When Apple TV 3.0 came out, we were unimpressed. Readers asked what else they could use to play their many videos. Here are five nice ones to suit different needs—nearly all cost less, and do more, than ATV.

The goal here is simple: Play all the videos that I have ripped from DVD, downloaded from the web, shot with my own cameras or obtained in some other manner, no matter what the format. It sounds simple, but Apple TV can’t do it. Neither can the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Video codecs and containers are a nightmare to keep track of, and even more of a nightmare to convert.

This isn’t about photos and music. Apple TV is better at both of those than any of this stuff. It’s also not about renting movies or buying movies, or even streaming movies from Netflix. Roku has a nice cheap box for that, and Apple TV is suitable if you just want to live inside Steve Jobs’ media store. This is about playing non-DRM movies, pure and simple.

The names might be familiar to you: The Popcorn Hour C-200 by Syabas is quickly gaining cult status (and has its own hacker wiki), while the other four smaller boxes come from brands you probably have experience with, including WD, Seagate, Netgear and Patriot. None have built-in wireless, but they all have Ethernet ports.

My two main tests were simple—I loaded PC and Mac formatted external hard drives with a variety of files ranging from H.264 MP4s to WMVs of several vintages, from raw AVCHD files in MTS wrappers to the hot new DivX 7 MKV. Then I browsed through my local network to a NAS that had a cache of similar files. Could I see them? Could I play them? These shouldn’t be issues, but they’re big issues.

Here’s a rundown of each machine, and how they fared in testing:

As you can see, there were clear leaders given my criteria above, but what struck me was how each one differed. Truth is, depending on who you are, any one of these might be the best fit. Here’s what really separates them:

WD TV Live – $150

I would have given this thing the solo spot at the top if it weren’t for a few dings that might very well be fixed in a firmware update: It won’t show you DVD menus on ripped DVD images, and when you play files with the suffix .m4v, it won’t fast forward or rewind. Weird bug, and can be fixed if you just change .m4v to .mp4, but since that’s the default file naming for Handbrake’s “Apple TV” profile, it could be a problem for people, like me, who spent months ripping their entire DVD collection that way.

WD’s strengths include a friendly user interface with handy video previews, some promising early online services (including Pandora), and the most reasonable photo and music handling I’ve seen in this cluster of gadgets.

Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ – $150

I loved this when I tested it a few weeks ago, despite its fugly interface, and it holds up under testing. It does better with ripped .ISO files than WD, doing both DVD menus and chapters (and it doesn’t have that weird .m4v bug either). Video was better, especially when running 1080p content. And when it came to browsing my Linksys NAS in search of movies, it could reach more and read more than the WD.

The tradeoff is that the interface is bad, and there’s almost nothing in the way of online services. It gets points for making an attempt at sorting music, and displaying photos, but if that’s a priority, WD is the better call.

Popcorn Hour C-200 – $300

Hardcore AV nerds love this thing, and I understand why. There are more ways to get at video content than in any other set-top box I’ve ever seen, and if you really know how to hack, there’s really not much it can’t do.

It’s a big ole thing—they call it a “network tank,” and despite remind me of the far cooler ones in Tron, I get it. It has an internal BitTorrent client and you can plug in a Blu-ray drive, for God’s sake. I found very few video formats that it wouldn’t support (FLV was one) but I had to take major points off because for being so big, it has a lame interface, and it comes with an RF remote that only worked when I stood within 3 feet. They even mention that there might be problems with interference, and that if people experience that, they can buy the IR remote. Great, thanks.

My only question—and, commenters, it’s not rhetorical—is why spend $300 on this (plus extra for the optional internal HDD and the IR remote) when you can just buy a home-theater PC?

Patriot Box Office – $130

This was the dark horse of the group, being a late entry by a company known only for computer memory. I was surprised at how well it held up. It actually could decode more tested formats than any other device in this lineup—it did Flash video (FLV), which the three above can’t render. Only the WD and the Patriot show you video previews, too. As small as it is, there’s a space for a 2.5″ SATA drive in there, and even a BitTorrent client. You can copy files to and from different drives and the network, and it’s the cheapest of the lot, at $130.

