General Question

ShiningToast's avatar

Which home media device should I choose? (Details inside)

Asked by ShiningToast (2108points) October 15th, 2010

My choices are:
-The new Apple TV for $99
-An old 40 GB Apple TV that I would hack with Boxee for around $95
-The Boxee Box

I have a number of movies/tv shows on my laptop that I would like to watch on my living room couch. I would also like to take advantage of the service that Boxee provides, and integrate it into whatever I choose (unless I end up with the new Apple TV). I’m leaning towards one of the Apple TV’s, specifically the 40 GB, as I can hack it with Boxee, and store media directly on it (unless I can stream to it as well? Can anyone clarify this?)

What exactly can I watch on the these 3 products, and which would be the best choice?

Does anyone have either Apple TV? How do you like it?
Do my videos have to be in iTunes for me to watch them?

Does anyone use Boxee? How good is the selection of shows?

Finally, where would I get the most bang for my buck?

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5 Answers

mrrich724's avatar

Sorry, I don’t use Boxee or Apple TV. But I’d go the way of the hack. People hack things for a reason . . . and anything that I’ve tried hacked has been better than the original.

SO I’d go hacked Apple TV if I had to stick to one of your choices, BUT . . .

Do you not have the ability to just hook up your computer to your TV? I have a laptop, and I just hook that up to my LCD and it gives me all the options I want!

Have you considered it?

mrrich724 (8550points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
iamthemob's avatar

If you want to bypass everything…if you have a lap top and a television with an HDMI hookup, you really just need a cord.

iamthemob (17221points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
ShiningToast's avatar

@dverhey That is my final option, as it is 3x more than the others.

@iamthemob @mrrich724 That is my setup currently, but I would like to have something that would let me watch my stuff while sitting on the couch more spontaneously and not have to hook everything up to the surround sound.

ShiningToast (2108points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
DeanV's avatar

@ShiningToast That is true. My issue with the Apple TV is that it is tied so heavily into iTunes and the iTunes Store, which, frankly is pretty expensive for general purchasing of content.

I’d go with the Boxee box, then the hacked Apple TV, then the Google TV, then the New Apple TV myself.

DeanV (14216points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…

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