Apple TV?

[Gary E]

I'm thinking about getting an Apple TV but I'm a bit confused as to which one. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who has one that I can ask so it's over to you guys.
What are the differences between the different generations and what's this jailbroken box that I keep hearing about?
Any info gratefully received

 

[jamin100]

there are 3 generations of apple TV.
1st Gen has a hard drive and can store files locally - This is quite old now
2nd Gen is 720p and can be jailbroken (no hard drive needs to stream files over a network)
3rd Gen (latest) is 1080p but cannot be jailbroken. Looks identical to the 2nd Gen

Jailbreaking;
Similar to jailbreaking phones, jailbreaking the apple TV means you can add functanility, which include some apps and streams from "other" sources
You can also install another media player such as PLEX or XMBC.

With a non jailbroken apple tv 2 or 3 you need to stream your films / tv shows from a computer running itunes. This means that all your content needs to be in an itunes friendly format (mp4/m4v) so if you have any AVI's or MKV's then they need to be converted and imported into iTunes.

IF you jailbreak your apple TV2 then you can install XBMC or PLEX which will allow you to steam your AVI's or MKV's straight to the apple TV without converting them.

However, seeing as the 2nd Gen apple TV's are the only ones that can be jailbroken they fetch a premium 2nd hand. The RRP was originally £99 but they tend to go on eBay for £150 +. The 3rd Gen's can be brought for around £80 new.

I have 3 x 3rd Gens and there great. All of my content is stored neatly in itunes and i can stream my music / movies / tv shows to any of my idevices including my apple TV's

I originally had a 2nd Gen but didnt jailbreak it and ended up selling it on ebay for £160 and buying 2 3rd Gens instead.

Hope this helps

 

[Gary E]

Spot on, thanks for the reply. I'm guessing that the extra content that you can add to a jailbroken 2nd Gen is quite good judging by the prices they're fetching. What is this extra content?

 

[jamin100]

I've not really looked into it too deeply, but im pretty sure you can stream Sky Sports and films to it. But like i say I've never really looked into it properly

However, If you have a new ish mac you can stream your mac screen to your apple TV anyway.

if you needed to find such streams, because lets say for example, you refuse to pay £35 a month just to watch the F1 channel on sky

 

[Gary E]

Thanks @jamin100

 

[albion]

The Apple TV is primarily there to interface to Apple technology.

XBMC runs almost everywhere so make sure you are not going the square peg in round hole route.

 

[Gary E]

The Apple TV is primarily there to interface to Apple technology.

XBMC runs almost everywhere so make sure you are not going the square peg in round hole route.

OK, I'm lost again now! Just seen XBMC boxes on eBay now. I want to be able to use my TV to show pictures that are in my iPad and basically use my iPad as a keyboard and my TV as the screen if this is possible?
Anything else is a bonus but I don't want to spend good money on one thing only to find that there were better options :s

 

[albion]

As said, it interfaces to Apple technology.
You are thus fine as it is also for the iPad.