2012-02-20, 02:55
I recently built an a6-3500 htpc and am now looking for a cheap solution to access xbmc in my 2 other bedrooms. Would the atv2 be ok for this ?
2012-02-20, 06:37
Cool , I don't need 1080p just for my sons room and some occasional viewing in the master bedroom.
2012-02-21, 05:13
I'm also interested in replacing my WD boxes with a few ATV2... I had the same concers until I saw NedScott recommend this.... for Atv1, but how about Atv2? I may consider these as an alternative to a whole new HTPC build
2012-02-21, 05:32
I have an ATV2 as a secondary unit for my bedroom, connected to my main HTPC's database via MySQL. I've had it since August and so far my thoughts are this:
- Your experience with the ATV2 will largely be dictated by how fast your LAN is. If you're planning on using the ATV2 via wireless, be prepared for tons of headaches. A buddy of mine uses regular 802.11g and says it works alright for him, but until I upgraded to 5GHZ channel-bonded 802.11n, I was constantly frustrated by reoccurring "buffering" messages. Obviously, if everything is wired via ethernet then you'll likely have better luck.
- The interface is a bit sluggish. This depends on the skin, but in general the hardware seems a little underpowered for all of the eye-candy, which is not completely surprising given the specs. This has slowly gotten better with each new XBMC release and I'm sure they'll find ways to optimize it in the future. There are also some tips to speed things up, such as using lower resolution thumbnails/fanart and such.
- The latest firmware version for the ATV2 is 4.4.4 and it uses more CPU power than the previous versions. This has caused some issues to pop up; notably, there is lag when displaying certain subtitle formats. If you have an older ATV2 and backed up the right files, you can downgrade to previous versions. If you buy one brand new, you're stuck on 4.4.4 or newer.
In short, it's been a great bang for the buck, but it has its limitations. At $99, if you know and love XBMC then it's a worthwhile investment as a thin frontend box. It won't perform as well as an ION box or a custom rig, but it's also 1/3 of the cost.
- Your experience with the ATV2 will largely be dictated by how fast your LAN is. If you're planning on using the ATV2 via wireless, be prepared for tons of headaches. A buddy of mine uses regular 802.11g and says it works alright for him, but until I upgraded to 5GHZ channel-bonded 802.11n, I was constantly frustrated by reoccurring "buffering" messages. Obviously, if everything is wired via ethernet then you'll likely have better luck.
- The interface is a bit sluggish. This depends on the skin, but in general the hardware seems a little underpowered for all of the eye-candy, which is not completely surprising given the specs. This has slowly gotten better with each new XBMC release and I'm sure they'll find ways to optimize it in the future. There are also some tips to speed things up, such as using lower resolution thumbnails/fanart and such.
- The latest firmware version for the ATV2 is 4.4.4 and it uses more CPU power than the previous versions. This has caused some issues to pop up; notably, there is lag when displaying certain subtitle formats. If you have an older ATV2 and backed up the right files, you can downgrade to previous versions. If you buy one brand new, you're stuck on 4.4.4 or newer.
In short, it's been a great bang for the buck, but it has its limitations. At $99, if you know and love XBMC then it's a worthwhile investment as a thin frontend box. It won't perform as well as an ION box or a custom rig, but it's also 1/3 of the cost.
2012-02-21, 06:01
maruchan Wrote:In short, it's been a great bang for the buck, but it has its limitations. At $99, if you know and love XBMC then it's a worthwhile investment as a thin frontend box. It won't perform as well as an ION box or a custom rig, but it's also 1/3 of the cost.
Thanks for your review of the Atv2, but my question is a bit more specific to Atv2 using the Broadcom Crystal HD hardware decoder. I read that it works well with the Atv1
2012-02-21, 06:50
I'm just looking for a cheap way to access my main htpc. It will be a wired connection. All my equipment is in the same room. I just have to tvs and speaker located in each room. The atv hdmi signal woo/ just be split to my other 2 rooms. Can you use the android remote app with the atv?
2012-02-21, 07:40
1QWK510 Wrote:I'm just looking for a cheap way to access my main htpc. It will be a wired connection. All my equipment is in the same room. I just have to tvs and speaker located in each room. The atv hdmi signal woo/ just be split to my other 2 rooms. Can you use the android remote app with the atv?
off topic, take it elsewhere please
2012-02-21, 07:41
CpTHOOK Wrote:Thanks for your review of the Atv2, but my question is a bit more specific to Atv2 using the Broadcom Crystal HD hardware decoder. I read that it works well with the Atv1
CHD card wont go into ATV2, you cant add anything into it.
2012-02-21, 23:34
I've got a similar question regarding the ATV2.
At the moment I'm only using XBMC in my bedroom on a HP Mini 5101 netbook w/ Crystal HD card running Dharma.
The netbook is a few years old now (Atom 1.7Ghz), and I was just wondering if it would be worth it to swap this out for an ATV2 or will this setup outperform it?
Main concern is the netbook is quite loud, UI isn't as snappy as it would be on newer hardware, but will it still be better than the ATV2?
At the moment I'm only using XBMC in my bedroom on a HP Mini 5101 netbook w/ Crystal HD card running Dharma.
The netbook is a few years old now (Atom 1.7Ghz), and I was just wondering if it would be worth it to swap this out for an ATV2 or will this setup outperform it?
Main concern is the netbook is quite loud, UI isn't as snappy as it would be on newer hardware, but will it still be better than the ATV2?
