First of all, I never said it was the "only" benefit. You might want to reread my post. And actually, you can argue that the XBMC and NAS way is the "retarded" and convoluted way. You already have a computer. Apple allows you to stream directly from that computer to any number of ATVs you own. That's A --> C directly and B does not have to exist. You basically invented a 3rd one that Apple does not require.
Not sure why I am going to respond to this as if you polled a group of people with a clue about modern network set ups I'd wager less than 5% would agree with your side. But, anyway, first of all you didn't technically say outdated file formats were the only reason, but it was the only reason you listed, thus you implied it was the only reason. Also you were incorrect about the file formats being outdated and assume that whatever itunes uses is the most common/modern format available which is not true.
The benefits of owning a NAS are innumerable. As one of the other posters mentioned servers are literally the way all networks of information run nowadays and will be for the foreseeable future. For starters let me ask you, what kind of storage capacity do you have on your Mac Mini? Because my Synology NAS has 10TB of storage and is nearly full of movies and music. I would have a pretty hard time squeezing that on a MM without a Drobo or multiple 4 tb externals attached (boom literally $1000+ expense for anyone with a large media collection). So let me get this clear are you saying that it is more efficient to go from signal on ATV2-->Itunes on MM-->external hd-->itunes on mm-->atv2. This is laughable.
But your scenario requires you to purchase a separate NAS (which is really just an underpowered computer) and then you have to copy from your main computer to the NAS (another computer) and then stream to the ATV. So that method is pretty convoluted and also costs more.
Lol? How are NAS's underpowered exactly since you seem to be exclaiming it over and over again. Yes they are lower power computers than a Mac mini, but guess what... THEY ONLY SERVE UP MEDIA. They do not power graphics or high intensity programs or anything else, they just serve media and have an abundance of power for performing this task. So this entire section of your tirade is moot.
My Mac Mini (my main computer) streams directly to the ATV2. I never turned it off even before the ATV so why would I need to turn it off now? I don't need to buy some underpowered NAS to hold my content when I have a full OS, hard drive already built in, and several USB and firewire ports if I want extra storage.
Internal MM harddrives are not high enough capacity to store large media collections, so basically you are saying it makes more sense to spend the same amount of money (actually more money) on external harddrives (and be limited by the speed of USB or FW) instead of getting an external harddrive that is also a NAS? HUH? When Bieber's "Never Say Never" is released on the Itunes store you might find you need to delete "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" in order to make room for it.
To say that Apple's solution is convoluted is ridiculous. I can't envision a simpler solution. The only people it is convoluted to is those that introduce the use of a NAS into their setup. Which can be considered a convoluted step to take when your computer already performs those functions and much better than an underpowered NAS does.
Not in any way does a MM stream media more efficiently over a network than a NAS does, sorry you just are plain wrong. The computer always has other processes going on that the NAS doesn't worry about, and if needs an external HD anyway, that is an additional connection that slows it down.
So maybe you should call your setup convoluted and complain that Apple does not cater well to convoluted setups? That would make more sense because Apple's solution is dead simple.
Having a HD listed on every computer connected to your network that shares all of your media is pretty dead simple don't you think? Yes, admittedly I called the Apple flow, requiring you to communicate with Itunes on an operating computer convoluted, but simply pointing out that in my case I have to purchase a NAS does NOTHING to negate what I said. You are claiming that ATV2 asking Itunes on a separately running Mac mini to pull media off an external HD (where else could you store it) via USB or FireWire, then send it back along your network connection to the ATV2 is less convoluted than NAS --> ATV2, are you kidding me? Something tells me you have a very small house/apartment, and not a vast network with multiple bedrooms and living rooms trying to efficiently stream media. I have been paid to set up home networks on multiple 6000+ sq ft houses. What makes you such an expert on networking?
Please tell me you were joking? MKV (when it contains h.264) is a good container but it is only popular among the ripping and torrenting crowds. It's a very small player in the grand scheme of things. And my reference to old outdated formats was divx, xvid, avi, and all the other old formats people often use XMBC for. They are very outdated and poor formats and codecs compared to modern ones like h.264 and .m4v which the Apple TV uses.
You honestly think this is a small % of the people that are involved in the HTPC community? Have you ever heard of Blu Ray? Massive amounts of people buy blu rays and transcode them via MKV to be available on their streaming boxes for viewing outside their main HT set up. And although I never use torrents b/c I don't believe in piracy, 90% of torrent traffic is video sharing, in which MKV is the most prevalent format.
Final notes...
I love Apple's file sharing functions for many reasons, I have all my macs networked together and this element of OS X is invaluable for swapping files around and so forth, this does not mean it is ideal for ATV2.
I loathe Itunes and even if I didn't have a NAS it would annoy me that I have to have such a bloated POS software open and running 24/7 to get full functioning out of my ATV2. Not to mention the native Itunes interface on ATV2 is incredibly inelegant compared to a program like XBMC which my fiancee actually finds infinitely more intuitive.
I love Apple products, I own ridiculous amounts of them, but I am still able to call out their flaws. Don't blindly let your fanboydom prevent you from seeing the superiority of alternative methods and products.
