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Gen 3 AppleTV worth doing anything with??

SS4Luck

SS4Luck

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 23, 2014
171
33
SoCal
I just found two old Apple TV’s that i had that i planned on using in my garage on the two TVs we have setup, but i forgot you couldn’t download new apps on them. Is it worth/possible to jailbreak them and update the OS to a point i can get an App Store? Or should i just throw them out and go buy new ones.
 
SS4Luck said:
I just found two old Apple TV’s that i had that i planned on using in my garage on the two TVs we have setup, but i forgot you couldn’t download new apps on them. Is it worth/possible to jailbreak them and update the OS to a point i can get an App Store? Or should i just throw them out and go buy new ones.
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If you just want to watch movies, TV shows and listen to music, Apple TV 3 is an excellent option. But otherwise I would suggest getting some new ones. Sell the old ones.
 
Without jailbreaking, the ATV 3rd gen wasn't worth much even when brand new. The lack of an app store sealed its doom IMO. I bought one 8 years ago, tried it out for a while, put it on the shelf, and now it awaits some archaeology team to dig it out in the future. I remember being so let down by most of the apps. Most of them only offered a few shows and a whole lot of nothing, mostly just highlights of shows. I think many of those apps are now defunct, along with the company and/or TV channel that created them. It was a major let down. Apparently you can jailbreak them, but do you really want to jailbreak a 9 year old piece of hardware that has way outdated components? And if you jailbreak, you will spend hours and hours trying to trace down apps to load onto it. IMO, other than as a paperweight, it doesn't have much going for it nearly a decade past its release.
 
I’m really just looking to add ESPN and a few other basic apps. I’m not worried about fitness/games/etc on them. I may just buy new ones for my in house TVs and move the old ones to the garage TVs
 
Probably cheaper to go with a couple of Fire TV sticks or Roku units, about $25 to $30 a piece. I find my Fire TV and Roku and ATV are pretty comparable in as far as viewing apps and streaming. Rokus have less ads, Fire TVs have ads out the wazoo though, but for watching ESPN they will all work very well. Don’t waste money on ESPN+ though, it is anything but a PLUS level service. You need the regular ESPN app to get the most live streaming of athletic games.
 
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w5jck said:
Probably cheaper to go with a couple of Fire TV sticks or Roku units, about $25 to $30 a piece. I find my Fire TV and Roku and ATV are pretty comparable in as far as viewing apps and streaming. Rokus have less ads, Fire TVs have ads out the wazoo though, but for watching ESPN they will all work very well. Don’t waste money on ESPN+ though, it is anything but a PLUS level service. You need the regular ESPN app to get the most live streaming of athletic games.
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My wife uses all the extra apple features on the Apple TV’s we have inside but she hates the remote, so switching to new ones for her and putting the other ones in the garage may save me some nagging headaches in the future and be worth the $300 or whatever they are lol
 
SS4Luck said:
My wife uses all the extra apple features on the Apple TV’s we have inside but she hates the remote, so switching to new ones for her and putting the other ones in the garage may save me some nagging headaches in the future and be worth the $300 or whatever they are lol
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LOL. Yep, happy wife equals happy life, and unhappy wife equals happy lawyers! :D
 
Same boat here, got an ATV3 which sees no use, if at least it could install YouTube...

Fun how many suggest to buy something else, ok, I got ATV4 and a FireTV but, still, why not to try and make this antique piece of gear still usable?

Any way to jailbreak and install some basic apps?
 
I still use an ATV3 for Netflix and streaming from a Plex server (using plexconnect and the hijacked Trailers app). I do consider upgrading every so often, but this has been working well for me.
 
They're not exactly an "everyday carry" item, but they're handy to keep around for AirPlay in a pinch. If you ever have to present something from your Mac (or iPad/iPhone for that matter), even the trusty old 3rd-gen AppleTV can offer up an AirPlay connection when you've got it plugged in to a projector or TV.
 
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Still works for AirPlay, Netflix, iTunes movie rentals. (Probably more, but that's about all I use my old Gen 3 for...)
 
If I could only use it for YouTube...

by the way, tried to connect it through the mini usb to my MBair but either cable not good or something wrong with it, no way to try and JB it
 
I stream lossless Apple music from my old ATV3 to the DAC of my amplifier (Toslink connection) so I use it only for audio. Works great.
 
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can we airplay a video from photos or quick time to these tv gen 3 anymore?
if not
because of the new opening system on the TV or MacBook/ipad?

thanks in advance.
 
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