# Just bought an Apple TV Question



## emalen (Oct 10, 2004)

Just bought an Apple TV and before I open it i had a quick question.

Is the Apple TV the same Apple TV post January's MacWorld Expo?

I don't want to accidently be purchasing the outdated one only to find out now it's 1080p vs. 1080i etc.....

I'm assuming the only update is the firmware (software?) and that AppleTV is essentially the same as three months ago!

Thanks in advance.

Daniel


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

They are all the same except for the hard drive. Any improvement in the hardware will come in the form of larger capacity drives. Any software improvements will come via auto-download.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

it's good to go. the only update to it was a software upgrade putting it to 2.0.

btw, did you buy it from apple's refurb store? only $209 + taxes for a 40 GB.
exact same warranty etc... just a lower price.

cheers,
Keebler


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## 20DDan (May 2, 2005)

Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't you just open it up and install your own HD into it? If it's anything like a computer you should be able to plug one in and it'll detect it properly.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

7gabriel5elpher said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't you just open it up and install your own HD into it? If it's anything like a computer you should be able to plug one in and it'll detect it properly.


i think you can, but it's probably complicated and it would break the warranty. plus, i wonder how you get the software installed although i'm sure someone's figured it out by now


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Yes, you can open them and install a new hard drive. Sadly they use 2.5" IDE drives (not SATA) so the largest I have seen is a 250 GB Western Digital. I upgraded mine to 120 GB about 6 months ago.


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## Mooblaah (Dec 1, 2007)

da_jonesy said:


> Yes, you can open them and install a new hard drive. Sadly they use 2.5" IDE drives (not SATA) so the largest I have seen is a 250 GB Western Digital. I upgraded mine to 120 GB about 6 months ago.


That's not bad. How complicated was it to install, and how much did you get the new HD for?


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

da_jonesy said:


> Yes, you can open them and install a new hard drive. Sadly they use 2.5" IDE drives (not SATA) so the largest I have seen is a 250 GB Western Digital. I upgraded mine to 120 GB about 6 months ago.


bummer. i wonder if one could add an ide extender cable, cut a hole in the box, and attach it to an external with a massive HD.  That, would be sweet.

I don't have the appletv yet, but in playing around with handbrake and getting some rips ready for my trip in March, it makes me want one. I don't have an HD tv, but it will work on my older Sony flatscreen which does letterbox. if the ATV had a larger HD, this conversation wouldn't be on right now


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

It's still unconfirmed if Take 2 works with replacing the hard drive and all the other hacks. The hackers need more time, it'll likely happen.

And the 1080p on offer is upscaling, not playing back 1080p files per se.

--edit, scratch that, it looks like Take 2 is hackable as well--


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Since most of the media you'll use the Apple TV for is actually STREAMING from various computers and the net, the size of the hard drive is almost irrelevant, I found when I owned more.

Sure, 160GB (or more) is better than 40GB if you are going to be lazy and store everything on the actual ATV unit, but except for photos everything else could just be streamed from your (presumably) larger, cheaper, computer-connected HDs so why bother?


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## gtgt (Jul 19, 2005)

Just hack it and add an external usb drive. Any size you like.
I use the WD PAssport one from Costco. $139 for 250 gigs and it's usb powered to boot.
Sweet.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

has anyone bought one of the TV refurbs recently? Is it 1.1 or 2.0?

I've decided to go for an TV (over a Mini), hack it and stick a 1TB external in that USB port, perfect for my needs.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

I'll answer my own question. Did a bit of reading and it looks like the refurbs and even some new stock is shipping with 1.1 as Apple's clearing out the stock of Take 1 stuff first....well, for our southern cousins, at least.


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## CaptainCode (Jun 4, 2006)

Not like it matters what the refurbished ones have because you just update it through the device itself. I bought one new after the expo keynote and it had 1.1 on it. Now it has 2.0


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

it matters if you don't want 2.0 so you can hack the sucker! They still haven't gotten the USB hack down yet.

I don't have a spare Mac to always have iTunes on with to sync and stream, and the WAF is nonexistent due to this so I gotta add storage right on the aTV.


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## Orion (Apr 16, 2004)

I bought one of the new 160 Gig versions (since I *don't* have tons of extra space floating around on my laptop drive and I have a slow network) and it came with the first AppleTV software. I would think that Apple hasn't upgraded all of the hardware in the channel. So if you want the old easily(*) hackable version, now would probably be better than later.

