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jc8081

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2011
47
0
I am considering buying a apple tv but i am confused whats the big difference between them is?

As i see on ebay the 2 and even 1 is going sometimes more than the 3 new from apple...i realize the 3 must not be jailbreakable but is that the only reason for the huge price difference? and whats the big deal with jailbreaking since id be able to mirror my monitor display on to my tv w/o jailbreak whats so cool about jailbreaking?
also i see some ebay ones that say like 120gb what does that mean as i dont see a size on the 3 on apples site....

Thanks
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
The Apple TV 1 is the most different between them all. It has an internal hard drive to store media on it. Think of it as an iPod for your television. Being the first, it lacks many things the 2 and 3 can do, like Netflix, Airplay, and a redesigned interface. But it has a few advantages, like the internal hard drive and component video/RCA audio. The difference between the 2 and 3 is less defined. The 2 can only do up to 720p, while the 3 can do up to 1080p. The 2 is able to be jailbroken, while the 3 cannot.
 

jc8081

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2011
47
0
Thanks since i want it for airplay ill go with 2 or 3. now my next question...
whats the big deal with jailbreaking ive looked into it a bit and saw basically only the apps for streaming free movie/tv channels which if i wanted i could do using airplay streaming it from my laptop right?

is there anything else thats cool about jailbreaking that makes it worth paying more for a used atv2 than going and buying a new atv3 from apple?
 

Exit34

macrumors newbie
May 15, 2012
24
0
Thanks since i want it for airplay ill go with 2 or 3. now my next question...
whats the big deal with jailbreaking ive looked into it a bit and saw basically only the apps for streaming free movie/tv channels which if i wanted i could do using airplay streaming it from my laptop right?

is there anything else thats cool about jailbreaking that makes it worth paying more for a used atv2 than going and buying a new atv3 from apple?

Meh, not really.

Jailbreak can be beneficial though if you don't want to involve any other pieces of hardware outside of the atv in your viewing experience.

True on atv3 you can stream Plex via iPhone.
True on atv3 you can mirror your macs screen and watch media.
But this all equals more equipment and more of a hassle.

Jailbreak = convenience

I'm not familiar with airplay streaming from a laptop, can you please elaborate? I've heard of mirroring however. ;)

PS - mirroring a streaming video from your mac to the atv is not the best experience.

- Holla at yo boy Dave -
 
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Enigmafan420

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2008
898
1
Puget Sound, U.S.A.
Meh, not really.

Jailbreak can be beneficial though if you don't want to involve any other pieces of hardware outside of the atv in your viewing experience.

True on atv3 you can stream Plex via iPhone.
True on atv3 you can mirror your macs screen and watch media.
But this all equals more equipment and more of a hassle.

Jailbreak = convenience

I'm not familiar with airplay streaming from a laptop, can you please elaborate? I've heard of mirroring however. ;)

PS - mirroring a streaming video from your mac to the atv is not the best experience.

- Holla at yo boy Dave -

Wow I respectfully disagree. I have a brand new 3 sitting in a box still. The 2 in use every day.

XBMC alone makes the jailbreak SO WORTH IT. Seriously, there are an infinite amount of add-ons and tweaks for XBMC.

Pandora on Apple TV? Check! Dozens of other internet radio "apps"? Check!

Video enhancements? Check! Pretty much unlimited access to streaming video media? Check!

Some of what XBMC does is piracy (icefilms), but there is a TON of stuff out there that is free and legitimate.

Jailbreaking on Apple TV is not about custom themes or sounds, it's about the ability to truly unlock its potential as a true media device, not handicapped by Apple's very limited selection of apps.

If you can swing the extra cash, I would highly recommend getting the 2.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
Does anybody recommend jailbroken ATV1 vs. ATV2?

Airplay/RemoteHD(is this what it is called)?
Hulu?
Netflix?
Connect external Hard drive?
1080p? (Brodcam Crystal HD) HDMI?
Interface?
Speed?
Wi-fi?

Thanks guys!
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
Does anybody recommend jailbroken ATV1 vs. ATV2?

Airplay/RemoteHD(is this what it is called)?
Hulu?
Netflix?
Connect external Hard drive?
1080p? (Brodcam Crystal HD) HDMI?
Interface?
Speed?
Wi-fi?

