I saw an interesting tweet this morning from Jacqui Cheng, an editor at Ars Technica, asking what people did with their original Apple TV's after picking up one of the latest iOS powered Apple TV's. I thought it was a great question and figured I'd bring it up to the gdgt community.
As for myself, my original Apple TV is currently sitting in a box in the closet. I've had numerous issues with it -- constant freezing, poor performance. I thought I'd save it just in case I wanted to use it as some sort of hacking project, but the hardware itself is seriously underpowered. I'm not sure what to do with it! I might try taking it into some sort of electronics recycler in the near future. Any ideas or cool hacks?
What are you doing with yours?
Original tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/ejacqui/status/701504830918...
Question about
Did you upgrade from a first gen Apple TV to the newer second gen? What did you do with your original Apple TV?
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dave's pick
When I purchased my Apple TV I was impressed with the look of the interface, but disappointed by the lack of features. So I looked online for a good hack & found the very best atleast to me & it is (ATVFlash) with this hack I can play almost any video or audio format. It lets you be able to install Boxee & XBMC media centers & boxee to me is my favorite. It lets you install Firefox also flash. It lets you watch the full menu of your paid for dvd rips of the whole dvd including the menu if you choose without a flaw, but me sometimes I like to rip my purchased dvd's into ISO files because it plays ISO files or Video.TS folders. It even has a weather plug-in, A Flip4Mac Plug-In, A Perian Plug-In etc. It also lets you use a lot of different Iphone Remote control Apps like (Air Mouse & Remote HD). It even has a Vine Server App & a LastFM App. It lets you install a usb hub,a bigger hard drive using an external drive up to 2TB. It lets you hook up any keyboard like a wireless keyboard. What I do is use it as my Boxee Box & I use boxee on it to watch movies & tv shows & even listen to music from my Netgear ReadyNas plus & it works out very well & looks good after you scan the nas or hard drive to get all the dvd covers & music covers. I also have the Apple TV 2 & to me it kind of sucks because the hacks out there for it at the moment that work are lame, so I was thinking about giving it to my little 4 year old niece so she can watch her favorite Youtube & netflix so she can watch her Thomis the train & MJ videos Etc. First Gen Apple TV I love, but the second Gen Apple TV to me is just a waste, because the content is down to nothing & the only plus is Netflix/Youtube & it does not over heat like the 1st Gen Apple TV. But what I do to take the load off of my first gen Apple TV with it over heating since Apple did not include a power switch I just plug it into a remote control outlet on both Apple Tv's & it works out find because leaving them on especially the first gen is not an option because it gets hot enough to fry an egg on top of it (haha). The 2nd gen does not get that hot it tends to stay cool for me, but I still cut it off also. I really like the size of the second gen because you can hardly see it by a big flat screen which is cool, also plus the remote is better at least by way of looks it being crushed metal look & it looks so sleek & it feels good in the hands. I have & would pick the Apple TV 1st gen over the second gen in a heart beat. Oh & you can find the (ATVFlash) software to hack your AppleTV at bit.ly/bS7x8m & you can get the (Remote Control Outlet) at this link amzn.to/lnJ6Au
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Easy - I never had any problem with my first gen box -but I have hated the clunky 2G interface (see my review for details). After trying to get used to it for 3 months, I just reverted back to the 1G box and relegated the 2G to the bedroom.
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Bought it for my parents and gave it to them. (which they promptly lost or don't use). I have a MacPro linked to a 42" LCD. But I find most of my media consumption is done on my phone or failing that my 1st gen iPad. I really wish the original Apple TV would be upgradeable to some of the new features. Streaming alone isn't always sufficient.
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Mine both died before the new model was released. I haven't purchased the new model, but if Apple releases apps then I will probably jump onboard.
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I did not buy the 2nd gen, I just switched to other solutions after getting fed up trying keep XBMC / Boxee working without crashing all the time. It might be fun to turn it into a server for some purpose or another... maybe install mpd and make it a headless jukebox:
code.google.com/p/atvmpdcontrol/wiki/InstallMPDona...
code.google.com/p/atvmpdcontrol/wiki/InstallMPDona...
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I move it to the bedroom and put the new one in the living room.
i am thinking of retuning it to the living room though. i miss having the shows on the machine already. i tend to turn my PC off at night and thats where my iTunes library lives so there is nothing to stream from to the little hockey puck when its off. with the old device i could have serval movies, shows and music on it that could be played.
don't get me wrong i like the new one and especially its size and Netflix integration but there is something to be said about having actual storage space available.
i am thinking of retuning it to the living room though. i miss having the shows on the machine already. i tend to turn my PC off at night and thats where my iTunes library lives so there is nothing to stream from to the little hockey puck when its off. with the old device i could have serval movies, shows and music on it that could be played.
don't get me wrong i like the new one and especially its size and Netflix integration but there is something to be said about having actual storage space available.
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I have heard that those are quite hackable, so I would say please, please give it to someone who will hack on it, before recycling it. I do not own one, so am not qualified to answer this, but felt strongly enough about not recycling it to post anyway...; )
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I have one of those refrigerators that has an HDTV built in. I connected my old first-gen Apple TV to that, so my TV just always has the little photo screensaver running to show off family photos, which guests love when they come over ;)
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At the moment it's just lying around gathering dust. But I plan on hacking it with ATV Flash just to check it out. Maybe make it a Boxee box.
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