2013-02-11, 23:18
Hi All
I'm looking to build an AppleTV alternative. I've been looking on ebay and it seems like the 2nd generation AppleTV is going for upwards of 200 dollars, makes sense, since it's the only one that's jailbreak-able (other than ATV1). I figure since I would spend close to 200 anyways, why not get something that's upgradeable. So after using a friend's ATV for a while, this is what I like and don't like about it.
Pros
-Extremely user friendly.
-Low Power
-Quiet
-Wife friendly
-Can turn on and off with remote (or harmony)
Cons
-Can't play 1080p (have a 55in TV)
-Can't play DTS-MA and TrueHD (have a nice surround sound system)
-Even with confluence, it's kinda laggy
-Youtube support very slow, and Hulu pandora kinda non-existent
Now what I would like is something like the ATV2. I will be streaming from a media server exclusively. I have Baby Einstein and Pixar movies my kid likes, and rom-com's my wife likes. I have wired gigabyte, so I don't need wireless, and I will not upgrade my TV to 3D for the foreseeable future.
I've looked at complete packages like the Artic boxes, and android boxes, but they seem too limiting. I have a spare copy of Win 7 I would like to use, and if that means using media center, i'm ok with that.
I'm hoping for any help you guys can give me, thanks.
I'm looking to build an AppleTV alternative. I've been looking on ebay and it seems like the 2nd generation AppleTV is going for upwards of 200 dollars, makes sense, since it's the only one that's jailbreak-able (other than ATV1). I figure since I would spend close to 200 anyways, why not get something that's upgradeable. So after using a friend's ATV for a while, this is what I like and don't like about it.
Pros
-Extremely user friendly.
-Low Power
-Quiet
-Wife friendly
-Can turn on and off with remote (or harmony)
Cons
-Can't play 1080p (have a 55in TV)
-Can't play DTS-MA and TrueHD (have a nice surround sound system)
-Even with confluence, it's kinda laggy
-Youtube support very slow, and Hulu pandora kinda non-existent
Now what I would like is something like the ATV2. I will be streaming from a media server exclusively. I have Baby Einstein and Pixar movies my kid likes, and rom-com's my wife likes. I have wired gigabyte, so I don't need wireless, and I will not upgrade my TV to 3D for the foreseeable future.
I've looked at complete packages like the Artic boxes, and android boxes, but they seem too limiting. I have a spare copy of Win 7 I would like to use, and if that means using media center, i'm ok with that.
I'm hoping for any help you guys can give me, thanks.