AppleTV 160Gig

[Tech198]

Hi all..

New to AppleTV, thinking about getting one even... .. and have few quick questions regarding them:

1. Why did Apple drop the Apple TV with built in Hard drive in favour of streaming only ?

2. If i did find and buy the old 160Gig Apple TV, movies that are stored on its hard drive, can this contents be shared with Itunes (Mac)? if not directly, then via another wireless router ? (See below)

3. I have a billion wireless router with internet access. If I set up WDS on the billion, would i be get access via Apple TV ? Or does Apple TV only work Apple extreme? (basically apples own products)

I guess the last 2 and 3 are somewhat related.

Cheers.

 

[bearcatrp]

Any router will work. Don't need a apple brand. As for why, cloud computing. Apple and the rest of the computer world is pushing everything to the cloud, for a price!

 

[KevinC867]

1. Why did Apple drop the Apple TV with built in Hard drive in favour of streaming only ?
2. If i did find and buy the old 160Gig Apple TV, movies that are stored on its hard drive, can this contents be shared with Itunes (Mac)? if not directly, then via another wireless router ? (See below)
3. I have a billion wireless router with internet access. If I set up WDS on the billion, would i be get access via Apple TV ? Or does Apple TV only work Apple extreme? (basically apples own products)

1. It's hard to say just what Apple's reasons were, but dropping the hard drive allowed them to make a very compact box which they can sell for $100. It works great for rentals, and you can still stream purchased content from your computer's iTunes library. I have a 1st gen Apple TV and I stream all my video content from my computer.

If you want something with a hard drive and more capabilities, the new Mac Mini, although pricey, is about the size of the old Apple TV and serves as a great HTPC.

2. The content you purchase on the Apple TV will sync back to your computer's iTunes library. I remember seeing some titles which would say that they could only be viewed on Apple TV, but with a quick search I didn't see any of those now.

3. The Apple TV will connect to most any modern wired or wireless router.

 

[Nightarchaon]

I prefer my 1st gen apple tv , I can load it up with movies and tv shows and take it with me to places I don't have access to my 3TB iTunes library, such as the caravan on holidays or friends houses on movie nights .

I wish they had kept both versions, or perhaps made an apple tv server , about the size of a time capsule , but with a big 2GB + disk that would just run like a normal apple tv but also stream the content held on it to apple tv 2s around the home so I don't need to have a mac running 24/7 to provide content.

 

[chris8535]

Just bought an apple tv 2 and boy am I dissapointed, what a piece of crap workflow compared to the original apple tv. I am seriously considering returning the atv2 and sticking with the first gen. You can't buy shows and start watching them right away, you have to wait twenty minutes while the entire thing downloads, what a crock. The atv2 is a downgrade for the main reason it exists, to watch tv. What were they thinking?

 

[dynaflash]

Just bought an apple tv 2 and boy am I dissapointed, what a piece of crap workflow compared to the original apple tv. I am seriously considering returning the atv2 and sticking with the first gen. You can't buy shows and start watching them right away, you have to wait twenty minutes while the entire thing downloads, what a crock. The atv2 is a downgrade for the main reason it exists, to watch tv. What were they thinking?

Have 3 atv 1's and 1 atv 2 (now thats a tongue-twister). All three atv 1s are in full service. The atv 2 is in its box in a closet ... somewhere.

 

[bpaluzzi]

I wish they had kept both versions, or perhaps made an apple tv server , about the size of a time capsule , but with a big 2GB + disk that would just run like a normal apple tv but also stream the content held on it to apple tv 2s around the home so I don't need to have a mac running 24/7 to provide content.

I use my old iPod touch for this purpose. You can stream directly from the iPod to the Apple TV using AirPlay. And control it all from the iPod itself -- brilliant!

Just bought an apple tv 2 and boy am I dissapointed, what a piece of crap workflow compared to the original apple tv. I am seriously considering returning the atv2 and sticking with the first gen. You can't buy shows and start watching them right away, you have to wait twenty minutes while the entire thing downloads, what a crock. The atv2 is a downgrade for the main reason it exists, to watch tv. What were they thinking?

