should i get an apple tv?

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i was looking at getting an apple tv but do i get first or second gen
 

pigoo3

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i was looking at getting an apple tv but do i get first or second gen

Apparently you have a lot of money burning a hole in your pockets...I've seen recent threads asking about:

- an external hard drive
- an iPad 2
- an Apple TV
- a Mac Cube

...and you bought a MacBook Pro about 2 weeks ago. Good luck with what you decide.:)

- Nick
 
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ATV1 - Has hard drive for storage of library content via sync, no need for library online at all times for streaming, no Netflix

ATV2 - No hard drive, needs a library online to stream iTunes content, has Netflix

You just need to decide how you want to handle the content. I personally have both models and really like them for their different options. The ATV1's can be had pretty cheap, but finding new is getting harder every day. I have not seen any refurbished in the Apple Store in quite some time. The ATV2's are obviously readily available and can also be had from the Apple outlet for $85.00.
 
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Buy a Netgear NTV550 instead. Seriously so much more versatile, it's what I replaced my ATV with because it wouldn't play nice with my plasma.
 
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Buy a Netgear NTV550 instead. Seriously so much more versatile,

I like the fact it can scan your networked HDD's and sort you Media from them. One thing the ATV needs. I hate only being able to use 1 library when most is on my Ext HDD . . . .

it's what I replaced my ATV with because it wouldn't play nice with my plasma.
haha you would tell the world if you could ;P
 
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Too right, because it should have done. Bad Apple.
That feature of the Netgear is awesome. Plugged it into my Airport Express Ethernet port and can stream HD movies straight from the iMac and my external drives.
 
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That feature of the Netgear is awesome. Plugged it into my Airport Express Ethernet port and can stream HD movies straight from the iMac and my external drives.


^^^^ :Envious:
 
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i was looking at getting an apple tv but do i get first or second gen

It depends on what kind of content you have, if you have a good network in your place of residence and how much you like using iTunes.

Frankly, IMO, the ATV 1 was more or less a POS. It was slow and suffered sync problems. The ATV 2 is a great piece of gear, if you have all of your content in iTunes (as I do). Fast, streamlined and well polished it will do what you want if you meet the above criteria. If not, then another option may be better for you.
For me, the ATV 2 is perfect with my HD TV, no setup issues, no problems with my relatively new TV.

Don't let the above nay sayers lead to believing that the ATV 2 isn't a good device. It is. In fact it's a great device.
 
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Wasn't being a naysayer! It is good, just the Netgear is better IMO, especially for HD content. Full 1080P.
 
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I had the ATV1, and quite frankly I think it's a complete piece of garbage. I now have the Apple TV 2 and am very pleased with it. The lack of support for connected drives has not been a hinderance at all. Apple's Home Sharing protocol for streaming videos from iTunes has proven to be very fast and reliable. For example, I have one movie in particular that I ripped from my Blu-Ray that is a little under 2 hours long, yet weighs in at 8GB in size after transcoding it to 720p using ATV2-compatible settings. I can stream it wirelessly (802.11n) from my iMac to the ATV2 without a glitch. The downside is that you are limited to the video formats that it supports, but it performs better than anything else I've used, including Plex on a Mac mini HTPC.
 
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Don't let the above nay sayers lead to believing that the ATV 2 isn't a good device. It is. In fact it's a great device.

Dont get me wrong baggss, i love my ATV2 and what it does. The ease of use, brilliant wi-fi connectivity and now with Airtime im blown away. I wouldnt swap it with anything.
Envious bc i would like this ability with my ATV
I like the fact it can scan your networked HDD's and sort you Media from them. One thing the ATV needs. I hate only being able to use 1 library when most is on my Ext HDD . . . .

The truth is even that wouldn't worry me at all if i had a bigger HD so i could store most of my media on it.

So looks like ill be going to OWC and see what they have

Cheers
 
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I like the fact it can scan your networked HDD's and sort you Media from them. One thing the ATV needs. I hate only being able to use 1 library when most is on my Ext HDD . . . .

I have all my media on an external drive and my ATV2 streams them just fine off that. Am I missing something here?
 
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I have all my media on an external drive and my ATV2 streams them just fine off that. Am I missing something here?

Apparently you, like me, don't mind using iTunes for all your media. I think that may be the issue. My content is on 7 external Hard drives and 1 internal hard drive. Works fine. It's all iTunes compatible so I have no problems.
 

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