I haven't seen any jitter measurements for the Apple TV, but if it's anything like the Airport Express, you'll get better sounding results with your computer connected directly to your DAC. That would be my first suggestion.
Unrelated to the Apple TV, your computer will do less processing if you use native file formats like AIFF on a Mac and WAV on a PC. Less processing is a good thing.
What DAC are you using?
Unrelated to the Apple TV, your computer will do less processing if you use native file formats like AIFF on a Mac and WAV on a PC. Less processing is a good thing.
What DAC are you using?