Alphy
join:2001-12-31
Troy, MI
1 edit | .mkv playback?
Any hacks for .mkv playback? (720p video, specifically)
Edit: well, looks like I could always just convert it into a different container. Can anyone verify that this works?
»www.riverpast.com/en/support/tut···/mp4.php |
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ossito16
join:2004-07-31
Whiting, IN
 ·RCN CABLE
| Do it right the first time
Can someone break this down for me?
Why is it that Apple can't give people what they want, especially for $300? Why do we have to hack things in order to get the product we wanted in first place. Nobody is asking for the thing to double as a coffee maker. We always have to hack electronic devices, unlock cell phones, enable features that were disabled by manufacturer. It is f'n ridiculous. I just really don't understand, companies spend so much money on marketing and focus groups. Apple and Microsoft are the 2 companies that should understand this the most. |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| No kidding.
Verizon wireless is notorious for this shit too. I had to hack my Motorola phone to get all the features back that Verizon crippled on it. I love the service, but this crap really pisses me off.
There's no reason Apple TV shouldn't be able to play these formats straight from the box....
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FCC, PLEASE KILL THE MERGER BEFORE THE MERGER KILLS SATRAD! |
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readtweenlines
@ps.net
| reply to ossito16
said by ossito16  :Can someone break this down for me? Why is it that Apple can't give people what they want, especially for $300? Because then Apple would have to pay DivX to license their codec or take the risk that the XviD is legal in it's codec and won't get Apple sued. Also Apple supported DivX and XviD will piss off the Movie studios, because we all know what they are used primarily for.
You think it was an accident the AppleTV is easy to expand. |
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Alphy
join:2001-12-31
Troy, MI
1 edit | reply to ossito16
First of all, most of these formats and uses are far beyond the scope of Apple's intended audience. The end game for this, in Apple's eyes, is to get people hooked on buying stuff through the iTunes store and playing it on the Apple TV, whenever that functionality may arise. (I'm talking about purchasing through the ATV unit directly)
The majority of the hacks we're seeing now, are using the Apple TV in ways Apple never intended. Apple doesn't shun this (that we know of, this may change...who knows) however, these uses are not their main focus. I mean, truthfully, the only reason I would pick this up is to playback recorded shows in .mkv that are 720p. I would _never_ purchase something from the Apple store to stream to the Apple TV. Then again, I'm not Apple's intended audience for this product. So there you go. |
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WileEC
mindtaker, macky cat, etc.
join:2002-02-07
Yonkers, NY
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to ossito16
said by ossito16 :Why is it that Apple can't give people what they want, especially for $300? Here's this thing... it goes like this...
Don't buy it.
The real question:
Why must the apple sheep buy everything that jobs sells?
Here's some light reading for the Apple sheep elite:
»www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/chin···reenpeac
Apple dead last among popular electronics manufacturers with regard to the environment.
Gee, dead last. You mean Apple isn't all fairy princesses and fluffy marshmallows? |
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purc2523
@pennunited.com
| reply to ossito16
There has been questionable legality of including Xvid codecs. Even though they are now licensed under the GPL, it is possible that Apple feared adding them to the Apple TV. Maybe they had different reasons, but we probably will never know. Licensing DivX costs money. |
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peter_m
Premium
join:2005-07-13
Canada, QC
| reply to WileEC
said by WileEC :said by ossito16 :Why must the apple sheep buy everything that jobs sells? Well who cares, I should ask? Probably people who just hate Apple and competing corporations! |
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BloodRoses
Gods lend wings to tainted hearts
Premium
join:2003-03-17
clubs: | reply to WileEC
If you take anything greenpeace says seriously you have... issues.  |
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Johnny
Premium
join:2001-06-27
Atlanta, GA
·Comcast
| reply to ossito16
Why is it that Apple can't give people what they want, especially for $300?
Who says it's what "people want?"
The Apple TV is for the purpose of displaying the iTunes Library, and the contents of the Photo Library or equivalent on the PC, on a widescreen television, by streaming or syncing.
iTunes video files are .mp4. Not Xvid, VidX, DivX, AVI, WMV, RealVideo, etc.
It's great that the hackers have managed to make use of the fact that the Apple TV runs OS X, and thus can do anything a regular OS X machine can.
But if Apple had added all that mess of different formats, the product would lose the simplicity and singularity of purpose that is the reason the iPod had the success that it did. So they chose not to do it.
I also doubt that there are many people wanting to play all those formats. How would you get such files on your computer in the first place? |
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thender2
Glamour Profession
Premium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
2 edits | Yet another crippled apple product.
I thought this thing was going to be awesome. I dislike apple products, but this seemed great. Something that anyone, even my mother, could use, that supports more than the basic DVD player. User friendly meets new digital media.
