Used Apple TV - which Gen?

[james*b]

Hi

I am looking at getting a used Apple TV. It is now 666 days since the last launch, according to Mac Rumors, and it doesn't look likely that there will be anything along too soon.

Is there any reason to buy a 1st Gen with a hard drive over a 3rd Gen? I wondered if it was possible to store movie files locally and play them using VLC directly from the Apple TV, without having to stream.

Thanks!

 

[westrock2000]

If you look at the 3rd Generation, just remember that Apple sells refurbished ones for $75 with free shipping all day long. Sometimes Microcenter will sell them for around $85 (I think new). So keep that in mind when you see the "used" prices of ATV3's on eBay or something.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

The AppleTv cant run VLC.

 

[james*b]

Thanks - is there no way to store non-DRM video files (DivX, MKV etc) locally on the Apple TV Gen 1 instead of streaming them? Or to play them directly from a NAS without a Mac etc turned on?

 

[priitv8]

Thanks - is there no way to store non-DRM video files (DivX, MKV etc) locally on the Apple TV Gen 1 instead of streaming them? Or to play them directly from a NAS without a Mac etc turned on?

You need either XBMC or NitoTV to be able to do that.
You also need a "jailbreak" to be able to copy files onto AppleTV hard disk without iTunes.