Apple TV 2 jailbreak, streaming, transcoding questions - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Jake · 2012-05-31, 02:16 PM

I have not modified my Apple TV 2 but I am curious to try. Before I decide I have a few questions. I have a good understanding of the jail-breaking process but after that it is not so clear on what add-ons I need or what they do.

Can you stream AVI and WMV files to the device?

Does the Apple TV 2 do the decoding of the video or does it need to be fed a transcoded stream?

Can you stream video from a network share or ATV2 attached storage?

Do all the standard ATV2 functions continue to work after being jailbroken? In particular Airplay.

Given I would like to primarily stream video over my LAN, which add-ons should I get? XBMC, Plex, Media Player, nitoTV, Rowmote, Last.fm, Couch Surfer?

hugh · 2012-05-31, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Can you stream AVI and WMV files to the device?

Provided you install the proper codecs, you can stream many formats including .avi and .mkv but I'm not sure about WMV

Quote:

Does the Apple TV 2 do the decoding of the video or does it need to be fed a transcoded stream?

ATV2 handles a lot but in some situations (high bitrate 1080p files) you may need a server to transcode. 720p .avi's or .mkv should not be a problem.

Quote:

Do all the standard ATV2 functions continue to work after being jailbroken? In particular Airplay.

Yes although you probably will turn off auto update.

Quote:

Given I would like to primarily stream video over my LAN, which add-ons should I get? XBMC, Plex, Media Player, nitoTV, Rowmote, Last.fm, Couch Surfer?

I use ATVFlash but the only add-on I use beyond the necessary codecs is Plex. The Plex interface on ATV2 is really nice.

Jake · 2012-05-31, 06:48 PM

Thanks for the great information Hugh. It never occurred to me that it would be a simple case of installing codecs on the ATV 2.

I have not jumped to 1080 yet so it sounds like I should be OK. I have my ATV 2 wired. Also, the higher bitrate stuff I have is from my camera which is 720P.

I will try your advice on Plex and ATVFLash. Sounds like a good project this weekend.

One last question. With the YouTube app are the playback restrictions removed? For example the Vevo music videos.

Danno100 · 2012-05-31, 08:06 PM

I also recommend PLEX. It is a client (ATV2) and server (HTPC) application. It plays many formats including .wtv (TV Recordings) from a HTPC.

Jake · 2012-05-31, 09:28 PM

Is the server side of Plex optional? I was not clear but I want to do all these things without a PC.

Tikker · 2012-06-01, 04:09 AM

No. Plex requires a server. It does the transcoding. Xbmc does it on the atv2. Plex is superior in every other way tho. Imo that is

hugh · 2012-06-01, 07:56 AM

Jake, just a few notes.

Plex does require a server, XBMC does not.
Plex does NOT always transcode, only where you stipulate or when it's required because the ATV2 can't handle the file
ATVFlash is a paid product from Firecore. You can jailbreak and manually add all the software that ATVFlash installs but the firecore route makes its dead easy. I bought it for my ATV 1 and then used it for my ATV2.

FWIW, I love the Plex server because I use my PC's, Mac, WDTV Live, ATV2 and my iPad as Plex clients. I have plex installed on my Windows Home Server which runs 17 hours a day. (my WHS sleeps from 11:30pm to 6:30pm)

QuickSilver · 2012-06-01, 08:36 AM

I do the exact same thing as Hugh. Plex is amazing. I also run the server on my WHS box. I did do the manual jailbreak though and it is fairly painless to get the programs installed after. Fairly simple terminal commands. Nito makes it even easier once jailbroken.

Jake · 2012-06-01, 08:45 AM

Thanks fellas. I will most likely give it a try.

Tikker · 2012-06-01, 10:11 AM

another big plex user here too

run it on the ATV2 (hoping to use on my atv3 soon) couple HTPC, android tablets, ios items, etc etc etc

slyboy · 2012-06-01, 10:44 AM

Interesting thread! I've begun looking into Plex after reading these comments here. What I'm seeing so far is that Plex does not read external meta data, similar to XBMC. For those of you with WHS (2011?) installations, is your server installation of Plex for Windows storing your meta data locally on the server, and then your client interfaces are accessing that same server copy of the meta data?

