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NeoOffice :: View topic - Apple TV Take 2...a downgrade! (or, I suck...)
Apple TV Take 2...a downgrade! (or, I suck...)
 
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OPENSTEP
The One
The One


Joined: May 25, 2003
Posts: 4752
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:07 am    Post subject: Apple TV Take 2...a downgrade! (or, I suck...)

OK well I know no one else here may care, but watch out for the Apple TV update. I only stream my videos to the Apple TV, primarily because I bought content from iTunes that is copy protected and in formats not supported for sync to the Apple TV. Plus I have a video collection larger than the HD capacity of the Apple TV.

In previous revisions, it was possible to just direct the Apple TV to a shared resource, then browse through listings by TV show.

After the update, accessing shared resources is not only two levels deeper, but now the interface no longer groups by show but lists every single episode by the title of the show. For example, instead of choosing "Battlestar Galactica" and then getting a list of titles of episodes, I now have a menu of 30+ individual "Battlestar Galactica" entries with no titles of individual episodes whatsoever.

Great way to kill the functionality of an already marginal product. Now I have to figure out how to hack it and back out your stupid update.

ed

Edit...added an "I suck" to the title


Last edited by OPENSTEP on Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:40 am; edited 1 time in total
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OPENSTEP
The One
The One


Joined: May 25, 2003
Posts: 4752
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:18 am    Post subject:

At least Factory Reset gets rid of the so called upgrade. Unfortunately it doesn't let you go back to the software version right before Take 2. Pity since 1.0 was a pile. It's still better for streaming than Take 2.

ed
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OPENSTEP
The One
The One


Joined: May 25, 2003
Posts: 4752
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:58 am    Post subject:

Oh now this is damn odd...

For grins I decided to try updating the 1.0 rev. apple TV again to see if it could get me back at 1.1.

No surprise, the automatic update jumps all Apple TVs to 2.0. However after the forced repairing now finally shared content is appearing grouped in the menus in the appropriate places rather than that shared content. Is it because I needed to switch networks to reinstall?

I wonder if this is yet another issue related to the built in iTunes sharing capability that tries to prevent it from being located or interacting across different subnets. I run three networks in my house, and I guess the sharing may prevent me from bridging across them now with the 2.0 update....the 1.1 s/w had a nice workaround where if I authorized on one network (wireless) that auth. would then hold on the wired (local self-assigned Ethernet). Guess with this oh-so-hot rental biz that loophole just had to be closed.

<apple rant>
I commend Apple for negotiating both the contract terms and developing the technology to satisfy content owners' requests for DRM and the needs of the average consumer. By strongarming the recording companies into the terms Apple wanted, consumers were able to experience the real fruits of the digital media revolution for audio in the post-Napster era when most recording studios would have nothing to do with digital. While I commend Apple for negotiating terms that allowed the consumer flexibility, I despise Apple for kowtowing to those neverending demands and restricting the rights of tech savvy people like myself to do what we like with content we've legitimately purchased rights to use.
</apple rant>

<america rant>
IMHO, this is all just the sad result of a government's attempt to legislate and legitimatize a degenerate economy. In general, over the last two decades the US has produced little of physical value for the rest of the world. The post-WWII days are long since gone; America has excelled in exporting nothing but services and entertainment. Entertainment has no substance, but somehow it has acquired a tradeable value even though there is no exchange of goods (exhibiting the fundamental flaw in the iron law of wages).

When the export of "entertainment" becomes the primary means of producing currency for an economy it's understandable that the originator of said "product" will pursue any and all means to maintain exclusive control over that content. Lacking any physical control over channels of distribution and replication, those who benefit are required to protect their revenue stream even if it includes hurting their own consumers. The era of digitized content has given content providers a newfound control over their distribution stream through imposition of encryption and other artificial restrictions. Digitization of content in conjunction with allowed content providers to control the distribution of "goods" to such a degree that has not been seen since the heyday of mercantilism. Economic theories seem to always wax and wane. Hopefully this one will as well and America will quit its alpha-male delusion and resume its place as one star in a constellation among the economies of the world.
</america rant>

OK, rant over. All academic esoterica aside, I still can't view things I bought over a year ago on my "new" Apple TV after its "upgrade". All I want to do is watch Journeyman. Is that too much to ask?

ed
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OPENSTEP
The One
The One


Joined: May 25, 2003
Posts: 4752
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:52 am    Post subject: Aha

So some of the mysteries are now solved after reapplying the update to a fresh unit, messing with networks, and reconnecting to the laptop...

In Apple TV 2.0 the "My" denomination applies only to the first computer to which the Apple TV was synced and only if it's still on the same network. If that changes, the "My" machine seems to become one of the "Shared".

The listing behaviour seems to be due to that my upgrade defaulted to list episodes by "Date" under the menus rather than by "Show" (the blue segmented control on the top of the list). It was that flip of defaults that made all of the lists foobar in music, videos, etc. Guess it's no worse than Neo forgetting your settings on upgrades Rolling Eyes

Still, I'm getting format invalid errors on videos that worked with 1.1. At least my menus are back, alebit now two more clicks away Smile

I guess the software reset did the same thing as disconnecting all recognized computers...perhaps that's the best upgrade path?

ed
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Samwise
Captain Naiobi


Joined: Apr 25, 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Montpellier, France

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:28 am    Post subject:

I'm glad you were able to get at least some functionality out of the new 2.0 software.

With everyone being ecstatic about the new software, it was hard to imagine one being disappointed by it. Your rant came as a surprise to me (I really couldn't imagine anyone being unhappy with the new Apple TV software). But it reminded me that one thing can't satisfy everyone (and, also, that the internet reaction to a phenomenon doesn't represent everyone's)…
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MacRat
Sake Horner
Sake Horner


Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 364
Location: Earth

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:54 am    Post subject:

Samwise wrote:
With everyone being ecstatic about the new software, it was hard to imagine one being disappointed by it. Your rant came as a surprise to me (I really couldn't imagine anyone being unhappy with the new Apple TV software).


Those "everyone" aren't power users who use tools outside the pre-determined usage path. Others of us who use iTunes don't get our movies and TV media from Apple.

This non-Apple media will display fine in iTunes, but as Ed is pointing out it doesn't display properly via the AppleTV.
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OPENSTEP
The One
The One


Joined: May 25, 2003
Posts: 4752
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:22 pm    Post subject:

Yeah, the strength of Apple is that they make DRM and other networking restrictions palatable for the majority of customers. I, however, am not your average bear (actually, probably dumber....).

I don't care about renting HD movies. I can't download them over my slow connection anyway.

I do, however, have a physical wired network going from a computer with a large HD of video to the Apple TV (in addition to a wireless network). One would think that would mean I can get access between machines easily, but no Smile The fact that I can get it to work with one software version only to have it removed with the next bites.

ed
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