[tinybilbo]

I'm looking for a cheap box to put in my ooms to replace my old xbox1's (I need 4).

As an all-in-one box at about £100 ($150), the AppleTV looks attractive.

Some questions came to mind whilst I've been browsing the forum.

1) Can the Atv display a 1080p file at 1080p, or does it downscale to 720p?.
Can this be changed to display FullHD?
(I think I read that the older boxes can be converted with an addon card).

2) After I jailbrake and install Xbmc can I completley disable the Apple software so that it only boots into Xbmc?

3) The remote is very limited, what alternatives are there that give full remote functionality?

Thanks

[deanmv]

I'm looking for a cheap box to put in my ooms to replace my old xbox1's (I need 4).

As an all-in-one box at about £100 ($150), the AppleTV looks attractive.

Some questions came to mind whilst I've been browsing the forum.

1) Can the Atv display a 1080p file at 1080p, or does it downscale to 720p?.
Can this be changed to display FullHD?
(I think I read that the older boxes can be converted with an addon card).

2) After I jailbrake and install Xbmc can I completley disable the Apple software so that it only boots into Xbmc?

3) The remote is very limited, what alternatives are there that give full remote functionality?

Thanks

1) The ATV2 will not support DISPLAYING 1080P. You can play the files but it will downscale them to 720P.

2) You can look here into running a script so that it will only boot straight into XBMC and yes it can be done: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?p=738635

3) The remote works fine but if you want something more I think you can use harmony remotes (someone could prove me wrong here) or you can use a BT keyboard, or an app from an iPhone or something like that. There are lots of different options available.

[tinybilbo]

1) The ATV2 will not support DISPLAYING 1080P. You can play the files but it will downscale them to 720P.

2) You can look here into running a script so that it will only boot straight into XBMC and yes it can be done: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?p=738635

3) The remote works fine but if you want something more I think you can use harmony remotes (someone could prove me wrong here) or you can use a BT keyboard, or an app from an iPhone or something like that. There are lots of different options available.

Thanks deanmv for the answers,

1) Shame about not playing back fullhd, I can still get 2 though because 720p will be enough for 2 of my rooms (32" Tv's, not 1080p). The other 2 will have to be Revo's.
How do the the ATV1s and the broadcom bcm70012 cards handle the newer builds of Xmbc? - do they have enough grunt?

2) Great, I'll check that link out

3) I knew about the iPhone app, but want to avoid that - I need kid-friendly . Can I just use the Harmony directly with the onboard IR sensor (which would be perfect..).

[deanmv]

Thanks deanmv for the answers,

1) Shame about not playing back fullhd, I can still get 2 though because 720p will be enough for 2 of my rooms (32" Tv's, not 1080p). The other 2 will have to be Revo's.
How do the the ATV1s and the broadcom bcm70012 cards handle the newer builds of XBMC? - do they have enough grunt?

2) Great, I'll check that link out

3) I knew about the iPhone app, but want to avoid that - I need kid-friendly . Can I just use the Harmony directly with the onboard IR sensor (which would be perfect..).

1) I can't really tell the difference to be honest but if it's a must then yeah the ATV1 can handle it, check around the "XBMC for Mac Specific Support" forum as the ATV1 comes under there.

3) I don't use a harmony remote myself but it says in the FAQ you can: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBM...s_for_ATV2

[tinybilbo]

1) I can't really tell the difference to be honest but if it's a must then yeah the ATV1 can handle it, check around the "XBMC for Mac Specific Support" forum as the ATV1 comes under there.

3) I don't use a harmony remote myself but it says in the FAQ you can: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBM...s_for_ATV2

Thanks for the info, all-in-all the ATV seems like a good way to go...
On a side-note, do you ever use the apple installed ios or just xbmc?

[Ned Scott]

ALL of this is answered in the iOS FAQ, which is linked to the post that says "Read me 1st before posting".