I'm not sure if this would be a good product to potentially replace my use of My Movies, or to compliment it.

hugh · 2012-06-01, 11:16 AM

Quote:

For those of you with WHS (2011?) installations, is your server installation of Plex for Windows storing your meta data locally on the server, and then your client interfaces are accessing that same server copy of the meta data?

Yes for Client PC's, iPad, and Apple TV 2.

WDTV Live does not appear to use server metadata but I am still trying to figure out what it does.

FWIW, If I can get a good price, I am going to sell my ATV2 and replace it with a Mac Mini. The reason for this is that the ATV2 can't handle 1080 and I seriously doubt the ATV3 will be jailbroken anytime soon.

Tikker · 2012-06-01, 06:16 PM

plex presentation is absolutely top notch

I shied away from it for a long time because it required a Mac, but since the windows server has become available, I was really impressed with it

for many many moons, I'd used a combination of Media Center (xp mce, then vista and now win7) combined with Media Browser as the front end, and meta browser on the back side of things

plex replaces all 3 of those, does all of what they did, plus adds theme music to the TV presentations

some of the Movie meta data grabs are a bit off, media browser/meta browser are more accurate in my experience, but it's 99% there

being able to use it on the Apple Tv (1 and 2, hopefully 3 soon, but bleh) and other similar sized boxes is a big bonus

slyboy · 2012-06-02, 09:40 AM

Great feedback guys, thanks.
Tikker - like you previously, at the moment I feel a little shy about using Plex as I'm using My Movies and its metadata collection which I regularly read is the best you can get. My Movies also has a great Windows software tool to manually manage your collection and fine tune things you don't like in the metadata that has been pulled in for you. You comment though about how Plex has replaced multiple products for you is enticing. I very much like/want a sever based solution for media storage and metadata, which My Movies has always provided me, and it seems Plex is able to do that too. Previous to now, I thought XMBC did not do server based metadata storage (each client did their own locally?), but Plex (which seems to sit on top of XBMC) appears to have gotten around this. Is this correct or am I missing something?

Assuming I can place it side by side with my other WHS software without it affecting anything I might give it a try.

Tikker · 2012-06-02, 03:24 PM

you can. on my atv2 i have both plex and xbmc. plex runs faster, and smoother. presentation is much better imo as well. it def does it's own meta scraping tho, ignoring what I have in there from meta browser

you can manually change things meta data wise in plex though. if it grabs the wrong thing, you can force it to the "correct" data

but for free, and it doesn't interfere with anything you have now, just load plex on top of your stuff

doesn't affect your current implementation, and you can compare side to side on identical systems

2012-05-31, 02:16 PM	#1
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,171	Apple TV 2 jailbreak, streaming, transcoding questions I have not modified my Apple TV 2 but I am curious to try. Before I decide I have a few questions. I have a good understanding of the jail-breaking process but after that it is not so clear on what add-ons I need or what they do. Can you stream AVI and WMV files to the device? Does the Apple TV 2 do the decoding of the video or does it need to be fed a transcoded stream? Can you stream video from a network share or ATV2 attached storage? Do all the standard ATV2 functions continue to work after being jailbroken? In particular Airplay. Given I would like to primarily stream video over my LAN, which add-ons should I get? XBMC, Plex, Media Player, nitoTV, Rowmote, Last.fm, Couch Surfer? __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2012-05-31, 06:48 PM	#3
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,171	Thanks for the great information Hugh. It never occurred to me that it would be a simple case of installing codecs on the ATV 2. I have not jumped to 1080 yet so it sounds like I should be OK. I have my ATV 2 wired. Also, the higher bitrate stuff I have is from my camera which is 720P. I will try your advice on Plex and ATVFLash. Sounds like a good project this weekend. One last question. With the YouTube app are the playback restrictions removed? For example the Vevo music videos. __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2012-05-31, 09:28 PM	#5
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,171	Is the server side of Plex optional? I was not clear but I want to do all these things without a PC. __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2012-06-01, 07:56 AM	#7
hugh Member #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Toronto Posts: 47,492	Jake, just a few notes. Plex does require a server, XBMC does not. Plex does NOT always transcode, only where you stipulate or when it's required because the ATV2 can't handle the file ATVFlash is a paid product from Firecore. You can jailbreak and manually add all the software that ATVFlash installs but the firecore route makes its dead easy. I bought it for my ATV 1 and then used it for my ATV2. FWIW, I love the Plex server because I use my PC's, Mac, WDTV Live, ATV2 and my iPad as Plex clients. I have plex installed on my Windows Home Server which runs 17 hours a day. (my WHS sleeps from 11:30pm to 6:30pm) __________________ As of January 2012, I am no longer the owner of the Digital Home website. If you have questions about the operation of the site, please contact VSAdmin. For personal inquiries contact me at the Hugh Thompson website.

