[6corewhore]

I can't say I have ever had my atv2 crash due to RAM issues. I watched the entire back to the future trilogy back-to-back, which were between 10G and 14G each and it was flawless. Been using it since Feb and ditched my heavy loud HTPC for it. I couldn't recommend the atv2 for use as and XBMC box enough! Maybe it's your NAS or network that is the issue. Or perhaps its the AE build - it was pulled for a reason. I am running the following FYI.

Strange, most people cannot play mkv .264 HD files over a certain size without either buffering issues or crashing. I used the June AE build and currently on the latest nightly build (xbmc pre-11.0 git:20110808). Both builds crashed w/ HD mkv's. The AE build worked well, the developer did not want it published so it was pulled (claimed it wasn't ready, although it worked seamlessly, even had the navigation sounds). Shame as I was able to get "The Golden Compass" 12GB DTS-HD file to play for about 5 minutes through my McIntosh AVR until it crashed. It was pristine, quality as good as the original BD (took about 7 hours to handbrake on my 12-Core 3.33GHz Westmere Mac Pro).

Certain my issue isn't simply memory (system stats show ~20% or less mem free). My mkv's are encoded in 1080P (the aTV 2 accepts 1080 but outputs to 720, doesn't mean it will necessarily play). As I don't want two versions of an HD movie, I decided on handbraking my HD encodes in 1080 in full [reasonable] quality as I may move to a device that supports full 1080P/DTS-HD. If Apple doesn't update their aTV next mo. w/ the iPhone/iPod announcements (A5 updates usually pair) w/ at least 512MB RAM and an A5 processor, there's not much hope 1080 will be supported.

So question: What do any of you recommend as a replacement for the aTV 2 that supports 1080P, etc that isn't an HTPC (don't need an HTPC, I could always build one but it's overkill as I have a server for my media, just need a device with better hardware).

thanks for any advice

HW:
- McIntosh AVR w/ DTS/THX/DD/etc support
- aTV 2 w/ 4.3 (used Seas0nPass)
- XMB Pre-11.0 git:20110808-6b994c5
- Synology DS211 2-Bay NAS connected via 6 CAT RJ-45 to 2011 Airport Extreme Base Station w/ SMB protocol (aTV 2 in port 2, Synology in port 4, both static DHCP w/ required port mappings)

[Ned Scott]

ATV1 running linux. Similar box, very different under the hood, and has a lot more power. It's just discontinued so you have to find a used or referb one. I bought two recently that were used (in great shape) for $50-60. Then you buy a small chip called the Broadcom Crystal HD that replaces the wifi chip (you can get wifi back with a small USB dongle). And finally, you use Sam's easy XBMC/linux installer. You are then left with a little silver box that will do 1080 EVERYTHING (including divx) has USB host ports (can even handle a slim USB DVD player if you want), and more.

Check out the Mac OS X sub forum for more details/stories about the ATV1, or feel to private message me. ATV2 may be the new king in town, but if you can get your hands on the slightly larger ATV1 and can put a broadcom chip inside (it's as easy as installing ram) you'll be very happy.

[chuckles]

Strange, most people cannot play mkv .264 HD files over a certain size without either buffering issues or crashing. I used the June AE build and currently on the latest nightly build (xbmc pre-11.0 git:20110808).

What is this certain size?
I played a 8.5GB 1080 h264 mkv fine last night

HW:
- iOS 4.3 ATV2 4.2.2
- XMB Pre-11.0 git:20110808-6b994c5
- Atom powered linux NAS sharing via smb

[rickrude]

Strange, most people cannot play mkv .264 HD files over a certain size without either buffering issues or crashing.

Well I guess I am lucky. Watched Source Code BR rip last night - h264 1080p DTS approx 10GB - again, no issues.

[SpartanSoul]

ATV1 running linux. Similar box, very different under the hood, and has a lot more power. It's just discontinued so you have to find a used or referb one. I bought two recently that were used (in great shape) for $50-60. Then you buy a small chip called the Broadcom Crystal HD that replaces the wifi chip (you can get wifi back with a small USB dongle). And finally, you use Sam's easy XBMC/linux installer. You are then left with a little silver box that will do 1080 EVERYTHING (including divx) has USB host ports (can even handle a slim USB DVD player if you want), and more.

Check out the Mac OS X sub forum for more details/stories about the ATV1, or feel to private message me. ATV2 may be the new king in town, but if you can get your hands on the slightly larger ATV1 and can put a broadcom chip inside (it's as easy as installing ram) you'll be very happy.

