New Crazy Idea: Internal 1 TB Apple TV

[Cave Man]

Time for another hardware mod for the Apple TV. It looks as though Western Digital's big external 2.5" Passport drives (640 gb, 750 gb, 1 TB) all have USB2 busses on them:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/oct09/101209.html

So, given that the Apple TV already has a USB port, it should be possible to use this drive inside the ATV. Here's what I see as the options:

1. Modify the current ATV USB port so that it points "into" the ATV using the PatchStick method. Then all you'd need is to supply the new drive with a power source. This probably would break updates?

2. Find a 44-pin PATA to USB2 adapter. This would preserve updates.

Any thoughts or ideas on where parts might be located?

 

[Transporteur]

Crazy Höhlenmensch...

Why not getting a standard 1TB SATA and use a PATA to SATA adapter like one of these?
http://www.satacables.com/html/sata-acessories.html

USB seems a little slow (35-40MB/s maximum).

 

[lannister80]

I think Höhlenmensch means caveman. Interesting!

 

[Cave Man]

Why not getting a standard 1TB SATA and use a PATA to SATA adapter like one of these?

Yeah, I'm familiar with SATA Apple TVs. Just thinking about alternative methods.

USB seems a little slow (35-40MB/s maximum).

USB2 is plenty fast for HD video.

 

[Transporteur]

Of course it's fast enough for playback, but copying a terabyte of data on a USB drive can really take some time.

But in case that you can get a PATA to USB adapter, it's probably the easier method as PATA->SATA would require additional power for the drive.

 

[Cave Man]

Of course it's fast enough for playback, but copying a terabyte of data on a USB drive can really take some time.

The initial sync would be time consuming because of 802.11n, not USB.

But in case that you can get a PATA to USB adapter, it's probably the easier method as PATA->SATA would require additional power for the drive.

The 44-pin PATA header in the ATV provides a 5V line, so that's already there. The issue with the SATA bridges is that many (most?) don't work and it makes it difficult to squeeze everything back inside the ATV. It's do-able, but again I'm exploring alternatives.