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New Apple TV vs. Old Apple TV
- Thread starter P140897
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I'm very happy with my old one for now. So many other devices have Netflix and you can do so much more with old ATV via free easy hacks however ATV2 Apps could be a game changer. Apple Refurb store was selling old 160GB ATV for $129 but they are currently out of stock.
Right now the old Apple TV is probably the more useful ("best") product. However, that could change radically if Apple brings apps to the new unit.
Furthermore, there can be no denying that streaming media (storage in the "cloud" on the internet) is the future of media/entertainment. Thus, the new Apple TV is really targeted at that vision which unfortunately isn't quite here yet.
Furthermore, there can be no denying that streaming media (storage in the "cloud" on the internet) is the future of media/entertainment. Thus, the new Apple TV is really targeted at that vision which unfortunately isn't quite here yet.
Ok....finally hooked up my new 
Tv2 (been running Tv1 for over 3 years now).
Happy;
1. Love it's speed
2. It's having zero issues with movies my oldTv1s chocked on.
3. Much easier via Home Share hooking into my library.
4. Love it's size and utilitarian design.
5 a selection of names for the device is a nice touch. I run 4 of the devices ( old and new) and naming them is necessary.
Unhappy;
1. Don't like the 'computers' menu. Separating the content like this isn't a step forward. But I can adapt. So no biggy.
2. Doesn't seem to 'hang on' to my library very well. Needs to reload it spasmodically as I bounce around inside it's selections. I found restarting iTunes fixed that, though it could become an issue if it continues.
3. The biggy for me. Playlists! Movie Playlists! Where the hell have they gone?
I can't see anything in setting, general or anywhere. Have I missed something?
That's prob. It for now.
Netflix doesn't count for me as being in Oz we don't get it anyhow.
Tv2 (been running Tv1 for over 3 years now).Happy;
1. Love it's speed
2. It's having zero issues with movies my old
Tv1s chocked on.3. Much easier via Home Share hooking into my library.
4. Love it's size and utilitarian design.
5 a selection of names for the device is a nice touch. I run 4 of the devices ( old and new) and naming them is necessary.
Unhappy;
1. Don't like the 'computers' menu. Separating the content like this isn't a step forward. But I can adapt. So no biggy.
2. Doesn't seem to 'hang on' to my library very well. Needs to reload it spasmodically as I bounce around inside it's selections. I found restarting iTunes fixed that, though it could become an issue if it continues.
3. The biggy for me. Playlists! Movie Playlists! Where the hell have they gone?
I can't see anything in setting, general or anywhere. Have I missed something?
That's prob. It for now.
Netflix doesn't count for me as being in Oz we don't get it anyhow.
I've got 3.5 Tb of my own media. The cloud ain't cutting it for me. Can't see it happening for at least another decade before moving that amount of data around is possible.
There is a setting to enable movie playlists, check the audio/video settings of your
tv to enable it.There is a setting to enable movie playlists, check the audio/video settings of your
Lifesaver! With 1400 movies on the system, playlists are essential. Will look into it. A huge thanks.
I'm very happy with aTV2 so far.
Having owned the 1st generation aTV for a few years, there are some advantages and slight disadvantages.
As for the hacks - I never thought they did much to enhance the aTV for me...YMMV. The only hack I ever got excited about was Boxee (for Hulu) and it was dog slow on the older hardware.
The home sharing menu structure of the new aTV takes a bit of getting used to, and some retraining of the family. But overall, it's well worth the time and effort.
The box runs cool, it's fast, and the promise of Airplay and Apps makes it far and away better for me.
Netflix is a nice bonus as well. I had held off on Netflix streaming for a long time, and signed up for a trial when the new aTV came out - streaming Netflix content is truly impressive. It's a cord cutter.
Having owned the 1st generation aTV for a few years, there are some advantages and slight disadvantages.
As for the hacks - I never thought they did much to enhance the aTV for me...YMMV. The only hack I ever got excited about was Boxee (for Hulu) and it was dog slow on the older hardware.
The home sharing menu structure of the new aTV takes a bit of getting used to, and some retraining of the family. But overall, it's well worth the time and effort.
