Filed under: Hardware, Apple, Apple TV
PSA: 160GB Apple TV now shipping
As we noticed yesterday, Apple is now offering two versions of the Apple TV: the original 40GB model for $299, and a new 160GB model for $399, which is shipping in 1-2 business days. This should make things interesting for those 3rd party services we found that can sell you pre-upgraded Apple TVs, DIY kits or overnight upgrades if you've already bought an Apple TV, especially since the latter two void Apple's warranty (though note that the pre-upgraded drives are covered under their own warranty from PowerMax, not Apple).
So who's excited and who got stung? I picked up a 40GB Apple TV not long after they started shipping so I'm a little ticked about it. Still, I like to try and look at the bright side; at least I didn't get nailed by the Apple Upgrade Syndrome on something slightly more expensive, like my MacBook Pro.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mdc said 2:13PM on 5-31-2007
I'm a little upset since I have about 20gb of music that lives on my AppleTV. Podcasts, TV Shows, and Movies only sync the unwatched episodes because of the lack of space.
If the 160gb was available initially I would've bought one.
If Apple brings out HD content at a few gig a movie I think I'll be streaming everything. Or sell my AppleTV and buy a 160gb model.
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stephen said 2:13PM on 5-31-2007
yeah, i would have ponied up the extra hundred for more space when i bought mine if it had been available so i'm a little pissed that this came out now, but oh well. that is the problem with being an early adopter.
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Chris E boy said 2:22PM on 5-31-2007
not in the UK it aint...
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Modano said 2:42PM on 5-31-2007
I'm only mad because it's such an enormous upgrade! 60 days ago they said "trust us, 40 gigs is enough for anyone." Now they've revised that number up 400%!
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B deR West said 2:52PM on 5-31-2007
You mean the Apple Upgrade Syndrome that screwed me out of n-wireless? I bought my MBP last June, six months too early to cash in on Apple's secret upgrade of their Airport cards.
Damn them.
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artifex said 3:07PM on 5-31-2007
B: My MacBook is n-capable, but they want me to pay for a driver update. How lame is that? And yes, I bought the machine well after the new driver was released.
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CubFan said 3:29PM on 5-31-2007
Streaming on the AppleTV works so smoothly that I don't care much about hard drive space anymore.
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Carniphage said 3:41PM on 5-31-2007
I don't get it. If you are brave enough to rip open the case and fiddle with the innards. Why not just install ATVFiles and play stuff off a Network share?
I have a 500G drive on my Apple TV and I have not even opened the case.
C.
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brian said 4:18PM on 5-31-2007
> So who's excited and who got stung?
Me--neither. For me, a Mac Mini (connected to a standard-def TV *and* will work fine with HDTV down the road) is plenty. Very flexible, plays anything QT handles with no "hacking" needed other than installing codecs (like Perian to watch FLV's saved from YouTube); pulls movies from my 500 GB file server; plus plays games, browses the web, edits video with iMovie (1024x768 via S-Video is totally usable), etc etc etc.
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JamesS said 4:33PM on 5-31-2007
streaming is transparent as far as I'm concerned, but I already have a Mac running the house to begin with so streaming from the upstairs closet is no problem.
However, this would help where you dont have a machine. I just got back from a vacation where I synced up all the kids favorite movies onto the 40 gig drive and just brought the AppleTV along instead of a pile of DVD's. It worked great, I happened to know that there was a suitable TV where we were going so it was great. 160 gig though would make for a week vacation instead of just a long weekend ;)
My only complaint about my AppleTV so far is the lack of official API's to program for it and the fact that it puts EVERYTHING into 1 big "movies" folder. Thats OK if you only have a dozen, but when you've got a hundred it gets terribly tedious... With 160 gig of space if they dont add the ability to sync specific folders instead of just everything into 1 great big list thats going to suck.