So why did it come in a distant 3rd? Unlike the three above, it can’t read Mac formatted hard drives, and its video quality was noticeably the worst of the batch. That said, if you are a hacker sort and want something to play with that doesn’t cost as much as Popcorn, set your sights on this.

Netgear Digital Entertainer Live

As you can probably tell by now, Netgear had the most disappointing box of the lineup, despite its Apple TV ripoff of a look and feel. Lack of Mac media support and the inability to read key file formats, like DivX 7 and AVCHD, meant it couldn’t pass muster with real video fanatics. Its biggest point of woe was the fact that it didn’t support any file over 720p in resolution—whether that’s a software thing or a hardware thing, it’s sure not future-proof, and probably best to stay away.

I also didn’t like the fact that its interface is laid out entirely for retail, like an Apple TV without the panache, or a Roku box that costs more and doesn’t do Netflix. Local files were not a priority, and despite the friendly interface, it doesn’t even make an attempt to differentiate photos and music. I did give it a gold star for online services, but only because it had the most in this group—if online services are what you love, buy a Roku, or a TiVo, or an Xbox, or a friggin’ Apple TV.

Still not sure what you’re looking for, check the spec comparisons here:

Apple on Thursday issued a software update for its Apple TV set-top box. The update includes a redesigned user interface and enables support for a new interactive artwork iTunes format, among other features.

With Apple TV 3.0, customers can watch iTunes LP, a format that bundles some iTunes albums with interactive elements such as videos, photos, sleeve notes and lyrics. Apple TV owners can also access iTunes Extras, a format that bundles extra content with some TV shows or movies purchased or rented through iTunes.

Apple TV 3.0 also added support for Genius Mixes, which automatically creates playlists generated from a user’s iTunes library. The update also introduces access to thousands of internet radio stations.

iTunes LP, iTunes Extra and Genius Mixes were all features that launched with iTunes 9 during Apple’s September iPod event.

Apple TV 3.0 is a free, automatic download for Apple TV customers.

Press Release [Apple]

See Also:

• Why Apple TV Must Evolve to Avoid Extinction
• What We Want in an Apple TV
• Apple TV Update Adds Remote Gesture Control
• 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Rules, 5 Reasons Why it Sucks
• Hack Apple TV With a Thumb Drive, Set It Free

Image courtesy of Apple

If there’s one Apple product that lives outside the Reality Distortion Field, it’s Apple TV. But hey wait, 3.0 is out, doesn’t that change everything? Well, considering Apple rolled it out on a Thursday afternoon with no fanfare, whattaya think?

1. New Home Screen and Tweaked UI

The old home screen had a grid of categories, including Movies, TV, Music, Settings, etc. Now the home screen is horizontal, with all of those same categories running across. Besides mere orientation, the major difference is subtle: Apple TV anticipates what files you’re going to want fastest, and puts them above the category in Cover Flow. Click the up arrow to get to the speed rack. The rest of the “new user interface” doesn’t seem very new at all. Buffed a bit, shinier in places, but honestly, it’s not full revision’s worth of new user experience.

2. Genius DJ Playlists

My wife is a huge fan of the Genius option, because she doesn’t want to spend an hour making a playlist, but she also doesn’t want any of my unexpectedly angsty rock messing up her Beth Orton-fueled revery. Apple TV finally gets what a lot of Apple products have had for a while. Yippee.

3. Movie Extras and LP Compatibility

If you are so devoted to Apple’s music and movie retail operation that you care about Extras and LP, visual portals that lead to the main content plus some token extra stuff, then you probably already are excited that Apple TV has this. As much as I am not into it myself, I do admit LP and Extras look much cooler on a TV than they do on a computer.

4. Improved Syncing

iTunes 9 means that, like the iPhone and iPod, there’s more refined sync features—you could select particular movies before, but now you can select individual artists, specific TV episodes and iPhoto events as well as albums. This is closer to full manual control, but it’s not full manual control.

