Apple TV vs. 360 Arcade Extender

[Tegeril]

So I'm trying SO hard to justify being able to use an Apple TV for my bedroom in the apartment I'm getting in a couple months. I'm going to have movie content in two sizes, my 12mbit HDDVD converts and at present, Apple TV "go nuts" VisualHub converts from those files. The problem I run into is that my media center computer is Vista of course and records to DVR-MS. Fundamentally, this isn't too big a deal, I can setup a program to strip the data in the DVR-MS package and be left with MPEG-2 SD content and MPEG-2 transport streams for the HD content.

The second one there is the problem. I was under the impression that the Apple TV will not play HD MPEG-2 content and I do not want my media center, which is designed to be cool and quiet, to be living its life as a transcode slave to MP4 everytime it records a show for multiple reasons: 1) Heat, 2) Fan Noise, 3) CPU usage when attempting to use the system/record other shows.

Is there a solution to all this with the Apple TV or am I right in presuming that I should go the extender route?

 

[bearxor]

What are you going to be doing more of? If you're going to be watching more movies on the TV, the ATV is probably a better choice. If you're planning to use it as a TV most of the time, the 360 is a better choice.

As far as processor utilization, what do you have in your HTPC? I have a Opteron 165, a dual-core 1.8ghz w/1MB L2, and I can record 4 streams simultaneously (2HD, 2SD) and not peak over 30% cpu utlization. And that's from the SD streams mostly. If I record two HD streams, the utilization is very low, usually 5-7%, since the computer is just writing the stream to the disk.

 

[Tegeril]

The system has an e6300 in it that I will be overclocking to 2.13 when I get my new cooler because the 12mbit MKVs it needs to play nearly get to the point of dropping frames even with coreavc at 1.86. The problem with all the transcoding is just a matter of watching a movie while the thing tries to go and transcode a tv show. I'm actually investigating the AppleTV mod scene, and have a friend trying the USB SSH maneuver and if he can get the Apple TV to play those MPEG-2 TS files with Perian installed, I'm just gonna get the ATV. It's such an issue for me to decide because movies/tv would be equal usage. I also looked at the Linksys extenders (2100/2200), but the interface is not as smooth or as snappy as I would like, but they would suffice if the Apple TV doesn't work out because they have N wireless integrated and run silently.

 

[bearxor]

Weird... I don't have a problem with my ripped HD-DVD's... Oh well.

 

[Tegeril]

Well, are you encoding them to h.264 at 12mbit with 640kbit ac3? I mean, it definitely doesn't peg the CPU, but at particularly intense scenes when the bitrate creeps up to nearly 19mbit, the CPU gets pretty heavily taxed. Playback is still perfect, but it would absolutely not be if the media center had to do video encoding. That, and seeking causes severe cpu spikes on the e6300.

 

[loup garou]

If they do this deal again, if you don't already own a 360, the Linksys extender may be an attractive option. It is much quieter (silent, actually) than the 360. I'm pissed I missed that deal.