Anyone running Boxee/XBMC on their Apple TV?

[Matt34]

Not sure exactly what Boxee is all about but have XBMC on my Apple TV is very intriguing. Anyone have first hand experience with this setup?

http://hd.engadget.com/2008/10/01/boxee-xbmc-now-available-on-apple-tv/

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Sorry if I'm trolling a bit here, but from what I heard besides the fact Boxee makes Apple TV actually useful, there is an 800lbs gorilla in the room - Apple TV's processor is too weak to handle HD video, otherwise its same as desktop/boxee box platform. Boxee is very promising application, unfortunately still has some rough corners and intended limitations (like Lack of BD playback in any shape or form (MKV is fine thou).

ps: I also belive since engadget wrote this article Boxee Beta has become available for all platforms including Apple TV

 

[Matt34]

Sorry if I'm trolling a bit here, but from what I heard besides the fact Boxee makes Apple TV actually useful, there is an 800lbs gorilla in the room - Apple TV's processor is too weak to handle HD video,

I won't argue with you on that point. I may just be better off looking at something like your $300 HTPC option. I like the ease of use I get with the Apple TV but it does have multiple hardware/software limitations.

 

[krzywica]

I won't argue with you on that point. I may just be better off looking at something like your $300 HTPC option. I like the ease of use I get with the Apple TV but it does have multiple hardware/software limitations.

There are quite a few options coming down the pipe this year.....

Boxee Box

Popbox

PCH A-200

An Atom box like Bored suggested

And I hear they are coming out with some sort of new Apple TV device that will be much more powerful.

 

[Matt34]

Boxee box looks cool, so do the others.


In addition to those what about the WD live Media Player?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Network-ready-Player-WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN/dp/B002KKFP9Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264450957&sr=8-4

 

[krzywica]

Boxee box looks cool, so do the others.


In addition to those what about the WD live Media Player?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Network-ready-Player-WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN/dp/B002KKFP9Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264450957&sr=8-4

They are great units but to my knowledge do not support HD audio. That would be a major feature loss for me.

 

[chris357]

I have an Apple TV and so far i love it. I'm a pretty simple user though so I'm not into breaking it open and hacking the software or anything.

So far I use it as a music server which it does perfectly and Ihave downloaded a TV show or 2 .. which it did amazing. as a comparison I was at a freinds house and we were trying to watch Sons of Anarchy which is a great show.. we tried to download another episode on my friends Xbox.. it was a a serious POA and it took over an hour to download and we could not watch it while downloading without having to wait for it to buffer.

we did the same thing on the apple TV at my house the next week and it was ready to watch in a matter of seconds..

i dont know if it was the highest resolution but it was pretty good. and it was ready to watch and easy to download.

which is all it needs to be for alot of people

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

You can also go with XBMC on linux (no sure if XBMC for windows supports video hardware acceleration yet..)
According their wiki they DO support Blue-Ray/HD-DVD formats (granted no-DRM)
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=XBMC_Features_and_Supported_Formats/Codecs
Point to note is XBMC uses OpenGL in both Linux and Windows, where Boxee for windows switched to windows native DxVA.

ATI based cards and OpenGL don't really like each other ;-)

 

[krzywica]

You can also go with XBMC on linux (no sure if XBMC for windows supports video hardware acceleration yet..)
According their wiki they DO support Blue-Ray/HD-DVD formats (granted no-DRM)
http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=XBMC_Features_and_Supported_Formats/Codecs
Point to note is XBMC uses OpenGL in both Linux and Windows, where Boxee for windows switched to windows native DxVA.

ATI based cards and OpenGL don't really like each other ;-)

I think XMBC supports DXVA in Windows if the hardware supports it. IE ATI 2XXX and up or Nvidia 8XXX and up. However I think only VC1 is supported by Nvidia and not X264.....could be the other way round though I can't remember.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think XMBC supports DXVA in Windows if the hardware supports it. IE ATI 2XXX and up or Nvidia 8XXX and up. However I think only VC1 is supported by Nvidia and not X264.....could be the other way round though I can't remember.

Hmm, looks like you are right, at least partially. XBMC windows build DOES use DirectX (looks like it was changes since I checked it last time)

BUT

at least from 20mins gathering info on xbmc site, the support for DirectX is only limited to the way the present content on display. DxVA is whole different story and unless im wrong - it looks like xmbc still dont support it officially.

From their latest build release notes:

Windows-Specific:
Changed from Open GL to DirectX for GUI and video rendering.

and here:

Live-Specific:
NVIDIA drivers: 190.53 (VDPAU included on supported GPUs)

as you know, VDPAU is nvidia closed which enabled gpu assisted video decoding on linux...

 

[64met]

I recently purchased an APTV with XBMC pre-installed.... So far; its pretty good. However; I will say I am not the most techy person in the world and if you get stumped trying to figure stuff out... it can be a bit confusing. The XBMC forum IMHO is nothing like Audioholics... here people try to help. Over there; not so much. I am just scratching the surface on what XBMC can do.
Additionally; Boxee looks cool and Couch Surfer (both pre loaded as well). Hope this helps

 

[krzywica]

I recently purchased an APTV with XBMC pre-installed.... So far; its pretty good. However; I will say I am not the most techy person in the world and if you get stumped trying to figure stuff out... it can be a bit confusing. The XBMC forum IMHO is nothing like Audioholics... here people try to help. Over there; not so much. I am just scratching the surface on what XBMC can do.
Additionally; Boxee looks cool and Couch Surfer (both pre loaded as well). Hope this helps

You will find this to be the case on any Linux forum as our/their tolerance for windows users "what button do I push" becomes a little old after the millionth time.....




But if you have any questions we are here to help!