The box runs cool, it's fast, and the promise of Airplay and Apps makes it far and away better for me.
Netflix is a nice bonus as well. I had held off on Netflix streaming for a long time, and signed up for a trial when the new aTV came out - streaming Netflix content is truly impressive. It's a cord cutter.
I love having local storage too. It's all on my Mac and that's why I like the new one better. 
Seriously though, having one central storage place for all your media works wonders especially when you do like I did and add an Apple TV under every TV in the house. Syncing and trying to manage what content is on what TV (or trying to keep an ever expanding multi-terabytes worth of storage space on each and every media extender) would be a huge headache. How I have it set up, ALL of everyone's content is available at all times on every TV in the house.
Can't beat that with a stick.
Seriously though, having one central storage place for all your media works wonders especially when you do like I did and add an Apple TV under every TV in the house. Syncing and trying to manage what content is on what TV (or trying to keep an ever expanding multi-terabytes worth of storage space on each and every media extender) would be a huge headache. How I have it set up, ALL of everyone's content is available at all times on every TV in the house. Can't beat that with a stick.
At this very moment, I give the nod to ATV1. I liked having the iTunes Store right on my TV. And the ability to play iTunes Extras and LPs. (The lack of this feature on ATV2 straight out of the box is just dumb. These things were made for ATV and should be a nice selling point. There HAS to be an update coming soon.)
On the new one, I love the speed and power increase. Streaming is flawless. No more stuttering when streaming HD, no more slow and jerky (at times) menu. I'm not a big fan of having the computer on all the time, but it's not a major flaw.
But remember what ATV1 was like when that came out and where it ended up? Miles apart from each other. I think there is a lot in the pipeline for ATV2.
On the new one, I love the speed and power increase. Streaming is flawless. No more stuttering when streaming HD, no more slow and jerky (at times) menu. I'm not a big fan of having the computer on all the time, but it's not a major flaw.
But remember what ATV1 was like when that came out and where it ended up? Miles apart from each other. I think there is a lot in the pipeline for ATV2.
I've played around with the Old ATV but I own the new one and absolutely love it.
Video podcast, Movies and TV show content I've downloaded & purchased and the most commonly used feature is Music. I have a great home theater system which is much better sounding then the stock speakers in my iMac and MBP.
Definitely worth the 99 bucks.
Video podcast, Movies and TV show content I've downloaded & purchased and the most commonly used feature is Music. I have a great home theater system which is much better sounding then the stock speakers in my iMac and MBP.
Definitely worth the 99 bucks.
The new one added features I do not need (I have Netflix via TivoHD) and took away features I liked (local storage, purchase from the device, etc.) so I bought the old one when it went on close-out.
In the UK I def think that the Old one is the best option as we have no additions like NetFlix, so all I see is a backwards step. It would be nice to see our demand services on there soon although we all know that Apple couldn't give a damn about UK services.
When iOS 4.2 is released with the airplay features, that could change the situation meaning that you don't have to have your computer on all the time. I currently only sync unwatched items onto my old Apple TV and so the same could be done with my iPhone.
I prefer the size, temperature and aesthetics of the new unit, just a shame that they didn't enable it to read an attached storage or NAS as this would then be a better product than the Old one.
So currently I am still happy with the old one, even though it was so much more expensive than the new one has come out at.
When iOS 4.2 is released with the airplay features, that could change the situation meaning that you don't have to have your computer on all the time. I currently only sync unwatched items onto my old Apple TV and so the same could be done with my iPhone.
I prefer the size, temperature and aesthetics of the new unit, just a shame that they didn't enable it to read an attached storage or NAS as this would then be a better product than the Old one.
So currently I am still happy with the old one, even though it was so much more expensive than the new one has come out at.
The only problem I really have with the new AppleTV is the lack of iTunes Extra support and it doesn't play nice with my HDMI switcher so I have to have it on it's on port and switch to it on my receiver. The first problem I'm sure will be fixed, the second probably won't.
Other then those two things, I think it's brilliant and works great. Way better then ATV1. Netflix is fantastic.
