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Level 1

8 points

New vs. old?

As I understand it, the new Apple TV, $99, does not have a hard drive but there is another version that has the 160GB hd.

Do they basically function exactly the same, less the hd? If not, how are they different?

I read something indicating that the one with the 160gb hd will pull 160gb worth of content from your Itunes and fill itself. Is that true? Can't I just leave the 160gb free to buy movies and such from Itunes?
Can I control or be selective of what goes into the 160gb hd, kind of like syncing an Ipad or Ipod with Itunes?

I will be getting an Apple TV but want to try and figure out if I should get the one with the hard drive or not.

Thanks for the help!

Ehren

Mac G5, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Mar 1, 2011 9:32 AM

Best reply

Chenks

Level 5

7,435 points

Posted on Mar 1, 2011 9:36 AM

moonbaza wrote:
As I understand it, the new Apple TV, $99, does not have a hard drive but there is another version that has the 160GB hd.

correct. the original version with the HDD was discontinued when the new one was released.

Do they basically function exactly the same, less the hd? If not, how are they different?

no, they are quite different although they essentially do the same task.
the old appletv allowed to you buy or rent content from the itunes store. the new appletv only allows you to rent content.

I read something indicating that the one with the 160gb hd will pull 160gb worth of content from your Itunes and fill itself. Is that true? Can't I just leave the 160gb free to buy movies and such from Itunes?

the old version allowed you to sync content from itunes (similar to an ipod), as well as stream.
the new version only allows you to stream from itunes.

Can I control or be selective of what goes into the 160gb hd, kind of like syncing an Ipad or Ipod with Itunes?

you can be selective.

I will be getting an Apple TV but want to try and figure out if I should get the one with the hard drive or not.

i doubt you'll be able to buy a new original appletv. and if you did buy one you would be buying an EOL device that is no longer supported by apple in terms of software.

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24 replies

capaho

Level 4

3,673 points

Mar 9, 2011 1:44 AM in response to stephen w

So I suppose you could overcome this limitation by utilizing the Airplay feature to stream those HD titles from iPad directly to HDTV....

If you had an ATV2 you wouldn't need to use AirPlay to stream from an iPad, as the same content is available in the iTunes store for both. You could just rent it directly on the ATV. I'm also not sure whether or not AirPlay will allow you to stream rental content from an iPad to an ATV.

moonbaza Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 9, 2011 12:38 PM in response to capaho

So to throw another wrench it in.

Since the new Ipad will have airplay, allowing you to access your entire Itunes library and stream it to your TV, what's the point of even having an Apple TV now? Other than I guess renting movies and using Netflix?

Although, if I use my IPad to stream content to my TV, I guess I can't really use my Ipad for anything else while I'm doing that correct?

vazandrew

Level 8

40,354 points

Mar 9, 2011 12:43 PM in response to moonbaza

In order to stream content to your TV via airplay you would need an ATV. If you connected the iPad directly via adapter then that's different but it would be inconvenient and you couldn't use it for other things.

Message was edited by: vazandrew

moonbaza Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 9, 2011 1:33 PM in response to vazandrew

I realized I asked kind of a dumb question after the fact.

But, One thing that did come to mind, even after your response.

So if I use my Ipad to stream or control content to ATV, say I play a movie, once that movie is playing can I use my Ipad for other things, surfing the web, using other apps, etc? I'm assuming I can but just checking.

Thanks,

Ehren

capaho

Level 4

3,673 points

Mar 9, 2011 4:44 PM in response to moonbaza

So if I use my Ipad to stream or control content to ATV, say I play a movie, once that movie is playing can I use my Ipad for other things, surfing the web, using other apps, etc? I'm assuming I can but just checking.

I'm not sure if AirPlay will stream something that's running in the background while you're doing something else with the iPad. You can't use AirPlay to stream to a TV directly, you have to stream to a 2nd-gen Apple TV, and if you have one of those you can use it to access content directly while you use your iPad for something else.

Mar 9, 2011 4:50 PM in response to moonbaza

moonbaza wrote:

So if I use my Ipad to stream or control content to ATV, say I play a movie, once that movie is playing can I use my Ipad for other things, surfing the web, using other apps, etc? I'm assuming I can but just checking.

Yes AirPlay supports multitasking

capaho

Level 4

3,673 points

Mar 9, 2011 4:56 PM in response to Winston Churchill

Yes AirPlay supports multitasking

Will AirPlay stream video that's running in the background on an iPad? Streaming video in the background via AirPlay while doing something else in the foreground would certainly run up the system load on the device, which would likely affect the quality of the stream.

Mar 9, 2011 5:05 PM in response to capaho

Watching a home made 720p via AirPlay from my iPad while typing this response right now, the video is just fine and typing in safari isn't suffering.

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The apple tv does the same as it does for normal streaming from iTunes it builds a buffer before starting, won't start until it thinks it can complete without interruption.

Message was edited by: Winston Churchill

capaho

Level 4

3,673 points

Mar 9, 2011 5:10 PM in response to Winston Churchill

With 37 messages posted to this forum in just one day I guess you've been doing a lot of typing while streaming. There must be quite a load on your fingers.

New vs. old?