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Did you go back to ATv 1?

  • Came crawling back (ATV1)

    Votes: 7 30.4%
  • Moved on to younger, skinny trophy wife (ATV2)

    Votes: 16 69.6%

  • Total voters
    23

winterlocked

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2010
33
0
I liked the idea of airplay, netflix and photo stream, so I recently tried replacing my 1st gen appletv with an appletv 2, but a couple things made me change my mind and go back to the original setup.

-On the new model, optical audio cuts out when you turn off your tv. The old appletv made it easy to pick a song, start playing and then shut off the tv.
-the menu system on the new model is structured to try and push you into the store, and buries your content in a stupid sub menu.
-You have to have a computer running to access your content. If you have a laptop, you can't do wake over LAN and you're SOL.
-Internet radio favorites are no longer an option.
-Album art and movie art takes forever to load on the new model. Even on wireless-n.

I'm all for upgrading to keep up with changes in tech, but don't see why quality features get left behind.

Any one else have similar disappointments with the new appletv?
 

Che Castro

macrumors 603
May 21, 2009
5,878
676
Im thinking of selling my current apple tv 2 and buying the first one

People say the apple tv 1 is able to stream from icefilms in 720p without skipping
All u need is the Broadcom Crystal HD card in it

But i dont know how hard is it to install the card


Also can the first apple tv jailbroken do everything the ATV2 does ?
 

winterlocked

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2010
33
0
Im thinking of selling my current apple tv 2 and buying the first one

People say the apple tv 1 is able to stream from icefilms in 720p without skipping
All u need is the Broadcom Crystal HD card in it

But i dont know how hard is it to install the card


Also can the first apple tv jailbroken do everything the ATV2 does ?

I bought remote hd from the app store and used it to hack AirPlay onto my gen 1. It's pretty slow though, and there's no way to do hd YouTube or Netflix.
 

KevinC867

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2007
620
2
Saratoga, CA
The lack of analog audio outputs on the ATV2 prevents me from using it as my music player. I need the analog signals to feed the "Zone 2" amp on my receiver. So, I'm continuing to use my original ATV as my music player and use ATV2 for playing my movies, Netflix, etc. Thank God the ATV2 is small and my receiver has plenty of HDMI inputs. :)
 

roidy

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2008
1,027
22
Nottingham, UK
I'm all for upgrading to keep up with changes in tech, but don't see why quality features get left behind.

Any one else have similar disappointments with the new appletv?

I completely agree with you, I've had an ATV1 since just after launch, I use it every day and have never had a problem with it. I purchased an ATV2 a couple of months after launch and it's been nothing but a disappointment. Files that play fine on my ATV1 suffer from micro judder and frame skipping on the ATV2, I was hoping the new iOS5's ability to select refresh rate would solve it, but it hasn't. The way you access your own content on the ATV2 is a major step backward menu wise. But the biggest dissapointment is the removal of the ability to purchase content on the device itself. All in all, for me at least, the ATV2 is a major step backward, new tech is suppost to be a step forward, the ATV2 just isn't.
 

Ginginca

macrumors newbie
Oct 22, 2011
11
0
Everyone has different needs ... different AV gear. There's never a once-size-fits-all solution.

Having both ATV1 and ATV2, I'm quite familiar with both and in an ideal world, there would have been a few things different on the ATV2.

The audio (rca) out for example is essential for many home theatre systems, and one of our TV's (only a few years old) doesn't have HDMI. So to use an ATV2 on that particular TV, we would have to run a DVI converter and optical out for the audio. But alas ... the TV doesn't have optical in, so we would need yet another audio device to be able to HEAR the content.

I truly prefer the original for several reasons:

- component video out
- rca audio out
- built-in hard drive
- menu system is better
- more stable (only need to reboot about once a year and have to reboot the ATV2 regularly).
- you can turn off the computer (with iTunes) and run the ATV1 (for example in a thunderstorm)
- able to connect to multiple computers with different iTunes accounts
- it's almost portable ... for example take it to the cottage (or hotel)
- outside of the USA, the iTunes TV content is still viewable (on the ATV2, using a USA iTunes account it's simply "not there".)


