[X4U] Old vs New Apple TV vs alternatives

[Conlon Brett]

Hiya,

I'm doing research for a home ent solution and have a few questions that I'm hoping experienced users can offer me.

For my TV recordings I have a Topfield PVR with 500GB which I download the video files from to an external HD connected to my MBPro, then edit the ads etc. and then re-save through MPEG Streamclip as .TS files (so that the video doesn't get re-encoded, which would take hours!!!).

I'm also currently editing my HD home video files through FCProX and saving them as h.264 .mov files. My earlier video files were either converted to DVD or are still in DV format and are yet to be cleaned up and saved out.

So, in essence:

### FILE FORMATS ###
.TS
.mov (AVC/H.264)
.dv
Video_TS (folder from DVD)
HVDVD_TS (folder from HD DVD)

### HARD DRIVES ###
2 X 1TB eSATA (USB2, FW400 & eSATA); formatted as NTFS for use with the Topfield
1 X 2TB WD Mirror (USB2); formatted as HFS+ for home videos

I really like the look of the OLD Apple TV, in that you can plug an external HD into it and it doesn't ALWAYS require connection to a Mac to run. The new one, as far as I can tell, only works when connected wirelessly to a Mac. I think this will be bad for me as I often like to do other kinds of work with my MBPro on my lap when watching TV and don't want to be restricted with what I can and can't do (even restarting the Mac).

I also really love AppleTV's Front Row interface and like how it integrates so well into your iTunes and iPhoto accounts.

However, it doesn't recognise all my .TS files nor my HVDVD_TS folders - it only recognises SD DVD Video_TS folders.

I'd love to stick with Apple but because of this I've also been looking at alternative devices, like the WD LiveTV box (slightly more expensive). It has both wi-fi and USB ports for external devices, however, it wouldn't integrate with iTunes or iPhoto, I'm guessing. It'd probably just throw up the raw folder structure and show *everything* in it - a mess, right? Meaning, I'd have to manage a separate music and Photos folder. But these non-apple devices support far more video file formats (including .ts) and also have pretty cool interfaces for navigating your files. As cool as Apple's or not - I'm yet to see...

So I have pluses and minuses on both sides.

I do have a spare 17" MBPro (G4 generation) with 2GB RAM that I've tried to run as my AppleTV but it just doesn't seem to have enough grunt to play my HD video through it - just too jumpy. Either the processor isn't fast enough or I need 4GB RAM perhaps. Anyone have suggestions on if that should work and how?

So I'm asking advice from anyone who's had a similar requirement and has found a solution to suit ALL their needs (and mine as outlined above).

Your valued experience is MOST appreciated!!!

Cojcolds