Apple tv and onkyo r608

[weavesno1]

Hi guys, before I squander £100 on apple tv. Would I be able to connect to my onkyo receiver for surround sound rather than go through my tv speakers.Cheers Paul

 

[MaturityDodger]

Yes you can. The apple TV has optical and HDMI outputs.
Most devices send proper surround audio from HDMI, so you can just put this into the 608, for the 608 to play audio and send video onto the TV.
If the HDMI doesn't do audio properly (which it really should, but a few devices like sky only do stereo by HDMI) then you can run an optical cable for audio and HDMI for video.

Of course, it'll only have true surround sound if the source files are in 5.1/7.1. Otherwise you'll just get stereo, or your AVR's simulation of surround.

 

[weavesno1]

Cheers pal, thanks a lot. Think I'll go and treat myself.

 

[johnbusby]

Works fine with my 709

 

[weavesno1]

Cheers mate bought one this afternoon works brilliant, but a bit disappointed that certain things aren't full screen on my tv. Don't get me wrong apple trailers and stuff look amazing, but my pictures aren't full screen yet videos are.

 

[ianbuckley]

My photos display full screen via ATV3. In the settings you need to set the resolution of your TV. You are also able to set a variety of display modes and slideshows. The displayed image depends on the ratio when you took your pictures, portrait, landscape or 6x9.

 

[nigelbb]

Hi guys, before I squander £100 on apple tv. Would I be able to connect to my onkyo receiver for surround sound rather than go through my tv speakers.Cheers Paul

It works fine on my Onkyo TX-SR608. I have all my sources (Echostar HDS-600RS Freesat HD receiver, AppleTV, Boxee Box media player, LG Blu-ray player) plugged into the amp & then from the amp to the TV.

 

[weavesno1]

Cheers Nigel. Thanks for the reply. May take it back to be honest. I've got free sat hd and free view hd, as well as sky hd and then there's all the apps on the tv, blu-ray player and Xbox. Plus half the stuff on ATV is on my iPad and iPhone. I think it's a bit of a waste of money in my opinion.

 

[nigelbb]

Cheers Nigel. Thanks for the reply. May take it back to be honest. I've got free sat hd and free view hd, as well as sky hd and then there's all the apps on the tv, blu-ray player and Xbox. Plus half the stuff on ATV is on my iPad and iPhone. I think it's a bit of a waste of money in my opinion.

Unless you are heavily committed to converting everything to Apple-friendly formats & keeping it all in iTunes then there are much better value for money media players about. Boxee Box is easily the best media player that I have ever used & I have been doing this stuff for years with computers (PC & Mac), XBMC & standalone players. The WDTV TV Live player is cheap, plays everything but has a rudimentary interface. The WDTV TV Live Media Hub also plays everything but has a very attractive interface.

 

[bpsmith]

It's the GUI that lets a lot of ATV competitors down. What's it like on the Boxee Box?

 

[johnbusby]

Have to agree that the apple TV is pretty poor in its sold state. However, jailbroken it's a different beast

 

[bpsmith]

I disagree, but then it depends on your needs I guess. "Poor" is a strong description as suggests it's not capable.

I got the ATV after being so disappointed at the front end on numerous media players. Why others can't get this right is beyond me!?!

 

[johnbusby]

I think out of the box it is pretty poor. It can only play a very narrow set of file types and is permanently tethered to itunes. These two issues, and particularly the first one, cripple the machine for me. Perhaps if you are only building media collection its fine but I dont have the patience to recode a couple of hundred MKVs.

That being said I have two of the buggers and am extremely pleased - however these are jailbroken so alot of the intrinsic limitations are lifted

Each to their own though, your obviously happy with the vanilla ATV and good luck to you

 

[bpsmith]

I do see your point, and that's why I said it depends on your needs. If it works better for you with a JB then great!

I just use IVI on my Mac Mini Server and it zips through them. Most just need to chain the container their in, with some needing to be converted. IVI also does all of the MetaData automatically too. It can also be pointed at a folder or range of folders and will monitor those for new media and make compatible versions automatically, delete the old ones and also drop them into iTunes too. It can do loads more than that too, but not needed to delve further so far.

I just let it do it's thing while I am at work or sleeping. IVI is really perfect for my needs and so the ATV is far from poor in my eyes. ;-)

I now have 3 ATV3's and only a single ATV2 left, which will go on eBay soon as don't need the JB potential. Great when you can sell your old model for at least £50 more than the new one. Now that is certainly not poor!

 

[nigelbb]

It's the GUI that lets a lot of ATV competitors down. What's it like on the Boxee Box?

It's very good indeed. XBMC was the ancient ancestor of both Boxee & Plex. Boxee like Plex has been developed as a proper project by a dedicated team of developers rather than an anarchic open source project. This means that there are not the rough edges & inconsistencies in the UI that plague such software. Originally there were software only versions that ran on OS X & Windows but I think that they are now discontinued. I like the simplicity of dedicated hardware that 'just works'. There is also a version of Boxee for the iPad.

 

[bpsmith]

I have to say, I love Plex. It's awesome in fairness. If Boxee is similar then it too must be very nice on screen. Interested in seeing new versions of things.

 

[malk]

Have to agree with what's been said,also the airplay ability,iPad tobatv,MBP to ATV.sharing iTunes to your amp,I think a JB ATV is the best of both worlds.
I've converted,(converting as we speak really),my favourite films to keep,and the other ones,I won't watch again,get used with plex,so glad I got plex sorted,it is now a solid server,/client.
Bp smith,if you want to sell me the other one,I think I might find some cash for you.........lol.

 

[bpsmith]

It was about to go on eBay tonight or tomorrow. Happy to do business again if your keen.

 

[malk]

Pm sent.......!!!