2012-06-01, 08:45 AM	#9
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,171	Thanks fellas. I will most likely give it a try. __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2012-05-31, 08:06 PM	#4
Danno100 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Outside of Toronto Posts: 292	I also recommend PLEX. It is a client (ATV2) and server (HTPC) application. It plays many formats including .wtv (TV Recordings) from a HTPC.

2012-06-01, 04:09 AM	#6
Tikker Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SaskTel Posts: 895	No. Plex requires a server. It does the transcoding. Xbmc does it on the atv2. Plex is superior in every other way tho. Imo that is

2012-06-01, 08:36 AM	#8
QuickSilver Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 3,128	I do the exact same thing as Hugh. Plex is amazing. I also run the server on my WHS box. I did do the manual jailbreak though and it is fairly painless to get the programs installed after. Fairly simple terminal commands. Nito makes it even easier once jailbroken.

2012-06-01, 10:11 AM	#10
Tikker Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SaskTel Posts: 895	another big plex user here too run it on the ATV2 (hoping to use on my atv3 soon) couple HTPC, android tablets, ios items, etc etc etc

2012-06-01, 10:44 AM	#11
slyboy Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Mississauga, Ontario Posts: 393	Interesting thread! I've begun looking into Plex after reading these comments here. What I'm seeing so far is that Plex does not read external meta data, similar to XBMC. For those of you with WHS (2011?) installations, is your server installation of Plex for Windows storing your meta data locally on the server, and then your client interfaces are accessing that same server copy of the meta data? I'm not sure if this would be a good product to potentially replace my use of My Movies, or to compliment it. __________________ Pioneer Elite PRO-730HD \| Elite DV-59AVi \| Marantz SR8200 \| Mirage OM series \| Rogers/Cisco 8642HD, SA4250HD

2012-06-01, 06:16 PM	#13
Tikker Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SaskTel Posts: 895	plex presentation is absolutely top notch I shied away from it for a long time because it required a Mac, but since the windows server has become available, I was really impressed with it for many many moons, I'd used a combination of Media Center (xp mce, then vista and now win7) combined with Media Browser as the front end, and meta browser on the back side of things plex replaces all 3 of those, does all of what they did, plus adds theme music to the TV presentations some of the Movie meta data grabs are a bit off, media browser/meta browser are more accurate in my experience, but it's 99% there being able to use it on the Apple Tv (1 and 2, hopefully 3 soon, but bleh) and other similar sized boxes is a big bonus

2012-06-02, 09:40 AM	#14
slyboy Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Mississauga, Ontario Posts: 393	Great feedback guys, thanks. Tikker - like you previously, at the moment I feel a little shy about using Plex as I'm using My Movies and its metadata collection which I regularly read is the best you can get. My Movies also has a great Windows software tool to manually manage your collection and fine tune things you don't like in the metadata that has been pulled in for you. You comment though about how Plex has replaced multiple products for you is enticing. I very much like/want a sever based solution for media storage and metadata, which My Movies has always provided me, and it seems Plex is able to do that too. Previous to now, I thought XMBC did not do server based metadata storage (each client did their own locally?), but Plex (which seems to sit on top of XBMC) appears to have gotten around this. Is this correct or am I missing something? Assuming I can place it side by side with my other WHS software without it affecting anything I might give it a try. __________________ Pioneer Elite PRO-730HD \| Elite DV-59AVi \| Marantz SR8200 \| Mirage OM series \| Rogers/Cisco 8642HD, SA4250HD

2012-06-02, 03:24 PM	#15
Tikker Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SaskTel Posts: 895	you can. on my atv2 i have both plex and xbmc. plex runs faster, and smoother. presentation is much better imo as well. it def does it's own meta scraping tho, ignoring what I have in there from meta browser you can manually change things meta data wise in plex though. if it grabs the wrong thing, you can force it to the "correct" data but for free, and it doesn't interfere with anything you have now, just load plex on top of your stuff doesn't affect your current implementation, and you can compare side to side on identical systems

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