Apple TV - getting duped by fake jailbreak announcements since 2010

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Apple TV - getting duped by fake jailbreak announcements since 2010

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Thwomp: Apr 10, 2003; BA-DUHHH; Grimey Drawer

EC posted:

Watched tags, Set grouping, can sync libraries across multiple devices, much more detailed meta data, more flexibility when it comes to artwork and metadata sources, more choices in skins....I could go on and on. ATV is great if you're 100% invested in the ecosystem, but don't act like XBMC isn't a superior media center in almost every other way*.

_{*except Netflix}

I've always found that XBMC suffers/benefits from too much customization/options (much like Android does). Although both have gotten better of late.

If you want to spend a while tweaking it to look awesome and display information out to wazoo to impress people, go for it.

Do you want it to present everything a bit more simply and spend less time setting stuff up? Apple TV's UI does just fine. it also helps that it's so simple I don't have to worry about explaining how it works to anyone else.

I'll also vote that I enjoyed the aTV Flash Media UI more precisely because it aped Apple's conventions.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 19:10

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 18:54

echobucket: Aug 19, 2004

EC posted:

Watched tags, Set grouping, can sync libraries across multiple devices, much more detailed meta data, more flexibility when it comes to artwork and metadata sources, more choices in skins....I could go on and on. ATV is great if you're 100% invested in the ecosystem, but don't act like XBMC isn't a superior media center in almost every other way*.

*except Netflix

I am using the iOS ecosystem so I don't need XBMC. I don't know what "watched tags" or "set grouping" are. And I use iVI which adds metadata to my m4v files DIRECTLY, and I can customize if I want (but it does a great job in automatic mode).

So don't pretend that the default experience can't be great.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 19:31

EC: Jul 10, 2001; The Legend

Thwomp posted:

I've always found that XBMC suffers/benefits from too much customization/options (much like Android does). Although both have gotten better of late.

If you want to spend a while tweaking it to look awesome and display information out to wazoo to impress people, go for it.

Do you want it to present everything a bit more simply and spend less time setting stuff up? Apple TV's UI does just fine. it also helps that it's so simple I don't have to worry about explaining how it works to anyone else.

I'll also vote that I enjoyed the aTV Flash Media UI more precisely because it aped Apple's conventions.

I'd argue that XBMC is way, way easier than it used to be nowadays. Set content, let it scan, and it'll do it's thing. You almost never have to edit an XML file! :v:

echobucket posted:

I am using the iOS ecosystem so I don't need XBMC. I don't know what "watched tags" or "set grouping" are. And I use iVI which adds metadata to my m4v files DIRECTLY, and I can customize if I want (but it does a great job in automatic mode).

So don't pretend that the default experience can't be great.

The default ATV interface is great, I just happen to find XBMC much better for my needs.

Watched tags let you know what you've watched and what you haven't, making it easier to find your place in a TV series. Set grouping is the ability to group a set of movies together under one item in your library. So instead of scrolling through 20 Friday the 13th movies, there's just one menu item.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:11

Diabolik900: Mar 28, 2007

EC posted:

Watched tags let you know what you've watched and what you haven't, making it easier to find your place in a TV series.

Not trying to talk you out of your setup (if it works for your needs, that's great) but the default Apple TV software does differentiate between watched, unwatched, and partially watched episodes.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:37

echobucket: Aug 19, 2004

EC posted:

I'd argue that XBMC is way, way easier than it used to be nowadays. Set content, let it scan, and it'll do it's thing. You almost never have to edit an XML file!

The default ATV interface is great, I just happen to find XBMC much better for my needs.

Watched tags let you know what you've watched and what you haven't, making it easier to find your place in a TV series. Set grouping is the ability to group a set of movies together under one item in your library. So instead of scrolling through 20 Friday the 13th movies, there's just one menu item.

