09-12-2010, 06:45 PM

hey so if you didn't know this apple is selling the older 160gb model apple tv at a clearance price on their website. does anybody know if the new apple tv will be any better or worse than the older model? i know the new model will not have a hard drive, so is it a better idea to buy the older version?

09-12-2010, 07:40 PM

I actually would like to know the same thing. What difference will there be besides the ways you can control it with your i-devices? Don't you have access to the same media?

09-12-2010, 11:01 PM

From what I can tell it will be similar, just without the ability to keep content on the non-existent HDD. Hopefully streaming will be a bit better....

That being said, everything is more or less conjecture until the box s released.

09-12-2010, 11:42 PM

It's hard to say. The old Apple Tv will no longer be updated. So the latest software that's on it now is what will always be on it. You will still be able to download and purchase content but I don't know about renting and what not. Netflix will be a no-go. Overall I think the new one will still be worth it. No actual media to store data on is kind of a loss, but I am willing to take that loss. Especially since most of the time the media has been streaming over the network through external hard drive.

I will bet the new Apple TV will be unlocked ad we'll get external HD support again. Maybe not right away, but I think it'll probably be soon after it's initial release. I could be wrong though. Nobody knows how much different the software is on the new Apple TV VS. the old model.

The new Apple TV model does seems more than likely to be running an iOS variant, just not the iOS we're used to. So it'll be interesting to see if XBMC and or Boxee are ported over.

I am extremely excited for the new Apple TV though. It's been pre-ordered and just waiting to be shipped!

09-23-2010, 11:42 PM

In theory, the new Apple TV will be able to wirelessly stream many different mediums directly from your device, thru Apple TV, and on to your television set. This is in addition to the iTunes mediums you can get on the old Apple TV. As an iOS device, there is the potential future ability to send apps\games to your TV and play them on your device. These possibilities don't exist on the old Apple TV. I would only consider the Old if you have storage issues on your primary computing source. If it were me, I would buy the new Apple TV and a cheap external HD for a similar price to the discounted old Apple TV, giving me storage and potential.

09-24-2010, 07:01 AM

I'd wait until Logitech has their google TV device out prior to purchasing any device similar to this.

(edit: and the upcoming boxee box mentioned by XJ below)

09-24-2010, 09:19 AM

Patiently waiting myself. I've been a big ATV fan since it's release and plan to hit the Applestore when they start showing up to see what it's like. I'd like to think there would be a possibility for XBMC or boxee on it. However, with the release of the boxee "box" I just don't see Avner & Marcel having much time to develop an iOS variant for a competing device.

09-24-2010, 11:13 AM

I've been trying to look for something as a media device for our home theater room, but I just keep on running into dead end, or get overwhelmed by so much useless info about them. Here is pretty much all that I want to do:
1. Stream movies from netflix/other service(good movies, not lame old stuff)
2. view itunes library and play everything streaming.
3. have access to other media files/formats.

My projector has a DVI input(and everything else minus hdmi) I know that apple sells a dvi-hdmi that works both ways, but there is about 35-40 feet from the home theater center and the projector on the ceiling. The question I cant seem to find an answer to is should I run the whole 35-40ft with dvi and than use the hdmi adapter, or would I plug the adapter right into the projector and run the 35-40ft with hdmi? The other thing I could do is mount the ATV right on top, or underneath(depending on how you look at it) and just route the audio connections to the theater center. If I am correct, isn't it a better route to just connect the atv right next to the projector and route the audio, instead of possibly having video issues with long video cables? dang it...I wanted to use the optical out for audio....see what I'm frustrated with now!?!? arghh

I think it seems that the ATV seems to do pretty much all I want it to do, but I do remember there being mini-pc's for $179 not too long ago...

And one more thing, about the ATV, do you need to have a computer there to stream stuff? Like in times when I'm away or something, will it need my mbp to stream off of, or is based on cloud?

09-24-2010, 01:03 PM

Off of an actual computer, not a cloud.

09-24-2010, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by XJ-linux

Off of an actual computer, not a cloud.

that's why I still like the 160gb model...