(*) relative to "Take 2"


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

Orion said:


> I bought one of the new 160 Gig versions (since I *don't* have tons of extra space floating around on my laptop drive and I have a slow network) and it came with the first AppleTV software. I would think that Apple hasn't upgraded all of the hardware in the channel. So if you want the old easily(*) hackable version, now would probably be better than later.
> 
> (*) relative to "Take 2"


thanks Orion. I'm waiting for a refurb 160GB Apple TV then I'm in, unless I run out of patience and just jump in with a new one. I like the idea of 160 on there in case I screw up hacking the thing!

I've read that Apple are clearing out their older stock of Apple TVs before putting the Take 2 packaging out in full force.


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## gtgt (Jul 19, 2005)

Hacking it is not fun unless you know your way around the terminal.
I have hacked 3 and have learned about it the hard way. Ended up taking the hard drive out and attaching it to the computer that way. Made it much easier. Taught myself a lot though. Learned a lot about command lines.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

I'm anticipating 'the hard way', wish they would have a ZiPhone-like interface for this stuff (or a downloadable fully ready patchstick or something) but worse case scenario, the stock TV will suit 80% of my needs and maybe I'll wait out a proper 2.0 hack that'll work easier.


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## gtgt (Jul 19, 2005)

harpoon said:


> I'm anticipating 'the hard way', wish they would have a ZiPhone-like interface for this stuff (or a downloadable fully ready patchstick or something) but worse case scenario, the stock TV will suit 80% of my needs and maybe I'll wait out a proper 2.0 hack that'll work easier.


I can try and make you a dmg of the patchstick.
That was a tedious part to do as I had to install 10.4.10 on a removable hd to create it.
Then you can use disk utility to restore it to your thumb drive. Might work.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

if you have one made, I'm on 10.4.11 right now. I would throw you some money for the trouble, even. Thanks!


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## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

AppleTV Hacks


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## gtgt (Jul 19, 2005)

harpoon said:


> if you have one made, I'm on 10.4.11 right now. I would throw you some money for the trouble, even. Thanks!


Ok, pm me with your email address and I'll send it to you.
No money is necessary, I just want to help a fellow mac fan.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

thanks very much!

One quick question I can't find an answer for. If you have an external plugged into an aTV (say, a 1TB drive) do you need a 1TB drive of the same content synced up on your host iTunes account? I'm worried about plugging in a drive and having the media wiped out because it isn't in my iTunes account.


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## Irie Guy (Dec 2, 2003)

harpoon said:


> thanks very much!
> 
> One quick question I can't find an answer for. If you have an external plugged into an aTV (say, a 1TB drive) do you need a 1TB drive of the same content synced up on your host iTunes account? I'm worried about plugging in a drive and having the media wiped out because it isn't in my iTunes account.


harpoon, did you get an answer to this question of have you gone ahead and done this yourself and found the answer, I would love to know


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

am in the process, I'm halfway there. Should have it in a few days, I'll let you know how it goes.


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## Sparhawk (Aug 19, 2006)

About the issue of hd size. Right now it might not be so much
of an issue, until had movies and series are for rent and/or sale.
That's when things start to add up a bit quickly.


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## Irie Guy (Dec 2, 2003)

Well the HD issue is more based on the fact that my MBP only has an 80GB HD on it and I want to keep all of media files on the Apple TV. I don't know if it's possible to rip DVD's, CD's et all and then after copying them to the Apple TV erasing them of the MBP. I would love to have the Apple TV as the main Media Vault in the house with no need to have them duplicated elsewhere. Of course I would have a backup on another EXT HD but it would be unmounted 99% of the time.


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## Orion (Apr 16, 2004)

Irie Guy:
I've found that the external HD hooked to the computer and linked to iTunes works beautifully. With me, everything except videos is on the computer (music, photos, podcasts), and iTunes and AppleTV seem happy with it.

So long as iTunes on the computer synced with the AppleTV has a record of the video and so long as it has already been synced to the AppleTV, the external drive doesn't even need to be attached. It only requires connecting when adding media to the AppleTV.

I can't hack worth... (you know) and since I had the drive anyway, it's much easier. Just whatever you do, do NOT choose "Consolidate Library" while the external drive is connected. That makes things messy


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

if you're gonna go that way, the main thing to remember is when you're dragging video into iTunes, hold down option as you're dragging the media in so it 'points' to where the video currently is.

I'm doing that right now as I switch drives and experiment with video stuff, click-option works a charm.


