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idlerobbo · 2012-03-07, 23:29

GnarusLeo Wrote:I heard that Apple actually loose money for each unit of ATV they sell. (since ATV2).

Business model is based on what you buy once your locked in.

I stand corrected then :-) made sense in my head. I guess that's why I don't work for Apple!

idlerobbo · 2012-03-07, 23:30

bboucher790 Wrote:Apple makes their money on Apple TV via software, not hardware. iTunes is where they get your $$$. XBMC, while I'm sure they're aware it sells units, isn't a big part of their business model.

So in essence they've done exactly what they needed to do to prevent us wanting to buy one as we will never use the apple store, thus preventing them from losing money but making lots of money from people who are unaware of XBMC. Bastards!

mcpish · 2012-03-07, 23:42

Unfortunately from the spec-sheet it looks like the ATV3 still will NOT support 60 fps video :-(

Quote:H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second

For me the 1080p upgrade isn't as big of a deal as 60fps support would have been. 60fps is something I actually notice; 1080p I barely notice. It would have made it much easier to transcode 720p60 ATSC broadcasts using handbrake to play back on the AppleTV3 if it had supported 60fps, right now I always have to halve the framerate and it looks like I'd still have to on the ATV3.

Lakestang · 2012-03-07, 23:51

So, where are all the ATV2 version 1's going to end up? The Apple store is only offering today's new version from what I can find and the ATV2 in the refurbished area for 69.00.

Wonder if those will be the unused stock of the first version units? The link to the product is currently dead or not working.

Stranger · (This post was last modified: 2012-03-08, 00:04 by Stranger.)

idlerobbo Wrote:So in essence they've done exactly what they needed to do to prevent us wanting to buy one as we will never use the apple store, thus preventing them from losing money but making lots of money from people who are unaware of XBMC. Bastards!

it definitely never crossed their minds...

The Apple TV is an apple enthusiast's product, it's always been considered a fan service. They sell at a loss while bridging the gap between iOS devices and televisions, and as a result sell a lot more iTunes content. Why else would they announce a new version along with the new iPad? Because a lot of people will purchase it as an accessory for their new iPad.

Also...

Most of the people purchasing an Apple TV while unaware of XBMC would probably have a hard time getting the same enjoyment from XBMC. XBMC demands a lot of from it's user's, and in return (we know) it rewards us with a ton of benefits.

Sam Lowry · 2012-03-08, 00:04

http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/a...-shootout/

alessio2 · (This post was last modified: 2012-03-08, 00:28 by alessio2.)

mcpish Wrote:For me the 1080p upgrade isn't as big of a deal as 60fps support would have been. 60fps is something I actually notice; 1080p I barely notice. It would have made it much easier to transcode 720p60 ATSC broadcasts using handbrake to play back on the AppleTV3 if it had supported 60fps, right now I always have to halve the framerate and it looks like I'd still have to on the ATV3.

I don't know if this affects any of x264 1080p which are mostly at 23.976fps.
Here are some specs of a 20GB x264 1080p movie:

VIDEO
Codec: AVC
Type: progressive
Resolution: 1920x1080
Bit rate: 25.2 Mbps
Frame rate: 23.976 fps

AUDIO
Format: DTS-HD MA
Channels: 7.1
Bit depth: 16 bits
Sample rate: 48 kHz
Bit rate: 2710 kbps

ATV3 should play this without a problem.

deanmv · 2012-03-08, 00:28

XBMC would look great as one of these little tiles don't you think? http://www.engadget.com/photos/apple-tv-4/#4881882

Spaggi · 2012-03-08, 00:49

For me, the interesting question (I don't use 1080p at all) is: Will XBMC it run significantly smoother than with the ATV2, especially in views like coverflow? Are those views so slow because they are CPU intensive?

vskatusa · (This post was last modified: 2012-03-08, 01:37 by vskatusa.)

ATV3
===
Will the A5 processor have enough juice to play mythtv OTA HD recordings?

IPAD3
====
Will the A5X quad core processor have enough juice to play mythtv OTA HD recordings?

onizuka · 2012-03-08, 02:25

Exyge Wrote:Why would you need Gigabit ethernet? It's just a streaming device and 100mb is enough. If the processor is fast enough to deliver solid XBMC performance, why would you need a faster processor?

This thing is the only device on my network that's not gig, would've been nice to have all orange lights Cool

We don't know what the single core is capable of, but my guess is that Aeon and the likes is not going to be what people were hoping for. Hope I'm wrong.

To me, a smoother GUI experience was more important than 1080p output. Time will tell.

davilla · 2012-03-08, 05:09

mcpish Wrote:Unfortunately from the spec-sheet it looks like the ATV3 still will NOT support 60 fps video :-(

For me the 1080p upgrade isn't as big of a deal as 60fps support would have been. 60fps is something I actually notice; 1080p I barely notice. It would have made it much easier to transcode 720p60 ATSC broadcasts using handbrake to play back on the AppleTV3 if it had supported 60fps, right now I always have to halve the framerate and it looks like I'd still have to on the ATV3.

Nothing comes in 1080p/60 Smile

It's 1080i/30 ATSC or 720p60 ATSC.

mcpish · (This post was last modified: 2012-03-08, 06:17 by mcpish.)

davilla Wrote:Nothing comes in 1080p/60 It's 1080i/30 ATSC or 720p60 ATSC.

yes that's exactly what I said. 720p60 ATSC recordings. Channels like CBC-HD, ABC-HD, ESPN-HD, and Disney channel all use 720p60.

The ATV3 still doesn't support 60fps at any framerate, not even 720p nevermind 1080p; which you're right, nothing uses. This means, anything recorded off CBC-HD, ABC-HD, ESPN-HD, or Disney Channel can't be trans-coded straight to h264 as-is if you want them to play back on any model of the ATV. You always have to halve the framerate down to 30fps, which kind of sucks. I'd prefer to keep the recordings at 60fps since they look so much nicer at that rate. They play back fine on XBMC on my Linux based HTPC, but not on my AppleTV units.

jd2157 · 2012-03-08, 06:53

Anyone try upgrading yet? Curious to hear what the iOS version and build number are for Apple TV Software 5.0.0.

~~Ned Scott~~ · 2012-03-08, 07:59

Stranger Wrote:An open source project like XBMC will never influence apple products.

Actually they do. Apple has taken a lot of pointers from the jailbreak community, including hiring several jailbreak developers. iOS's notification center was literally a jailbreak tweak before Apple hired that developer to work for them.

Apple also uses a lot of open source software in all their products, including iOS. They also release a lot of their own software as open source.

Doubtful that any time in the foreseeable future that Apple will allow something like XBMC or community mods, but there is definitely influence there.