I've been browsing this forum and a few others for a little while now reading about devices like the Apple TV and I'm having some trouble deciding which one would be best for me. If anyone here could help me in my decision it would be greatly appreciated.
I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Apple TV (first gen) or the WD TV. I've chosen these two because they both have the ability to play my files from an external HD. I currently have a PS3 and am using it to play most of the movies I have saved to my computer. I've been transferring them to a thumb drive and playing them that way. The issue with this is that the PS3 can only read hard drives in the FAT32 format which has a 4GB limit. I've been using streaming programs like TVersity and PS3 Media Server to play larger files, but I'm not satisfied with the playback. I much prefer the connivence of local playback. So, I'm looking for something that l can hook a HD up to and play movies of any size and, preferably, any format.
I'm currently leaning towards purchasing a used first gen Apple TV and jailbreaking it. As I understand it this will allow me to put most file types on its local HD or hook my own up to it and play them that way. I can also install a Broadcom Crystal HD card as well and play 1080P videos. I was leaning towards this over the WD TV because I thought the user interface looked a little nicer and seemed to operate smoother from what I'd read. It's certainly a lot more work, but I was thinking it would be worth it. Has anyone tried both these devices and can give me some opinions on the pros and cons of each? Which would be better to accomplish what I've described? Is there another device I should be looking into?
I've also looked a little bit at the LaCie LaCinema, but there isn't a ton of information available on them and the $200 price tag has me shying away. For 2TB of storage I think it's a fair price, but it might be cumbersome to upload files to it and that's a considerably larger amount of storage than I realistically need.
Any advice would really be appreciated. I've been weighing my choices for about a month or so and have almost fully committed to the ATV, but thought I should get some opinions first.
Thanks
I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Apple TV (first gen) or the WD TV. I've chosen these two because they both have the ability to play my files from an external HD. I currently have a PS3 and am using it to play most of the movies I have saved to my computer. I've been transferring them to a thumb drive and playing them that way. The issue with this is that the PS3 can only read hard drives in the FAT32 format which has a 4GB limit. I've been using streaming programs like TVersity and PS3 Media Server to play larger files, but I'm not satisfied with the playback. I much prefer the connivence of local playback. So, I'm looking for something that l can hook a HD up to and play movies of any size and, preferably, any format.
I'm currently leaning towards purchasing a used first gen Apple TV and jailbreaking it. As I understand it this will allow me to put most file types on its local HD or hook my own up to it and play them that way. I can also install a Broadcom Crystal HD card as well and play 1080P videos. I was leaning towards this over the WD TV because I thought the user interface looked a little nicer and seemed to operate smoother from what I'd read. It's certainly a lot more work, but I was thinking it would be worth it. Has anyone tried both these devices and can give me some opinions on the pros and cons of each? Which would be better to accomplish what I've described? Is there another device I should be looking into?
I've also looked a little bit at the LaCie LaCinema, but there isn't a ton of information available on them and the $200 price tag has me shying away. For 2TB of storage I think it's a fair price, but it might be cumbersome to upload files to it and that's a considerably larger amount of storage than I realistically need.
Any advice would really be appreciated. I've been weighing my choices for about a month or so and have almost fully committed to the ATV, but thought I should get some opinions first.
Thanks
