WD TV Live vs. Apple TV

[jumper27]

Anyone play around with using either a Western Digital TV Live or an Apple TV for your media player? I messed around with the Apple TV and iTunes and I can see one major downfall to the client. If your using multiple users, when you rip tunes from any other PC other than the main PC linked to the Apple TV, you need to go back to the main one and add the folder that you just ripped. It will not auto populate the Apple TV like the main PC does, which isn't to much of a pain except when the client wants a drop and go solution.

[IE]

I have had an Apple TV for several years and I love it.

It has it's limitations but as long as you use it for what it's good at everyone will be happy.

It works great as a music player-especially for clients that already have an iphone or ipod and use itunes. I reccommend an Apple TV for every client that asks about an ipod dock.

Here is the short version of how I and my previous employer came to fall in love with it-3 or 4 years ago we were putting in ipod docks. All different kinds. But of course none were made by Apple and when the users would plug their ipod into itunes and it would update the firmware on the ipod, some were rendered inoperable in the dock. This made us start looking at the Apple TV. When Apple rolls out an update-instead of their ipod dock not working, instead the Apple TV just keeps getting better. The Apple TV is also great for referrals. Clients who have never heard of it soon fall in love with it and it will be the part of their system they show to all of their friends. It does a great job of showing pictures on HDTV's also.

I would NOT sell it as a video player. Streaming video and customer saticfaction do not go hand in hand yet. And it is a big process to get ripped DVD's into the unit.

But as a music player, it is a natural extension to itunes. It can even be controlled thru itunes over the network just like it was a pair of speakers plugged into the computer.

For my personal use for video I have an XBOX running XBMC. This will play any video format you throw at it. But I would never sell it to a client. The people that are into streaming video from ripped DVD's are usually DIYers anyways.

[k21975]

I love the AppleTV when used as intended. I just wish that Apple would intend it for more.

The AppleTV is a great product and my clients love it. I suggest it to high end clients who don't mind paying again for movies they already own or for new movies and TV shows. Its the perfect cheap music server as it does what every other music player strives to do, but it does it better... it integrates and syncs with iTunes. It is not easy to rip movies for most clients so that's why I prefer the AppleTV for clients as they don't have to if they don't want to. They also love it for displaying family photos or slide shows with their music when they have guests.

-Kevin

[djnorm]

Of course, there's always the ADMS...

[jhildred]

I have a WDTV Live at home and it's pretty basic . . . of course dealing with the ADMS at work has spoilt me but even for the money I find the WDTV barely adequate.

It seems to have a habit of choking on some files which it's supposed to support, at which point it just reboots itself. The UI is also something only a Linux geek could love. Haven't done much music stuff with it as the UI really doesn't seem well suited to that job and of course you need to have the TV on.

Despite being an Apple household we haven't got an AppleTV as it we don't buy content from iTunes and our music and video needs are covered by Squeezeboxes and a VUDU box from previous jobs.

I'm not going to go on about the ADMS as it's clearly aimed at a different customer (and budget) from the two items you're asking about. I guess it boils down to whether you want a cheap'n'dirty way of playing video downloads or if you want a front end to iTunes. Both have limitations but then they are trying to address two different customers within a limited hardware budget.

[jumper27]

Price is actually not an issue, the Apple TV was the clients first choice because of his knowledge and deep collection of music files currently in his iTunes. It must integrate seamlessly into an Elan Home System with Component and /or Composite video while sharing all files from a NAS storage device accessible to all PC's on the network.

[jumper27]

The ADMS might be the way to go, anyone know if it can simultaneously output VGA and HDMI? Otherwise can always run it through the matrix switcher.

[cory]

I've been working on a way to keep the master itunes in sync as a MASTER library. Home share makes it easy to do manually.

I had this idea.
Have our main desktop that acts as our master itunes account, our laptops have are authorized players.

The Desktop is always running, with itunes always on. The new itunes folder name "AUTOMATICALLY ADD TO ITUNES" works fantastically. You drop a file in, itunes grabs it, puts it where it goes and is added to the library.

We have a NAS on our system we use the Goodsync software to keep all our Media files from any computer backed up into a "MEDIA BACKUP" folder on the NAS.

I then use the same sync software and have the it sync once a day that backup media folder with the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder.

So, all our media is backed up, then it is always all added to the Master itunes Library and computer. Really, you just need a good sync software on each computer and have them always sync up.

The problem is that the "Automatically add to iTunes" folder ends up empty after itunes moves the files out and organizes them. If they aren't there, then the sync software will try to move all the files to this folder which itunes will then move but you'll end up with the many copies of each song.

The Sync software works awesome for just keeping to folders in sync. the problem is that you need itunes to randomly automatically scan the file folder for new files. The few that I've done I've just told my clients to have everyone use the same itunes computer, but this isn't always easy.

I did mess around with Handbrake this weekend and have been adding some movies to the setup and the AppleTV is getting more and more cool. The nice thing is that I can easily just buy another AppleTV and have another dedicated stream of movies.