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NewToAMBP

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 3, 2023
18
6
I was inside a Best Buy today and they had in the open box section this Apple TV for sale. It comes with everything, box, tv box, the silver remote, charger cord and remote charger cord. It does have some scratches on the box and remote but everything works. I realize now its the older version, I did not realize that when I was in the store. I am pretty new with Apple TV, is this still an OK model to have? Is it worth the price I paid? Also, it says when I was in the settings updating it that it can still get AppleCare+, should I get that for it if I am told I should keep it?

Thanks everyone for the help.

Apple TV HD 32GB MHY93LL/A - That is what it shows on the box.
 
Only you can judge if it is worth it for that. Can you get a perception of $40 of value out of it? If so, then it is worth it.

If me, I save up another $69 or $89 and get "latest & greatest" version in the refurb store... or maybe for a little less by shopping around from another retailer. Why? That old HD one- while still pretty functional today- is right on the line of probably being "vintaged" or treated that way... and then key apps will stop getting updates... and then some will just stop working.

That one is 4 generations behind. It would be like considering a cheap, last generation of Mac now. Yes, those Macs are still quite capable, can run Sonoma, etc (even coming with some bonus features like bootcamp and much more competitive RAM & SSD prices) but we all know that Apple will deprecate them at the soonest possible opportunity.

It is not a great fortune to hop from 4 generations old to "latest" here. Take a few weeks, save up a few more bucks, then buy yourself a new one. Along with fastest tech & all latest benefits, you'll also be buying what should be a good number of years before it is vintaged... unlike the $40 one with certainly numbered days now.
 
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Seems like a pretty decent deal to me. Runs the latest TvOS 17 software and can act as a HomeKit hub with ethernet. Makes for an easy way to watch HomeKit video feeds on a large display. I have a couple for ‘secondary’ 1080p displays where I wouldn’t otherwise put a $150 streaming device.

The Siri remote itself is usable with any current Apple Tv and sold new they are $50. Put it’s value at $20 and you’re talking about a $20 ATV… not bad!

Don’t bother with AppleCare, they are very reliable devices.
 
Depends. If you want to have a smart home I advise against it. More and more devices are coming out as Matter devices and that tv can’t be a hub for Matter devices. I just dealt with that for the last day. For some reason my living room tv 4K 2nd Gen became the hub instead of any of the other 8 devices HomeKit could’ve chosen. That tv is the only one that can’t do Matter. Only my Matter devices were unresponsive. It finally dawned on me to check my hub. As soon as I unplugged it my tv 4K 3rd Gen became the hub and all my Matter worked fine.

In all honesty I don’t recommend the HD at all at this point. It’s just too old and outdated. I’d rather save up the extra money and get something that will last me far longer.
 
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Depends. If you want to have a smart home I advise against it. More and more devices are coming out as Matter devices and that tv can’t be a hub for Matter devices. I just dealt with that for the last day. For some reason my living room tv 4K 2nd Gen became the hub instead of any of the other 8 devices HomeKit could’ve chosen. That tv is the only one that can’t do Matter. Only my Matter devices were unresponsive. It finally dawned on me to check my hub. As soon as I unplugged it my tv 4K 3rd Gen became the hub and all my Matter worked fine.

In all honesty I don’t recommend the HD at all at this point. It’s just too old and outdated. I’d rather save up the extra money and get something that will last me far longer.

my two cents - don't do, or don't do anything because of Matter (or Thread). spoken from someone who has had 'a smart home' for over a decade. just stay away, there is practically zero benefit to using Matter or Thread devices over their counterparts using zigbee/zwave/wifi.
 
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I got an Apple TV 4K (Gen 1) for $35 on eBay....no remote but works great. My daughter has the 1080P Gen 4 and it stutters and freezes a lot on the newer TVOS. I'd stick with the 4K units and as someone else mentioned, save up and get either new or refurbed. I saw a 64 GB 4K Gen 3 on Apple (refurb) for $109
 
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Thank you all for the help. I did end up not getting AppleCare for it and did return it. It did do everything ok, but took the advice of to go newer when the time should come. I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to future updates. I am going to keep an eye out for a open box 2022 type now or if a new one gets released get a 2022 when they lower its price. Thanks again
 
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