Okay, just so everyone knows, iTunes keeps track of what files you've watched as well. There's even "unwatched" sections in the Library view on the Apple TV.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:47

randyest: Sep 1, 2004; by R. Guyovich

EC posted:

I'd argue that XBMC is way, way easier than it used to be nowadays. Set content, let it scan, and it'll do it's thing. You almost never have to edit an XML file!

That "almost" is what I don't like. Should be "never."

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:50

Diabolik900: Mar 28, 2007

randyest posted:

That "almost" is what I don't like. Should be "never."

I would've said something about that, but I'm pretty sure the smiley shows that he realized this when he posted it.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:58

EC: Jul 10, 2001; The Legend

That was just a joke, 99.99% of users would never have to touch one.

And good to know iTunes has watched tags.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 20:58

einTier: Sep 25, 2003; Charming, friendly, and possessed by demons.
Approach with caution.

If AppleTV would support more codecs, it would be just fine for what I do.

However it doesn't, so it's off to XBMC for me.

It's shameful the low number of encodings that Apple software will read.

# ? Aug 7, 2012 21:14

MickRaider: Aug 27, 2004; Now I smell like lemonade!

einTier posted:

It's shameful the low number of encodings that Apple software will read.

You mean they want to encourage people to buy their media and give them the easiest possible method of doing so?

I wouldn't call it shameful so much as progressive. It's up to companies to combat piracy by providing the simplest of all methods for media consumption. By making it a standard codec than all media distributors can provide this as their norm making it very easy for the end user to deal with.

With that said I prefer plex after using XBMC on xbox's for years. After my last ATV jailbreak and trying XBMC I was underwhelmed with the integration. Plex is simple enough and I run a desktop server so it just makes sense.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 16:53

Legdiian: Jul 14, 2004

MickRaider posted:

You mean they want to encourage people to buy their media and give them the easiest possible method of doing so?

I wouldn't call it shameful so much as progressive. It's up to companies to combat piracy by providing the simplest of all methods for media consumption. By making it a standard codec than all media distributors can provide this as their norm making it very easy for the end user to deal with.

With that said I prefer plex after using XBMC on xbox's for years. After my last ATV jailbreak and trying XBMC I was underwhelmed with the integration. Plex is simple enough and I run a desktop server so it just makes sense.

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

# ? Aug 8, 2012 17:22

Dr. Video Games 0050: Nov 28, 2007

Legdiian posted:

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

In my opinion, buy it digitally instead. Or use an antiquated method (DVD player) which your toaster can do.

Disc media blows. We had it with tapes, then laser discs, then DVD's, BR's will be next, etc.

At least if you get it digitally it'll still work when the new hotness comes around.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 17:27

Diabolik900: Mar 28, 2007

Legdiian posted:

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

There is none, unless it comes with a digital copy.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 17:36

Parlett316: Dec 6, 2002; Jon Snow is viciously stabbed by his friends in the night's watch for wanting to rescue Mance Rayder from Ramsay Bolton

Whenever a new format comes out all I hear is Tommy Lee Jones:

"Guess I'll have to buy the White Album again"

# ? Aug 8, 2012 17:39

ZShakespeare: Jul 20, 2003; The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!

Legdiian posted:

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

Buy it again from iTunes you silly goose. DVDs are only meant to be played in a DVD player and breaking the encryption to view it elsewhere is against the law in most countries. That's got nothing to do with Apple and everything to do with the copyright holder.

e: I'm relatively new to the ecosystem, isn't there a way for iTunes to rip a music CD to your library? I'm sure if it weren't for the encryption problem there would be a similar mechanism for DVDs, but there's an obvious legal liability there.

ZShakespeare fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Aug 8, 2012

# ? Aug 8, 2012 17:59

Diabolik900: Mar 28, 2007

ZShakespeare posted:

e: I'm relatively new to the ecosystem, isn't there a way for iTunes to rip a music CD to your library?

