Opinion: Considering upgrading to 120 gig

[AndyTR32]

I received the 40 gig ATV for my bday yesterday, I'm returning it today due to it making an intermittent loud noise. I have $50 of apple credit remaining from my iPhone refund. Is it pretty much a no brainer to upgrade to the 120 gig? Or should I just use my 300 gig external HD as the backup store (although not as convenient)?

Thanks,

Andy

P.S. - I'm new to these forums but have read a lot of topics that I found via google search when having issues or looking for news. Lots of good stuff here.

 

[tom1971]

you mean the 160 GB stock ATV ? - There is no 120 GB ATV - at least not stock by Apple...
I have the 160 GB version and I am glad that I can keep my music on my ATV and do not have to stream everything...
But others might tell you a different story...

 

[AndyTR32]

Yea, I meant 160gig. Not sure what I'll do. I'm still trying to figure out apple's return policy. If I have a receipt (purchased 5 days ago) I should be able to swap it out no problem right?

 

[spice weasel]

I'm not sure about Apple's return policy, but it seems to me that if the unit is making noise and you are going to exchange it anyway, they should be happy to let you upgrade to the 160 gig model.

I bought the 160 gig ATV so that I don't have to keep my computer on every time I want to use it. I store all my music and the movies I like to watch frequently on it, and stream the rest. That means I can just plop myself down on the couch and watch a movie, without having to go into the back room, fire up the iMac and launch iTunes, and then come back to the TV. But streaming works fine, though, and I know many are very happy with the 40 gig model.

I would say this: if you have been eyeing something else from Apple, save your credit for another use and just replace your unit with another 40 gig. If, on the other hand, you like the extra convenience of not having to stream the lion's share of your media, then upgrade to the 160.

EDIT: I just re-read your original post. Keep in mind that you will not save any computer hard drive space by going with the 160 gig model. Whatever you sync to the ATV will also have to be in your iTunes library, whether that library is on a local drive, a network drive, or an external firewire/USB drive. The larger ATV model just means you won't have to stream as much content.

 

[tom1971]

I just re-read your original post. Keep in mind that you will not save any computer hard drive space by going with the 160 gig model. Whatever you sync to the ATV will also have to be in your iTunes library, whether that library is on a local drive, a network drive, or an external firewire/USB drive. The larger ATV model just means you won't have to stream as much content.

This is the case if you sync everything through iTunes. If you patch the ATV, you can move/copy files without having to sync them with iTunes.

 

[Phil A.]

It all depends on your circumstances: If you intend leaving your computer on all the time and don't mind leaving it running iTunes, and you have a decent 802.11n wireless or wired network, then the 160GB isn't going to give you much of an advantage as you will easily be able to stream anything that's not on the HDD and it's all completely seamless.

If any of the above don't apply, then go for the 160GB