Apple TV - really not useful for streaming

Question

I bought an Apple TV last week - I have 400GB of Apple Lossless audio files stored on my PC, and a number of TV shows in MPEG2 format, extracted from my Humax digital recorder.
The size of my media library means that syncing to the Apple TV's paltry 40GB HDD isn't an option, so I'm forced to use the ATV by streaming from iTunes.
First problem - whenever I shut down iTunes and turn off my PC (at night, for example) and restart it, ATV completely fails to be able to reconnect to the same library. Every time, I have to remove Apple TV from iTunes, go into the Sources menu on ATV, connect to iTunes, go back to my PC, enter the new passcode, and then streaming comes back up. This is, frankly, ludicrous. My Roku SoundBridge manages to remember a connection when the server PC shuts down - why can't ATV?
As I already have a SoundBridge, one of the main reasons for wanting an ATV was to get album art. But if you are streaming, ATV only seems to display album art that is embedded in each individual file - it can't make use of the iTunes album art feature, where artwork is stored separately to avoid bloat on the audio files.
Finally, the restricted choice of video codecs is ludicrous. I have video stored as DVD-standard MPEG2 program streams, but iTunes won't accept that, and QuickTime won't even convert it.
I wondered why, when I bought the ATV from the Apple Store in Bluewater, that the sales assistant told me, without my asking, that I had 14 days to bring it back in if I wasn't happy. I've never been told that in that past when buying anything - it does suggest a lack of confidence in the product. That said, I shall be taking advantage of it - the ATV is going back. I may buy another one in a few years when Apple have actually finished it...

Answer 1

• MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264) is in no way an inferior
quality format. It is in fact far superior to MPEG-2,
offering either smaller file size (better
compression) for the same quality or greater quality
for the same file size. It is the standard for HD-DVD
& BluRay, for most HD satellite services, & for most
terrestrial broadcasting (except in the US, where it
is being considered as an upgrade to MPEG-2 for
ATSC).
If you are truly concerned about file size or
quality, this is the format you should be using, not
MPEG-2.
A fair point - however, I do not believe that it is possible to convert MPEG-2 to MPEG-4/H.264 with no loss of quality. While MPEG-4 may well be a more efficient codec, not supporting native MPEG-2 results in lower quality DVD-sourced material, and I would contend that DVD is currently by far the largest source for content that people might want to display on their AppleTV.
• Apple TV is not sold as a media server but as
iTunes for your TV. You seem annoyed that the product
isn't something it doesn't claim to be. This makes as
much sense as complaining that a car you bought can't
fly.
Errr - no. I don't expect it to be a media server; I expect it to be a media client, which is what it is sold as. The fact that it ships with a limited size hard drive and then fails to offer full functionality as a client in a streaming system is my major complaint. It does indeed claim to be "iTunes for your TV", but what it actually is is "iTunes for your TV, as long as your combined audio and video library is no bigger than 30GB". (And yes, I do mean 30GB - it would appear that 10GB of the drive isn't actually usable for media files.)
• Providing MPEG-2 support is a necessity for any
standard DVD player, & for that reason the cost of
its license is built into every player on the planet,
including those in computers. However, that license
only grants one right: to decode DVD content coming
from the player. To do anything else, you need a
license with more rights. If you don't like this
licensing arrangement, complain to the licensing
authority (& good luck with that), not to Apple. The
latter makes as much sense as complaining to Apple
about Windows licensing arrangements.
Other vendors of competing products have included MPEG-2 codecs and (presumably) the appropriate license. It is technically possible to run the MPEG-2 codec on AppleTV, as hackers have already managed to do so. To avoid including this capability because Apple weren't willing to negotiate a license is ludicrous. The MPEG-2 codec is available from Apple as a QT plugin for $20 - an MPEG-2 license would not have added significantly to the cost of an Apple TV.
• If you feel the Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 better
suits your needs, why not just buy it instead & skip
the rant? This is a support forum intended for help
with & discussion of the features of Apple TV. It is
a good resource if you are interested in pre-purchase
information or resolving post-purchase issues. It is
not a support forum for emotional release issues
(venting). There is nothing wrong with that -- in its
proper place, it's probably healthy -- but this just
isn't that kind of place.
Fair point, but in that case, would someone like to correct either of my assumptions (if they are indeed incorrect):
1. A streaming connection to AppleTV is broken to the point that it must be deleted and reinstated from scratch if the server PC is shut down and restarted.
2. A streaming connection to AppleTV cannot display album art from the iTunes database unless that art is also embedded in every audio file streamed.
Nowhere in any of the publicity for AppleTV does it suggest that you get reduced functionality when streaming compared to when syncing, and yet on these two points, it is (as far as I can tell) deficient. If all I wanted was a 30GB media library connected to my TV, I'd have plugged in my iPod - if AppleTV does not offer full functionality in a streaming environment, I can't see what it's for, which is why I'm a little peeved.