Ok you have me interested, could you please provide a link to the easiest installation instructions for Sam's easy XBMC/linux installer. I have 2 1st gen Apple TV's that I would love to bring new life to.

[6corewhore]

ATV1 running linux. Similar box, very different under the hood, and has a lot more power. It's just discontinued so you have to find a used or referb one. I bought two recently that were used (in great shape) for $50-60. Then you buy a small chip called the Broadcom Crystal HD that replaces the wifi chip (you can get wifi back with a small USB dongle). And finally, you use Sam's easy XBMC/linux installer. You are then left with a little silver box that will do 1080 EVERYTHING (including divx) has USB host ports (can even handle a slim USB DVD player if you want), and more.

Check out the Mac OS X sub forum for more details/stories about the ATV1, or feel to private message me. ATV2 may be the new king in town, but if you can get your hands on the slightly larger ATV1 and can put a broadcom chip inside (it's as easy as installing ram) you'll be very happy.

Funny, I was thinking of this route. I had two aTV 1's, sold one and toyed with the other (cracked it open and installed 10.4.9 on it). I read about the Crystal HD card, didn't think it would make that much of a difference. Reading this, sounds like a great idea! Throw in a larger HDD for kicks, using ethernet so no need for WiFi, and boot up with XBMC - sounds almost too good to be true. I read through hundreds of forums about two years ago on this hack, most on awkwardtv forums, and almost bought the HD card. I thought even with the card the native hardware would still be an issue, but I guess not. Now I have something fun to do lol

What is this certain size?
I played a 8.5GB 1080 h264 mkv fine last night

HW:
- iOS 4.3 ATV2 4.2.2
- XMB Pre-11.0 git:20110808-6b994c5
- Atom powered linux NAS sharing via smb

Again, it depends on the encode not just the hardware. Here is my HB string:

b-adapt=2:rc-lookahead=50:psy-rd=1.5,0.10:bframes=8:ref=8:me=umhubq=10:trellis=2:analyse=all:merange=32:aq-strength=1.2

These are not standard pre-sets, and produce a much better mkv. Most systems would take a day or more to encode the file, my 3.33GHz 12-Core runs it in about 6-7 hours depending. I encode multi-audio tracks for various devices (and always DTS-HD for BD encodes) and the outcome is less than half the ripped feature. Not every mkv/m4v is the same, and most experience the same issue - high def mkv's can/due crash the aTV 2 due to processing/hardware restrictions.

Read up on encoding, mkv vs m4v containers, h.264, diff bet L3.1, L4.1, L5.1, etc. Sure, some play no issues, but again, not every mkv/m4v container is the same as there are thousands of different ways to HB encode a movie. Settings makes the difference, and higher/lossless quality encodes in the L5.1 range (which is a little secret from Apple, the aTV 2 CAN handle L5.1 but is limited for many reasons) experience playback issues if they can be played at all.

This is why many take issue with pushing aTV 2's h/w, as most want true HD performance and not stripped down 720P. I'm ecstatic that some of you can play movies, but what format and how are the encoded (size doesn't matter - pun intended lol)? It's what's in the container of the file that makes the difference.

Depending on your encode, files differ. My reason for such high settings: it is as lossless as I have achieved (I spent about a year learning and tweaking encoding for 1000+ SD/BD DVDs) as I am ditching the physical media and keeping just the encodes. My SD media is perfect. Just certain mkv's don't play well due to the aTV 2's 256MB RAM and A4 processor combined with the fact the aTV 2 does not output 1080P but transcodes (or whatever term you prefer to use as it seems some take issue with terminology on these forums LOL) it down to 720P (and on my 60" Pioneer Elite it does make a difference).

[banzai75x]

ATV1 running linux. Similar box, very different under the hood, and has a lot more power. It's just discontinued so you have to find a used or referb one. I bought two recently that were used (in great shape) for $50-60. Then you buy a small chip called the Broadcom Crystal HD that replaces the wifi chip (you can get wifi back with a small USB dongle). And finally, you use Sam's easy XBMC/linux installer. You are then left with a little silver box that will do 1080 EVERYTHING (including divx) has USB host ports (can even handle a slim USB DVD player if you want), and more.

Check out the Mac OS X sub forum for more details/stories about the ATV1, or feel to private message me. ATV2 may be the new king in town, but if you can get your hands on the slightly larger ATV1 and can put a broadcom chip inside (it's as easy as installing ram) you'll be very happy.

