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I really really hate that you can’t download content to the Apple TV. As someone who is frequently in areas with no cell reception and frequent power outages it is a huge drawback to the platform.
 
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I have 2 original ATV 1s although I don't use them anymore. I bought those because you could jailbreak them and put Plex/Boxee on them.

Infuse and a media server make that obsolete now but back then it was the only way to play local files elegantly.
 
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You threw out perfectly good working equipment twice? Do you live in the 1950s and still think generating loads of unnecessary ewaste is a good idea? When you turn everything else you own on and the hardware still works just as well as it always did every day, do you think, I should throw this in the trash and buy another one?

And you think other people need to explain themselves?
Nope I sold them.
 
I had a 2012 MBP in early 2020 until I upgraded. It was heavy due to the built in DVD player. These days I weekly use my external USB DVD player with my 2020 MBP. It's better that its external.
Too bad you weren’t handy enough to operate a screwdriver I guess, or like everyone else you could have spent a whole 2 minutes pulling the built-in optical drive out, stuck it in an external caddy, and then put a pair of 4tb ssd’d in the MBP instead. An old 2012 MBP is a Swiss Army knife that does all the things post-2015 macs can’t.

I have to be done with this ridiculous thread.
 
Some are using ancient ancient dinosaur appletv’s like older than the HD model and expect it to still work. I don’t get it. I started with the AppleTV 3 in 2016 and have upgraded twice since then. I would not keep the 3 unit and expect it to still work, so why do some people? Why do some keep the first model?

Works great for me.

You’ve literally answered your own original question.
 
I’d argue that ATV 3rd gen and lower be given to others and a person upgrade to a newer model.
If someone was given an aTV 3rd gen and was using it, wouldn't you be asking them why they're still using an old model and telling them to upgrade and give it to someone else, who in turn you'd ask, why are you using old tech? Upgrade and give it to someone else!
 
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Works great for me.
Yeah, it works and does its things right, but for me is not getting any benefit compared to an integrated SmartTV. I have the feeling that it's an abandoned product, no new features since a while. App store is not interesting for me anymore. I'm keeping it for now but if one day it dies, i won't replace it.
 
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I have a 1st gen with OpenElec and a CrystalHD card in it. I don't use it much anymore, but I may set it up in my home gym area where I can't get any wifi or cell signal. I also have a 2nd gen with Kodi installed. I use that for airplay and to stream things off my NAS.

I have a 3rd gen using optical out so I can Airplay to my iPod HiFi.
 
Yeah, it works and does its things right, but for me is not getting any benefit compared to an integrated SmartTV. I have the feeling that it's an abandoned product, no new features since a while. App store is not interesting for me anymore. I'm keeping it for now but if one day it dies, i won't replace it.
Yeah right. They updated the unit the last 2 years and TVOS gets updates all the time and yes new features have come.
 
For most of 2020 I used a PlayStation 3 as my home media hub. We only had a 720p TV in our house so it was perfect for Netflix, Prime, Youtube, and downloaded films / TV shows on a USB drive. If it works it works!
 
Too bad you weren’t handy enough to operate a screwdriver I guess, or like everyone else you could have spent a whole 2 minutes pulling the built-in optical drive out, stuck it in an external caddy, and then put a pair of 4tb ssd’d in the MBP instead. An old 2012 MBP is a Swiss Army knife that does all the things post-2015 macs can’t.

I have to be done with this ridiculous thread.
Perhaps I wanted the built in disc player. Besides the Mac was still very thick compared to my present MacBook Pro.
 
Here’s my experience I own an AppleTV3rdGen and a AppleTVHD
I actually use the 3rdGen way more then the HD since it is hooked to the tv in my kitchen the HD is hooked to the tv in my work room (which I spend most of my time in) yet I find myself just use the iPad or Mac for watching, playing (and ofc working), on the other hand when I’m in the kitchen I usually AirPlay Music or a Video onto the 3rdGen and this happens way more often then you’d expect.

Now the 3rdGen works and actually really good (knocks on wood) not only there is no actual need to replace it also I find it smaller and easier to hide inside my cabinet
 
Some are using ancient ancient dinosaur appletv’s like older than the HD model and expect it to still work. I don’t get it. I started with the AppleTV 3 in 2016 and have upgraded twice since then. I would not keep the 3 unit and expect it to still work, so why do some people? Why do some keep the first model?
I kept my ATV2's until apple changed things with airplay (you can't play to multiple airplay 1 speakers now, only airplay 2). But anything that has airplay 2, I keep around as a streaming audio access point. I did have to upgrade to HDMI receivers though (since the new ones lost TOSLink ports), but that's the march of "progress".

