All I essentially want it for/use it for is to mirror games to my tv and occasional videos.
does it do this well and how would they look on a 42+ HDTV?
It's fantastic. I have a Samsung 42" LED TV and it looks like I'm watching a DVD. I've backed up a few of my favorite TV Shows and DVDs to my hard drive, imported them into my iTunes library, and then stream them to my Apple TV. They're fantastic.
I use my iPhone 4S as a remote control for the Apple TV, too.
I have watched a few iTunes Store purchases too, and they're good quality. I mean, it's not Blu-Ray, but I think that would just be so over-the-top in terms of streaming bitrate.
I'm pretty pleased with it, and I get a kick out of reading the MacRumors forums on my TV mirrored via Airplay.
If I was single, I would cancel my cable and landline phone service, bump up my internet service, and I would buy the Season Pass for all the shows I watch. Even if they're $40 a piece, you're talking like 5, maybe 6 shows not viewable over-the-air or internet a year. So that's at most $240 dollars a year for the shows you're paying around $80 per month for on basic cable. Unfortunately the baby likes his Disney channel and the Misses likes her primetime shows.