Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

AppleTV 2 and MythTV

Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded

petedaly at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 11:02 AM

Post #1 of 18 (3316 views)
Permalink

AppleTV 2 and MythTV

Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.

It's time to give Apple's TV product a second look in terms of it
being a companion to a MythTV system.

Even if it doesn't run the MythTV Frontend, here are the key points to consider:

1. Apple TV does HD
2. Apple TV 2 can subscribe to video podcasts
3. MythTV can publish video podcast feeds using the myth2ipod script
4. It's only $229

Let's take a step back and look at how these two products may be able
to work together...without major hacking of either device.

At $229, I know from experience that there is no way to build a HD
capable frontend for less money. A HD MythTV frontend can be built for
somewhere in the $300 range if you know what to buy and where to shop.

The price was a limiting factor with the original AppleTV. $299 was
too much for what it could do for MythTV. There was no reason to
consider the AppleTV before.

Now at $229, a 23% price drop, with more features to boot, the scale
has been tipped. It's an idea that is starting to maybe not only be
reasonable, but maybe actually make sense.

Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you think?

[http://www.mythpvr.com/mythtv/hardware/AppleTV/AppleTV2.html]

-Pete
MythPVR.com
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

aclose at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 11:36 AM

Post #2 of 18 (3239 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Jan 15, 2008 1:02 PM, Peter A. Daly <petedaly [at] gmail> wrote:
> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
>
> It's time to give Apple's TV product a second look in terms of it
> being a companion to a MythTV system.
>
> Even if it doesn't run the MythTV Frontend, here are the key points to consider:
>
> 1. Apple TV does HD
> 2. Apple TV 2 can subscribe to video podcasts
> 3. MythTV can publish video podcast feeds using the myth2ipod script
> 4. It's only $229
>
> Let's take a step back and look at how these two products may be able
> to work together...without major hacking of either device.
>
> At $229, I know from experience that there is no way to build a HD
> capable frontend for less money. A HD MythTV frontend can be built for
> somewhere in the $300 range if you know what to buy and where to shop.
>
> The price was a limiting factor with the original AppleTV. $299 was
> too much for what it could do for MythTV. There was no reason to
> consider the AppleTV before.
>
> Now at $229, a 23% price drop, with more features to boot, the scale
> has been tipped. It's an idea that is starting to maybe not only be
> reasonable, but maybe actually make sense.
>
> Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you think?
>
> [http://www.mythpvr.com/mythtv/hardware/AppleTV/AppleTV2.html]

it has potential with the added benefits of being able to purchase
music, tv episodes that you may not be able to get through your
provider, and now movie rentals.
i can't tell if they upgraded the hardware at all though. i thought
there were some issues with the previous AppleTv being just a bit
under powered. maybe that was if you were attempting to run
MythFrontend on it though...
with the movie rental feature, i may be willing to give this a try.
for us, it's cheaper than running out to Blockbuster or signing up and
waiting for NetFlix when we want to see a movie. and for the most
part, we rent a movie and watch it that night. so since we're
'renting', we don't care if it's only good for 24 hours.
it would be nice to see more Myth integration though. ;)
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

brummett at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 11:46 AM

Post #3 of 18 (3232 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On 1/15/08, Peter A. Daly <petedaly [at] gmail> wrote:
> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
> [...]
> The price was a limiting factor with the original AppleTV. $299 was
> too much for what it could do for MythTV. There was no reason to
> consider the AppleTV before.
>
> Now at $229, a 23% price drop, with more features to boot, the scale
> has been tipped. It's an idea that is starting to maybe not only be
> reasonable, but maybe actually make sense.

I've heard though the grapevine that the "new" AppleTV is the same
hardware as the old one, just new software. I don't know much about
Apple's original software load, but I know that you can install Linux
and run mythfrontend even with HD shows. Of course, then you lose the
integration with iTunes

-- Tony brummett [at] gmail
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

davilla at 4pi

Jan 15, 2008, 11:48 AM

Post #4 of 18 (3231 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

>Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
>

same hardware, new software.

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

petedaly at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 11:59 AM

Post #5 of 18 (3236 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

> I've heard though the grapevine that the "new" AppleTV is the same
> hardware as the old one, just new software. I don't know much about
> Apple's original software load, but I know that you can install Linux
> and run mythfrontend even with HD shows. Of course, then you lose the
> integration with iTunes
Even so, I think the $70 price drop is key.

A $229 box that can play back HD. Mythfrontend (after some hacking),
or Video Podcast from MythTV...and keep the other functionality.

-Pete
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

matt at oddprocess

Jan 15, 2008, 12:04 PM

Post #6 of 18 (3243 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:59:11PM -0500, Peter A. Daly wrote:
> > I've heard though the grapevine that the "new" AppleTV is the same
> > hardware as the old one, just new software. I don't know much about
> > Apple's original software load, but I know that you can install Linux
> > and run mythfrontend even with HD shows. Of course, then you lose the
> > integration with iTunes

Does it have uPNP support?

