Bought Apple TV returned it. What should I buy?

[wittyusername]

Hi,

I want to purchase a product that takes the place of Apple Tv but, allows me to add a HDrive and watch the movies I have downloaded.

It has to be Mac compatible.

Thanks!

[adamchri]

Sounds like the Popcorn Hour A-110 is a good choice if you don't care much for a beautiful interface (although that is fixable with YAMJ or something similar).

Google 'Apple TV vs Popcorn' and you'll get plenty of reading material to decide from

/Adam

[BORIStheBLADE]

adamchri hit the nail on the head.

If you want something that will play more file types then the Atv then the PCH is what your looking for. Just don't expect it to look as pretty as the Atv, but the PCH is headed in that direction just at a slow pace.

[S80_UK]

And for anyone with an Apple TV that wants to play more formats, stream from SMB or UPnP, then there is now a version of XBMC for that platform. It's pretty good to, although not as good when it come to supporting high bit rate HD. Pretty slick for SD material though.

[wittyusername]

adamchri - BORIStheBLADE - S80_UK

Thanks for the replies.

Once I learned and became completely dissatisfied with what the major companies are peddling. I started to look into PCH and the ISHTAR H5.1
Admittedly, I don't really know a lot about either one. So, appreciate the advice. I do know that these two products and what ever else is out there are my best options for enjoying my music, movies, etc. the way I want to.

I will say that I did hack into my Apple TV and used XBMC but, not very satisfied. Plus I thought, why the "F" should I pay good money for an apeTV and have to "Fn" hack it to get it to do what it should be doing in the first place!

Any other suggestions, or help, before I purchase will be greatly appreciated.

I'll definitely check out the Popcorn Hour A-110. If any one knows anything about the ISHTAR let me know. It definitely has caught my interest.

Thanks again!

[cdx47]

If you want a great SD and HD player then the bottom line is that the Popcorn etc plays more types of files than anything outside of a PC with high def extensions. It plays 99% of files I have thrown at it and I am very happy with it . But check the formats you regularly play. Do a forum search on M-JPEG for example .


Popcorn etc are great for correctly encoded video and are getting better at playing the poorly done stuff. I dont mean quality wise I mean some files are just technically out of spec. Do a forum search on L5.1 and L4.1 to read more.

As for music others will have to advise but I think its safe to say that its a work in progress.