5. Photos Still Require a Sync

I don’t quite understand this quirk of Apple TV: While music and movies I don’t sync to the local drive still appear as long as they’re in iTunes on my Mac, the photos that live on that same Mac are off limits unless I physically sync them. The alternative is to share them via MobileMe, but that’s not the same thing. This highlights an ongoing weirdness between iTunes and iPhoto that may never be resolved.

6. No DivX

“This file was not transferred because it is unable to be played on Apple TV.” Steve Jobs once said that only 4% of music on iPods came from iTunes. A lot of movies that would be nice to play on Apple TV simply don’t, while H.264 is an option on Handbrake and other personal-use DVD-encoding software, it’s not the only game in town.

7. Not NAS Friendly

Assuming I play by the rules and rip all of my personal DVD in H.264 format, I still have to leave them on my laptop, or transfer them to the Apple TV’s puny hard drive. Can I stick them on my 1TB NAS, or point the Apple TV to that same NAS to look for other compatible movies? Nope, I cannot.

8. USB Jack Still Unused

Speaking of terabytes, what the hell is that USB 2.0 drive for? It certainly isn’t for USB drives, because whenever I connect one, nothing happens. Laptop users don’t keep all their movies on their local drives, and many Apple TV drives are too damn small. I don’t honestly see how a USB slot could be used for anything evil, and yet three generations of ATV OS have passed without firing it up.

9. Hardware Sluggish and Hot

Even when doing nothing, the Apple TV is still remarkably warm to the touch—the 3.0 update doesn’t help that. What I did notice, though, was that the remote was sticky—I’d hear the little “bonk” when I’d push a button, but on many occasions, that was followed by a pause before the thing did anything. This led to several accidental double-taps. And that ain’t right.

10. No Netflix or Pandora

Or any other cool third-party services for that matter. YouTube is still there, along with MobileMe and Flickr. And I can understand the conflict of interest in embedding Amazon VOD or CinemaNow or Rhapsody or Napster. But why can’t we get some Netflix love? Or Pandora?

11. Too Much Emphasis on Spending Money

I have always felt that Apple TV’s insistence on paying for content was crass, given the fact that it is supposed to be the extension of your music and movies on your TV. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like that there’s a movie rental option on it (and it’s my understanding that many people who are drawn to Apple TV are excited because they don’t have as much media of their own). But on your computer, you make a deliberate choice to enter the iTunes Store. On Apple TV, you’re basically inside the store from the start.

12. Still Best for a 1:1 iTunes-to-TV Connection

I don’t use Apple TV regularly. I tried, I swear I did. But the shortcomings I mentioned above eventually drove me from it screaming. There are other simpler and cheaper devices that do what I want in a way that may not be as pretty, but is actually more functional. Returning to Apple TV now, though, I recognize something Brian and I were chatting about earlier: If all you want is your iTunes experience quickly replicated on a TV, it’s the perfect device.

As you can see, Apple TV 3.0 isn’t some miracle that will suddenly make Apple TV more relevant. It’s really a 2.5 if you think about what it does to improve functionality. We asked Apple for a briefing today, in hopes we’d get some idea of what makes this revision special, and no one was available to chat. Guess we’ll have to wait for 3.0.1.

Looks like Apple’s “hobby” is finally getting the iTunes Extra & LP features it was initially denied, as the Apple TV 3.0 software has just released, featuring a brand new main menu (above) plus Genius Mixes and internet radio access. It took a reboot and a few tries for units around here to start seeing the new software was available, so feel free to give that “check for updates” button a workout, ’til then the official PR is after the break describing what your box is missing.

Continue reading Apple TV 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius in tow

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Apple TV 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t pretend you didn’t see this one coming — just days after Amazon confirmed that a Kindle application was indeed coming soonish for the PC, a company spokesperson has now stated that a Mac version is also in the works. With the explosion of e-reader competition, it’s no shock to see Amazon branching out in an effort to spread the Kindle name (and business model) to more areas. To quote the aforesaid spokesperson: “Yes, we are working on a Kindle app for Mac.” Unfortunately, no further details were provided, but you can bet that Bezos wants this one out as soon as humanly possible.

[Via TUAW]

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Amazon spokesperson affirms that Kindle app for Mac is being ‘worked on’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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