does anything that my 360 doesn't, apart from being able to pay high prices for out of date TV series that I've already yarred.

Albeit in a quieter and more power efficient fashion, admittedly.

Although I'm not that bothered about the price. I'd pay 99p for a show, it's the timeliness that's fucking rubbish.

If the DVD drive isn't spinning, I can't hear my 360.

Mine is quite noisy, but then the PS3 is even noisier.

The new slim model is supposed to be a lot quieter and cooler isn't it?

I've actually gone to the extent of replacing the fans on my Eggbox with "quiet" ones, and it's still a bit on the noisey side.

Nowhere near as noisey as when the DVD's running, mind.

Kalmar - is it RROD-proof?

I'm not this expert but I would guess "yes", seeing as most of it's in a single package now.

Anyhoo, Apple TV. Any plus points at all?

what exactly is apple TV? Does it run a proper OS?

Yep, there were hacking efforts on the old model to turn it into a sort of mac mini. It's got a similar processor and runs OS X.

So competent web browser, presumably emulation and video streaming for £99.

That seems far cheaper than the crazy high prices Apple normally charge for their stuff. Can you put windows on them?

Apart from silent, tiny and cheap?

Not really, it just does the same as many other solutions, but in a nicer package.

So what is it, exactly? I'm struggling to work out (a) what the hardware atually is and (b) why it would be worth bothering with. Admittedly I've only read Gaywood's blogopost and a few of the comments.

Essentially it's a film/TV renting box and video streamer from iTunes running on a main computer.

Nobody really knows what the actual hardware inside it is yet, as far as i can tell.

I'll just keep using my 360/PS3 for now I reckon. My next telly will probably do all this stuff anyway.

Then I don't get it.

Wouldn't a Sky subscription be cheaper?

Sky does something completely different though?

Anyway, while I do like the form factor a lot, i'm thinking this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital ... =de_a_smtd

would probably be a better purchase for my requirements...

No?

I guess the idea is that the hardware is a peripheral to be able to easily access stuff bought on iTunes, like the iPod is. Convenience, immediacy, wide range, etc.

But last time I looked at the selection of TV stuff on offer though, it was pretty moribund, and the film rentals were stupidly overpriced.

If the content is there, the gadget makes sense, especially at this lower price.

However, for me it would also need to be able to use iPlayer directly, as that's where I download most stuff that I watch on the Xbox currently.

Hangon - how do you watch iPlayer stuff on the 360?

Download it using get_iplayer and stream it to the 360.

Type iplayer-dl [program code] on the mac, then when it's downloaded they show up in the Video bit on the xbox. Simples.

Course, I could do the same with this thing, but it would be nice to have some sort of front end on it, like the Wii has.

How do I stream it to the 360?

Kalmar - I hate you.

Not any more.

And re-reading the reviews I remember why I didn't go for one of these last year.

Navigation....

All the media streamers out there seem to think displaying all the videos it finds in one long list, as being an acceptable UI. I have everything on my NAS in folders for a reason.

I'll have to see the Apple TV UI to see if they have been at all sensible.

True.

Of course, not so much for me, though - I don't get to see any US TV shows (other than CSI: Dog Team or whatever), as I don't have cable or Sky. For me a jump to series 5 of Dexter IN REAL TIME US TELLY SCHEDULING is pointless, and if I want more US telly I may as well get Sky. Or more DVD boxets.

I just don't see the attraction of the Apple TV - least of all if, as Kalmar has said, there is a paucity on offer anyway.

One thing that may work for you is Sky Player on the 360. If a friend or relative has a sky subscription, they get a login for this. If they don't use it, you can.
The channels on offer have CSI, Ice Road Truckers and lots of things like that.
The movie selection on there is also pretty decent, and free, if your friend has the movie package.

Oooh, I will ask around. Ta.

In the meantime, how do I do the iPlayer streaming thingy?

If you've got a PC I think you need something called "media centre" running on it, and then go in to the appropriate page on the xbox menu.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup/xboxmediafaq.htm

For downloading you can use the same tools as us mac types - iplayer-dl or get_iplayer.

Then you just need to drop the files into the shared area, I think.

What is a "shared area", please?

Dunno. Paging a PC person to the thread?

I told my colleague you could do this and he managed to find out for himself but I don't know the details.

No worries - I think first I need to look up what a "Windows Media Center" is, and go from there. Thanks for the help so far!

Back to your Apples.

Mr Kissyfur, you need either Windows Vista or later or WMC or winXP with WMP 11 or 10 with an addon, even then there is little chance it will work. Fucking thing is temperamental as chuff.

On this topic, what is 'zune'? I saw it on xbox.

Zune is MS's subscription based music service. Pay £X a month and get unlimited music, and 10 permanent downloads iirc. They also sell songs individually (I think) with MS points (I think).

I think I'd get one of those nettop things instead of one of these really. If I needed one...

Edit: The Zune was also an MP3 player that never got released in Europe. And WinMo7 will be using it for music.

Or just use the download links on the iPlayer site itself, the limitation being that they have some sort of DRM which means that they only last for 30 days.

Can I not just take the iPlayer download files from the laptop and put them on the 360 hard drive? Or make them available via the wireless?

Never had a problem myself. I've set it up for other people too. It seems to help to have a quickish PC, though.

Ah. Hahahah. Ha.

Well.

An old Dell 6something-or-other Inspiron or some such.

What streaming services can the Apple TV see, anyone know? I guess Windows Media Streaming is unlikely - but what about things like TVersity?

they were selling shutter island on it last night. Is that a film? It looked liked something other than music.

edit: @Lewie, about Zune.

I use a WD HDTV thing. It has HDMI out and 2x USB in. I have it paired with a 1TB WD HDD. On the hard drive I have everything neatly organised (ie: Video/TV/True Blood/Season 3). The WD HDTV thing can browse all or by folders. Browsing by folder (you can also pick icon or list display) seems pretty painless to me, so no UI probs here.

Also it plays MKVs and, excitingly, .iso files.

Oh yeah, I think they expanded it to include films and tv too. I think back when they launched NXE maybe. Not sure on pricing though.

I've not really paid much attention to it outside a minor interest in the hardware (it was one of the few 120gb mp3 players available that wasn't an ipod).

Seeing as US TV programmes will be very delayed and I use Filmflex on Virgin, the only thing I would use this for is streaming iTunes to my TV, as I don't have a proper media setup and currently use an old iPod plugged into the AV ports on my TV. £100 is a very expensive way to save on a cable. Shame, although in reality I think I'd have always landed on that conclusion at anything above £50, which was always going to happen.

Nothing non-Apple out of the box. Previous models were hacked to see all sorts of things.