XBOX vs Apple TV
#1
Hey guys I have an apple tv and love XBMC but sometimes the menus are a little laggy and cycling through my media is a little laggy on some art intensive modes like showcase etc...

I was wondering if an XBOX would perform better than an Apple TV since technically it has a better video card and faster processor...? What do you guys think?
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#2
video card has no say in things right now, as XBMC and FFMPEG are not hardware accelerated yet, so only CPU would matter.
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#3
Actually I was thinking about doing the opposite. Dropping my xbox in favor of an apple tv, because I was hoping the performance of the apple tv would be better. Is it not?
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#4
I think someone else on here was saying that ATV can play 720 content, but is nowhere near powerful enough to do 1080x content.
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#5
Evanrich Wrote:I think someone else on here was saying that ATV can play 720 content, but is nowhere near powerful enough to do 1080x content.

And that would be what kind of content? Blu Ray? I don't think I'll be using that for a while and if so, wouldn't a standalone player be a better solution for that anyway? This is a serious question. I'm using XBMC primarily as a juke box for music and music videos.
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#6
Its 6-7 years newer but not 6-7 years more powerfull... 1Ghz Pentium M classed CPU which is actually based round a PIII iirc... better architecture over all of course its newer but I wouldn't expect leaps and bounds away from your Bill Box. it does do 720p native but as you say not in 1080 league... but its marginally more powerfull than the Xbox... not sure why your getting lagging...

Loadsa stuff on here about it... and plenty of hacks and cracks bigger HDD etc on the web.
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#7
I have been using the xbox and xbmc forever. I just bought a ATV. Still xmbc runs smoother on the xbox but this is getting much better with the recent atv releases. What I do miss on the ATV is the that the large collectioin of scripts and plugins which run perfectly optimised for the xbox have trouble on the ATV similar to playing streams which seem not to work on Atv. These exstensions of xmbc are highly valued and make revert back to the xbox while keeping Atv for testing. Indeed if hidef video is your thing the xbox is becoming old. I do hope that in the future the Atv will keep it fast developement pace.
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#8
DarkHelmet Wrote:And that would be what kind of content? Blu Ray? I don't think I'll be using that for a while and if so, wouldn't a standalone player be a better solution for that anyway? This is a serious question. I'm using XBMC primarily as a juke box for music and music videos.

I've tried XBMC on XBOX, Atv, WIndows, Linux, and XBMCLive... so I think I can give an informed opinion.

For the moment XBMC for XBOX is the best supported platform as it was the origin of everything... as some of you mentioned More plugins, smoother working skins, etc.

ATV is in it's first versions. They just took the xbox version and managed to make it "compile" in Apple environment (in fact they took the linux port that was compliled modified from the xbox version). So it is understandable that it still lacks all the experience and work of the xbox version.

It is true that XBOX cannot play 720 or 1080 content (for your info darkhelmet this is not only blueray, but many series in 720p formats can be seen right now, and it's just awsome to see heroes or house with that definition)

I tested ATV just to check how well could it perfrom with 720 content. and in was frustrating. I took the thing back. Videos could play (not like in XBOX that it just can't handle them) but with lots of lost frames when there is some action.

So, for the moment I will say don't invest. wait a little longer. It is true that the hardware of the ATV is better enogh (HDMI output, no noise, small, beautifull, you can switch on from the remote without any modification... everything with the exception of the remote that sucks) but they have to improve XBMC to keep the bar of XBMC.


I'm sure that the future of the platform will be Linux... I'm using a 3 years old laptop with xbmclive installed in its hard drive and it works like a charm... with the exception of the lack of plugins... And I'm sure too that ATV will be a great option for those that like thinks simple and beautifull...

give it some time... not much.

Hope I helped clear some minds.
Always read the XBMC Online Manual,Frequently Asked Questions and search the forum before posting.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting use -> Log file.

