Some Thoughts on Video (and Audio) - [Part 1]
Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 4:39PM There's a lot happening in the video space at the moment, so I thought I'd put together a series of blog posts on my perceptions and my experiences, as I change the way I both handle and consume video based media.
Apple TV Fixed (Sort of!)
A quick update is needed on my woes with the Apple TV and my, not so old, rear projection TV. Regular readers of the blog will know that, despite having the Apple TV for a while, I've had some issues getting it to work with my Sony HD rear projection TV. I won't bore you with the details (they are here if you want them), but let's just say I've now reached a satisfactory resolution...
The Sony TV is gone and I've replaced it with a Panasonic PG50G20B - one of last years models. I went with a Plasma TV on various Twitter recommendations and I have to say, the picture is stunning! Absolutely blown away how gorgeous it looks.
The main result though, is that the Apple TV works a treat.
No issues at all, just hooked it up and away we go.
There are several changes that have happened in the passed few months that have caused me to re-evaluate how I manage my media, and set me down the path of replacing some key bits of technology. Probably best to start from the beginning...
The Starting Point
Previously, I had a ton of media sourced from all over the place, DVD rips, BluRay rips and other assorted sources(!). Consequently, the video files were in all different formats and in all different resolutions - from SD material to 1080p.
To cope with this, I had a Mac mini connected to my main TV with a Drobo for storage, using Plex as the primary UI and media management software. Plex worked a treat, but having a full blown computer under the TV was a bit restrictive. Yes, it could play anything I could throw at it, but I really was the only one who could operate it.
Occasionally, I'd switch over to the Mac mini (connected via an external HDMI switcher) and wouldn't you know, all I'd get is a black screen and need to reboot it.
Major inconvenience.
So I decided to swap out the Mac mini for an Apple TV and reuse the Mac mini for something else. I've not gone down the route of jailbreaking the Apple TV but I may look at that at a later time.
The Problem with Multiple Formats
I've also done a lot of travelling recently, and needed to copy movies across to my iPad. Invariably, before I could transfer the movies, they needed to be re-encoded in a format that the iPad could play.
Yes, I know things like Zumocast can transcode your movies on the fly remotely, but that's really no good at 30,000 ft.
So based on fact I was going to use the Apple TV for my main TV viewing, and I'd like all my media to play on the Apple TV, my iPad and my iPhone natively, I took the decision to start the process of re-encoding all my video media to 1280x720 Quicktime. The quality of 1280x720 vs 1080p isn't really an issue for me, 1280x720 looks mighty fine to me, even on the 50" plasma.
Although re-encoding my entire video library is a fairly onerous task, at least I have a Mac Pro to help ease the process. The 64bit version of Handbrake allows all 8 cores to max out during the encoding process, so it's pretty fast. I also found a neat Applescript that automated the task for me, so I didn't have to manually add each movie file to the HandBrake queue individually. I detail the process in a recent ScreenCastsOnline show although it is a members show!
The addition of Metadata and passing the video files into iTunes is handled by iFlicks - another Show - and as of now, I'm pretty much up to date with encoding everything to the new format.
I'm more than happy with the performance of the Apple TV with the 1280x720 files and it's such a relief not to worry about various formats anymore, when copying files to the various devices.
All the media is currently stored on my Mac Pro, but I'll probably setup the Mac mini as a dedicated Media Server - just not physically connected to the TV.
Still to Come
The major revelation though has been using AirPlay from the iOS devices to the Apple TV...wow!
Airplay is built into iOS 4.3 allowing you to "transmit" video across from your iPad or iPhone across to your Apple TV. The process is seamless and as far as I'm concerned, a huge deal. Only this week, I've seen three different apps launch that utilise AirPlay turning the whole media consumption experience on it's head.
It's not just video though.
With a subscription based service like Spotify and some 3rd party apps, I've been able to completely redesign how I play my music around the house.
Stay tuned!
Reader Comments (3)
Hi Don
Thinking of doing something similar myself. How does the whole Apple TV / Quciktime format stuff cope with forced subtitles - especially from BluRay? I have a process for doing that now for Plex but that requires using MKV files. How does M4V handle multiple streams such as soundtracks, subs etc. You sort of skimmed over that stuff in the members show.
Still enjoying the shows! :-)
Martin
Hi Martin, My requirements are very simple! No need for subtitles. Just been told about iVi which I'm testing as an alternative for HandBrake and iFlicks. Looking good and may give you the extra control you require.
Love the blog! I to like the AirPlay experience. The only problem is space. I look with keen interest if Apple will include movies and TV shows as part of the new cloud initiative.
Love the show
Regards
Brian