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bobey6 · 2011-03-09, 18:31

Hello,

Long time XBMC user, first time poster Smile

I've been using XBMC on the original xbox in my bedroom for MANY years and I have finally decided it's time to upgrade. My first instinct was to build another HTPC but I've always liked the quiet, small form factor xbox (not to mention CHEAP!) and started poking around the idea of using an Apple TV.

I'd say my content is split evenly between 720 XviD and 720 x264. Pretty much zero 1080p is played in the bedroom. Would you guys suggest going with an Apple TV 1 w/ CrystalHD card or a new Apple TV 2?

Thanks for your input in advance!

chris_b · 2011-03-09, 18:44

One thing to consider is where you want to store your media. If you have some sort of NAS I think it's sort of a toss-up (as long as you're willing to live with no 1080p). If you don't, I would drop the ATV2 from consideration--the ATV1 can handle external storage in addition to its internal storage and would be the better choice.

I have to admit, I have become an ATV1 collector. They are so useful as little, quiet, low-power computers. I have one running Leopard that does duty as a Wuala shared-storage server, iTunes server, and "download" manager, with plans to add a USB hub for additional external storage. Another one is awaiting its Crystal HD card and will be doing living-room XBMC duty (the living room needs 1080p). I am shopping for another one for my 7-year-old to have as a "first computer"--just add a leftover keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I do have an ATV2 for the bedroom and it's great, too, but not nearly as versatile.

The ATV1 goes for about $50-60 on eBay for the 40GB model, another $40-50 for the 160GB model. You can pick up the Crystal HD card for another $50 or so, so in total the price difference between the two is quite small.

bobey6 · 2011-03-09, 20:23

chris_b Wrote:One thing to consider is where you want to store your media. If you have some sort of NAS I think it's sort of a toss-up (as long as you're willing to live with no 1080p). If you don't, I would drop the ATV2 from consideration--the ATV1 can handle external storage in addition to its internal storage and would be the better choice.

I have to admit, I have become an ATV1 collector. They are so useful as little, quiet, low-power computers. I have one running Leopard that does duty as a Wuala shared-storage server, iTunes server, and "download" manager, with plans to add a USB hub for additional external storage. Another one is awaiting its Crystal HD card and will be doing living-room XBMC duty (the living room needs 1080p). I am shopping for another one for my 7-year-old to have as a "first computer"--just add a leftover keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I do have an ATV2 for the bedroom and it's great, too, but not nearly as versatile.

The ATV1 goes for about $50-60 on eBay for the 40GB model, another $40-50 for the 160GB model. You can pick up the Crystal HD card for another $50 or so, so in total the price difference between the two is quite small.

Thanks for your reply, That's exactly what I was thinking. It seems like you can do tons of stuff with the ATV1! I have an NAS with around 6TB of storage so I can get away with a smaller 40GB unit. How is the 720p playback between the two? Do you notice any difference (to the eye) between the units?

RckStr · 2011-03-09, 20:31

id go with the atv2. it smokes the original atv when it comes to video decoding. it decodes 1080 without breaking a sweat right out of the box, while the original barely does 720, unless u rip it open and bastardize it. seems like a no brainer, unless you must have it display 1080p, of which the atv2's future is uncertain.

candyman2000 · 2011-03-09, 20:31

Can't talk for ATV1 but 720p xvid media will stutter in ATV2, HW acceleration is only supported for x264 in ATV2.

chris_b · 2011-03-09, 21:41

bobey6 Wrote:How is the 720p playback between the two? Do you notice any difference (to the eye) between the units?

I'll be able to do a direct comparison once I get the video card in it (hopefully it will arrive before this weekend).

As mentioned above, ATV2 will require transcoding for any 720p content that isn't h264 encoded. Some of my full-size 1080p blu-ray rips choke on the ATV2, not sure why yet.

Yet another thought: ATV1 gets very very warm to the touch even at idle and draws about 20 watts. ATV2 stays cool and draws about 2 watts under load (this is probably not that accurate, I measured with a Kill-A-Watt).

JasonA · 2011-03-09, 21:57

I have been using XBMC on an AppleTV 1 every since the Crystal HD card has been supported. I actually bought the Crystal HD card before I bought the AppleTV. Prior to that I was running XBMC on a mac mini. The mac mini has been replaced by an Apple TV 2. All of my content is streamed through a 100 Mbps wired ethernet network served a dual external hard drive plugged into a an airport extreme via ubs. Low tech and definitely low cost. Like your self, all of my content tops out at 720p as both of my current monitors top out at 720p.

As of today's date (and time I might add) the performance of the ATV2 is not on par with the ATV1. I have stuttering/buffering and and surround sound issues on the ATV2 that I do not have one the ATV1. I am currently using the 2/17/2011 release of the nightlies as I have found that the most problem free as of today's date.