But.. I have to hack it so it can play two of the most widespread video codecs there are? Is this a joke?
Form over function has been the apple motto for a while, and this continues it.
Don't pass off that adding xvid and divx and whatever other codecs makes it a difficult unit, either. File support does not inherently make the unit tougher to use - rather, someone copying an avi onto it and seeing "file format not supported" vs "insert movie here" is a pain in the ass. In no way, for even the least computer literate user, should support for alternative codecs mess with the simplicity of the product.
I see this as an iPod that doesn't support MP3. Is it good for playing stuff off the iTunes library? I guess so. But, for close to $0 extra, it could have been much better.
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The Problem With Music.
Our Rationale
Time to rewrite the DMCA. |
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FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD
| reply to Johnny
Re: Do it right the first time
uhhhhh...No so if you actually viewed their tv ad. Im assuming you didn't because A- in said commercial you see your computer wirelessly streaming content to your tv. B- no where does it imply ONLY Apple products, codecs, etc. can be streamed.
So, false advertising. OK, lots of companies do it. And here I was thinking Apple was "different". W.e., right?
How would you get such "files"? You mean the extension/codec or are you implying someones gotta STEAL a XVid? Well then damn! Maybe I should toss my conversion proggy's 1 and 0's to the MPAA, uh? Smaller file, better sound compression, etc. is HOW you get Xvids,DivX, WMV, RealVid files onto your PC. Not so hard.
So in conclusion, the "it'll get to messy" factor is irrelevant once you actually SEE thier TV ad. Looks to me it added a whole lot of bloat to the simplicity equation. |
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thender2
Glamour Profession
Premium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
1 edit | reply to Johnny
quote:
But if Apple had added all that mess of different formats, the product would lose the simplicity
How does it become less simple because it is functional?
My MP3 player can play vorbis, FLAC, and wma files as well as MP3s. When I put an MP3 file on it, it doesn't say "is this an mp3, an ogg, a flac, or a wma file?" I understand how this would make it less simple. But it doesn't. It checks the file extension and assigns the proper decoder so it plays back when I hit play, like any player. My player could support 100 formats, and I'd never know. It doesn't make it harder to use at all.
How does adding xvid support make it less simple? Do you have that little faith in the average consumer that you think just by virtue of it being a more flexible product, that it will become harder to use?
--
The Problem With Music.
Our Rationale
Time to rewrite the DMCA. |
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Johnny
Premium
join:2001-06-27
Atlanta, GA
·Comcast
| reply to FiL
"It's on your computer.
It's on your iPod.
Now, it's on your TV."
Sounds fine to me. Anything that can be on the iPod can be on the TV.
Now let's check the iPod specs to see what formats it holds... oh why bother. Anyone that says "proggy" is a PC user and Apple hater anyway. |
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Johnny
Premium
join:2001-06-27
Atlanta, GA
·Comcast
| reply to thender2
Because files with those formats don't stream from iTunes. So it becomes a mess having to point the thing at whatever folder you put them in. Another mess having to get the file extensions correct. Geeks can do it, but the target market doesn't give a shit about those things. And Apple doesn't have any reason to support streaming a dozen different types of stuff that didn't come from legitimate purchases. |
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ablack6596
join:2005-01-28
Scarsdale, NY | reply to Alphy
Re: .mkv playback?
I've never used it, but this might work... »sourceforge.net/projects/matroskaqt/ |
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ablack6596
join:2005-01-28
Scarsdale, NY | reply to WileEC
Re: Do it right the first time
I didn't buy it, and don't plan on buying it.... |
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ablack6596
join:2005-01-28
Scarsdale, NY
| reply to thender2
Re: Yet another crippled apple product.
It supports MP3...
I agree that file support has nothing to do with simplicity. If anything it makes it more simplistic because the average person knows nothing about video codecs and if it supports everything people won't be wondering why their video won't play.
XviD and DivX may be widely used codecs, but if you don't consider piracy, they'll be some of the least used codecs. While I have little use for it without DivX/XviD support, the average person does not really need it. |
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thender2
Glamour Profession
Premium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
1 edit | said by ablack6596 :It supports MP3... It was a metaphor. MP3 is to iPod as xvid/divx to video player. I bet next they'll start making standard def DVD players that don't play mpeg2.
I used to think xvid/divx were just for piracy as well. I was surprised to find other uses for it, but surprisingly there are.
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The Problem With Music.
Our Rationale
Time to rewrite the DMCA. |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| reply to ossito16
Re: Do it right the first time
out of the box xvid and Divx would piss off hollywood(they arent highly controlable by the media and put control in the hands of the enemy ie the consumer) and we all know that the movie mafia would just buy laws that make the codecs illegal on set top boxes.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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