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People who had ATV1 then bought AT2 Do you Regret it

Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
I have an ATV1 basically brand new with the 160GB HDD, so I was thinking of just getting an ATV2 for the TV sets in my house with HDMI, and using the ATV1 with the Component TV sets.

Anyone who had ATV1 that bought ATV2, Do you regret it?

Is it faster? Snapier etc?
 
Kind of regret it. Due to the lack of content to buy :(

I still wish i had access to the $1.99 tv show buys on ATV2 the content is so much more limited without going back to itunes to buy it then stream it to ATV2.

Speedwise/audio/picture quality i do not see any difference from ATV1 maybe a little more responsive on the menu's but thats about it once the movie selection starts - I see no difference.
 
Nope.

Miss some of the more refined features of the atv1's interface...things that took 3 years to see happen. But I expect that those same features will eventually make their way into the atv2's OS.

Really loving the fact I can stop stressing about how far I can push the unit interms of quality of ripping. The atv2 just plays them. No dramas. Even 1080p, though it does downsamlple it to 720p.

What is a pain is the fact that those later rips Im making dont even show up on a streamed atv1 unit. Which means...yep....I need to upgrade 5 atv1s!! (On the upside, I've got 5 atv1s up for sale!! :) 'ka-chinggggg')
 
No way I like it way better. Two of my biggest pain points have been answered.

  • Goes to sleep automatically
  • Does NOT require syncing

If I have to walk my a$$ over to the computer to make purchases so be it. Besides I purchased content directly from my 1st gen ATV 3 times, and 2 of those required support from Apple to recover my content.
 
I don't regret it at all.

Initially, the transition from having my movies under "Movies" vs. Computers>Main Library>Movies was a hassle...but we've gotten used to it.

For me, the main benefit has been not hassling with aTV management in iTunes. A secondary benefit is far less heat from the aTV box.

I liked the new aTV so much I sold my 1G and bought a second aTV2 for another TV.
 
I prefer the simplicity of ATV2 (i.e. it can see any of the libraries that are home sharing enabled), but I don't like that you can't buy stuff from the ATV:

It's not just the having to buy it from iTunes that's a pain, it's the fact that you can't start watching it until it's fully downloaded (with ATV1 you could buy a movie and start watching it pretty much straight away)

Also, the ordering of TV shows is a bit strange on ATV 2 (if you order by show, it still doesn't keep all the seasons of a single show together)

Back on the plus side, I love the small size of ATV2 - it fits under my TV much better than ATV1 did

Overall, I'm pleased with my ATV 2 and I'm sure many of the minor problems will be ironed out with future updates.
 
Like ATV2, BUT?

First, I do like the ATV2. Netflix is a nice plus. User interface is cool. Airplay is also a really cool feature.
BUT: I do miss the iTunes feature of being able to purchase music, movies, TV shows right from my downstairs couch. I also hate the fact that you need to leave your computer on all the time for streaming to ATV2. Also, you can't view all of your photos as a screensaver if you have a large photo library because of the limited storage on board of the ATV2. The ATV 160GB had in settings to set TV to 1080P. I don't know if it was true 1080 but the picture quality did look a little better, sharper on the 1st gen ATV. ATV2 is maxed at 720P.
 
No. I still have my ATV1 and will use it when I go to visit people since I can't bring anything more easily than that. But I like the new ATV. Overall it's an improvement.
 
I still have both.

ATV1 connected to component connectors on my 42" Plasma (doesnt have HDMI, bought it before someone 'invented' hdmi :) ) and the ATV2 connected to my main 46" LED TV using HDMI.

Love the fact I have both. All my itunes content is seemless on both, which is where I do most of my viewing. I do use Netflix on the ATV2 and have a patched ATV1 and I think there must be a way to get Netflix on that if I really wanted to.


Paul
 
I don't regret it in the slightest. It's really nice not having to reset it every other day for one of several reasons the old ATV would mess itself up. Plus, Netflix and pandora (via airplay) make it infinitely more awesome and useful.
 
Having both models, it is kind of surprising how different they are. Depending how you felt about the first model, I could see how you could be disappointed in the second one.

For me, being able to use the ATV1 without using my computer was a big deal. I used it for watching Video Podcasts (synced from my computer), Renting movies, and listening to music - always without having my computer turned on.

This is one of the biggest benefits of the ATV1 for me. It makes it feel like an part of my A/V system not a computer.

I know some people hate the syncing, but that just wasn't an issue for me. I sync my iPhone daily, and download podcasts daily, so the syncing of the ATV1 was pretty much transparent.

The benefit of the ATV2 is all about streaming, and Netflix. Streaming over the net, or streaming from your iPhone or iPad. For listening to music, or watching Video podcasts, I find that I can simulate the ATV1 experience by syncing the media to my iPhone/iPad and then playing from there - again keeping my computer out of the playback process.