Given some more development time, I believe that the iOS version of XBMC will equal if not surpass what currently exists for OSX. In addition, the ATV2 uses much less power and generates much less heat than the ATV1. I am not inclined to run any of the linux variants on the ATV1 as I like some of the features (and their simplicity) that are offered on the standard apple front end.

As much fun as it may be to muck around with terminal and unix commands, when these babies are running they are both very wife and kid friendly.

bircoe · 2011-03-09, 22:30

candyman2000 Wrote:Can't talk for ATV1 but 720p xvid media will stutter in ATV2, HW acceleration is only supported for x264 in ATV2.

Not True... Apple TV2 will playback 720p xvid just fine, it will however get the stutters if the bitrate is higher than what it's wifi/network can reliably stream...

RckStr · 2011-03-10, 01:01

ive never gotten stutters with anything. Granted, everything HD ive got is x264, but ive got full BR rips and I am on wifi (apple airport extreeme in the next door room)

~~Ned Scott~~ · 2011-03-10, 14:19

RckStr Wrote:id go with the atv2. it smokes the original atv when it comes to video decoding. it decodes 1080 without breaking a sweat right out of the box, while the original barely does 720, unless u rip it open and bastardize it. seems like a no brainer, unless you must have it display 1080p, of which the atv2's future is uncertain.

OP already knows this and specifically asked "Apple TV 1 w/ CrystalHD card or a new Apple TV 2"

With that in mind, the ATV1 with CHD will smoke the ATV2. There's no ripping open and bastardization. There's four screws to take apart the ATV1 and the chip swap is a standard miniPCIe install. If you've ever installed ram then you're more than qualified to do the upgrade.

chris_b · 2011-03-10, 16:10

Ned Scott Wrote:If you've ever installed ram then you're more than qualified to do the upgrade.

Just be careful peeling back the rubber cover! My first ATV1 it came off very easily; the second was much newer and the adhesive was really strong--I ended up ripping it in numerous places. It's actually a good idea to let the unit run until it's up to full temp so that the rubber foot comes off easily.

Harbor Freight has a cheap mini-driver set that has both of the small torx bits needed.

Ned's right, though, opening up the ATV1 is extremely simple to do.

ktjensen · 2011-03-10, 20:33

one further note. Am lead to believe that XBMC running on the ATV1 will not automatically start with WIFI working. If you want to automate the start up into XBMC on ATV1 it can not be done. Please correct me if someone has found a solution for that.

RckStr · 2011-03-10, 21:26

Ned Scott Wrote:OP already knows this and specifically asked "Apple TV 1 w/ CrystalHD card or a new Apple TV 2"

With that in mind, the ATV1 with CHD will smoke the ATV2. There's no ripping open and bastardization. There's four screws to take apart the ATV1 and the chip swap is a standard miniPCIe install. If you've ever installed ram then you're more than qualified to do the upgrade.

yea well im just sayin, he knows his needs, which is 720 stuff. why buy a 4 times bigger box that youll have to violate in order to play anything, when you can go with a tiny 99$ box thats got ios (lots of development for the platform: future proof) on it. still seems like a no-brainer

pmcd · 2011-03-11, 08:14

bobey6 Wrote:Hello,

Long time XBMC user, first time poster

I've been using XBMC on the original xbox in my bedroom for MANY years and I have finally decided it's time to upgrade. My first instinct was to build another HTPC but I've always liked the quiet, small form factor xbox (not to mention CHEAP!) and started poking around the idea of using an Apple TV.

I'd say my content is split evenly between 720 XviD and 720 x264. Pretty much zero 1080p is played in the bedroom. Would you guys suggest going with an Apple TV 1 w/ CrystalHD card or a new Apple TV 2?

Thanks for your input in advance!

I have both (an ATV1 w CHD and 320gigs) and 2 ATV2G's. I really like both models. I've had the ATV1G for about 2 years and it's great. However, to answer your question. Get the ATV2G. It is by far the better choice. Things appear to be winding down for the ATV1G. Moreover, if you really want to have a stable CHD experience, it seems to me that Linux is actually the way to go on that platform. It uses way fewer resources. That is what I do in a dual boot setup. On the other hand you lose much of what makes the ATV and ATV.

philip

pmcd · 2011-03-11, 08:20

bobey6 Wrote:Thanks for your reply, That's exactly what I was thinking. It seems like you can do tons of stuff with the ATV1! I have an NAS with around 6TB of storage so I can get away with a smaller 40GB unit. How is the 720p playback between the two? Do you notice any difference (to the eye) between the units?

They are both nice. The ATV2 is more stable unless you run Linux on the ATV1.
Under Linux the ATV1 has a more responsive native Dharma skin. The ATV1 is very neat but it just doesn't match up to the ATV2 in my opinion. Installing the CHD card is easy, but you'll have to find one at a reasonable price. I mainly run 720p stuff. The ATV2G is just fine for that.

philip