A better alternative to Apple TV
By Mark Tennent in Reader
Posted in Uncategorized on April 13, 2007 at 11:52 am
I don’t think I’ll buy an Apple TV because they aren’t up to the job… yet.
Inside the Apple TV is a full blown Mac running a cut-down version of MacOSX 10.4.7. Its processor doesn’t have to do much work so is under-clocked to save power. Alongside is 256MB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 video card with 64MB of video RAM, plus a 40GB hard disk. Broadcom supply the 802.11n wireless card.
The GeForce card is actually better than ones found in Macbooks and Minis and does most of the Apple TV’s work, leaving the CPU to idle in power saving mode. It supports 1280×720 resolution which can be scaled up to 1920×1080 or down to 720×480.
Future upgrades
There has been much speculation about whether the Apple TV will be upgraded. The internals would appear to be far more capable than their current achievements. It may be that Apple intend to release more features via software upgrades. PowerMax, here are already offering Apple TV’s complete with upgraded 120GB hard drives for $449. The Apple TV’s USB port is interesting as well, currently having no apparent role for end-users.
However…
While I’m typing this I’ve got the Sci-Fi channel on. Not the one offered by Sky or cable TV suppliers but the full-blown US channel coming straight from a Slingbox in Chicago. I can control the Slingbox as if in the same room and the digital remote never runs out of batteries. Because of the time-zone differences my use doesn’t clash with my son’s - its owner - the only problem might come when his UK-based sister and I want to watch different channels. An interesting point arising from this is that if we never watch UK TV, do we need a UK TV licence?
We have had an EyeTV digital TV receiver/recorder for many years. To get a recording from EyeTV to play on the Apple TV they have to be converted. Even on fast Macs running as a mini cluster, see here, it can take longer to convert than to record them in the first place.
Also in our collection are movies in a variety of formats, many of which need specific codecs or software to play them. The Apple TV has only a limited range available and in any case, playing them via the iTunes interface is extremely limiting. The movies are currently stored on a separate hard disk or DVDs.
The solution
The Apple TV is probably the best value Unix computer on the market but for a little more I can buy a used Mac (or PC) laptop. Connect that to our existing TV and EyeTV box and we will have a far more capable and upgradable Apple TV alternative. It will access all our movies and iTunes library as well as Internet- based services such as accessing US TV via Slingbox. All existing and any future music or video formats will almost certainly play and the laptop will be infinitely upgradable.
The Mac/TV connection will take one lead, the same lead I’d have to supply for an Apple TV which doesn’t come with any. Mac OS X sorts out all the rest of the business, resolution and so on. Don’t ask me how, it just does, as if by magic, which I suspect it might actually be. A sort of tautological digital prestidigitation.
And so the Apple TV Extreme is born.
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