One drawback is that now I need to have room on my iPhone/iPad for the video podcasts. I know I could stream them from the net, but I like iTunes managing my subscriptions, and keeping track of which episodes I have watched.

Since I purchased my ATV2, I hardly used it except to try out Airplay, and to do some $0.99 TV rentals. For me, I purchased the ATV2 for its POTENTIAL - hoping that we might have downloadable apps some day.

Unfortunately, my ATV1 died last week so now I have started to use the ATV2 a bit more. It works well, but for me, not as well as the ATV1. My ultimate solution would be an ATV2 with 32GB of flash and the option to sync media to the device or stream. Make it $199 and it would be a slam dunk.

As it stands now, my suggestion would be to look at how you use your ATV1 and how happy you are with it. If it works for you, then I would suggest you stick with it, and look at the ATV2 when you find something the ATV1 doesn't do for you.

If you have issues with the ATV1 (i.e. can't stand the syncing, etc), or want Netflix, etc, then by all means go for it and get an ATV2.

For me, the ATV1 was a better device for what I used it for and the way I want to use it.
 
I have a quick question...what displays under "Movies" if movies on your computer are displayed under "Computers?"
 
No, I absolutely love my ATV 2. All of my DVD/Blu's are on my hard drive so I am able to watch all of them. And, I love the .99 rentals.
 
I have both and I would prefer to have two of the first generation. I have only my own collection on a Mac mini which is always on.

The atv 2 has drawbacks
- different menu lay-out which is far less efficient
- it seems to be a lot slower in navigating and starting media

It has advantages
- lower power consumption
- auto sleep where the first gen seemed to have insomnia
- fast forwarding en fast rewind is implemented properly
The latter two are more disadvantages of the first generation atv. But they are worth mentioning
And personal
- I don't like the design looks and feels cheap
 
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I have both.

I don't like the media sharing implementation on the new ATV. Preferred my movies etc.

Do like the new form factor. just wish there was space for syncing photos.
 
I bought a ATV2 and a refurb ATV1 as a second ATV (my first was a 40 gig). I returned the ATV2. If they put the old software in the new hardware I would have been happy. I prefer syncing my info and having my media under the appropriate categories, not under my computers. That just felt clumsy. There were a lot of bugs that do not exist in ATV1 (only a small sample of my 1100 pictures showed up on the screensaver for one.) So I kept the refurb ATV1 160 gig and still have my old 40 gig. Maybe in a year or 2 when they refine the software more I'll give ATV2 another try.
 
I bought a Brand New AT1 160GB only because I can connect it to my older TV with Component connections, yet I have HDMI for newer TV's also I will take it with me when I visit People, so it is portable, unlike the ATV2, you need an iTunes Library to connect to.

I have yet to set it up, but why does everyone complain about copying media to it, is it that bad to get music, movies and photos on it?
 
I'm one of the folks who loves Apple hardware but hates iTunes, so none of my media is in an iTunes format. I bought the :apple:TV2 for two reasons: video over AirPlay (to stream Plex or AirVideo), and the possibility of increased functionality through jailbreaking. So far, video over AirPlay is neutered and jailbroken apps like Plex are pre-alpha with marginal quality. Things will surely get better as time goes on, but for the moment I do have a twinge of buyers remorse.

In the short term, I am ordering a Broadcom Crystal HD card for my :apple:TV1, which will allow me to play 720p and 1080p .mkv's witout a problem. For under $50 shipped it's a no-brainer.
 
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Wicked1 said:
HUH? and that has some relation to this thread? How?
Click to expand...

YOUR WHOLE THREAD HAS NO RELATION WITH ANYTHING.. its been covered over and over, the differences, the opinions, the changes, all that, just search before posting. And stop crying over what the old one had and the new one doesn't. someone already cried for you "BRO".

P.S you are not my bro

Thanks :D
AE
 
Wicked1 said:
I have yet to set it up, but why does everyone complain about copying media to it, is it that bad to get music, movies and photos on it?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't complain about having to sync to the ATV1, but would never do so for the simple reason that the HDD is too small. Rather than have to choose what to sync I like knowing that everything is available via steaming.

Of course, you can stream to the old ATV, but the thing that stopped me from buying one was the price. I want the content on two TV's (and will very likely add to that in the future). When buying more than one the price of the old unit mounted up.

That is the big advantage of the new unit not having the onboard storage. It brings the price down significantly.

The cheaper price and the fact that streaming means that setup is easier (you aren't tempted to start selecting stuff to sync) makes it a much more practical solution for multiple units. I suspect that's the main reason that Apple have gone down this route.
 
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