Apple Movie Junkie

I just learned from Apple Insider that Apple has posted a survey specifically asking for feedback regarding the Apple TV.  Unfortunately it’s really slow right now, but make sure to fill it out when you can.

This is very exciting.  It’s a clear indicator that Apple is ready to put more attention into this hobby.  Seems to be a lot of buzz right now.  It’s a good time to be an ATV Junkie.

Tip: Selecting that you work for a marketing or software company seems to kick you out of the survey.

Apple TV Survey

According to BusinessofVideo.com around the fourth quarter of last year Apple started using LimeLight for content distribution, in addition to their old stand by Akamai.  What interests me is that many people started complaining about slow HD downloads around that time.  There’s a very active thread dating back to Christmas day full of people, including me, complaining about the speeds.

My question is, did they start using a new CDN because of these download problems, or is Limelight the source of the trouble?  And why hasn’t Apple acknowledged this yet?

I’ve been watching this for a while, and it seems to me like this is reaching a boiling point.

One product that Apple is sorely missing from it’s iTunes universe is a Home Media Server. There are some products out there that claim to “support” iTunes, however they only really stream music to other libraries. What most of us really want is a centralized repository that we can use to sync content to various devices. You might have an Apple TV, many iPods and multiple computers all with different libraries.

I was naively optimistic when I heard rumors that something like this would be announced at Macworld this year. In the absence of that announcement, or any suitable commercial substitute I setup my own solution.

Setting up the Server

I only recommend a PC cause you’ll certainly be able to find one cheaper. Get a clean install of XP if you can. Make sure you have some kind of remoting software like Remote Desktop or VNC. The PC just needs to be powerful enough to run iTunes.
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Hey folks, I’m Ben Kittrell from Kansas City, MO and I’m a new contributor to ATVJ.  I’m a programmer by day, however I’ve been spending my nights on various ATV projects and I thought ATVJ would be a great place to share.  My focus will be ATV related technology such as Home Theater and companion products, as well as general industry news.