Apple TV and alternatives

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Hi all, after many years of hating apple products, I've bought an iPad Air and I'm looking for some help on devices that will help me stream content to my TV at 1080p. I know Apple TV is the obvious solution, but my wife and I also have android devices that we would like to stream from and I've heard that the Channels available in the UK are limited. First priority is to be able to play videos and images from iPad onto the TV.

Any help would be much appreciated.
 
I have had the current Apple TV for years but only use it for streaming from IPad/iPhone/Mac for which it works very well. It can be used with Android devices (Google for it) but I haven't tried. It has recently had a price cut and it may be worth looking at Apple's refurb store.

There is widely expected to be a new and possibly much changed version announced in June. If there is a new version the current one may be discounted further.
 
hsuffyan said:
Hi all, after many years of hating apple products, I've bought an iPad Air and I'm looking for some help on devices that will help me stream content to my TV at 1080p. I know Apple TV is the obvious solution, but my wife and I also have android devices that we would like to stream from and I've heard that the Channels available in the UK are limited. First priority is to be able to play videos and images from iPad onto the TV.

Any help would be much appreciated.
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As above, the latest Apple TV has recently had price drop and there are lost of rumours that a new version will be launched next month, so could be worth a wait to see if it is and what the differences are.

I have heard the Apple TV works extremely well for streaming from iPad etc and it's on my list, but I'm waiting for the new version...
 
Thank you all. I think what I'm after is a way to mirror my screen on both android and iOS devices. I've got an lightening av adapter but it's limited to the length of the hdmi cable. Not sure if a miracast or chromecast would do that? Or stream in high enough quality? I've not got much experience in this arena unfortunately.
 
hsuffyan said:
Thank you all. I think what I'm after is a way to mirror my screen on both android and iOS devices. I've got an lightening av adapter but it's limited to the length of the hdmi cable. Not sure if a miracast or chromecast would do that? Or stream in high enough quality? I've not got much experience in this arena unfortunately.
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With Chromecast you 'cast' tabs in Google Chrome or through the apps like Netflix. If you're looking to stream the whole of your screen then it isn't for you :)

I love mine though - turn my monitor on, get into bed, find a film on the Netflix app on my phone and cast it to my screen! :runaway:
 
Chrome cast. It does everything you are looking for apart from screen mirroring but you shouldn't need that when you can cast pretty much everything?
 
I suspect that if you want to do screen mirroring from the iPad then only Apple TV will do. It seems that in the description on the web "mirroring" is sometimes used interchangeably with "streaming"and of course they often look the same. Mirroring on the iPad is exactly that so you can read your email or compose documents on the TV screen as well as see any video that is playing. You can also stream content without mirroring and then only videos, full-screen photos etc show up.

My understanding of chromecast was that you set up the film that you want to stream on your tablet but then the chromecast takes it directly off the web so not even similar to mirroring -- I may be wrong about this!
 
Look at the Amazon Fire TV too. I have one. It has wifi and it does screen mirroring from my Android smart phone. There is also the Plex app to stream from devices with Plex installed. The Fire TV is Android based so you can add all sorts of Android apps, as well as Amazon Prime, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, YouTube and view your Flikr and Picasa pictures too.
 
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I would get an apple tv. And also something like a chromecast or amazon fire.

I use apple tv for my apple device as it just works very well with all apps. I then also have a Belkin WiDi device also referred to as miracast. Mine is the very latest version supporting 4K video etc.

There are too many compromises getting one device for all uses.
 
sphexx said:
My understanding of chromecast was that you set up the film that you want to stream on your tablet but then the chromecast takes it directly off the web so not even similar to mirroring -- I may be wrong about this!
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That's right, or at least with Netflix on my phone! :)
 
Thank you all. I've bought both an Apple TV and a Roku 3 to test out and see which one suits my needs better. The Roku 3 looks perfect for my needs apart from the screen mirroring for iOS devices, which would have been perfect.
 
It would be interesting if, once you get used to them, if you could say how well the Roku works with the iPad and the Apple TV with the Android tablets.
 