Other then those two things, I think it's brilliant and works great. Way better then ATV1. Netflix is fantastic.
I am with you. I have almost the same amount of stuff. If you could buy 1Tb in the cloud for around $100 I would be in like Flynn.
How do you store all your stuff? I use a Drobo.
Lol. Same here. 6tb of hdd in it, formatted as 8tb, and it's just recently started telling me it's time to drop in a bigger drive. My only criticism of it is it keeps nodding off to sleep which of course means when I select a movie, sometimes it takes a bit to actually start.
Ok....24hrs in and heres the update from my end.
Don't like the way it handles playlists, but it livable and probably will change a fair bit over time aka appletv take 2.
But what's with the accessing the library so much? I mean....its reads it when I select the library, shows me the list of stuff....even down to how many movies in each genre, but then when I select that genre and go into it....off it goes again to read the list of movies in that genre.
Is anyone else experiencing this? Like, once its read the XML file, shouldn't it already KNOW what's in there? This could be an issue for me.
Don't like the way it handles playlists, but it livable and probably will change a fair bit over time aka appletv take 2.
But what's with the accessing the library so much? I mean....its reads it when I select the library, shows me the list of stuff....even down to how many movies in each genre, but then when I select that genre and go into it....off it goes again to read the list of movies in that genre.
Is anyone else experiencing this? Like, once its read the XML file, shouldn't it already KNOW what's in there? This could be an issue for me.
My main problems are part of a larger issue with iOS and how they handle metadata.
On my iPad, iPhone, the new ATV, the old ATV and iTunes... they all read the data different. Artwork for videos on one device is the album art, the next its the actual video screengrab. On the iPad, playlists I don't select sync over merely because the items in those playlists are all present. You never know what to expect from device to device.
Also, my biggest gripe with the new ATV: PLAYCOUNTS. Seriously, why no playcounts? I know home sharing is different than the way the old ATV used syncing, but seriously, something that is such an integral part of iTunes is not currently compatible with the new ATV? I find that incredibly ridiculous. That is almost as illogical as the next iPhone not supporting playlists. It makes no sense.
iTunes LP and iTunes Extras not being supported is also a head-scratcher.
Some of my TV seasons are sorted out of order. Metadata for them are flawless.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the new ATV, but there are some glaring faults. I reckon updates will fix all of these issues, but these are things that should have been fixed before the product even shipped.
On my iPad, iPhone, the new ATV, the old ATV and iTunes... they all read the data different. Artwork for videos on one device is the album art, the next its the actual video screengrab. On the iPad, playlists I don't select sync over merely because the items in those playlists are all present. You never know what to expect from device to device.
Also, my biggest gripe with the new ATV: PLAYCOUNTS. Seriously, why no playcounts? I know home sharing is different than the way the old ATV used syncing, but seriously, something that is such an integral part of iTunes is not currently compatible with the new ATV? I find that incredibly ridiculous. That is almost as illogical as the next iPhone not supporting playlists. It makes no sense.
iTunes LP and iTunes Extras not being supported is also a head-scratcher.
Some of my TV seasons are sorted out of order. Metadata for them are flawless.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the new ATV, but there are some glaring faults. I reckon updates will fix all of these issues, but these are things that should have been fixed before the product even shipped.
Been messing around with iOS 4.2 on the iPad and realized:
I had planned on repurposing the old Apple TV as a media server and speaker in the kitchen.
MAYBE Apple will update the old Apple TV when they update the new Apple TV so the old can at least receive audio from iOS. Using the old Apple TV as a music server let me keep a Mac turned off - having the ability to stream from it to the new Apple TV would be nice too...
- It doesn't stream audio to my old Apple TV.
- My old Apple TV doesn't stream audio to the new Apple TV.
I had planned on repurposing the old Apple TV as a media server and speaker in the kitchen.
MAYBE Apple will update the old Apple TV when they update the new Apple TV so the old can at least receive audio from iOS. Using the old Apple TV as a music server let me keep a Mac turned off - having the ability to stream from it to the new Apple TV would be nice too...