HOWEVER all that being said ... a hacked ATV2 can run Plex. I have tried other alternative addons to the ATV1 and they just don't have the same gooey user experience that apple provides. Plex comes very close.

I didn't expect to be disappointed with the ATV2. But it's been almost a year now and I have several of them. But it still feels like a cheap copy of what was a fabulous toy (that wasn't ready for the market). So I look forward to a better one coming out down the road. If Apple is planning to produce TV sets in 2012 (as rumor has it), getting as many ATVs into consumers hands would be important. They do still have to compete with the boxee boxes etc. So a $100 price-point is nice as an "entry point" and they attracted many new users this past year but a lot has been sacrificed (IMHO) to get the cost of the product down.
 

scott911

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2009
758
456
The lack of analog audio outputs on the ATV2 prevents me from using it as my music player. I need the analog signals to feed the "Zone 2" amp on my receiver. So, I'm continuing to use my original ATV as my music player and use ATV2 for playing my movies, Netflix, etc. Thank God the ATV2 is small and my receiver has plenty of HDMI inputs. :)

The lack of analog (rca type) outputs is a critical oversight.

It sounds old fashioned, but it is important for playing music in other zones. I have a $1200 Newcastle receiver/amp that supports zones two and three. Like just about all amps, zones two and three do require analog, not digital outputs.
 

pjarvi

macrumors 65816
Jan 11, 2006
1,289
190
Clovis, CA
Dumped both and went back to my ex-...err moved my PC into the living room and using it as a HTPC. The 1st gen lacked hard drive space, locked up too frequently, had problems with HD movies, iTunes Extras was slow, and it didn't automatically sync with my MacBook reliably enough. The 2ng gen was neutered beyond usefulness.
 

adbe

macrumors 6502a
Jul 11, 2008
669
334
-On the new model, optical audio cuts out when you turn off your tv. The old appletv made it easy to pick a song, start playing and then shut off the tv.

Hmm. I know someone who was looking to pick one up to also act as an audio zone. I thought people were doing that with atv2s, but from what you're saving, it only works when the TV is on.

Can anyone confirm:

A) the quote above (not that I'm doubting the OP, but HDMI adds a range of variables to the mix, so this issue could be local)

B) if the TV is off, can the remote app be used from an iDevice to stream audio to the ATV ala the Airport Express?
 

scott911

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2009
758
456
good thread.
now I understand why some people are offering more for an atv 1 than a new atv 2 costs...
 

Ralphalph

macrumors member
Mar 7, 2009
72
1
I'm with you, never found a reason to upgrade. I can walk in the door and have music playing in a few taps in the remote app (without needing any music files on my iPhone).
 

fpnc

macrumors 68000
Oct 30, 2002
1,979
134
San Diego, CA
I have both and think that each has its place. I upgraded my original ATV to a 320GB drive and it's nice to have that much content online without having my Mac turned on.

However, for the price the new ATV is pretty much a bargain. The major advantage of the ATV2 is AirPlay, but if you don't have a recent generation iPhone/iPod touch or iPad then that will be of no use to you. Unfortunately, AirPlay still seems to be a little "rough" and it looks like very few third-party apps or content sources are as yet supporting it. In any case, the support for 720p/30 on the ATV2 is a modest improvement (if you encode your own videos).

Overall, the ATV1 is probably the better unit, but it originally cost a lot more so it should be better. If they were still supporting the ATV1 with software updates then it would be a no-brainer, definitely the ATV1 over the new unit.

I bought a second ATV1 when they were reduced in price after the introduction of the ATV2. I did that mainly as a backup and I'm glad I did since my original ATV1 recently suffered a hardware failure (after nearly four years of good service).
 
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