--
Matthew Daubenspeck
http://oddprocess.org

Gentoo Linux x86_64 Dual Core AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 165
15:03:07 up 64 days, 6:50, 3 users, load average: 0.04, 0.06, 0.02
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

jaw1959 at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 12:11 PM

Post #7 of 18 (3240 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

Since it's just a software upgrade, can you upgrade a first gen apple TV to
the new version? I don't own one, but it would be pretty lame (and
Applesque) if you couldn't. If you can, I'd consider buying a used one.

On Jan 15, 2008 3:04 PM, Matthew Daubenspeck <matt [at] oddprocess> wrote:

> On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:59:11PM -0500, Peter A. Daly wrote:
> > > I've heard though the grapevine that the "new" AppleTV is the same
> > > hardware as the old one, just new software. I don't know much about
> > > Apple's original software load, but I know that you can install Linux
> > > and run mythfrontend even with HD shows. Of course, then you lose the
> > > integration with iTunes
>
> Does it have uPNP support?
>
> --
> Matthew Daubenspeck
> http://oddprocess.org
>
> Gentoo Linux x86_64 Dual Core AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 165
> 15:03:07 up 64 days, 6:50, 3 users, load average: 0.04, 0.06, 0.02
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

timlitw at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 12:16 PM

Post #8 of 18 (3229 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

I have one of the old ones - it works very well as an SD mythfrontend, I
don't have HD content yet. Follow the howtos to intalled the addon to edit
the menus and then install mythtv.

Hopefully it is just as easy to get it moded with the usbstick method. to
add the menu item and mythtv back after the upgrade.

aclose at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 12:23 PM

Post #9 of 18 (3221 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Jan 15, 2008 2:16 PM, Tim Litwiller <timlitw [at] gmail> wrote:
> I have one of the old ones - it works very well as an SD mythfrontend, I
> don't have HD content yet. Follow the howtos to intalled the addon to edit
> the menus and then install mythtv.
>
> Hopefully it is just as easy to get it moded with the usbstick method. to
> add the menu item and mythtv back after the upgrade.

Tim, do you have MythTv setup as a menu add-on in the AppleTv GUI?
so you can select MythTv and go to MythFrontend? or do you just
connect to your MythBox as a shared drive to view content?
i know somebody was able to hack their AppleTv so that MythTv showed
up as a menu item. but i never found details on how to do it.
have you tried upgrading the harddrive?
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

davilla at 4pi

Jan 15, 2008, 12:25 PM

Post #10 of 18 (3208 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

>Since it's just a software upgrade, can you upgrade a first gen
>apple TV to the new version? I don't own one, but it would be
>pretty lame (and Applesque) if you couldn't. If you can, I'd
>consider buying a used one.

wait a bit and the update will show up when you check for updates on
the AppleTV. I heard a rumor that the update was out but it does not
show up on mine.

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

mcdermj at xenotropic

Jan 15, 2008, 12:50 PM

Post #11 of 18 (3204 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Jan 15, 2008, at 3:25 PM, Scott D. Davilla wrote:
>
> wait a bit and the update will show up when you check for updates on
> the AppleTV. I heard a rumor that the update was out but it does not
> show up on mine.
>

Macrumors is reporting that the software update will be available in
two weeks.

--
Jeremy McDermond
Xenotropic Systems
mcdermj [at] xenotropic

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

timlitw at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 1:07 PM

Post #12 of 18 (3212 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

Yes, you choose the ohter programs option and then the mythtv option. Then
it goes blank for 30 seconds or so and goes into mythtv. After that when
you choose a recording you have the same responsiveness as any other
frontends. I blended the howtos on awkward and the mythtv sites to get it
working.

and no, I haven't upgraded anything hardware wise - I used the patchstick to
get mine where I could ssh to it so it has neve been opened. Other than
some extra software copied in with ssh it is factory.

Since youtube and mythtv are all I use if for there is no reason for me to
upgrade the hard drive.

On Jan 15, 2008 2:23 PM, Andrew Close <aclose [at] gmail> wrote:

> On Jan 15, 2008 2:16 PM, Tim Litwiller <timlitw [at] gmail> wrote:
> > I have one of the old ones - it works very well as an SD mythfrontend, I
> > don't have HD content yet. Follow the howtos to intalled the addon to
> edit
> > the menus and then install mythtv.
> >
> > Hopefully it is just as easy to get it moded with the usbstick method.
> to
> > add the menu item and mythtv back after the upgrade.
>
> Tim, do you have MythTv setup as a menu add-on in the AppleTv GUI?
> so you can select MythTv and go to MythFrontend? or do you just
> connect to your MythBox as a shared drive to view content?
> i know somebody was able to hack their AppleTv so that MythTv showed
> up as a menu item. but i never found details on how to do it.
> have you tried upgrading the harddrive?
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

dsr-myth at tao

Jan 15, 2008, 1:17 PM

Post #13 of 18 (3224 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 02:02:30PM -0500, Peter A. Daly wrote:
> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
>
> It's time to give Apple's TV product a second look in terms of it
> being a companion to a MythTV system.
>
> Even if it doesn't run the MythTV Frontend, here are the key points to consider:
>
> 1. Apple TV does HD

The Apple Store says it can decode 720P H.264 at 24fps, or
960x540 at 30fps. That says "pushing the hardware to the limit
right there" to me. Has anyone actually seen 1080P output from
it?

