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I think Apple has taken the heat out of the Apple TV

Kuska

Kuska

macrumors regular
Original poster
No really I do - literally.

My :apple:TV resides in a media cabinet - I can close the front hiding all my equipment away and the cabinet uses hidden optic fibers to send the remote control information to the correct piece of hardware.

I only mention this as I always had to open the front of that cabinet when using my :apple:TV as I was very worried by how hot the :apple:TV got, even after just a little use.

Since the update to 2.0 the :apple:TV gets no where near as hot as it did.

Anyone else noticed this ?
Anyone know why this has occurred ?

Just curious.
 
nah...hot still...I'd be pissed if it wasnt though...
I use :apple:tv to make microwave popcorn.....so I want it burning hot😎
 
I'm interested to know how long individuals leave their :apple:TV's on for ?
 
Kuska said:
I'm interested to know how long individuals leave their :apple:TV's on for ?
Click to expand...
Mine is connected to my HT and everything powers up at the same time. On weekdays it could be on for as little as two hours and up to 16 hours on the weekends. My ATV gets very hot and also makes a good warmer for a cup of coffee! I haven't noticed if it's running cooler but I'll check tonight. But I doubt it will be any cooler although that would be a nice side benefit of Take2.
 
I turn mine off at night, I have one of those socket extensions with a switch on, so I switch that off. Still gets mighty hot when it's on through the day mind.
 
Mine has never gotten as hot as some of the posts I read before I got it made it out to be. Mine really just stays kinda warm.
 
Mine has been for three hours now and it's possible it is a bit cooler. But it's probably my imagination. It's still warm enough to keep a cup of coffee warm 😛 I wonder if maybe the 40GB runs hotter than the 160GB?
 
Duffinator said:
Mine has been for three hours now and it's possible it is a bit cooler. But it's probably my imagination. It's still warm enough to keep a cup of coffee warm 😛 I wonder if maybe the 40GB runs hotter than the 160GB?
Click to expand...

My brother brought his 160GB :apple:TV over last night - not yet upgraded to 2.0 and the heat difference was very very noticeable. The software update has definitely lowered the heat that mine is operating at.

Only other difference is that I have not synced all my photos back to the :apple:TV so I'm not using up so much hard drive space as I had been before 2.0. My logic is telling me that the disc space usage shouldn't make a difference but I'm not totally sure on that.

I'm still really intrigued by this - the great thing is that I'm not worried about leaving it on for extended periods now.
 
I've always used mine for streaming but I don't think that would make any difference. It's always been hot. I'll check it again over the weekend.
 
Kuska said:
No really I do - literally.

My :apple:TV resides in a media cabinet - I can close the front hiding all my equipment away and the cabinet uses hidden optic fibers to send the remote control information to the correct piece of hardware.

I only mention this as I always had to open the front of that cabinet when using my :apple:TV as I was very worried by how hot the :apple:TV got, even after just a little use.

Since the update to 2.0 the :apple:TV gets no where near as hot as it did.

Anyone else noticed this ?
Anyone know why this has occurred ?

Just curious.
Click to expand...

I just went to check and I think you're right. Before the update, on standby mode (white LED off) it use to be very warm but now it's about room temp.
 
Does the temp of ATV differ whether you use the wireless vs wired? I am currently streaming via wireless N and with new house will be using ethernet.
 
It's great to hear that others are experiencing the same - this 'feature' alone is enough of a reason to upgrade - I can now leave my :apple:TV on and ready for the kids to use without worrying about the house burning down whilst I'm at work !! 😉
 
Anyone want to run the unit off a watt meter and let us know if the power consumption has changed at all? Lower heat generally means lower power.

I'm hoping the "stand by" power is reduced.
 
notjustjay said:
Anyone want to run the unit off a watt meter and let us know if the power consumption has changed at all? Lower heat generally means lower power.

I'm hoping the "stand by" power is reduced.
Click to expand...

Would something like reduced power consumption be managed by the software on the :apple:TV. I've been playing around with mine again this evening - watching Ratatouille with the kids - still didn't get anywhere near as hot as it used too - in fact not noticeably different to the standby temperature.
 
Markleshark said:
I turn mine off at night, I have one of those socket extensions with a switch on, so I switch that off. Still gets mighty hot when it's on through the day mind.
Click to expand...

I haven't found any reference regarding the HD spinning down on its own, without invoking sleep command from the remote.

If you unplug it or turn off the power without enabling sleep from the remote, aren't you risking possible HD damage and corruption by suddenly interrupting power to the machine? The HD won't have time to park its R/W heads properly. Unless I'm completely wrong, that it does park it if power is interrupted.
 
Kuska said:
Would something like reduced power consumption be managed by the software on the :apple:TV. I've been playing around with mine again this evening - watching Ratatouille with the kids - still didn't get anywhere near as hot as it used too - in fact not noticeably different to the standby temperature.
Click to expand...

There are definitely software tricks to put the CPU into a sleep or idle mode, and if they've come up with more efficient algorithms then there might also be more opportunities than before for the CPU to enter said sleep mode. So it's quite possible.
 
My two cents...I agree that after this update appletv is running ridiculously less hot. Before it was pretty much almost too hot to the touch. Disturbing almost. Now, it's running 24/7 and acceptably just warm.
 
jecapaga said:
My two cents...I agree that after this update appletv is running ridiculously less hot. Before it was pretty much almost too hot to the touch. Disturbing almost. Now, it's running 24/7 and acceptably just warm.
Click to expand...

That is my experience precisely. This is a night v. day difference. Before, I could literally fry an egg (it was CRAZY hot all the time - I half expected the plastic parts to melt), now I could soften butter - not much else. No resort to metering equipment is necessary to confirm this result.
 
mensrea said:
That is my experience precisely. This is a night v. day difference. Before, I could literally fry an egg (it was CRAZY hot all the time - I half expected the plastic parts to melt), now I could soften butter - not much else. No resort to metering equipment is necessary to confirm this result.
Click to expand...

WOW, this is my deciding factor to upgrade. I was reluctant, and I did complain to Apple about the heat...

They probably in the new OS upped the speed of the CPU fan to help it run cooler...
 
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