If the quality of the Hulu Plus streams are of any indication of the quality of Netflix stream on VPN, it's gonna be terrible. For locally stored content in NAS, or storage devices streamed via iTunes locally, that would be acceptable. Been doing that since my Wireless VOD system came online 2 years ago.

Bro string, I thought Hulu Plus got HD? is it because of the internet connection?

I think for itunes rental AppleTV will download the movie first and que when it's ready to play.

The upcoming features, stream from ipad/iphone, is also neat.

But on 2nd thought, in Malaysia there are a lot of cheap media player that can do most of what AppleTV can.

Download the movie first? Download to where? Last I checked, they've dropped storage altogether.

AS for Netflix and Hulu Plus, it's streaming only. "Download to local cache and then play" is probably only supported for content rented via iTunes only, which is why devices like the Roku/Roku HD are as small as the new Apple TV, they forgo storage for streaming altogether. Just like the iPad's Hulu Plus or ABC Player streaming, none of those clips are actually residing on the storage space of the iPad.

With that in mind, and with the current crappiness of the line here, why even bother thinking of the AppleTV?

The new AppleTV won't work (nicely) here unless you paid for premium ISP service.

Just had some good laugh with some buddies online. If we were to get it, our blood pressure will definitely gone up in no time... (you can imagine why... so call hi-speed bb)...

Lastnight broadcast stream is an indication how the service going to be... I get shuttering frames, blank screen now and then. And I've stop all other online service just to watch that.

This post has been edited by wei: Sep 2 2010, 10:28 AM

told you to move out of that jungle!!

seriously though... with regards to premium ISP service, its gonna be based on selected area and god knows what or how the service is gonna turn up later. I honestly believe that Malaysia is not even fully ready for SD quality streaming yet. I think this will be streaming based on this in the tech spec section.



Also I think that current WiFi tech 'n' is really that fantastic at streaming Full HD movies Not too sure about 720p though but I guess since Apple TV is only 720p, my guess is that it should be alright.

I personally think that what Apple TV is, it's a newbie media player. My uncle who think he's tech savvy has one and he swears that its good. For the moment, I beg to differ.

Are we talking about Unifi because you guys keep mentioning Premium ISP and considering TMNet as premium isp might offend somebody

I was thinking pairing Apple TV and Unifi+VPN. Anyone had any experience with Unifi+VPN with streaming device?

I chose Apple TV because of the interface and because I've invested much on the content purchase based on formats playable on the Apple TV. Newbies or not, my dilligent metadata tagging of my content (approaching 2.1TB) has it looking like it's comparable to expensive VOD systems from Kaleidescape without coughing up the expense.

Watch by rating? Check! Watch by director/actor/genre? Check! Filter by those criterias? Check! Beautiful interface, you betcha!

For those who download to watch only, without bothering on making it look nice as part of their extensive media collection and its presentation, then by all means, go ahead with your run-of-the-mill multitude of other media players available out there. I personally cant stand my videos presented by titles shown as part of their torrent file name such as "Rubicon.S01E06.Look.to.the.Ant.HDTV.XviD-FQM.[VTV].avi", with TV show cover and metadata missing. I've striving for professional-looking delivery system here, watchable on the HDTV with sound system, not some two bit chapalang monitor with 2.1 cap ayam speakers.

If there are any other media players with comparable UI and ease of use experience(in terms of navigation, content delivery, etc) as the Apple TV, please show them to me.

String.. New Mac Mini with Plex.. quite nice wor (didn't quite like the Mac Mini's built-in app, Front Row) but!!! of course you got the hassle of renaming files and downloading high res cover

Anyway... back to topic.. I'm kinda disappointed that the new Apple TV still lacks HD audio! Also, I'm quite surprised to read this...



HD movies but not all have DD5.1 sound!?

Hope to get some info from you guys who have a proper AVR system where your HDMI input would be from the Apple TV and HDMI out to TV for video feed, if the handshake is ok or not

I'm with string on the interface. I bought Asus Oplay earlier this year thinking that watching movies and tv series without turning on the computer(which double as htpc) would a bless.

I was wrong. Asus interface is not smooth on its transition and there is a slight delay for each press of a button on the remote. You can't rename the files, and video preview sometimes take 2-10 second to load. At last, I sold it to my brother and back to desktop with XBMC, which is much better in term of interface. Even windows 7 interface is much more fulfilling to navigate.