Are you referring to this for the install?
http://www.stmlabs.com/2011/03/28/crystalhd-released/

And is this the chip?
Chip

I'm assuming it wouldn't matter if the 1st gen ATV was 40 or 160GB?

[6corewhore]

Are you referring to this for the install?
http://www.stmlabs.com/2011/03/28/crystalhd-released/

And is this the chip?
Chip

I'm assuming it wouldn't matter if the 1st gen ATV was 40 or 160GB?

I found this card:

Broadcom Hardware Decoder BCM970015 - PCIe Mini Card

Seems the BCM970012 has been replaced by the BCM970015.

That card should replace the WiFi card, and with XBMC installed should allow 1080P and more that the aTV 2 cannot process. Thankfully I saved an aTV 1 that's already cracked open and ready - and for $39.50, seems a no brainer.

Broadcom Hardware Decoder BCM970015 - PCIe Mini Card

Hardware decoder in the PCI Express Mini Card half-height form factor. Enables support for H.264/AVC, DivX, MPEG-2/4 and VC-1 video compression for image intensive applications requiring support for 1080p high definition multimedia content.

FEATURES

The BCM970015 Crystal HD is a video/audio hardware decoder in the PCIe Mini Card half-height form factor. It is designed to reduce CPU utilization and allows for full HD real-time decoding support for mobile platform solutions.The BCM970015 single-chip Crystal HD advanced media processor is a low cost, low power (less than 1 W energy consumption), highly integrated solution for high definition (HD) video playback applications. It is targeted for multimedia applications such as HD playback and broadcast and other TV sources. It is excellent for use in small form factor systems that require high-end graphics support but can't compromise power consumption or platform footprint.

- Provides software support for Adobe Flash Player (v10.1), Windows Media® Player (v12), as well as support for other third-party media players including both commercial and open-source
- Supports standard definition (SD) and HD multi-format video decode of industry standard codecs (H.264/AVC, MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV9, MPEG-4, DivX®, Xvid and AVS), enabling users to enjoy a mobile media experience with no frame drops or jitter, even under heavy CPU loads
- Provides integrated media security features, including support for protected content playback using industry standard DRM or other content protection schemes

[Ned Scott]

Are you referring to this for the install?
http://www.stmlabs.com/2011/03/28/crystalhd-released/

And is this the chip?
Chip

I'm assuming it wouldn't matter if the 1st gen ATV was 40 or 160GB?

That's the one. Except for the chip. Sort of. That one does work, but it is the older BCM970012 version. The BCM970015 version has some improvements that prevent this weird temp jittery action when you play/pause or fastforward (sometimes, not always). I have both chips and they both have the same technical abilities (codecs, XBMC compatibility, etc), but if you can spring for an extra $20 I would recommend the 15 over the 12. If you are tight on cash then don't sweat it much, because it's still very usable and will increase the abilities of the ATV1 greatly.

In the US the best deal I found was from Logic Supply (Same one 6corewhore found).

It does not matter if the ATV1 is 40 or 160 GB. I tend to look for the 40s because they are priced cheaper on ebay, but that's only the HDD size and everything else is the same. You can even replace the HDD (2.5 inch PATA) if you want more internal storage. Obviously you can use network shares, and you can use the USB port (directly or with a hub) for external HDDs.

[Ned Scott]

a bit more general info: The BCHD chip takes care of all decoding. The CPU is more than enough for the GUI, and probably a little bit snapper than the ATV2. So if you are happy with the responsiveness of the ATV2 GUI then you will be happy with the ATV1. Really heavy skins might be a problem, but most of them should be fine. Plus things like Dirty Regions is making the UI even faster on both ATV2 and ATV1.

USB wifi: http://www.sitecom.com/wireless-usb-...-150n-x1/p/755
And instructions here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=90016

If you don't want to install Linux (which will help with the GUI even more, since linux will have less overhead than the slimmed down Mac OS X 10.4 that the ATV1 normally runs) you will need to install the BCHD drivers by doing this: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=69321

There is a memory leak in the drivers under OS X that can require a reboot every few days or so. I've actually gone a week or two before having issues. Not sure how consistent it is. Not really a deal breaker, but another reason to try out Sam's linux install.

At this point we should continue on the OS X sub-forum or the linux sub-forum since we're no longer talking about iOS. Both sub-forums have lots of posts about the ATV1. Sam's website also has a forum set up specifically for his linux installation that has lots of great info. Feel free to drop a link in this thread if one of you decides to open a thread in one of the other forums.