30 Days of AppleTV – Day 14


9:05 pm

Well, the AppleTV froze up on me for the first time today. As I type this I am re-booting the system by unplugging it from the wall. It seems to happen every time I try to play a file that I encoded with the AppleTV Video Encoder application that I wrote about in a previous post.

9:07 pm

I have just tried it again..and again, it has frozen the system.

That sucks.

9:09 pm

The AppleTV is re-syncing now, and I have watched that snazzy start up video twice now while trying to figure out this problem. Having just gotten back from Easter related family gatherings I am tired, and not very interested in jacking with this for much longer…

9:11 pm

Everything is working fine now. Evidently the problem was that I went in and changed the information on the video file while it was syncing last time. The system got confused, but I re-synced and it is working fine now.

Of course, once I played the file I discovered that I had screwed up and encoded the video in 640 x 480…it was a widescreen recording…so now I have to do it again, so the whole thing doesn’t look squished.

argh.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

4 Comments

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  1. Nice one 😀 Why don’t you just use Quicktime to encode? Btw do you ever use it for Music or Photos? I’m thinking bout installing an AppleTV in my car just so I can have my music library with me.

    Also how hot does it get? and does it only get hot on the top? or the bottom too?

  2. Steve, I’ll let Michael speak at length, but it’s gets hot on top and bottom.

    I have – oops, had – a DVD player with component connections to my HDTV on my real wood dresser. Three years ago I cleaned it to discover the component cables actually made marks and marred the finish on the dresser.

    I didn’t check out the heat for a week after I got my AppleTV. I also don’t think it would mar the finish – it feels just a wee bit hotter than my fan-cooled MacBook laptop. But still, just to be safe – I put a small washcloth underneath it a week ago. I’ve noticed no change… I was worried that the washcloth would be holding the heat in… to anything since I did that.

    Michael, I’m not sure what your setup is like. But remember (I had to) that you can also reboot by unplugging it from the back of the device instead of the wall.

    BTW, I commented a week ago about that reboot – steaming issues. I haven’t needed to do anything like that since.

    In the last week I’ve used my even more that the week before. I also VPN’d into my work network, had a power outage, put my MacBook to sleep like always, rebooted for a software update….

    Meaning I have no clue why it hiccuped a week ago. I bought this thing knowing it was an extravagant purchase I could easily do without. And today (more than 2 weeks after I got it) I’m not only using/enjoying it more and more, I’m glad I bought it. I saw they FINALLY put season 2 of Sleeper Cell out there. Tonite I’m looking forward to watching the first 2 epsodes. Same with Thursday when I’ll have the last 2 episodes of Friday Night LIghts to watch.

    iTunes changed my habits for when I watch things. AppleTV is starting to change my habits for how.