Thanks guys!

atv 1 running xbmc (linux) with a CHD is better than atv 2 or 3. I have all of them. the 2 and 3 are in a closet.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
atv 1 running xbmc (linux) with a CHD is better than atv 2 or 3. I have all of them. the 2 and 3 are in a closet.

OK, after reading for a week, I ended up getting the ATV1. I am using it the very first time today. Very good. I installed the Crystalbuntu to the HDD. Fast. The only thing I need to get to used XBMC little bit.

I still wonder if I should buy the CHD card. I am not sure if I would be able to tell the difference between 720p vs 1080p, other than reading more video codecs which may not be to big of a deal for me. What do you think dynaflash/guys?
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
OK, after reading for a week, I ended up getting the ATV1. I am using it the very first time today. Very good. I installed the Crystalbuntu to the HDD. Fast. The only thing I need to get to used XBMC little bit.

I still wonder if I should buy the CHD card. I am not sure if I would be able to tell the difference between 720p vs 1080p, other than reading more video codecs which may not be to big of a deal for me. What do you think dynaflash/guys?

Get the CHD. it eats raw decrypted blu ray (which the others can not). There however is a downside ... you lose wireless ( it replaces the wireless card).

Also if looking for a *very* stock atv like user friendly skin for xbmc get Quartz. I use it on three of my modded atv 1's and my kids can use it easy like the stock atv os as well it has many more features. Its very light and intuitive. Like the original atv 1 interface which is arguably the best of the atv ui's.
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
Like the original atv 1 interface which is arguably the best of the atv ui's.

Quartz is the third Apple TV interface. It debuted with Apple TV OS 3.0. The original Apple TV interface is the same interface that Leopard and Snow Leopard have as Front Row.
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
Quartz is the third Apple TV interface. It debuted with Apple TV OS 3.0. The original Apple TV interface is the same interface that Leopard and Snow Leopard have as Front Row.

Its not exactly the actual interface but is very close. Yes, I am familiar with the original atv 1 interfaces. You are right it was atv 1 os 3. same same.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
I had the aTV1 for a while, with a 320GB harddrive and the good CrystalHD decoder. I tried for Crystalbuntu and OpenELEC.

Overall, it worked pretty well. It connected to my network and streamed downloaded movies just fine from my NAS.

There were a few downsides which were big enough for me to sell it and cut my losses:
- No Netflix. Until Netflix allows HTML5 access in a browser, Netflix will not work on anything linux-based. The reason is there is no Silverlight client for linux, and there most likely won't ever be.
- Unstable. Some plug-ins caused it to crash occationaly. It happened regularly enough to become annoying.
- Slow. The UI is good, but not stock ATV2 or ATV3 great.
- Not "girlfriend" friendly. My gf was not really enjoying the whole experience, even when it worked. I would explain. "to watch The Bachelorette, go into the ABC streaming app from home screen under favorites, and find The Bachelorette, and then select the episode you want to watch." I would get an annoyed look, and then switch back to the cable box.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
Oh wow! Thanks for the Quartz tip! It is the same as original skin!

Do you mean that if I do not get the CHD card, I cannot play Blu-Ray/mkv movies from an external hard drive?

Not too worried about losing the wi-fi as I have/prefer ethernet connection for stability.
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
Do you mean that if I do not get the CHD card, I cannot play Blu-Ray/mkv movies from an external hard drive?

Blu ray or transcoded mkv movies of a high bitrate will likely make the atv 1 skip frames on its own. The biggest issue is the 1 ghz cpu. Using xbmc the built in nvidia geoforcego 7300 gpu is not utilized which means its all on the cpu, which isn't great to say the least by todays standards. However, xbmc and also crystalbuntu(which you are using) have a built in chd driver which means once you install a chd chip in place of the wireless chip ... voila! The chd handles all video decoding which leaves the cpu to have to do very little!

Its about $50 U.S. and takes about 4 minutes to install.

That said, if you are getting decent playback on your video material and do not feel you need it. No sense in spending money you don't have to.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
Blu ray or transcoded mkv movies of a high bitrate will likely make the atv 1 skip frames on its own. The biggest issue is the 1 ghz cpu. Using xbmc the built in nvidia geoforcego 7300 gpu is not utilized which means its all on the cpu, which isn't great to say the least by todays standards. However, xbmc and also crystalbuntu(which you are using) have a built in chd driver which means once you install a chd chip in place of the wireless chip ... voila! The chd handles all video decoding which leaves the cpu to have to do very little!