09-26-2010, 12:20 PM

It was almost impossible to watch high-quality streaming content on the old ATV, like Netflix (which is on the new device). I imagine Hulu will be available before too long (at least Hulu Plus) and again that's never going to be supported on the old machine.

I know Boxee and others were ported to the old ATV via a hack, but the results were truly miserable. The original ATV is basically an 8 year old computer and performed like one on anything outside of playing iTunes content.

Go for the new machine or buy a Mac Mini.

09-26-2010, 01:03 PM

I'd agree the original ATV hardware is pretty low-tech. For me at least, everything (Hulu included) seems to run just fine. Are you using a recent boxee version? When I first was running boxee Alpha it was pretty useless. The Betas have worked much better on my ATV. I can't testify to Netflix, as I watch it via my Mini connected to the television. Though I'd never pay for video content rentals, some folks seem to like the idea. However, it's looking like NBC and FOX are less than 100% on supporting the new ATV...

Apple TV Ships Soon, Probably With Omissions - PCWorld

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out anyway.

09-26-2010, 01:36 PM

I dumped my ATV late last year and got a Mac Mini. Boxee was a crash-fest (it still is) and their support is non-existent. I know it's free and open-source, but that's really not the point. The worst thing about Boxee is that you simply cannot access your iTunes videos via its interface, even though it insists on indexing it and displaying it. I had to explain to my wife dozens of times she had to go to Front-Row to watch anything we got on iTunes, but she just got frustrated so I uninstalled Boxee.

From your user name, I assume you're a fan of OS... I was too, for a decade or more, but what the OS community never grasped (and still don't) is that no one cares about /mount/xmbc-sdu.cm.wif_jfe/fefhlwj_whatever, they care about click and play. They've learned absolutely nothing from iOS or even something as awful as Windows Media Center.

XMBC is just as bad - there's 200 ways of doing everything, none of them actually work.

09-26-2010, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by idrinorbarsaku

I've been trying to look for something as a media device for our home theater room, but I just keep on running into dead end, or get overwhelmed by so much useless info about them. Here is pretty much all that I want to do:
1. Stream movies from netflix/other service(good movies, not lame old stuff)
2. view itunes library and play everything streaming.
3. have access to other media files/formats.

My projector has a DVI input(and everything else minus hdmi) I know that apple sells a dvi-hdmi that works both ways, but there is about 35-40 feet from the home theater center and the projector on the ceiling. The question I cant seem to find an answer to is should I run the whole 35-40ft with dvi and than use the hdmi adapter, or would I plug the adapter right into the projector and run the 35-40ft with hdmi? The other thing I could do is mount the ATV right on top, or underneath(depending on how you look at it) and just route the audio connections to the theater center. If I am correct, isn't it a better route to just connect the atv right next to the projector and route the audio, instead of possibly having video issues with long video cables? dang it...I wanted to use the optical out for audio....see what I'm frustrated with now!?!? arghh

I think it seems that the ATV seems to do pretty much all I want it to do, but I do remember there being mini-pc's for $179 not too long ago...

And one more thing, about the ATV, do you need to have a computer there to stream stuff? Like in times when I'm away or something, will it need my mbp to stream off of, or is based on cloud?

yeah, I have a nettop from acer. Only one problem I can see with it. When I sit down to watch something, I don't want windows 7 staring me in the face. I don't want to have to press start, type YouTube - Broadcast Yourself., focus on the search bar, type what I want, find the result I want, then click on it. I want simple, easy, clean, minimal effort viewing, but I like it anyway. Since I'll have both the new apple tv and the nettop, I'll see which one I end up using more.

Oh, also streaming from another computer is a hassle.

09-26-2010, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by Zoolook

From your user name, I assume you're a fan of OS... I was too, for a decade or more, but what the OS community never grasped (and still don't) is that no one cares about /mount/xmbc-sdu.cm.wif_jfe/fefhlwj_whatever, they care about click and play. They've learned absolutely nothing from iOS or even something as awful as Windows Media Center.

Thanks for the learning moment. I'll be sure to pass it along to the slow OS people.