New ATV2 (AppleTV2) verses old ATV1 (AppleTV1) with or without Broadcom Crystal HD?

so...i've been using xbmc since it destroyed xbmp and have loved it ever since. i've put it on countless xb1's and have built a few pcs to run xbmc by itself.

i did a little research and ended up getting a used 40GB ATV from graigslist for $100 simply because there was no support for the ATV2 at the moment. I ended up getting the ATV the same day news broke on xbmc for ATV2.

my question is this, is it worth it going out and getting an ATV2 as well at the moment or should i just keep my ATV2 and install Crystalbuntu to the HDD? i really don't have any HD content and anything have that's MKV is 720p.

(though i am having a very hard time getting my old standard xvids to look as clean on my new 1080p tv as they did on my old 720p. they look really fuzzy through xbmc even from my old pc where the only thing that was changed was the tv. my dvd rips look nasty) <--is this something that the Crystal chip would help with ?

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?

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.

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?

most of my media collection is dvds and tv shows from the last 10 years. consisting of full quality dvd rips. like i said, my old 720p 32" with xbmc on my pc displayed everything crispy clear. on my new 42" 1080p it looks very blurry from the same pc and source. i thought it might be the tv but all my consoles and HD cable box all look very awesome on this tv.

Quote:Why even own an hdtv if you are going to playback avi's?

so i should own a standard definition tv just because my current collection is older non hi-def media?

not that i need to justify it to you but i do have an HD box and HD console hookups to my tv and slowly building my blu-ray collection like i did with my dvds.

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.

Does the ATV1 have Netflix like the ATV2?
Also, does the ATV1 have HDMI out?

Currently, I don't think either ATV1 or ATV2 can output 1080P. I know for sure ATV2 with XBMC can decode 1080, but output only 720. There is a possibility this may change in the future.

It's too early to make a definite pitch for the ATV2 w/XBMC. However, I think right now, if I were you...I would get the ATV2.

These are the primary factors for me:

ATV2 is the current box Apple is actively developing for with the possibility of installing apps in the future. Makes sense if Apple creates an "ATV store" to thwart off GoogleTV push into the home.

Netflix support if you use that. (This was huge for me, since I stream content for my kids. We share a common account between my friends. )

Airplay support. (XBMC team say they are trying to get Airplay support working from within XBMC in the future. So this may come to all XBMC enabled devices.)

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!

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.