Honestly, once they hit 4K, there's little reason to upgrade any of them. It's not like I need more CPU to stream video or audio, and storage is simply not an issue (they're only streaming devices).
 
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Yeah, it works and does its things right, but for me is not getting any benefit compared to an integrated SmartTV. I have the feeling that it's an abandoned product, no new features since a while. App store is not interesting for me anymore. I'm keeping it for now but if one day it dies, i won't replace it.
Agreed on the no updates, but I will absolutely not ever connect a tv to the internet. Between highly invasive data policies, actively spying on users with microphones, and a lack of continual security patches, they have no business on my network.

I wish TV manufacturers would make it easy to turn all that crap off, but they don't - because they get revenue from the data mining. The worst has to be the 'cheap 'amazon fire' tv i bought by mistake, where it has to actually boot up when powered on.

The AppleTV is a very effective streaming device, has a consumer friendly privacy policy, and gets regular security updates. That makes it a far better choice than using the integrated software on a 'smart' tv.
 
Many many people keep them just as AirPlay audio/video receivers. Same with the old AirPort Express, it’s got an audio jack, plug in your non-Bluetooth/WiFi receiver or speakers and bam, just AirPlay to it.
Same thing with chromecast audio, fantastic piece of hardware that Google (as always) decided to kill for no reason and that there is no equivalent substitute in the market, purchased two at the time they still where sold, still use them for casting audio to my speakers in higher quality than bluetooth can offer.
 
Yeah, it works and does its things right, but for me is not getting any benefit compared to an integrated SmartTV. I have the feeling that it's an abandoned product, no new features since a while. App store is not interesting for me anymore. I'm keeping it for now but if one day it dies, i won't replace it.
good grief - you think an ATV is abandoned? Be ready to dodge the integrated SmartTV scrap yard of 2 year old models.
 
I keep an older Apple TV because it has an optical out, and that allows me to AirPlay music to a receiver for my stereo.
Yep. We have several locations around the house with an AppleTV. It is cost-prohibitive to upgrade all units at once. Older units go where they are still useful. I do exactly this with a Generation 3 ATV and it works fine for serving music files to an audio-only system.
 
Some are using ancient ancient dinosaur appletv’s like older than the HD model and expect it to still work. I don’t get it. I started with the AppleTV 3 in 2016 and have upgraded twice since then. I would not keep the 3 unit and expect it to still work, so why do some people? Why do some keep the first model?

One of my clients tossed their HD in the roll-off during construction last year, and I saved it from the landfill.

It's been running fine, but I rarely use it . . . I d/prefer to use TV on my 4K LG if I want to watch something from my Library/rent :)
 
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Kind of a silly thread.

People keep old devices because they are still working for them.

Why do some keep the first model?
An argument could be made saying that the ATV1 and ATV2 are actually more useful than the ATV3, with the internal storage of the ATV1 and being able to install other OS on it. The ATV2 was able to be jailbroken.


imagine something 5-10 years old still being functional. throw it in the trash!
Not sure if this was sarcastic or not, but almost all of Apple devices that I daily use in my house are 5 years or older, with most being over 10 years old.

They work great, no need to spend money to replace them unless there is a problem, or if I get a benefit from something new that would make the cost worth it to me.
 
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For most of 2020 I used a PlayStation 3 as my home media hub. We only had a 720p TV in our house so it was perfect for Netflix, Prime, Youtube, and downloaded films / TV shows on a USB drive. If it works it works!
I still have ps3 for playing some of those old blue ray discs.
 
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This thread has been useful for me to review. I owned an ATV v.1 a long time ago, sold it, and am now thinking of getting another ATV for streaming purposes. We have a single Toshiba 32 inch 720p TV in our house. Circa 2009 I think. It just works. It gets turned on once per week for my wife's favorite program.

We have Verizon FIOS so most of my tv consumption is done via my 12.9 M1 IPP using the buggy Fios TV app. Their web based tv access is a bit better, but not completely so. For those shows that I watch on the IPP, I thought of using Airplay to stream those programs on to the 32 inch. It the ATV 3 would do that reliably, I can snag a used one for ~$20 or so locally. the 4K gen 1 models are running about $50-60 or so.

Or... I could just buy a Roku I suppose. I am guessing my AirPod Max would work better with with the ATV
 
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