Yep, and it's a shame that it's not the same for movies. I'm not a lawyer, but common sense tells me that it's really the same thing.

Edit: And to clarify, I know that it's not the same legally, but I don't really understand why.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 18:13

Thwomp: Apr 10, 2003; BA-DUHHH; Grimey Drawer

ZShakespeare posted:

I'm relatively new to the ecosystem, isn't there a way for iTunes to rip a music CD to your library? I'm sure if it weren't for the encryption problem there would be a similar mechanism for DVDs, but there's an obvious legal liability there.

Yes, iTunes can rip CDs for you into a few different formats.

I want to say music companies relented at some previous point in the early 2000s and allowed CD ripping (since anyone who wanted to pretty much could at that point).

DVDs are not allowed to be ripped because the film industry is nowhere near that point yet (and probably never will be).

At least they offer their films digitally in iTunes (a testament to the reach of Apple's marketplace). Otherwise we'd probably be stuck with the god-awful Ultraviolet or something worse.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 18:27

ZShakespeare: Jul 20, 2003; The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!

The media companies took a look at how easy it was to copy and redistribute a CD and decided that they didn't want that for their video media. They devised a DVD encryption scheme that was broken and rendered ineffectual in the first week of encrypted DVD media becoming available. So, while it did nothing to stop piracy, it ran afoul of digital copyright law which prohibits the circumvention of digital locks. That's why we, as legitimate consumers, can't have a built in method for ripping DVD content and have to jump through hoops every time a new technology is released.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 18:31

Legdiian: Jul 14, 2004

Thwomp posted:

DVDs are not allowed to be ripped because the film industry is nowhere near that point yet (and probably never will be).

Kaleidescape sells media servers that rip DVDs. They were sued and won.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 18:34

DR FRASIER KRANG: Feb 4, 2005; "Are you forgetting that just this afternoon I was punched in the face by a turtle now dead?

Legdiian posted:

Kaleidescape sells media servers that rip DVDs. They were sued and won.

On the flipside: RealDVD

# ? Aug 8, 2012 19:04

FCKGW: May 21, 2006

Ripping a DVD is perfectly legal. It falls under fair use. What isn't legal is circumventing any type of copy protection due to the DMCA.

So if you have a DVD with no copy protection, you can rip that DVD into any format you want for personal use and have no issues whatsoever but if it has an encryption on it then Copy Protection policies supersede fair-use rights.

If audio cds had copy protection on them as well, it would also be illegal to rip them but it's a case of too-little, too-late at this point.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 19:20

HolySwissCheese: Mar 26, 2005

Legdiian posted:

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

Rip it using Handbreak.

Apple doesn't care how/if you get content into your iTunes library, except in as much as they aren't tripping over themselves to help you find other sources than the iTunes store.

# ? Aug 8, 2012 20:00

MickRaider: Aug 27, 2004; Now I smell like lemonade!

Legdiian posted:

This may be a dumb question, but if I go to Walmart and buy a DVD out of the $5 bin, what is the official "Apple way" to get that media on my Apple TV?

Instead of driving to Walmart why not just buy it or rent it right from your appletv in high definition. I know there's a lot of materialism that comes with owning something tangible but honestly if I can just own the rights to cloud digital viewing I prefer that

# ? Aug 9, 2012 02:27

smackfu: Jun 7, 2004

Of course the digital copies don't have any of the extras that people expect from a DVD. Kind of sad.

# ? Aug 9, 2012 03:28

ZShakespeare: Jul 20, 2003; The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!

smackfu posted:

Of course the digital copies don't have any of the extras that people expect from a DVD. Kind of sad.

Sure they do.

# ? Aug 9, 2012 05:47

Jqim: Mar 8, 2012

Can anyone explain what is going on here?

http://freemovies170.weebly.com/

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APPLE-TV-...#ht_1753wt_1139

# ? Aug 9, 2012 07:47

Diabolik900: Mar 28, 2007

Jqim posted:

Can anyone explain what is going on here?

