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XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

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Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#31

I've been running XBMC as my media centre for years now, first on a hacked XBox (original) and then on a hacked Apple TV (first gen). It's a great piece of software, happily streaming from my NAS box, playing music, etc. Not found anything it doesn't play yet. And there are remote control apps for iPhone and Android too!

I've always said that it is the best piece of software ever created :)

Does the ios version browse your local network for shares? If it does, it will be the best ios software ever created.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#32
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bought content is usually an even bigger pain in the arse to transcode. I am currently trying to rip some DVDs of mine and it is an incredibly frustrating experience.e

Here's a solution: http://lifehacker.com/355281/dvd-rip-automates-one+click-dvd...

Aside: although Lifehacker's day to day quality seems to have declined, I've found searching their archives for common tech problems like this to be extremely good at returning results. How To Geek (frequently linked from LH) also has a lot of similar solutions. Any other recommendations?

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#33

I've been running XBMC as my media centre for years now, first on a hacked XBox (original) and then on a hacked Apple TV (first gen). It's a great piece of software, happily streaming from my NAS box, playing music, etc. Not found anything it doesn't play yet. And there are remote control apps for iPhone and Android too!

What apps have you found for the iPhone that work will to control XBMC? I've tried a a few for iPad and iPhone and they've been pretty terrible -- I've been using my Logitech Harmony One and AirMouse (iPhone/iPad) but would like a slick iphone/ipad app that would let me use the library features, etc.

I've been running XBMC on a 1st gen Xbox as well (those were the days), then moved to a fullsize HTPC, and now down to a Dell Zino.

If you've got a HTPC setup, you should absolutely give XBMC a try.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a solution: http://lifehacker.com/355281/dvd-rip-automates-one+click-dvd...

Aside: although Lifehacker's day to day quality seems to have declined, I've found searching their archives for common tech problems like this to be extremely good at returning results. How To Geek (frequently linked from LH) also has a lot of similar solutions. Any other recommendations?

Here's one possible solution (appropriately enough from LH itself):

http://lifehacker.com/344188/get-only-the-posts-you-want-fro...

I would suggest subscribing to the type of posts you like the most by tag.

My recommendations for tags would be:

#hivefive/ #hivefivefollowup

#feature

#downloads (you can specify which OS, see link above)

#featuredworkspace (I like them, you may not)

#featureddesktop (again, I like them)

#howto

#diy

There are more I can't think of right now. I definitely agree that the overall quality of LH has declined, however HN and LH are still my number one and number two sources of tech information on the web and I typically check both multiple times a day. Some of the best tips and software I use comes from LH - Dropbox tweaks, XBMC, CCleaner, BitTorrent tips, Launchy and many, many more. Check out their recommended bundles of apps also available for Windows, Mac and Linux, e.g:

http://lifehacker.com/5562864/lifehacker-pack-for-mac-our-es...

http://lifehacker.com/5713510/most-popular-free-mac-download...

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#35

I've been running XBMC as my media centre for years now, first on a hacked XBox (original) and then on a hacked Apple TV (first gen). It's a great piece of software, happily streaming from my NAS box, playing music, etc. Not found anything it doesn't play yet. And there are remote control apps for iPhone and Android too!

What apps have you found for the iPhone that work will to control XBMC? I've tried a a few for iPad and iPhone and they've been pretty terrible -- I've been using my Logitech Harmony One and AirMouse (iPhone/iPad) but would like a slick iphone/ipad app that would let me use the library features, etc. I've been running XBMC on a 1st gen Xbox as well (those were the days), then moved to a fullsize HTPC, and now down to…

Aaah, I've got Android myself, so I use an app on my Desire. I haven't tried the iPhone ones, so I don't know what the quality is like.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#36

I've been running XBMC as my media centre for years now, first on a hacked XBox (original) and then on a hacked Apple TV (first gen). It's a great piece of software, happily streaming from my NAS box, playing music, etc. Not found anything it doesn't play yet. And there are remote control apps for iPhone and Android too!

Ditto, only on a HTPC I built myself. I tried Windows Media Center, for about a day, but couldn't stand it and went for the good old XBMC. And the remote control? A small, cheap, wireless mouse. Works wonders! A magnificient piece of software, XBMC.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ungh, didn't know about that caveat. I guess I'm back to my initial idea of getting a WD TV Live. Any better option?

In my opinion, some ION2 nettop with minimal Ubuntu and XBMC would be better option than WDTV. More expensive, yes, but not that much[1] and definitely provides better experience. [1] Note that I'm in EU-land, where AppleTV is 120 EUR, which is 160 USD. Acer/Asus/Zotac/other nettop vendors do not have the same problem with currency conversion that Apple does.

See XBMC Live, which is just as you describe (Ubuntu/XBMC) http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=XBMC_Live without installing yourself. Apology if that's exactly what you meant.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#39
post #28

Plex http://plexapp.com is based on an earlier version of XBMC. They have it running on iPhone, iPad and someone hacked it onto the Apple TV and did a similar video a few months ago: http://www.vimeo.com/16479085 I'd put my money on plex as an easier way to manage content and stream it from a box elsewhere in the house. (I have plex running on a 2009 Mac Mini and it works really well)

Plex is incredibly awesome. My whole house runs on it. Unfortunately it transcodes all video on ATV2 from another computer running the server. This XMBC app decodes the videos on the ATV2 itself - which is awesome, and I hope the Plex crew gets that up and running as well.

Re: XBMC now works on Apple TV, iPad and iPhone

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be precise the hardware is outputting 720p, but XBMC can decode 1080p files and scale them down. I'm not sure if the output can be hacked or not, but the developers claim it's "not a priority" at the moment.

Ungh, didn't know about that caveat. I guess I'm back to my initial idea of getting a WD TV Live. Any better option?

I use boxee on a HTPC and love it. Boxee is heavily based on the XBMC code base but adds hulu, netflix and other VOD streaming and a nicer (IMHO) interface. There is also a standalone boxee player, I don't have it, and there have been some problems with getting all the supported content on it, but I believe that is getting worked out.

I used XBMC for years, but boxee is just a nicer experience for an Internet connected HTPC imo.

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