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Gix1k

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 16, 2008
3,582
1,289
Other than the jailbreak reasoning and 1080? Considering one and not sure if I should hunt a 2 or get the 3.
 
The only real differences are that it is more difficult to jailbreak and can output stuff at 1080p. A4 inside the ATV2 vs. the A5 in the ATV3. Other than that, there's no real difference.
 
I have all my DVD's converted to apple TV format and the Apple TV 3 up-converts my files. I have the Apple TV 2 and the 3 has a much more superior picture quality than my 2.
 
Other than the jailbreak reasoning and 1080? Considering one and not sure if I should hunt a 2 or get the 3.

The ONLY reason you should hunt down an ATV2 is if you want to jailbreak. You can find ATV2's on ebay for $150+.

If you don't care about jail breaking, get an ATV3. You can get one from Apple refurbished for $85 plus tax with free shipping.

The ATV3 was released over 8 months ago and there are no hints that a jailbreak is forthcoming. It took far less time for the jailbreak to be available for the ATV2. It is possible that the ATV3 simply can't (or "won't") be jailbroken.
 
The ONLY reason you should hunt down an ATV2 is if you want to jailbreak. You can find ATV2's on ebay for $150+.

If you don't care about jail breaking, get an ATV3. You can get one from Apple refurbished for $85 plus tax with free shipping.

The ATV3 was released over 8 months ago and there are no hints that a jailbreak is forthcoming. It took far less time for the jailbreak to be available for the ATV2. It is possible that the ATV3 simply can't (or "won't") be jailbroken.

This was released this week.

http://www.gadgetsandtechnologynews...unced-by-atv3-jailbreak-news-channel/2819928/
 
May I ask why is it proving so difficult to jail break the AT3? I thought everything was hackable :p
 
May I ask why is it proving so difficult to jail break the AT3? I thought everything was hackable :p

Everything is indeed hackable. However finding a vulnerability takes a very long time, and most of them are found in the software. Therefore, every time there is a software update, the hole is 99% of the time filled, and they need to find a new security hole.

The ATV2 was based upon the A4 chipset, same as the original iPad and iPhone 4. If you recall, there was a major security hole found in the actual hardware bootrom of the device. This cannot be patched by Apple without fixing the actual hardware chip. As such, all it takes to update the jailbreak on an Apple TV 2 is a couple lines of code for the new software version and you are good to go. There is no searching for a new vulnerability every time there is an update.
 
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