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2011-01-21, 15:30
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-21, 15:41 by superdust.)
I just bought a ATV1 box of ebay.
Planning on getting the Crystal HD card for this.
And now I see that the amazing work of the XBMC developers have resulted in support for ATV2.
Seems like ATV2 can play 1080P out of the box, as with ATV1 I also need a Crystal HD card.
Also things like audio and video quality counts...
And startup time...
So a quick question for the experts.
Will I be better off with a ATV1 or ATV2 box?
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I''m debating too, but early reports say while ATV2 plays 1080p files it downscales its output to 720p, I believe the ATV1 with Crystal plays 1080p native.
I could be mistaken but this is what I have heard. Not sure if ATV2 has capability to actually output in 1080p with current hardware.
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avi's have very limited hardware acceleration possibilities and quality will always be poor. Re-rip or download 720p mkv rips and your problem is solved.
Why even own an hdtv if you are going to playback avi's?
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Anybody with both boxes, that can say something about the difference?
I`m realy uncertain of what to do now, keep ATV1 and get a Crystal HD card or get a ATV2...
Want the best XBMC experience.
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Does the ATV1 have Netflix like the ATV2?
Also, does the ATV1 have HDMI out?
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I vote ATV2 as well. Just because its the current product and will have much more support. Plus I really want to try out ARM support on XBMC, should be a fun experience. Plus only $99!
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Does not a ATV1 output 1080P with the Crystal HD card?Anybody got both boxes and can say anything about startup time (both the box itself, and starting XBMC), audio/video quality (with Crystal HD) etc.
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ATV1 outputs 1080p. The OSX version downs to 720p and upscales to 1080p. The Ubuntu version output 1080p.
You really planning to turn them off? The ATV1 idles at like 25W, and whats the ATV2 less then 6W? You have to yank the cord out of the back, or get a AC power switch anway. For me boot time isn't even a thought. As a side note, until the jailbreak team gets a untethered hack going, you probably won't want to be rebooting a ATV2 too often anyway if you get one with latest firmware.
Honestly each have there own merits depending on your application.
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2011-01-22, 08:03
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-22, 08:28 by ddingle.)
This is just my .02...
ATV1 pluses:
Crystalbuntu with the Broadcom card does 1080p native and does it pretty darn well and is a very slick system overall. All add-ons work well including bluecop's Hulu (with the limelight CDN anyway). Good 5.1 audio support. Component video. Internal hard drive to store media.
ATV1 minuses:
No Netflix. Gotta hack the snot out of it to get it to do all it can do including opening the case to install the Broadcom card & losing WiFi etc. Not hard, but time consuming and costs more $$ than ATV2 at this point. Runs *hot*/uses more energy. Usually some small delays/hiccups starting HD MKVs, but it settles in after a few seconds (this with the latest Dharma/r174 CHD driver etc). Larger form factor.
ATV2 pluses:
Tiny, low energy, more modern hardware. Get to keep Netflix/iTunes integration. No additional hardware to install to get good HD... yay A4. XBMC and MKVs load *fast* and play immediately without stutter.
EDIT: Worth noting that pausing and seeking work WAY better in ATV2 than with ATV1+Crystalbuntu, which would essentially cause you to start over... at least with the 70012 card.
ATV2 minuses:
Jailbreaking is a PITA. DFU mode anyone? *barf* Glad I did it un-tethered early on. Stereo only w/ XBMC... sure that will change soon, but it's a big bummer (not that I'm belittling the *incredible* efforts of the devs). Not much add-on support right now without librtmp etc.
EDIT: YouTube plugin seems pretty jittery so far.
I enjoy XBMC Confluence in 1080p more in ATV1 than XBMC Confluence 720p in ATV2 as the Crystalbuntu menus etc. look crisper and feel a little snappier, but, as far as videos are concerned, honestly on my 42" LCD from 10ft away I never can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p videos so all the people crying about lack of 1080p support & downscaling are either on way better/bigger TVs than me or else talking smack and trying to make people think 1080p is the bomb or something. YMMV with different encodings/compressions etc, but the average run of the mill HD stuff is just as good at 720p at 1080p to the lay persons eye.
Fun stuff.
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Thank you for very good info here ddingle.
Seeking in movies is important to me, so thank you for mentioning this.
Is it any better with 70015?
Another thing, my library consists of very many different formats, xvid, divx, avi, MPEG1/2 and so on.
Is the format support equally good on the to boxes?
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piotr
Senior Member
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What would be the better choice:
-Atv2
-Originial Apple Tv with Crystal HD
Thnx for your comments !