The main reason it exists is to enable you to rent content from the AppleTV, watch some internet content (YouTube/MLB/Flickr/etc.) or watch content in your iTunes library / iOS device. Your edge case of "just bought a piece of content (on your computer) and have to wait for it to download (to the computer)" is certainly not the main reason for the AppleTV.

AppleTV1 had absolutely no interest for me. Didn't want another device to worry about syncing, etc. AppleTV2 is brilliant. I have one on each television in my flat, and have purchased several for gifts. If you're not using the iOS / Apple ecosystem, it's probably not the product for you. But if you are using iTunes as your media server, it works absolutely beautifully.

 

[erock3742]

I use my ATV2 for XBMC. This is its greatest strength. Using it as a MediaStreamer. I am running it connected via Wireless N to the Airport Extreme and it is flawless. The strengths of the ATV1 were that is was running a slimmed down version of OSX so you do a lot more things to it. I personally would like to see the best of both worlds. I would like to see an App Store with AppleTV2 specific apps and also an internet browser, hulu etc. Add these features and jump the resolution to 1080P and Apple could have a winner on there hands!

 

[chris8535]

The main reason it exists is to enable you to rent content from the AppleTV, watch some internet content (YouTube/MLB/Flickr/etc.) or watch content in your iTunes library / iOS device. Your edge case of "just bought a piece of content (on your computer) and have to wait for it to download (to the computer)" is certainly not the main reason for the AppleTV.

AppleTV1 had absolutely no interest for me. Didn't want another device to worry about syncing, etc. AppleTV2 is brilliant. I have one on each television in my flat, and have purchased several for gifts. If you're not using the iOS / Apple ecosystem, it's probably not the product for you. But if you are using iTunes as your media server, it works absolutely beautifully.

Really because I thought the point of the Apple TV was to watch TV. On Hulu on my smart TV i can watch instantly, on Netflix on my tv I can watch instantly, on atv2 I have to wait 20 min to download an episode on an iDevice then I can watch it. This is quite clearly a downgrade.

 

[bpaluzzi]

Really because I thought the point of the Apple TV was to watch TV. On Hulu on my smart TV i can watch instantly, on Netflix on my tv I can watch instantly, on atv2 I have to wait 20 min to download an episode on an iDevice then I can watch it. This is quite clearly a downgrade.

Well, you apparently thought wrong. ;-) Never hurts to do some research before you make a purchase.

http://www.apple.com/uk/appletv/
"Apple TV has been redesigned to be small in size but big on entertainment. Rent from a selection of the hottest HD films. And stream photos and music from your computer to your widescreen TV."

 

[chris8535]

Well, you apparently thought wrong. ;-) Never hurts to do some research before you make a purchase.

http://www.apple.com/uk/appletv/
"Apple TV has been redesigned to be small in size but big on entertainment. Rent from a selection of the hottest HD films. And stream photos and music from your computer to your widescreen TV."

If im not mistaken you are from the UK and have no idea how the Apple TV 1 functioned in the US, which was significantly different considering you could watch about 95% of tv shows in existence on it, where as in the UK it was just an extension device. This might explain your rather odd view of ATV's capabilities.

 

[bpaluzzi]

If im not mistaken you are from the UK and have no idea how the Apple TV 1 functioned in the US, which was significantly different considering you could watch about 95% of tv shows in existence on it, where as in the UK it was just an extension device. This might explain your rather odd view of ATV's capabilities.

American living in London. Had an Apple TV 1. It never, ever worked the way you're describing it.

My "odd view" is quoting directly from the Apple website. Not sure what device you're thinking about, but it's not the Apple TV (gen 1 or 2)

 

[Tech198]

Have 3 atv 1's and 1 atv 2 (now thats a tongue-twister). All three atv 1s are in full service. The atv 2 is in its box in a closet ... somewhere.

That says it all ... lol

Apple Tv 1st gen is mine.