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randywaterhouse · 2008-12-08, 23:18

hey man, don't worry, using the optimized settings should make most files more than playable and there will be better versions of XBMC in the future which hopefully some day can use the GPU, so hang in there and enjoy your ATV :-)
I'm enjoying mine a lot and I love the HD rentals in the apple store, really awesome quality!
best,
randy.

Guille779 · 2008-12-08, 23:44

randywaterhouse Wrote:hey man, don't worry, using the optimized settings should make most files more than playable and there will be better versions of XBMC in the future which hopefully some day can use the GPU, so hang in there and enjoy your ATV :-)
I'm enjoying mine a lot and I love the HD rentals in the apple store, really awesome quality!
best,
randy.

Yeah, but the Library was one of the best features I was hoping to be able to use. Does it really make a difference to disable it?

Krieg · 2008-12-09, 00:07

Guille779 Wrote:Oh man.... I just purchased an Apple TV last week and it should arrive tomorrow. I'm horrified by reading this thread. Have I just throw $200 to the trash? Are you saying I won't be able to play my .mkv files??

I've testing XBMC with a MBP connected to my HDTV and love it. That's the reason I bought an Apple TV. I was sure it'll work.

Now I'm sad.

You can't compare the power of a MBP with an ATV. If you bought the ATV to play HD stuff you bought the wrong device. Even with the standard Apple software the ATV can't do 1080p.

davilla · 2008-12-09, 04:16

Krieg Wrote:You can't compare the power of a MBP with an ATV. If you bought the ATV to play HD stuff you bought the wrong device. Even with the standard Apple software the ATV can't do 1080p.

and 720p is not HD content ??

Krieg · 2008-12-09, 12:07

davilla Wrote:and 720p is not HD content ??

Yes it is. But the ATV is not the proper device if you intent to play mainly HD. The ATV can play 720p only with the correct encoding settings and with the correct software. You know what I mean, and actually, you know it better than me.

I love the ATV but I am realistic about its limits. If you want a device that can play high end stuff you have to go for something like Popcorn Hour, but then the interface sucks. Or build up an (expensive) HTPC.

roydonaldson · 2008-12-09, 14:48

What settings for something like Handbrake would people recommend to generate 720P files for use with the Atv ?

Thanks,
Roy.

randywaterhouse · 2008-12-09, 15:20

hey roy,

the latest handbrake version (http://handbrake.fr) has a preset for apple tv, very good for converting MKV files :-)

randy.

Guille779 · 2008-12-09, 17:35

Krieg Wrote:You can't compare the power of a MBP with an ATV. If you bought the ATV to play HD stuff you bought the wrong device. Even with the standard Apple software the ATV can't do 1080p.

Yes, but I don't have 1080p content. I only download 720p content under 5Mbps (mostly TV shows).

I suppose I'll give it a try.

davilla · 2008-12-09, 17:42

Krieg Wrote:Yes it is. But the ATV is not the proper device if you intent to play mainly HD. The ATV can play 720p only with the correct encoding settings and with the correct software. You know what I mean, and actually, you know it better than me.

I love the ATV but I am realistic about its limits. If you want a device that can play high end stuff you have to go for something like Popcorn Hour, but then the interface sucks. Or build up an (expensive) HTPC.

I agree, that why I stick with 720p content. The only 1080p content is blueray and I'm not about to convert my 400+ title DVD collection to blueray, it's a waste of money, and the blueray players are dogs. It also only accounts for four percent of Blueray/DVD sales and will be dead in 3 years. 1080p is not net deliverable, 720p is and will be the "net" format standard now and in the future. Look at what Apple, Hulu and Netflicks use today and someone tell me how we can even think about 1080p content delivery.

The mkv files "found" on the internet are encoded to ludicrously high encoding rates to make them as small in size as possible but the size savings is small and really not worth the effort. People need to beat up on mkv providers to change the encoding to more sensible rates. But as these mkv files are "free", nothing will change, you get what you pay for Sad

Is 1080p content better than 720p, by the numbers, yes. But 80 percent of humanity cannot tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. It's a specmanship game like insane frame rates in video games. Does not matter in the end.

Guille779 · (This post was last modified: 2008-12-09, 18:47 by Guille779.)

randywaterhouse Wrote:hey roy,

the latest handbrake version (http://handbrake.fr) has a preset for apple tv, very good for converting MKV files :-)

randy.

The Apple TV setting in Handbrake sets all my 1280x720 videos to 960x544, is this correct? Can I just leave the 1280x720 resolution and maybe lower the bitrate to something the Apple TV can handle, such as 4Mbps max.?

I only have about 6 movies in 720p and a few tv show episodes (I used to download everything in XviD). I'll if the Apple TV is able to handle them. If not, the Handbrake will do.

**BLKMGK** · 2008-12-10, 01:49

FWIW, I do encode BD disks and I get as much as a 50% savings in size by doing so. The files start out 1080 and that's the way I leave them, they look great! I am also not about to convert my extensive collection to BD but as I get new movies I like the higher definition. For downloaded stuff I too stick to 720P in MKV containers. Sadly my aTV struggles just a little bit on those, I've not tried a 1080 file - I can imagine the carnage!

So yeah, some of us do want to watch the higher def stuff from BD disks <shrug>

randywaterhouse · 2008-12-10, 06:17

you can check in "picture settings" and make sure that the size remains the sames. you can also set the "anamorphic" to none.
also, check the audio and make sure it translates the 5.1 to 6 channel discrete, if your audio receiver can handle it, otherwise set it to dolby pro logic II. and you might also want to disable chapter markers.

Guille779 Wrote:The Apple TV setting in Handbrake sets all my 1280x720 videos to 960x544, is this correct? Can I just leave the 1280x720 resolution and maybe lower the bitrate to something the Apple TV can handle, such as 4Mbps max.?

I only have about 6 movies in 720p and a few tv show episodes (I used to download everything in XviD). I'll if the Apple TV is able to handle them. If not, the Handbrake will do.

Carniphage · 2008-12-10, 12:29

Guille779 Wrote:Can I just leave the 1280x720 resolution and maybe lower the bitrate to something the Apple TV can handle, such as 4Mbps max.?

The AppleTV can manage 1280x720 content at only 24 (or 25) fps. If your stuff is 30fps the resolution has to come down.

C.

Guille779 · 2008-12-10, 15:13

Carniphage Wrote:The AppleTV can manage 1280x720 content at only 24 (or 25) fps. If your stuff is 30fps the resolution has to come down.

C.

Ok, thanks!

randywaterhouse · 2008-12-13, 00:16

As far as I've read and tested, Apple TV can handle up to 5Mbps, but performance on XBMC is not as good since the CPU needs to do all the decoding and played natively on Apple TV through Quicktime it has the GPU to help, which helps a lot since the CPU is pretty slow (compared to today's standards) but the GPU is strong. Bad for XBMC though :-(

Randy.