itunes extras apple tv
What are some alternatives to Apple TV?
I’ve lot of music on iTunes and like to display on TV and play the music over my home theater system. I should be able to navigate to albums, artists, play lists etc easily. Extra’s like viewing photos, videos is a plus. More than 160 GB of hard drive is a plus.
Do you have an iPod Touch or iPhone? Another Apple product worth considering is the Airport Express, which wirelessly streams music from iTunes to a remote set of speakers (you can hook it up to your home theater inputs):
http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=colsblo04-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0015YJOK2
It costs under $100, and you can use your iPod Touch/iPhone as a wireless remote (with the “Remote” app) where you can browse albums with a flick and enter text searches using the virtual keyboard. Since it uses your computers iTunes and your computer’s hard drive, you can easily get around the 160 GB mark.
It won’t display the track information on your TV, but it will on your “Remote”.
Sonos is another music-only system that is much more expensive, but more versatile. It handles music from not only iTunes, but internet radio, CD players, etc.
http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=colsblo04-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002GU5YN0
The XBox 360 can stream iTunes if you have Connect360. You’ll get games and video that way, but the interface isn’t as clean as Apple TV:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2007/05/stream-your-itunes-library-to-an-xbox-360.ars
I understand the PS3 can too with the proper add-in:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/23/vuze-brings-online-video-to-game-consoles-portable-media-player/
That said, I have several of the devices I mentioned, including the Apple TV, and I think the Apple TV is a very strong choice! For music it’s okay (controllable with an iPod Touch/iPhone, in ways even better than the Airport Express), but for movie rentals, TV shows, YouTube, and free Video Podcasts, there’s nothing better IMO. It’s rumored that there may be a new version of the device coming out soon, as well.
Apple TV 3.0 Full Walkthrough
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