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dr_lha

macrumors 68000
Oct 8, 2003
1,633
176
This thing has a better graphics card than a MacBook.


Deeeeepressing.
I was just thinking the same thing. I assume this is because the AppleTV's CPU is not a powerhouse, like the MacBooks C2D, so needs all the help it can get decoding video. Still, seems a shame that Apple can stick a dedicated chip in this thing but not the MacBook/mini.
 

timmillwood

macrumors 6502a
Apr 7, 2006
955
1
One of the advantages of SATA is small cable size. Apple used PATA because it fit, is cheaper and was not blocking any fans!

You may not be able to upgrade the HD unless you can make it bootable. I bet some of the OS is in the HD. I wonder what happens if somehow the HD is corrupted. Does that mean, the whole device is toast?

it won't be long until someone plugs the drive upto a USB port to see what is on it, and if it is the OS it could be transferred.
 

CoreWeb

macrumors 6502
Mar 2, 2007
456
0
Edge of reason
I was just thinking the same thing. I assume this is because the AppleTV's CPU is not a powerhouse, like the MacBooks C2D, so needs all the help it can get decoding video. Still, seems a shame that Apple can stick a dedicated chip in this thing but not the MacBook/mini.

Well, if they raised the chip on the MacBook, the MacBook would have a shorter battery life. As for the Mini... are those even Core 2 Duos yet? (No - I just checked). It looks like they're due for an update...
 

anubis72

macrumors regular
Jan 18, 2004
145
15
Aim higher...

I certainly wouldn't mind putting a 160GB HDD in there... :)

160GB??? Hell, I'd throw a 500GB drive in there...Unless that's not a 3.5".

That would be the only reason I would get one.

You may not be able to upgrade the HD unless you can make it bootable. I bet some of the OS is in the HD. I wonder what happens if somehow the HD is corrupted. Does that mean, the whole device is toast?

Can't you just do a drive-to-drive copy when you swap???

I would assume that the :apple:TV got a dedicated video card because it's sole purpose is for video, correct? Makes sense to me...
 

Modrak

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2005
34
0
hdd image

someone should really really pull the harddrive out, put it into iPod (the only 1.8" PATA HDD case I can think of at the moment :D ), dump it and put the image online...and try to boot it by the way on regular mac:)

or try it the other way, install OS X onto it and see if Apple TV will explode :)
 

Peace

Cancelled
Apr 1, 2005
19,546
4,556
Space The Only Frontier
Looking at that device, It seems to me just radiating potential. Give or take a year of updates, I think the :apple:TV will fit most people's living room needs perfectly.

I don't know much about Nvidia, but I don't think they do many small, low power GPUs designed purely for streaming & HD, I think there may be some truth to the game rumours, maybe psp or higher quality.

The HDD looks easily replacable, but we don't know if the software supports a larger disk, not much point buying a 2TB disk and finding you can only use 40GB of it.

I'd be willing to bet that hard drive is using the ZFS filesystem.
 

ajonessn

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2005
5
0
160GB??? Hell, I'd throw a 500GB drive in there...Unless that's not a 3.5".

That would be the only reason I would get one.



Can't you just do a drive-to-drive copy when you swap???

I would assume that the :apple:TV got a dedicated video card because it's sole purpose is for video, correct? Makes sense to me...

It's not a 3.5" HDD. It's only a 2.5" HDD. You can see that in this photo. I would suspect that simply taking out the drive, and hooking it up to an external firewire PATA would allow you to clone the disc to a larger drive, thus allowing you to upgrade the storage.
 

surferfromuk

macrumors 65816
Feb 1, 2007
1,153
0
...not entirely different from the game of pong I dissected in 1979...

Can anyone show me how well it upscales a low res 320x240 youtube movie rip to a big screen yet!!... ??
 

dr_lha

macrumors 68000
Oct 8, 2003
1,633
176
there is no way the OS is on the hdd, or any part of it. it's all flash/chip based for sure :)
I'm willing to bet money that you are wrong. Adding a flash based OS would increase the cost of this thing. Why would they do that when it has a 40Gb HD. Its obviously running some sort of cut down OS X, perhaps the same embedded version thats destined for the iPhone.

Its going to be interesting to see what happens when someone plugs the HD of this thing into another machine and starts poking around.
 

petej

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2004
138
7
Waiting now for the first person to get linux installed on the Apple TV. I sense a whole new life beckons for these little boxes. VLC, DIVX, usable USB port, games.
Would love to play with one myself but I do not have a suitable TV. I am still stuck in that bygone era of Cathode Ray Tubes.
 

SPUY767

macrumors 68020
Jun 22, 2003
2,041
131
GA
Wonder if you can format that hdd (If th OS is on it) and install a normal version of OSX...then you could stream EVERYTHING:D

And melt the CPU in the process. It runs a slim version of the OS for a reason, the CPU can't handle the full thing. Probably has too little ram as well.
 

steve_hill4

macrumors 68000
May 15, 2005
1,856
0
NG9, England
Responding to earlier comments, I too am finding this a little disturbing. However, I do agree with some quarters comparing this thing to the iPod. Not the first of it's class, easy to use and has the potential to revolutionise the market. I can't wait for the iPhone launch day either and Leopard for similar buzz.

I would still like to see Apple open this platform up a little more though. Perhaps adding a simple web browser and allowing a keyboard, (Apple BT perhaps with trackpad attached to side instead of numerical pad), to connect would make this a great box to stick under your TV. After all, media content and web browsing is all most want to do computer-wise with their TV. PVR capabilities would be great too, but I still say that's less likely.
 

dornoforpyros

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2004
3,070
4
Calgary, AB
Yes, it is cool. Yes, I wouldn't mind having one. And yes, I have been sucked into all the posts so far.

But I mean come ON. "Apple TV Taken Apart." "Apple TV Instructions" "Apple TV Unboxing."

What comes next? "Apple TV is plugged in." "Apple TV placement on or near a TV set." "Apple TV used as a coaster." "Apple TV may open gateways to alternate dimensions."

:apple: TV taken to the genius bar! ;)
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
Very clean design.

I bet the second revision of this will be killer. In the meantime it could make a great Linux system - someone is guaranteed to hack it - for those of us who use divx which this device doesn't support.

At least it has the 40GB cache (30GB usable?) which makes it more usable than, for example, ORB and other similar systems - because I don't keep my computers on all day using power. OTOH I have a Wii and I don't have a HDTV, so AppleTV is useless to me and ORB could actually work! Of course the interface will never be as refined as anything Apple can create.

Right now I'd most want to gain access to my ripped music collection. A Squeezebox is looking better for that still - decent DACs, built-in display, etc. In five years time though everything will be about video and media on your home system, and devices like AppleTV will be a massive market, so Apple are sensible to get a foot in the door early.
 
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