Filed under: Apple TV
Apple TV is...hot!
I've personally noticed that Apple TV tends to run hot. So did Jason Tomczak of Digital Trends. He measured temperatures around 110 degrees Fahrenheit when first running his unit and found numerous posts at Apple's forums about its high temperature operation. So he decided to snap some thermal images, showing the Apple TV in use and posted them to the Web. He found that playing back content caused the unit to warm up about ten degrees. The pictures show Apple TV after boot up, after playing for 30 minutes, after sleeping for various intervals, and after the unit has been turned off.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ahmad said 6:16PM on 3-28-2007
does this thing have a fan or a heatsink or anything?
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Fernando said 6:19PM on 3-28-2007
The top part of the case works as a heatsink for the processor, that's why it gets so hot.
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Lucas Couvreur said 6:43PM on 3-28-2007
My MacBook Pro isn't even that hot when showing 113° F ...
And it's now charging so..?
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macman84 said 9:21PM on 3-28-2007
I am more interested how he got his MacBook Pro so cool.... mine runs on average around 120° and spikes up to 170°
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Edsel said 9:27PM on 3-28-2007
I call it my Apple Hotplate.
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Shunnabunich said 9:17PM on 3-28-2007
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: of COURSE it runs hot. It would not be a true Apple product if it had proper cooling. Anyone who owns a Mac knows this. :)
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Reg Muffet said 9:55PM on 3-28-2007
In the most recent MacBreak Weekly podcast, one of the rogues mentioned (partially) heating a Pop-Tart on one!
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=179237749&s=143441&i=15069527
Generally got a good comprehensive review, though.
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Jason said 10:00PM on 3-28-2007
@macman84 - I used my new 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. It runs much, much cooler than my 2.16GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro (which also used to run hot like yours). My 2.33GHz C2D MBP rarely gets hot unless I'm using Final Cut Express or Handbrake. During that IR shoot, I had several apps running and it only got moderately warm by the vents under the screen.
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JeffDM said 12:08AM on 3-29-2007
I have an original MacBook Pro which I complained about the heat, it was practically unusable and not something I can use on my lap for more than ten or fifteen minutes.
When it came available, I just installed FanControl (or something like that name), upped the minimum fan speed a little bit (1500RPM) and it's cool and still quiet, seemingly no louder than it was before.
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Rob 71 said 4:24AM on 3-29-2007
Honestly, I'm afraid to leave mine plugged in or even in sleep mode when I leave the house. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that one of these things catches on fire or something. This heat also has to be hard on the internal components and hard drive.
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Goobimama said 4:12AM on 3-29-2007
@ #4: My iMac is the coolest (temperature wise) computer I have ever used...
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Greg Golinsky said 8:17AM on 3-29-2007
And of course, other companies will jump in and make small fan units for this.
That is, of course, if it become more popular. I haven't seen much excitement from the general public.
Although I could be wrong.
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Mark said 10:00AM on 3-29-2007
So is a picture of a dead mans hand? Why is there no heat coming from that hand in the pic?? Somebody should call 911!!
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Geoffrey said 11:40AM on 3-29-2007
yea there is something fishy about this image. The color variations between the human hand, laptop, and Apple TV just don't jive.
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Jason said 1:28PM on 3-29-2007
What's "fishy" about the image? The table is the coolest (dark blue) and the hand is mostly light blue (warmer, about 96-97F external). The laptop is progressively light blue to green, which indicates temps upwards of 102F. The Apple TV is red at 111F. Thermography is pretty accurate for showing relative or comparative temps.
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Macewbie said 1:41PM on 3-29-2007
What kinda camera u need to have to take that kinda pic?
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Ronaldo McDonaldo said 2:20PM on 3-29-2007
yeah, what equipment do you use for these pix?
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ObeytheFist said 3:24PM on 3-29-2007
Watch enough HD content and it gets almost too hot to touch.
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Jason said 5:28PM on 3-29-2007
@16 & 17 - Radiometric Thermal Imaging Cameras are generally about $15,000. Some can be found on eBay between $2,500 and $6,000. They have numerous features and functions, well worth $15k if you're in that field.
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Ryan said 9:43PM on 4-09-2007
I would've thought the MacBook Pro should be hotter than that too! I think all small Apple computers generate a lot of heat, and the Apple TV has to be the smallest one for the amount of work it does!
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