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All things apple tv

I thought I'd start a new thread focused on the apple tv. I chose the apple tv primarily for it's nice interface and simplicity of use. The mac mini is obviously far more customizable however requires a keyboard and mouse.

My 30gb model is about to get a new 250 gb hard drive from techrestore.com. My biggest issue with apple tv is the inactive usb port. Ideally I would like to send music to the dac using this port. It appears this may be possible by hacking the unit and installing the full version of osx.

Does anyone know of a simpler way to do this?
mbehner

Showing 4 responses by mbehner

mbehner OP
9 posts
 
I agree the hd video is not as good as a hard disk. It is better then the HD videos I get from my cable service. I noticed that my ps3 had much superior audio playing a cd which was also ripped to apple tv using apple lossless. I hope that a high quality dac will remedy this.
mbehner OP
9 posts
 
After playing around with it I figured out how to stream my itunes music from my imac. This more or less eliminates the need for the bigger hard drive. Although I typically do not have the computer on while entertaining so I will need to sync some music. I cannot figure out how to stream video. I have heard of others doing this. It would be nice to hold movies on an external hard drive and stream them from itunes. Anyone successful in doing this?
mbehner OP
9 posts
 
I'm not sure why the macbook, or imac or any mac for that matter would have better imaging and detail then the apple tv. Does the macbook have a higher quality dac? I am definitely not impressed with the audio quality of the apple tv but I wasn't expecting much. For $299 I am extremely impressed with the interface and ease of use. The movie rentals from itunes are as good of quality or better then cable on demand. The photo archiving and playback via screensaver are very neat. I do intend on adding a bel canto dac 3 for the audio quality.
mbehner OP
9 posts
 
I'll need the dac either way. If it isn't a substantial improvement I'll go to the mac mini using the usb out. I went atv vs. mini for the nice interface and simplicity. Plus, my universal remote controls the atv nicely using the macro to turn on all the relevent componants and switching the inputs etc. The usb out on the mac mini might be better ultimately but would require a keyboard and mouse. More hands on then I want to be. I have heard the atv works really well with a high quality dac. Please post your results.
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