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c073186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
821
3
I want to buy an Apple TV but I'm not really too sure if I need 40GB or 160GB. I do not really have a great idea as to how much of a difference that is. Primarily, I want it in order to play iTunes music on my TV sound system. And then maybe if I get the hang of it, I'll use it to buy/rent movies from iTunes... but at this point in time that is not a huge concern of mine. I thought that Apple TV lets you play media from your Mac, so why does it need storage within itself? Does anyone have a recommendation as to which I should buy?
 

bt22

macrumors 6502
Feb 15, 2009
309
19
Alabama
c073186, I also was torn on what size to get and I opted to get the 160GB. Well it did not take long for me to exceed even this capacity. I now have a 1TB external drive that stores my movies/music. The streaming feature works great, however it is at times aggravating to have to have my desktop computer on with iTunes running to be able to view my media which you have to do if you stream your media. So my suggestion is ... If you have the ability to run an external drive then get the 40GB if that is not a good option for you then go for the 160GB...I've got an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station and could possibly hook my External to it but i have heard there is a big lag with that option.... Well that's my 2 cents worth... best of luck... i think you will enjoy your Apple TV ... I certainly have enjoyed mine...
 

mchalebk

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2008
819
0
One of the key questions to ask yourself is: "do you want your computer to be on all the time?"

If you don't mind having your computer on, then streaming works fine and you might as well save the money and go for the 40 GB version. However, if you'd like to be able to leave your computer off, the 160 GB version is nice.

I use mine mostly for music (with photos providing the screensaver). Just on music and photos alone, I'm close to 40 GB. Since I've also got a bunch of monies on my AppleTV, the 160 GB version works great for me.

In my case, I didn't want my computer on all the time. In addition, I didn't want my wife to have to do more than pick up our Harmony remote and select "AppleTV" to use it.
 

Bye Bye Baby

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2004
1,152
0
i(am in the)cloud
Depends how much media you have. I have tonnes and so I have both the Mac mini as my media server and an apple TV.

They all work great together. Go for both.
 

munkees

macrumors 65816
Sep 3, 2005
1,027
1
Pacific Northwest
I have 3 ATVs, one is 160, the other 2 are 40, the reason why the one is 160, is it sat in a room where the kids will use it, so it makes it easier for them incase they cannot connect to the itunes server on my iMac, as for the the other 2 they are served up wirelessly, I don't even use the HD other than the screensaver pics.

I say go for the 40, as other have said, they are pushing one 1TB on there iTunes. (I have 450GB on a 500GB drive, time to upgrade).
 

bbydon

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2005
587
94
ATL
I bought a 160 and regret it, mainly because i stream everything from my imac.
If you have a laptop i'd maybe get a 160 so you wont have to break it out everytime you play music.

Or if you dont want to wake your computer up to have it stream.
 
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