99$ for fluid, apple like interface is pretty awesome. I already use a netbook as my download box and it's on 24/7, so no problem loading up itunes all the time.

It was a decision, which at the time I made it, did not include Plex. At the time my post about the VOD system building, Plex was either in its infancy or wasnt mature enough to serve as a viable user interface for my media collection. Two criterias went through my mind at that time, enjoyable user interface and future-proofing by means of regular updates. Plex may had covered the former criteria but at that time, future-proofing was a question mark.

The handshaking works fine with my setup. The Apple TV had stayed constantly on HDMI 2 on my TV and audio is fed via optical/Toslink to the AVR.

Yea.. if you're gonna use a Media Player, you need a PC to make things smooth. I have a Mede8er (with 1GB.. gonna change it to 2Gb soon) and I quite like it's interface. Used to un-hook and hook to my PC or share/edit/copy/delete files via NAS but after I got my Mac Mini.. things got smoother.

Didn't really try the Asus Oplay so I can't comment much but I think most of those in the Home Entertainment section would recommend better media players.

For me, the Mac Mini is almost perfect (except for the Optical output found on AppleTV and not on the Mac Mini) though both has no support for HD audio. It also saved me hundreds of Ringgit worth of electricity each month (previously my gaming PC was turned on 24/7, now my Mac Mini is turned on 24/7).

i think i get this apple tv to stream music better than airport express

How about country of launch? When I wrote the first post I'm not so sure about its 'un'availability in Malaysia. Will SG get it?

Hi Stringfellow,
If you had the chance to rechoose your NAS today, Would you still select WD Sharespace?

I'm looking at a 4-bay upgrade to my current Synology DS209+II and im still deciding whether i should stick to NAS-Specialist companies like Synology,Qnap,Thecus,etc or get the tried and tested WD Sharespace.

I realised the introduction of multiple function such as itunes server, mail server, file server, etc complicate my selection but i need it primary for file server only. so too many irrelevant selections out there for me

WD sharespace has been around for quite some time and i was wondering whether it is still worth it at RM1800 (4Tb)

The purpose of my system is different from yours already. My system used to be the same as yours but i've dropped my aTVs since due to extensive idling in my house (Partly because i'm always on the move). I'm moving the HDDs out of my Mac Pro so i can shut it down when im away from home (Others at home need work related files, etc). Mac Pro is quite the hungry monster

I'd still get the WD Sharespace if the question is asked to me now, 2 years later. In fact I'm thinking of another WD ShareSpace purchase before this year end. I may be relegating the old Mac Mini to the living room, and getting the new Mac Mini for the brunt of the work. Old Mac Mini + old WD ShareSpace 4TB for the the current setup, and new Mac Mini + new WD Sharespace 8TB (if i can find it) for the future Blu-ray rips. then I can really store my BD collections away for good. I need to do this pronto before my BD collection gets bigger.

My synology is supposed to be top of the line when i bought it a year + back and that NAS do disappear at times, not quite sure why. It annoy me to a certain extent so im actually look at WD sharespace. Just not sure whether its worth it or not due to the model's age.

I think C-Zone still carry them...

Im looking at LY's C-Zone price of

WD Sharespace 4TB (Assume 4 x 1TB) RM1800
WD Sharespace 8TB (Assume 4 x 2TB) RM3800
4 x 2TB WD Green RM355 x 4 = RM1420

WD Sharespace 4TB + 4 x 2TB WD Green = RM3,220 (+ Spare 4 x 1TB WD Green) ??

The listed price may be wrong or did i overlooked something?

Looks correct. That price discrepancy may work in your favor.

I'll press my own panic button when the the available space left crosses the 300GB mark.

I am currently testing Unifi with VPN for Hulu and Netflix. Don't expect HD. With VPN, speeds drops to only 1.5 mbps. The issues seems to be with my VPN provider in US. Watching a movie through Netflix, you will get a couple of "netflix is adjusting a screen resolution because Netflix detected a drop in your connection speed" ARHHH

so I am now in the process of renting a US server, setting up a VPN PPTP connection to my mac and see how it goes...

my mac is hooked up to a drobo via esata..works well

cheers guys/gals

ps i am on vip20

Which VPN are u using currently?

I am using my own box. Box is in the US. Netflix and Hulu are a go...