Ok, so I've played around with both. The Roku is a brilliant little device and the mirroring functionality for android and windows devices is pretty decent. It knocks the Apple TV out of the park. Unfortunately, I've not found a way to mirror my iPad on the Roku, which the Apple TV does really well. Otherwise the apple tv is a pretty lame device in my opinion as it's just another avenue to sell content via iTunes. On the Roku, I have my HDD plugged into it and have both online content and local content and works superbly. The Apple TV doesn't even have a USB port.
 
I've got 18TB of local content served through my apple tv. It is easily done via itunes.
 
I have an Amazon Fire TV that works with the iPad with Airplay as well as Android phone mirroring, has a USB port, Bluetooth, and is fast and cheap.
 
dejongj said:
I've got 18TB of local content served through my apple tv. It is easily done via itunes.
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Have to say I'm confused with people saying its a limited device. I have tried a few boxes, and the apple tv is hands down the best, epitomises the apple saying of "it just works".
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say I'm confused with people saying its a limited device. I have tried a few boxes, and the apple tv is hands down the best, epitomises the apple saying of "it just works".
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I agree with them that it is 'limited' for online services, but it integrates so easily with your own locally hosted movies...I've ripped my own blurays and link them in and they are all 'online' in an easy to use by all across our three apple TV's....Yup, I don't get it either...
 
Rapscallion said:
Have to say I'm confused with people saying its a limited device. I have tried a few boxes, and the apple tv is hands down the best, epitomises the apple saying of "it just works".
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I humbly disagree. I dont want to have my PC running the whole time just to play content. I find it insulting that Apple refuse to give people flexibility in how they use their devices i.e. no USB port. I understand other users may have collections greater than mine which will never fit on a single HDD, but the lack of a lock USB port is frustrating.
 
ianp5a said:
I have an Amazon Fire TV that works with the iPad with Airplay as well as Android phone mirroring, has a USB port, Bluetooth, and is fast and cheap.
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That's very promising. Would you happen to know if it's good for streaming large HD files from an iPad without any jitters? I appreciate it will depend on the wifi connection but would be helpful to know if the Amazon Fire TV can handle it. Also is the TV that you have or the stick?
 
Fair enough, and it is good that there is plenty of choice....

For me, my plasma has got a USB, as has my blueray player, as has my gamesconsole...plenty of ports to pop a stick in when someone brings one like my niece did the other week....

Just get the best for whatever your use case is, doesn't mean that the other device is limited in its nature it just means that it isn't right for what you need it to do. I like my home cinema gear neat and tidy, available multi-room, and share at highspeed to support multiple devices at once. The Apple TV serves that purpose brilliantly including airplay mirroring.
 
hsuffyan said:
That's very promising. Would you happen to know if it's good for streaming large HD files from an iPad without any jitters? I appreciate it will depend on the wifi connection but would be helpful to know if the Amazon Fire TV can handle it. Also is the TV that you have or the stick?
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I have the Fire TV box and not the stick. TV nerds tell me that is a top performer. With its quad core cpu. I have nothing to compare it with though. It is all very slick though with no hesitation or delays. I also don't have an iPad. So its best to look on the web for reviews. It seems to have a lot of apps for connecting to Apple devices. And Plex for playing media from the LAN.
 
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Ok, so the Amazon Fire TV also arrived today! :D

I can confirm that it does that it does mirror the iPad via an AirPlay app on the Amazon. I've streamed a video from VLC player which worked fine but scrolling through photos causes a slight lag which can spoil the viewing experience. Promising so far but further testing needed.
 
The wifi connection is fast enough for video. I can flick through pictures instantly on my Android with mirroring. There is also a free app called QuickPic that displays accounts at Flikr, Picasa, 500px etc.
 
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ianp5a said:
The wifi connection is fast enough for video. I can flick through pictures instantly on my Android with mirroring. There is also a free app called QuickPic that displays accounts at Flikr, Picasa, 500px etc.
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Thank you. I also love quickpic on my android devices. I wish iOS would have something similar. I havent tried the mirroring from my android phone but I think the lag comes from the crossover between iOS and the airplay receiver app on the fire tv.
 
Have 2 current Apple TVs and looking forward to the new model next month
 
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