Forums >Off the Beaten Path>So, what can I do with this Apple TV box?
Proboscis Colossus
So, my brother-in-law bought us an Apple TV box for Christmas...pretty awesome of him.
Apple TV has always been one of those things that I was aware of, but since our satellite internet has a data cap and thus, we don't do much with streaming/downloading video, I never really looked into it much.
So, anyone who is more familiar with it...what can we do with it? Here are the particulars of our situation:
1. As mentioned, data cap at home. There is Wifi at school, but I don't know if it would be useable with the filters and besides, I hate to abuse the privilege. Though, if there is some school application for it, I bet I could talk to our IT guy.
2. We do have iPhones and iPads.
3. Our TV only has two HDMI inputs, currently taken up by the Blu-ray player and the satellite. We could get a switch, though.
Thanks!
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
Chasing the bus
My daughter got us one last year, and I didnt know what to do with it either, but here's a few cool things; push photos/slide shows, video, including YouTube and amazon prime (from iPad), and push music from iTunes. Of course, Netflix, but that burns download gigs fast.
“You're either on the bus or off the bus.” ― Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
We use it mostly for Netflix and MLB(when in season), neither are good if you have a data cap.
fear the Col Sanders
I love mine. One of my favorite uses is music. I have the Apple TV hooked up to my receiver and speakers. I stream music from my iTunes on my computers or from my iPhone to the Apple TV. I love being able to control my tunes from my computer/phone and having it play on my real speakers.
I also love using it to do slideshows and streaming videos I took on my phone to the TV.
Just because I look dumb doesn't mean I'm not...
For those with Apple TV, how is the video quality? I tried "playon" using a wii, and the quality of the video was poor. Netflix streaming was a lot better, though.
I've got a fever...
Data cap is a big problem, since the whole point of the box is to stream video.
We use ours for:
If you can, you should switch ISPs to something without a cap, because most of what this box does that's useful is streaming from the internet. You will crush your data cap and make it suffer without a lot of effort.
MTA: You should be able to force a lower quality video stream ( somewhere in the settings). THis will conserve bandwidth, but you won't see it in HD.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
If you can, you should switch ISPs to something without a cap, because most of what this box does that's useful is streaming from the internet.
BELIEVE me, if we had any options, we would. Unfortunately, at our location, our only options for high-speed internet are radio internet (which would require constructing a tower for the antenna), and our data-capped satellite internet. I do hear rumors that AT&T may run a DSL line out to our subdivision sometime this next year.