is it possible to play HD video on apple tv?

[jwg98]

Hi, I was wondering, because I am looking at camcorders, if HD footage shot in HD 1080p could be edited using imovie '09 or '11 it's not a problem which and then somehow played in HD through the apple TV? Thanks for any help

 

[doug_1986]

Hi.

Yes, atv can output HD but only at 720p. It can play 1080 content, but only displays it at 720. You can however get a card for ATV1 that makes it 1080 capable - take a look over in the ATV section.

 

[jwg98]

thank's, how would I play the edited videos through the apple tv in HD, or is there a better way to play HD edited video's on the tv?

 

[doug_1986]

Sure, all you do is edit your video in iMovie and export it to an HD .mp4 file. Drop that file into iTunes on your Mac and your Apple TV will be able to see the video and play it (as long as your Mac is switched on)

If you don't want to rely on the Mac being switched on in order to watch the footage, then I believe that the ATV1 kinda downloads the files from the Mac to its internal hard drive for playback. Alternatively you could go down the NAS route with a jailbroken ATV2

 

[jwg98]

Thank you

 

[jwg98]

Is there a better way to play edited HD video's on the hdtv?

 

[doug_1986]

Depends on what you mean by better! That is a very easy, clean way of doing it

 

[jwg98]

Ohhh ok

 

[jwg98]

I am guessing it would play in better quality than burning onto a disc then?

 

[doug_1986]

Well, playing it on a DVD would mean exporting all of your videos to SD and compressing them down to MPEG2, then burning them all off. It's a time consuming process that will leave you with SD content - not your nice HD.

Or, if by disc you mean Blu-Ray, then the bluray will look better, but will take longer to compress etc _ blu Ray discs are expensive.

Or, if by disc you mean putting the camera files directly on a DVD, then that will look great, but I believe you only get 30mins per disc, + you need a Blu Ray player.

There are other players out there besides the Apple TV, for instance Popcorn Hours, Boxee boxes etc. Some TVs even play the camera files straight from a a pendrive / USB harddrive via a USB port on the back of them. But, if you already have a Mac and you are already using iTunes + iMovie, then the ATV is a really easy way of viewing content with very little hassle involved in compressing and exporting and a very shallow learning curve, as they are all designed to work properly together.