Its about $50 U.S. and takes about 4 minutes to install.

That said, if you are getting decent playback on your video material and do not feel you need it. No sense in spending money you don't have to.

OK, got it. I have not tried it yet but I will and probably will have hiccups. If not, I will just keep it the way it is. You said $50 but I think it can be purchased for $25 from Ebay. I am bringing this up because I want to make sure there are not cheaper quality ones out there. I will get the one with ending 15, not 12. I read that :)
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
Oh wow! Thanks for the Quartz tip! It is the same as original skin!

Pecinko the Quartz skin dev did a great job, worked with him a fair bit on it and it really evolved. Run it on 4 atv 1's daily. Very lightweight and fast. imo it responds as fast as the atv 3 ui.

----------

Oh, btw, xbmc also totally supports apples airplay features. go ahead and use airplay to your modded atv 1 from an iphone, ipad, ipod touch. works a treat.

;)
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
Pecinko the Quartz skin dev did a great job, worked with him a fair bit on it and it really evolved. Run it on 4 atv 1's daily. Very lightweight and fast. imo it responds as fast as the atv 3 ui.

Totally agree. Awesome. So light and browsing is way better.

----------

Pecinko the Quartz skin dev did a great job, worked with him a fair bit on it and it really evolved. Run it on 4 atv 1's daily. Very lightweight and fast. imo it responds as fast as the atv 3 ui.

----------

Oh, btw, xbmc also totally supports apples airplay features. go ahead and use airplay to your modded atv 1 from an iphone, ipad, ipod touch. works a treat.

;)

Wife is watching a movie right now :) How can I turn the Airplay on the xbmc?
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
How can I turn the Airplay on the xbmc?

well, it should be on by default. on your remote devices it should show up like any other airplay enabled device. I am not sure how Sam set it up for crystalbuntu ( I use my own setup ) but it should show up on your remote device where the progress bar is. Just like an apple airplay device which I presume you have used before ?

----------

realize its not the current screen sharing version where you see the devices desktop. But is the older airplay I guess. you can stream videos and music right to the atv to be played on your tv.

----------

oh, and you might like xbmc remote.app which is available for the iPhone and Android platforms.

its kinda fun.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
well, it should be on by default. on your remote devices it should show up like any other airplay enabled device. I am not sure how Sam set it up for crystalbuntu ( I use my own setup ) but it should show up on your remote device where the progress bar is. Just like an apple airplay device which I presume you have used before ?

----------

realize its not the current screen sharing version where you see the devices desktop. But is the older airplay I guess. you can stream videos and music right to the atv to be played on your tv.

Ohh I think I know what the problem is. ATV is connected to the modem directly and my router is Airport Express which has only one eth port so I cannot connect the ATV to it. I think I did not see the ATV on my iPhone because it must be in the same network I think. Do I even make sense? I cannot mess with it right now as wife is still watching a movie.


I installed the remote. Cool. I can use it. So, I wonder if Airplay has the same logic. If I use the remote, shouldn't I be able to use Airplay also?

Ok ok. Got it. I had to enable it on the ATV. It works great!
 
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celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
Ah, ok so sam doesn't have it enabled in crystalbuntu by default. Hope you enjoy it it works pretty good!

Works better than my brother's stock ATV2 :)

If I remember correctly, when you say Airplay Youtube on the stock ATV and you hit the home button on your iPhone, Airplay stops. I may be wrong. With this it does not.
 
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dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
If I remember correctly, when you say Airplay Youtube on the stock ATV and you hit the home button on your iPhone, Airplay stops. I may be wrong. With this it does not.

Right, you have to switch it back before hitting home which disconnects your device from the atv.
 

celo48

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2010
655
187
The only thing I am not happy is the heat. There is a shutdown option but I guess it just unmounts inside. It is pretty warm when even not in use.
 

dynaflash

macrumors 68020
Mar 27, 2003
2,119
8
yep, the top is a heat sink. they do run warm and yes there is no way for linux to shut it down. Even the stock os has no way to shut it down.
 
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