Airplay on old Apple TV

Yes, agreed that the original release was 2007 - but the device was still for sale, as their current generation product, at full price just a few months ago. Most software manufacturers will offer a discounted upgrade price if purchased with a new release imminent. Frankly, it smacks of bait and switch to imply current support for a device (which typically includes feature additions with updates) and then withdraw it.

If the device is truly obsolete (which folks have suggested due to its hardware limitations) I'm just saying that they should offer an upgrade discount - even if it's a token amount - to those who've purchased in the past year. I'm not saying it's a constitutional right or something, just saying that Apple can afford it and it would have engendered good will - ie, better business practice.

I feel cheated.. Had a gen1 Appletv which I recently upgraded for a bigger HDD version, I have supported Apples pet project for years and my repayment is to get shafted on a new upgrade on no AirTunes... I don't believe this isn't technical feasible via a software update...

I have been an Apple aficionado for some years, but I am growing a little weary of buying products which are superseded only a few months or weeks later! I think the situation with the latest ipad/iphone operating system and airplay is particularly cynical, alienating in one go thousands of people who were unfortunate enough to purchase the previous version of Apple TV over the previous 12 months or so and who paid substantially more than the current offering.
I agree with the other contributors to this discussion who have suggested that if there is a good technical reason why the generation one Apple TV cannot be upgraded to use Airplay, then some sort of offer in the form of a substantial discount on a new Apple TV should be forthcoming!

Is it too much to ask that the original ATV could at least support the same remote speaker functionality it already shares with AirPort Express under AirPlay? If Cupertino isn't listening I'm sure the PatchStick community will continue to assist us now that Steve has moved on to a new hobby.

...but the device was still for sale, as their current generation product, at full price just a few months ago. Most software manufacturers will offer a discounted upgrade price if purchased with a new release imminent.

Many tech companies like Dell, Microsoft, Sony, etc., usually do announce new products months in advance, but not Apple. It's one of Apple's more disappointing aspects, but people who've been Apple customers for any length of time know they're going to get burned like this occasionally.

I believe in giving consumers the information they need to make informed buying decisions, but Apple prefers to unload as many old models on the unsuspecting as it can before the release of a new model. It's just the way they do business. Caveat emptor.

I don't care about video. I want AUDIO streaming!

The problem is not in ATV1. ATV1 doesn't need any update. It already plays audio streamed to it (from iTunes). iOS can also stream to 5 year old Airport Express (which uses the exact same protocol). Thus, the fact that ATV1 doesn't appear as a streaming destination in iOS 4.2 has no technical reasons whatsoever. The reason is that Apple made the conscious choice to hide ATV1 from the streaming destinations menu in iOS although both devices are ready to work together with no additional code to be written.

Dave Haworth got it exactly right. The only motivation is to screw the consumer.

Like someone else said here, there are around 1st gen. TVs that are only 1 or 2 months old! Also if someone can do it, tell me if, rationally, there's something that the 1st model couldn't do... The new one isn't more powerful and you know it by the fact they both can play at maximum only 720p movies. Maybe the new model is worst because it misses the HDD and the ability to buy movies directly from your TV!
Speaking about marketing we pay more money for the 1st one so we deserve at least the same treatment of the 2nd one owners!
Plus here in Italy they enable movie store only 3 weeks ago and you know what? In the old apple TV interface you can't see the full menu but only "Movies" (yours) and "Trailers". You can only access the store by going to the Cover Flow style menu showing the Top Movies.... That's ridiculous! I personally wait 2 years for buying movies and also now I cannot do it properly....
This is a bad move from Apple and there's nothing no one can rationally say that can change this!

Add me to the list of folks ticked off my this move from Apple. They've done the say thing for iPhone 3GS owners. They put out the ability to use custom SMS tones and added 17 additional SMS tones but 3GS owners don't get it because it's apparently only for iPhone 4 users. The upgrade screen doesn't show iPhone 4 only (and it's not in the fine print) yet 3GS owners don't get the features and they still sell 3GS iphones. This arbitrary forced obsolescence is maddening. It's time I begin to look elsewhere.

I suspect that Apple would have gotten less static if they'd named that ATV2 the "Apple Streaming Dongle." The result is that owners of Apple TV1 perceive the new product as an "upgrade," rather than what it really is: a new product with essentially non-overlapping features. Indeed, if they'd produced that Apple TV2 first, and then released Apple TV1, I imaginethat we'd be bombarded by complaints from Apple TV2 owners demanding the "new" features of the Apple TV1: on-board hard disk storage, the ability to purchase movies, compatibility with a wider range of displays, analog audio output.

Airplay compatibility with iOS devices is the primary function I want out of my 1st gen apple tv.
If anyone figures this out. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it.

A shame apple wont support a couple-month old previous model, absolutely horrible.

I've put a note in with the firecore crew to see if it can be implemented into their atvflash.

Glorfindeal wrote:
The ATV1 is not a couple month old product. It was released over 3 1/2 years ago. It has not received any updates since then except a larger hard drive.

Glor

I presume that you mean hardware updates; there have been 10 software updates. I think that anybody who did even minimal research would have known that the Apple TV1 was a product that was probably near the end of its life. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as the price has dropped significantly since introduction, and Apple generally continues to provide at least maintenance support of discontinued products for at least a couple of years. But it does mean that what you buy is going to be what you get--manufacturers do not normally invest in adding new features to products that long after introduction.

Happy here with my 3 ATV1's. You know after seeing what happened to iPhone 3G owners recently when Apple tried to shoehorn iOS 4 onto those suckers...Yeah, I'm kinda in the "I hope Apple leaves these ATV1's well enough alone" camp now. I'm staying where I am at with iTunes 9.2.1 until I see a compelling reason to move up to ATV2. I just don't see any joy in blowing a weekend making everything work again after after a patch to give me more features I don't need. Maybe I am getting old?

Rangeshooter wrote:
They put out the ability to use custom SMS tones and added 17 additional SMS tones but 3GS owners don't get it because it's apparently only for iPhone 4 users.

Apple _did not_ add the ability to make/add custom SMS tones to any iPhone.

Gees people are so touchy. I clearly have to watch every word I say otherwise folks will rip me a new one.. What I meant to say was "use custom SMS tones per contact". I believe the wording on the Important Information page for the iPhone Software Update said "New SMS/MMS text tones and the ability to set custom tones per contact"--an exact quote. Please don't burn me at the stake for being lax in my post.

The thing is I can already stream audio to my Apple TV1 from my MacBook Pro through iTunes. I have the little Airplay symbol, when I click on it a can attach my Apple TV1 speakers and away I go. It's not like they have to do anything to my Apple TV1--it already has the capability. It just appears that the new iOS 4.2.1 will not recognize it. It looks to be as being deliberate.