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

better write me off for an answer to the external drive question for awhile. I thought I was pretty much halfway, but I can't even get SSH installed! (I'm on 10.4.11, have a vanilla 1.1 TV). Don't know what it's doing, but it doesn't seem to boot off the USB drive. I tried three different thumbdrives (1GB, 512MB, another 512MB) and followed the instructions to the letter.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

One way to think of the TV is like a big iPod. I unplug mine and take it to school regularly. It's like a very portable hard drive with a cool funky interface, and I put TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, podcasts, photos, music, music videos on it all just like an iPod, except that it is capable of much higher resolution. I can plug it in to any HDTV or projector that has a VGA in (with an adapter). IN terms of presentation tools, it can't be beat.


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## BikerRob (Sep 19, 2007)

Does anyone know of a store in Ottawa that has the Apple TV in stock?


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

BikerRob said:


> Does anyone know of a store in Ottawa that has the Apple TV in stock?


I tried The Mac Group first, but they said as a retailer, they could only sell Apple TV if they also sold televisions. None of the big retailers (Future Shop, Best Buy) had any in stock when I looked. I ended up ordering from the Apple store.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

polywog said:


> I tried The Mac Group first, but they said as a retailer, they could only sell Apple TV if they also sold televisions.


What a load of bull-plop! Go to Carbon Computing instead.



polywog said:


> None of the big retailers (Future Shop, Best Buy) had any in stock when I looked. I ended up ordering from the Apple store.


BB will usually stock AppleTVs, if not, they and FS have them available online as well.


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## BikerRob (Sep 19, 2007)

lol ... I just called Carbon Computing and they have both the 40 GB and 160 GB in stock in Ottawa - in the small trailer out back ... 

I can't wait for their grand opening (April 2nd) ... they are going to have lots of stock of everything, all the time.


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## Mamma (Mar 22, 2005)

I just got an apple tv for a gift, what gear do I need for it to work fully.
Thanks.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Just a widescreen TV and a computer with an airport card running iTunes. And an HDMI cable (or component cable + audio cable).


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

fjnmusic said:


> ...a computer with an airport card running iTunes.


_Or, a long enough ethernet cable._


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## Irie Guy (Dec 2, 2003)

harpoon said:


> better write me off for an answer to the external drive question for awhile. I thought I was pretty much halfway, but I can't even get SSH installed! (I'm on 10.4.11, have a vanilla 1.1 TV). Don't know what it's doing, but it doesn't seem to boot off the USB drive. I tried three different thumbdrives (1GB, 512MB, another 512MB) and followed the instructions to the letter.



Well hopefully you will have it figured out by the time I make the plunge.


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

I just picked up a used Apple TV. I'm disappointed to discover that in order to stream content one of my computers MUST be running iTunes at the same time. I thought once i pointed the Apple TV to the iTunes folder it would be able to do this on its own.

If an Xbox360 and PS3 can do it, why can't an Apple TV?

sigh.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

i-rui said:


> I just picked up a used Apple TV. I'm disappointed to discover that in order to stream content one of my computers MUST be running iTunes at the same time. I thought once i pointed the Apple TV to the iTunes folder it would be able to do this on its own.


Read the manual... XX) 
If you don't want to have iTunes (your computer) on at the same time, just _sync_ your content to the AppleTV. That's what the 40GB or 160GB hard drive is for.  Just think of your AppleTV as a huge video iPod for your TV.


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

you're missing the point. What if i have more than 40gb or 160gb of content?

The Apple TV should just be able to stream from the files on the hard disk.

Also, i still haven't searched the Apple forums for the answer but why doesn't some album artwork display?


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

i-rui said:


> you're missing the point. What if i have more than 40gb or 160gb of content?


Easy there big-boy.  You can hack it for external USB storage. It's used, right? So don't worry about voiding any warranty.


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## i-rui (Sep 13, 2006)

a hack to allow it to stream my content from a drive would be better.

if computers, xbox360s, & PS3 can read off a network drive why not an Apple TV?


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## harpoon (Sep 7, 2006)

i-rui, totally agree. I wish Time Capsule had an iTunes server or something.

The one thing Apple's really missing is an idiot proof home server type of system. Sharing photos, music and movies across multiple computers is too much of a headache.

I'm still trying to hack my damn TV and can't even get ssh enabled. I see there's 160GB refurbs on the Apple site too, damn, wish I waited for that.


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## Mamma (Mar 22, 2005)

I was told I need a wifi network in order for apple tv to work with itunes, is that true. 

This is what I have 
-Powermac G5 pc with a wirless card g. 
- And Apple t.v.

Is that all I need or do I have to get a wifi network in order for itunes sharing?
Thanks.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Mamma said:


> I was told I need a wifi network in order for apple tv to work with itunes, is that true.


 If you had bothered to read the very thread you posted in...


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