Looks like someone is selling an Apple TV while also promoting their YouTube channel full of pirated movies.

# ? Aug 9, 2012 12:20

smackfu: Jun 7, 2004

ZShakespeare posted:

Sure they do.

Really? Maybe you are talking about something different than me. I'm thinking of stuff like commentary, making of videos, gag reels. I've never seen that on an online vid, just the bare video and maybe subtitles.

# ? Aug 9, 2012 22:27

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

There's iTunes Extras or whatever, but I don't know if they're playable on Apple TV, or if any of the "digital copy" codes that come with movies include those.

# ? Aug 9, 2012 22:34

ZShakespeare: Jul 20, 2003; The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!

smackfu posted:

Really? Maybe you are talking about something different than me. I'm thinking of stuff like commentary, making of videos, gag reels. I've never seen that on an online vid, just the bare video and maybe subtitles.

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/tv-season/game-of-thrones-season-1/id482730236

Look towards the bottom of the list. Some of it is even free.

# ? Aug 10, 2012 04:33

smackfu: Jun 7, 2004

In other news, wow, if you have a spare Apple TV 2 that you aren't jailbreaking, now is the time to sell. I got $150 for mine in about 10 minutes on eBay. (So my price was probably too low.)

# ? Aug 10, 2012 16:36

DR FRASIER KRANG: Feb 4, 2005; "Are you forgetting that just this afternoon I was punched in the face by a turtle now dead?

smackfu posted:

In other news, wow, if you have a spare Apple TV 2 that you aren't jailbreaking, now is the time to sell. I got $150 for mine in about 10 minutes on eBay. (So my price was probably too low.)

I found one for $50 at a garage sale last year, then stupidly gave it to my brother-in-law

# ? Aug 10, 2012 17:47

echobucket: Aug 19, 2004

smackfu posted:

In other news, wow, if you have a spare Apple TV 2 that you aren't jailbreaking, now is the time to sell. I got $150 for mine in about 10 minutes on eBay. (So my price was probably too low.)

Mine just sold for $157.50. I was kinda hoping for me, but hey, I made $50.

# ? Aug 10, 2012 19:32

THE AWESOME GHOST: Oct 21, 2005

Yeah if you're not jailbreaking your ATV2 sell it now for more than you bought it for.

# ? Aug 11, 2012 00:28

porktree: Mar 23, 2002; You just fucked with the wrong Mexican.

smackfu posted:

In other news, wow, if you have a spare Apple TV 2 that you aren't jailbreaking, now is the time to sell. I got $150 for mine in about 10 minutes on eBay. (So my price was probably too low.)

I put mine up for sale here - better to get goon money than deal with the ebay cess-pool, but if it doesn't get me any offers I'll go that route later this week. I've got 2 of them, and really only need one.

# ? Aug 13, 2012 19:40

LaserWash: Jun 28, 2006

I've got my gen 2 for sale on sa mart. Don't really use the fact that it is jailbroken, so I may as well cash in too.

# ? Aug 13, 2012 22:08

choobs: Mar 25, 2004; Never bring a duck to a cock fight.

This is probably a dumb question, but I can use my ATV2's power cable to power an ATV3, right? It'd be a pain to have to haul my TV stand out to swap them.

# ? Aug 21, 2012 00:14

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

Don't see why not, it's a standard power cable without any smarts inside. If you have any others around with the same connector that should work too.

# ? Aug 21, 2012 01:25

Tapedump: Aug 31, 2007; College Slice

Yeah, any old IEC 60320 C8 cord will do. Just make sure it's non-polarized (your ATV's aren't, don't worry)

# ? Aug 21, 2012 02:15

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 18:54

choobs: Mar 25, 2004; Never bring a duck to a cock fight.

Thanks guys.

# ? Aug 21, 2012 03:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Apple TV - getting duped by fake jailbreak announcements since 2010

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