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tim said 6:19PM on 5-31-2007
really, i think anyone who buys a gen-1 anything waives their right to be upset. you KNOW something bigger and better is right around the corner. it goes the same for bugs, if you play the game, you cant complain when you 'lose.' at least youve been enjoying what you have so far.
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YodaMac said 6:53PM on 5-31-2007
Yeah I have no complaints about my AppleTV. I barely use any of it's 40GB drive anyways. Just some of my photos and a bit of music for slideshows.
I have thousands of digital pictures and I certainly don't need or want to see them all on my HDTV.
As for storage, the AppleTV was never 'meant' to be a server, just a streaming hub for your iTunes library. My library lives on a mirrored RAID 750GB drive - more than enough so far.
Harddrives are getting cheaper all the time and it is just a natural progression to replace them regularly with newer, bigger ones. After all, every harddrive will die someday. I'd rather it be an external one I can cheaply replace, than one inside my precious AppleTV. :)
Now if the YouTube addition (or future additions) make having a larger internal drive a better option, then I'll have to replace my 1G AppleTV, but I don't see it happening soon.
We all knew that Apple would be providing some free software upgrades to AppleTV, and this is just awesome that we are seeing it so soon after the first release! Keem 'em coming Apple!
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andrew harrison said 10:23PM on 5-31-2007
what's psa?
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Eleventeen said 11:12PM on 5-31-2007
@andrew: I'm guessing PSA= public service announcement
@ the article:
I'm sure that there's a lot of hot folks out there (like mdc) that are pretty pissed because they could have gotten quadruple the HD space for only 100 bux more.
Personally, I kinda like the Mac Mini media center options...get one cheap with a nice external Firewire drive and you've got a DIY AppleTV, just without all the shiny-shiny. Plus, I'm waiting for someone to hack BackRow the way they did with FrontRow for the non-IR enabled machines. I'm pretty sure somewhere in a basement, there's a guy trying to get BackRow running on a Mac Mini.
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Drupa said 11:20PM on 5-31-2007
Apple TV outputs in 720 only. Enough said. 1080 is standard - 720 is second tier. Of course, you cannot get anything on-line in 720 anyway, so what is the point of this TV Newton?
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Ryan said 1:30AM on 6-01-2007
How do you get 500GB storage without opening the case?
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Nick said 2:02AM on 6-01-2007
Sad news for those fellows who just finished writing their own Youtube plugin!
http://macnewsonline.com/wp/2007/05/21/youtube-comes-to-the-apple-tv/
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Carniphage said 7:39AM on 6-01-2007
Ryan:How do you get 500GB storage without opening the case?
Patchstick the AppleTV to enable SSH.
Then install plugins to play network content.
Not easy, but no screwdrivers or Soldering irons involved.
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Matteo said 10:55AM on 6-01-2007
@Carniphage
I heard several people on the net talking about enabling SSH and allowing greater storage through network drives.
Could you please link to some step by step guide on how to do it without cracking the AppleTV open?
Remember: I only have Apple since december last year so my knowledge of terminal is very limited (to say the least). And I would appreciate something with a "newbie" approach...
Thank you in advance for any detail.
Yes, I kind of sad that the released a more capable AppleTV so soon. But I am more sad to know that I cannot even argue about poor quality of purchased content, since I cannot PURCHASE ANY (live outside the US, in Europe)
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Carniphage said 11:08AM on 6-01-2007
Matteo,
It's not a simple process. It took me several days to figure it out. Although now that I know the steps, it's pretty easy. This is how it goes.
First, read about Patchstick, SSH and AppleTV plugins. From AwkwardTV
1. Create or Acquire the Patchstick image.
2. Write it onto a USB stick. Using the DD command. (Be careful)
3. Plug it into the AppleTV and reboot.
4. Use SSH through terminal and FUGU to install plugins.
5. Mount a network share by attaching it to the Movies folder.
This is an outline. Figuring out how to do all these steps will take you time. I learned a lot by doing this.
C.
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