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#9
jurrabi Wrote:So, for the moment I will say don't invest. wait a little longer. It is true that the hardware of the ATV is better enogh (HDMI output, no noise, small, beautifull, you can switch on from the remote without any modification... everything with the exception of the remote that sucks) but they have to improve XBMC to keep the bar of XBMC.


I'm sure that the future of the platform will be Linux... I'm using a 3 years old laptop with xbmclive installed in its hard drive and it works like a charm... with the exception of the lack of plugins... And I'm sure too that ATV will be a great option for those that like thinks simple and beautifull...

Honestly, thanks for the explanation. The main reason for my thoughts about switching from xbox to another platform is just what you mentioned. It's noisy and it doesn't look too good. Actually my gf hates it and it's understandable, because it's standing in the living room. That's why I was thinking about the atv. It's beautiful, it's quiet and it's ready "out of the box" with no need for any hardware modification as I just don't have the time to build my own machine. Unfortunately there seems to be no "out of the box" hardware solution for XBMC yet, that looks beautiful (which unfortunately rules the old laptop out), has enough power and is quiet enough to be part of the living room environment.

What about a mini mac? Does anyone have any experience with that platform? Costs a bit more but sure looks neat.
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#10
HTPC - its the way forward.... run what you want on it then.. Windows, Linux and even OSX (sorry Mr jobbs! I indeed do have a Hackingtosh! lol)
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#11
Geeba Wrote:HTPC - its the way forward.... run what you want on it then.. Windows, Linux and even OSX (sorry Mr jobbs! I indeed do have a Hackingtosh! lol)

Ummm yeah, which one if you're not into building one on your own? It's not like there are too many options to choose from.
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#12
Geeba Wrote:HTPC - its the way forward.... run what you want on it then.. Windows, Linux and even OSX (sorry Mr jobbs! I indeed do have a Hackingtosh! lol)

I would say... it depends. Diferent people need diferent things... I've had PCs coming and going from my living room since... I really cannot remenber. I built some of them, configured each piece of software and hardware until xbmc appeared in my life... I've used it no stop for, at least 4 years... I would put anything that rocks...

but others don't think the same. I think your gf will love Atv... for the moment you will have nearly the same experience as with your XBOX And XBMC will get better...
Always read the XBMC Online Manual,Frequently Asked Questions and search the forum before posting.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting use -> Log file.

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#13
DarkHelmet Wrote:Ummm yeah, which one if you're not into building one on your own? It's not like there are too many options to choose from.

Build one.... its simple... did you have stickle bricks or lego as a kid? PCs are the same! bits will only go in the slot or socket they're intended to go in.... then boot an OS disk and click yes or no.... Big Grin
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#14
Geeba Wrote:Build one.... its simple... did you have stickle bricks or lego as a kid? PCs are the same! bits will only go in the slot or socket they're intended to go in.... then boot an OS disk and click yes or no.... Big Grin

You know, until some years ago when I was in school or university I would have happily said "yeah, bring it on" but now with a job that involves a lot of travelling and living with your gf time very much becomes the limiting ressource. I would like to spend the little spare time that I have enjoying my media center rather than building it.

I've never built a pc before and if there's one thing I've learnt about computers it's that if someone tells you it's easy, it just never really is. I can see myself reading forums and instructions for days, maybe weeks if I started building my own machine. While I would have very much enjoyed all of this some years ago, it is now no longer an option. There's a price tag named time attached to leaving university. And look around the forums here. There are like a zillion different answers for hardware questions when it comes to building your own machine.

That's why I'm looking for an out of the box and neat looking solution, which isn't easy to find, if at all.

Right now since atv wouldn't be really be a step forward performance wise I'm considering the mac mini. Are there any users around here to share their experiences?
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#15
Think your looking at limited 1080 support on the mini too.... not sure if theres any new models out but the older ones wont support full HD.

Rule of thumb is 3Ghz Core 2 Duo for full HD... pretty sure minis are around the 1.8ghz mark.
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