[mythtv-users] AppleTV 2 and MythTV

[Andrew Close]

On Jan 15, 2008 1:02 PM, Peter A. Daly <petedaly at gmail.com> wrote:
> Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.
>
> It's time to give Apple's TV product a second look in terms of it
> being a companion to a MythTV system.
>
> Even if it doesn't run the MythTV Frontend, here are the key points to consider:
>
>    1. Apple TV does HD
>    2. Apple TV 2 can subscribe to video podcasts
>    3. MythTV can publish video podcast feeds using the myth2ipod script
>    4. It's only $229
>
> Let's take a step back and look at how these two products may be able
> to work together...without major hacking of either device.
>
> At $229, I know from experience that there is no way to build a HD
> capable frontend for less money. A HD MythTV frontend can be built for
> somewhere in the $300 range if you know what to buy and where to shop.
>
> The price was a limiting factor with the original AppleTV. $299 was
> too much for what it could do for MythTV. There was no reason to
> consider the AppleTV before.
>
> Now at $229, a 23% price drop, with more features to boot, the scale
> has been tipped. It's an idea that is starting to maybe not only be
> reasonable, but maybe actually make sense.
>
> Personally, I'm excited to see where this will go.  What do you think?
>
> [http://www.mythpvr.com/mythtv/hardware/AppleTV/AppleTV2.html]

it has potential with the added benefits of being able to purchase
music, tv episodes that you may not be able to get through your
provider, and now movie rentals.
i can't tell if they upgraded the hardware at all though.  i thought
there were some issues with the previous AppleTv being just a bit
under powered.  maybe that was if you were attempting to run
MythFrontend on it though...
with the movie rental feature, i may be willing to give this a try.
for us, it's cheaper than running out to Blockbuster or signing up and
waiting for NetFlix when we want to see a movie.  and for the most
part, we rent a movie and watch it that night.  so since we're
'renting', we don't care if it's only good for 24 hours.
it would be nice to see more Myth integration though.  ;)