If you’re thinking that tv is something that you could use as a HTPC, I’d urge you to think twice before buying…but the reasons aren’t quite what you think.
My decision was simple: I wanted to see if the “Front Row” goodness of Mac’s would make me want to ditch my s3200n HTPC that I reviewed earlier.
Now, I went to my local Apple retailer and recalled a conversation that I had with a friend of mine (thanks KC, I appreciate it) so I had two candidates to choose from: tv and the Mac Mini.
The tv is a very simple setup. You have HDMI, composite, and component* connections on the back of the unit along with digital out via a “light tube”/optical connection. It’s convenient and does exactly what it’s advertised to do. It’s entire interface is Front Row plus a few tweaks that allow you to configure it (480i/p, 720p, 1080i).
The Mac Mini is a computer. You have a slot-loading CD/DVD drive, a Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and DVI output and headphone outputs to get sound to where it needs to go. It has the ‘umph’ that is neccessary to get things done. There aren’t as many options for audio and video, but it’s a computer: you can set the resolution to what you want it to be (mine is currently 1366×768).
Now, a warning: the tv was built for downloading content from iTunes and sync up with a given iTunes library. This is a good basis for what I need, but it is not nearly enough. I have 600GB of television shows (legal, I assure you) and movies.
So, this is problem number one. This coupled with the lack of being able to add network shares and external hard drives we have something that is stripped of so much potential! Also, the CODECs and containers supported by tv is a touch limited (try throwing an OGM or MKV or a bit of RealPlayer with it).
Of course, it is only $220 so expecting that much out of something is a bit insane.
On the other side, there is the Mac Mini. It can play DVDs. It has Front Row and a great interface for a HTPC. It, however, lacks the outputs for audio that can make a bit of difference. The plus side is that it is a computer. It can play anything. Add Perian, install VLC, install MPlayer and you are good to go. Don’t like Front Row? Go with XBMC and let it rip.
Also, it’s a computer. Want to chat? Go for it. Want to surf the web? Also a distinct possibility.
So, how to decide…
At this point, the choice is clear: the Mac Mini. But the great men and women out on the ‘intarweb’ weren’t satisfied with the way tv performed.
After a bit of browsing, I came across a ‘fix’ for the AppleTV:
[ATVPatch] is a USB software that when installed on to a USB thumb drive that you own, will Modify the AppleTV Take2 Firmware to install new Plugin’s, Patch’s, Upgrade’s to your AppleTV, No modifying of the AppleTV is needed. The software will do everything for you! Only takes 5 min to put on to any thumb drive and 5 min to install! Also it will not void your warranty!
What does this get you? Well, a few things:
Again, all of this is from the website. At the time, I felt like a kid in the candy store. My tv went from being an obvious second choice to something I can sink my teeth into. The only thing I can’t add to it is a TV tuner, and that is mitigated by the fact that I can purchase episodes and movies from iTunes (albeit at a steep price).
Installation was simple. I had an old 256MB flash drive lying around and followed the directions from the website. I updated the firmware, prepared the thumbdrive, copied the image over (via ‘dd’), stuck it in the back of the tv and rebooted.
And that was that.
Now at this point, you can assume that I bought the tv. I dropped $220 for the unit (40GB), a HDMI cable ($20), and ATVPatch ($20). This is still considerably less expensive than the Mac Mini. It has some great options and takes up less space (it really doesn’t matter either way, they’re both incredibly small).
For the other side of this ‘review’, I am comparing the tv experience with the experience I had with my Macbook Pro due to the fact that I didn’t have enough for both. Also, I’m only grading the tv. I will describe it compared to the Macbook Pro. This review is more centered around the tv. So, here we go.
After the ATVPatch installation, all I had to do was start setting up shares.
My first step was to get my tv hooked up to my fileserver/NAS. Typing things into the UI was tedious at best, and after a few minutes, I had access to the SMB share. I also used the same method to connect to an NFS share from the same server. It worked flawlessly and was ready to go. AppleTV: 8 out of 10.
My next test was to attach an external hard drive to the tv and see if I could access it. I plugged it in and after a few minutes, I thought the machine had hung. After hitting the menu button on the remote, I was exposed to the glory of its contents. On the Macbook, the drive is seen immediately. However, getting it into Front Row means adding a “link” to the external HDD in the Movies folder. I actually believe for HTPC use it is easier to use the tv. AppleTV: 9 out of 10.
With both of these tasks out of the way, it is time to play some videos.
AVI playback: XviD/DivX with stereo MP3. These hover around 900Kbps and are very easy on the small tv processor. All the videos I tried played well and had no problems with sync. The only issue I had was using Quicktime with Perian versus MPlayer. MPlayer will require some tweaking for standard definition along with some video issues, but Quicktime worked perfectly. If you need to play something, I recommend using the Quicktime application under nitoTV. The Macbook Pro was easier than this due to simply installing Perian. They all work perfectly. AppleTV: 7 out of 10.
MKV playback: 720p AVC codec with stereo AAC-HE codec for audio. There aren’t any good ways to say this: not gonna happen. The processor cannot handle CABAC encoding. This isn’t a suprise, but I was a touch disappointed. I had hoped that the processor could handle the video decoding but it unfortunately couldn’t handle this. After doing this test, I decided to test out some SD CABAC encoded MKV files that I had and those were equally as bad. The tv can play HD content, but I would recommend using a processor friendly codec. The Macbook Pro had no problems with this content. AppleTV: 3 out of 10.
This is where I like the tv. All you have to do is go to Settings and type in your iTunes login and password and you are able to browse the music, television shows, and movies to your hearts content along with the HD content that is unique to tv. If you don’t do this, you will never see this.
Also, you can connect to iTunes so the videos and music you have on other computers can be listened to over the network. This is a key thing: it is a very easy thing to setup and it makes me happy. AppleTV: 9 out of 10.
There is also a bonus with the ability to order pizza on the AppleTV.
Yes, you can surf the web! I, however, did not. It’s there if you want it just like it is there on the Macbook if you want it. It’s based on Safari, and it works from what I’ve read. I don’t enjoy using a remote to type in addresses but if you need a quick jaunt through cyberspace. AppleTV: 2π out of 10.
I like the tv. It now does what I need it to in many areas. It’s sleek and pretty easy to operate (other than the typing).
However, I will be moving to HD content here soon and at this point I can’t recommend this to people going after the holy grail of 720p and above. If you aren’t after that (other than through the iTunes store) then I can say that it’s well worth the price…just watch out which codecs and settings you use.
If you are going after HD content, go with the Mac Mini. The graphics (yes, it’s only an Intel GMA950) and processor will make a better choice for more complex codecs.
Jun 12, 2008Appreciate it Cisco. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my hands on an actual Mac Mini and properly compare them to each other.
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8:44 am
Very nice write up! Got to give you props! Glad everything worked out great!