What to do with an unused first gen AppleTV?

[ipedro]

I was an early AppleTV adopter and a big believer in the iTunes ecosystem. I liked the idea that the iPod introduced which was that you manage your library in iTunes and then just sync everything to your iPod/AppleTV and consume content from there. No managing what to sync. If you own it, it's your content, decide what you want to watch or listen to when you're in front of the tv, not when you sync. I got a 160GB for that purpose. My library eventually outgrew it.

Then Apple introduced the ATV2 which sort of solved the small hard drive by removing it entirely. You now no longer sync your library. You stream it from a place that can grow with it: your Mac.

The issue with this is that you must have the Mac running. This wouldn't be an issue with a desktop but given that a vast majority of computers that Apple sells are laptops, this doesn't work with the idea of a simple, non technical living room experience.

When I picked up an ATV2 to replace it on my main tv (because of AirPlay), I thought I'd keep the original as my bedroom AppleTV which would host my content. This worked for music and I streamed video from my Mac.

Eventually, I missed AirPlay in the bedroom so I bought an AppleTV for each room of the house. Now I have an unused AppleTV first gen.

I've thought of selling it but I was in error in my perception that the "classic" AppleTV would have a high resale value because of its ability for customization and because of the mood surrounding the launch of the ATV2 with many people wanting an HDD in their AppleTV's.

AppleTV's are selling for about $100 on eBay. It's not worth selling. I'd rather keep it.

I'm now looking for a creative use for my original AppleTV. My first thought was that I could install OSX on it and run iTunes, using it as my main content library that I can then see on any AppleTV via iTunes HomeSharing. Is this possible?

Has anybody done anything really creative with a classic AppleTV? What suggestions do you have?

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

The original is not powerful enough to run OSX, but you can get OSX running on it if you take the drive out, install and set up osx on it, replace some kernals, replacing the boot partition, and deleting some ktexts.

$100 is the price of an ATV2... how much are you expecting to get for a used device that's 4 years old????

Why don't you look into some of the original ATV hacks:

Something like this adds airplay functionality - http://www.appletvhacks.net/2011/04/15/airplay-implementation-on-the-old-apple-tv-is-now-complete/

Firefox - http://www.appletvhacks.net/2007/10/11/how-to-run-firefox-on-the-apple-tv/

You can also get things like VLC, XBMC, Plex running on your atv

 

[ipedro]

Thanks for the tips.

The current AppleTV is $99 but the originals sold for far more. Of course they're 4 years old but they're also increasingly rare bits of tech. The original AppleTV wasn't a hit by any stretch of the imagination so it should be worth more than any AppleTV that you can pick up at a store today.

How much are 11 year old Apple Power Mac Cubes selling for? As much or more than a Mac mini today.

I think that iCloud will resolve all the storage issues that I'm concerned about and I might not bother to try anything too complex with the original AppleTV but in the meantime, I might do a software hack for AirPlay like you suggested.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Thanks for the tips.

The current AppleTV is $99 but the originals sold for far more. Of course they're 4 years old but they're also increasingly rare bits of tech. The original AppleTV wasn't a hit by any stretch of the imagination so it should be worth more than any AppleTV that you can pick up at a store today.

How much are 11 year old Apple Power Mac Cubes selling for? As much or more than a Mac mini today.

I think that iCloud will resolve all the storage issues that I'm concerned about and I might not bother to try anything too complex with the original AppleTV but in the meantime, I might do a software hack for AirPlay like you suggested.

A mac cube is a collection item that enthusiasts want... they are also very old, and thus far more rare. Not sure why you think anyone really cares about the original ATV enough to pay that much 4 years later. Like you said, it wasn't a highly sought after device to begin with.

 

[ipedro]

Good point. I'll keep it in a closet for 5 more years when Apple will be dominant in the TV industry. Any Apple enthusiast will want to get their hands on the rare original Apple TV that started it all

Here's what I wanted to do: I have a 17" LCD tv that I don't use anymore and wanted to mount it to a picture frame with the AppleTV.

I'd run the AppleTV as an iTunes only device where I'd organize all my music and video and that could stream/sync content to all my AppleTV's, iPhone and iPad.

I guess what I really need is a MacMini, but I wanted to put the original AppleTV to good use.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

well, it is possible to get OSX running on the ATV.

Why not just use the built in photo features of the ATV though?

 

[dynaflash]

Hilarious. I have two atv 2's and 3 atv 1s. the atv2 s are sitting in their boxes in the closet.

Linux/ xbmc on an atv1 is the *only* way to get proper 1080p (provided you spend $40 us on a chd card) and also airplay/airtunes, et al.

The atv2 is half what the atv 1 was in terms of modding capability.

 

[KevinC867]

I use my ATV1 as my music player. ATV2 is unusable because it lacks analog audio outputs which are required for the "zone 2" amp in my receiver. It's also nice to sync all my music to the hard drive on the ATV1, so my laptop doesn't need to be on.