-dsr-

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
subversive content by DHS, and is
believed to be traitorous Commie propaganda.
http://tao.merseine.nu:81/~dsr/eula.html is hereby incorporated by reference.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

davilla at 4pi

Jan 15, 2008, 1:25 PM

Post #14 of 18 (3217 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

>The Apple Store says it can decode 720P H.264 at 24fps, or
>960x540 at 30fps. That says "pushing the hardware to the limit
>right there" to me. Has anyone actually seen 1080P output from
>it?

I've done 1080i mpeg2 HD decode under a linux/nvidia xvmc install.
mplayer runs at 45-50 percent cpu. mythtv runs at 65-75 percent cpu.
I don't have 1080p content so don't care about it right now.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

florin at andrei

Jan 15, 2008, 3:42 PM

Post #15 of 18 (3196 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

Peter A. Daly wrote:
> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
> Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you think?

Can AppleTV2 do DLNA? If yes, then MythTV is a DLNA server, and voila,
instant integration without having to run MythTV on the Apple box.

BTW, I've heard a couple rumors that the DLNA code in MythTV is not
quite production-ready yet - e.g., when using the PS3 as a DLNA client,
there might be some issues with MythTV, while it works fine with other
DLNA servers.

--
Florin Andrei

http://florin.myip.org/
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

cpartin at gmail

Jan 15, 2008, 4:03 PM

Post #16 of 18 (3208 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Jan 15, 2008 4:42 PM, Florin Andrei <florin [at] andrei> wrote:
> Peter A. Daly wrote:
> > Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
> > Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you think?
>
> Can AppleTV2 do DLNA? If yes, then MythTV is a DLNA server, and voila,
> instant integration without having to run MythTV on the Apple box.
>
> BTW, I've heard a couple rumors that the DLNA code in MythTV is not
> quite production-ready yet - e.g., when using the PS3 as a DLNA client,
> there might be some issues with MythTV, while it works fine with other
> DLNA servers.

I doubt it does DLNA but if you could fake the iTunes network sharing
protocol it would work. I believe the
firefly(http://www.fireflymediaserver.org/) software does this.

I think AppleTV2 is just a software update. Not a hardware update.
Calling version 2 might not be appropriate
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

mcdermj at xenotropic

Jan 16, 2008, 12:17 AM

Post #17 of 18 (3180 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

On Jan 15, 2008, at 7:03 PM, Craig Partin wrote:

> On Jan 15, 2008 4:42 PM, Florin Andrei <florin [at] andrei> wrote:
>> Peter A. Daly wrote:
>>> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-
>>> top device.
>>> Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you
>>> think?
>>
>> Can AppleTV2 do DLNA? If yes, then MythTV is a DLNA server, and
>> voila,
>> instant integration without having to run MythTV on the Apple box.
>>
>> BTW, I've heard a couple rumors that the DLNA code in MythTV is not
>> quite production-ready yet - e.g., when using the PS3 as a DLNA
>> client,
>> there might be some issues with MythTV, while it works fine with
>> other
>> DLNA servers.
>
>
> I doubt it does DLNA but if you could fake the iTunes network sharing
> protocol it would work. I believe the
> firefly(http://www.fireflymediaserver.org/) software does this.
>

The problem is that iTunes requires you to type in a PIN number when
you associate to an aTV. This is to make sure you only have five
computers at a time associated with the device. It sets up some sort
of encryption that the firefly folks, to my knowledge, have not
figured out yet.

> I think AppleTV2 is just a software update. Not a hardware update.
> Calling version 2 might not be appropriate

My distinct understanding is that it's a software update. It will be
available in two weeks.

--
Jeremy McDermond
Xenotropic Systems
mcdermj [at] xenotropic

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

gallatin at cs

Jan 16, 2008, 6:54 AM

Post #18 of 18 (3147 views)
Permalink

Re: AppleTV 2 and MythTV [In reply to]

Florin Andrei [florin [at] andrei] wrote:
> Peter A. Daly wrote:
> > Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
> > Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go. What do you think?
>
> Can AppleTV2 do DLNA? If yes, then MythTV is a DLNA server, and voila,
> instant integration without having to run MythTV on the Apple box.
>

But then you loose all the cool features of mythfrontend, like
commercial skipping (unless you reall trust the flagging and transcode
out the commercials) and timestretch.

Drew
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded

Interested in having your list archived? Contact Gossamer Threads