I was really struggling with this question. We have a 40GB Apple TV that has worked fairly well for the past year jailbroken using Boxee / XMBC. What we mostly use it for is streaming from our library to a TV in our Bedroom -- a 2TB drive connected to my iMac. We decided to get a second Apple TV for a our living room TV. The one thing I hated about the Apple TV was that the video had to be in the iTunes library and in MP4 format to be accessed. Most of my video is in AVI format. So jailbreaking solved that problem. It wasn't easy to jailbreak, but with some patience and help from the internet I was able to do it.
My first concern about the 2nd Gen Apple TV is weather I can stream AVI files from my library ---- and I can't find anything that said I can. I assume it won't be long before Air Server works on it (or does it already?). We use Air Video Server to stream to iPads and iPhones. I would assume it will work on the 2nd Gen Apple TV if you can actually install Apps on it? Obviously I don't understand much about how iOS works on Apple TV or "Air Play".
A lot of the video we play is for my four year old daughter. She watches the same PBS shows over and over and over. So it is an advantage to have some storage space on the Apple TV to hold her videos. Then we can take the Apple TV with us and plug it in at hotels. We also realized we might be able to use it in our minivan - a Honda Odyssey 2010 Touring by plugging it in the back in the auxiliary video input. No more fumbling around with my daughter's DVDs in the car! This has yet to be tested though. Not sure how I will be able to operate the remote from the front seat without seeing the screen.
But the clincher that got me to buy a 160gb 1st gen Apple TV was that I somehow lucked into a low price on Amazon yesterday. It was $129 with free shipping. I checked today and the price went up to $149. I don't know if I was just lucky or if their was a pricing problem, or what. But lucky me! I am fairly certain it was not a refurbished model, but I am definitely going to make sure when it comes.
Used 160GB models on craigslist were going for more than $129 yesterday.
So I figure we will wait to hear how the 2nd Gen apple TV does versus the Boxee Box and buy one of those later. Boxee Box is $200, but if it can do all that it is supposed to do and does it well, it will be worth it. Unless 2nd Gen Apple TV catches up with all that functionality with Apps. I have no idea how Apps work on 2nd gen. Waiting to hear all about it. I am pretty sure the 2nd Gen Apple TV will blow the Boxee Box out of the water in a matter of time. Unless they still make it difficult to stream AVI files.
My first concern about the 2nd Gen Apple TV is weather I can stream AVI files from my library ---- and I can't find anything that said I can. I assume it won't be long before Air Server works on it (or does it already?). We use Air Video Server to stream to iPads and iPhones. I would assume it will work on the 2nd Gen Apple TV if you can actually install Apps on it? Obviously I don't understand much about how iOS works on Apple TV or "Air Play".
A lot of the video we play is for my four year old daughter. She watches the same PBS shows over and over and over. So it is an advantage to have some storage space on the Apple TV to hold her videos. Then we can take the Apple TV with us and plug it in at hotels. We also realized we might be able to use it in our minivan - a Honda Odyssey 2010 Touring by plugging it in the back in the auxiliary video input. No more fumbling around with my daughter's DVDs in the car! This has yet to be tested though. Not sure how I will be able to operate the remote from the front seat without seeing the screen.
But the clincher that got me to buy a 160gb 1st gen Apple TV was that I somehow lucked into a low price on Amazon yesterday. It was $129 with free shipping. I checked today and the price went up to $149. I don't know if I was just lucky or if their was a pricing problem, or what. But lucky me! I am fairly certain it was not a refurbished model, but I am definitely going to make sure when it comes.
Used 160GB models on craigslist were going for more than $129 yesterday.
So I figure we will wait to hear how the 2nd Gen apple TV does versus the Boxee Box and buy one of those later. Boxee Box is $200, but if it can do all that it is supposed to do and does it well, it will be worth it. Unless 2nd Gen Apple TV catches up with all that functionality with Apps. I have no idea how Apps work on 2nd gen. Waiting to hear all about it. I am pretty sure the 2nd Gen Apple TV will blow the Boxee Box out of the water in a matter of time. Unless they still make it difficult to stream AVI files.
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