[trip1ex]

They should also just put the ATV software on the Mini. A Mini might be more $$$, but you (can) use a Mini as a Time Machine backup network device and I think you can use it as a router with internet connection sharing although they haven't updated it to wireless N yet.

[moonaust]

Putting Atv on my apple tv has changed the experience. Being able to bypass iTunes by using FTP is an awesome addition, along with the Perian Quicktime codec.

[Chris Breen]

That's two votes for aTV. I'm checking it out now. Will write something up in the next few days.

[Dunedain]

I have an LG 50" plasma hooked up to my Apple TV. When it was connected via HDMI, the two would continually lose each other. Example:

Plug Apple TV in via HDMI while on HDMI Input 1 and hey presto, Apple TV. Now, if I changed to say AV1 (to watch TV) and then back to HDMI the TV and the Apple TV would have completely lost each other, the TV would simply not be displaying the Apple TV signal. I tried different HDMI cables, and in the end, dug up lots of people who were having the same problem. Another feather to the Apple TV and HDMI don't play nice idea.

The only way to get the picture back was to continually mash the apple remote, which on occasion seemed to jog it into re-establishing the handshake with the TV, or rebooting the damn thing.

So, moved to component (my connection method of choice. High Def, but with the benefits of analog) but my TV only has one Component input and my XBox was using it and I DIDNT :-( want to change! So, after much searching, found a clever Joytech box which cost me all of #17 that is in effect a passthrough AV receiver. Amazingly, the quality is excellent and it offers me 5 component inputs. In addition it lets me push everything to my surround sound system via one optical cable. All the units are connected to the receiver, and then one output carries the sound to the surround sound amp. Brilliant.

So, in this way I've overcome the HDMI issue. Component massively improves things. No lost signals, a slightly richer picture (colour-wise) and less hassle for me. The AppleTV is often still very slow to respond, but this seems to be more due to the AppleTV hardware/software than anything else. Sometimes it lags drastically behind control inputs on the remote. A pain, but still a massive improvement.

Been keeping an eye on the aTVflash thing for a while and think it's probably time to give it a whirl!

All the best guys,

Tony

[tcterrified]

Please post an update if the switch off of HDMI to component continues to help the Apple TV remote freeze-up problem! I love my Apple TV but agree that it can be such a pain at times that you want to throw that little thing across the room. If this really helps I might consider it. Also, is the picture noticeably worse on component? Thanks!

[Dunedain]

The picture is in my view, marginally BETTER on component. It is certainly no worse. In my view, colour is richer and whites are whiter. But then again I have a good component cable, so that can't hurt.

I recommend component whole heartedly. Read my earlier post for a fuller explanation. Like I say, it is the best of both worlds: HD capable married to an analog signal. I think I'm right in describing it like that. The only downside is more cables to manage! As for improving AppleTV, for me, there is no doubt, but as I mentioned earlier there is a clear issue with the AppleTV and my LG plasma, which is specifically a HDMI issue, so your mileage may vary.

Good Luck!

[tcterrified]

Interesting! I've re-read your comment and thanks, now I'm definitely interested in trying component instead of HDMI though I admit I was hoping the change would be the silver bullet to fix the supremely annoying lagging Apple TV remote issue. That said, using the iPhone remote app with Apple TV is fantastic and I've experience no lag using it (though it is much more limited in what Apple TV features you can control with it).

[Felix001]

Chris, I'm curious what brand TV you're using?
Because I have my ATV hooked up to a Sony 52" Bravia W-Series HDTV using a premium HDMI cable and I'm experiencing none of the problems you articulated in the article.
Could the issues be related to the TV being used? Or the HDMI cable?

[bugsnw]

One thing to try is reset the ATV and start from scratch. I was setting up a 40 GB model for a friend and it was behaving so strange. Of course, at first I just tried to re-sync his library but it locked up half way through.

Finally, in disgust, I reset the thing to factory defaults and went through the menus step-by-step. The gods were then pleased, apparently, because everything was perfect after that.

Sometimes the obvious is the last option we try. Chris' experience with simplification mirrors my troubleshooting successes over the years.

The only thing I can do is shake my head and mutter to myself... 'it's all magic.'

[folklore]

I just switched from an HDMI to component cable on one of my AppleTVs (I have two). It's too soon to tell if the cable difference will matter in terms of the slow response, but I can certainly report that the picture is not different. I can't tell the difference.

For the geeky people in the room, isn't there some sort of DRM built-in to the HDMI interface that could be the culprit here? If there's handshaking that goes badly (or slowly) then that might cause odd display problems. I'm talking out of my backside there - I have no idea if that's really the case. But like one of the other posters, I've noticed more trouble when switching between two HDMI inputs on my Sony Bravia 32" HDTV. Things sorta go haywire sometimes when I switch inputs, sometimes requiring me to turn off the TV and try again.

[whyibother]

I have mine set up like you did originally. Mine streams via Ethernet though as my house is smart wired and I have Ethernet sockets in every room. It works perfectly and never skips a beat. If I try switching to wireless however that's when the problems start. Stop/start streaming, loss of connection etc. And I have an airport extreme N router.
Ethernet good. Wireless crap.

[MackyMoto]

As soon as Apple adds DVR capability I'll buy three. Until then, I just don't see the value. It's just one big expensive video player. Lots of people complain that (dot).mac, now mobile me, is overpriced for the features - add a TV program database that can feed the Apple TV and Apple will make LOTS of people happy and sell a lot more Apple TVs and mobile me memberships.

[asvoren]

I've read the comments here and thought I'd post my experience. I bought the original AppleTV (40 GB) and, at the time, had an Insignia 42" 1080i LCD with one HDMI input and 3 Component inputs. I also had a Toshiba HDDVD and a Sony PS3. I couldn't get any of those devices to work with the TV properly over an HDMI connection (I would manually switch the cable between the devices to test the connection). I switched to component cables, and everything worked fine. I then purchased an LG 42" 1080p LCD with 3 HDMI connections a few months ago. I tried again and hooked all three devices up though HDMI. All worked perfectly, and at 1080p (including the AppleTV). In all that time, I've never had a problem with the AppleTV. I had originally hooked it up via ethernet, and now, with the acquisition of an Apple Airport Extreme, via wireless. I have no problems streaming movies from my iMac 20" Intel (about 300 movies on an external firewire 800 drive attached to the iMac), streaming photos from Aperture, music from iTunes, rented HD movies from the iTunes store, etc... All works as advertised, day in, day out. One thing I don't do is use the HDMI connection for audio through the TV. All audio from all three devices connects via optical fibre to a Pioneer AV receiver. Granted, audio is always streaming on the HDMI cable, so I don't know if that even plays a part in this. To tell the truth, I find the AppleTV to be a most impressive device. My experience has been that a lot of these multimedia devices only work well with the most current products, with the TV being the most critical device in the list. So if you're having problems, you may have to dumb-down your connectivity to get everything working reliably.

[Mac_Jedi]

I could not agree more. Why doesn't the Apple TV act as a DVR? It makes no sense to me - it's already hooked up to the TV and has a hard drive! You should also be able to surf the internet... I'm hoping upgrading the ATV will be Apple's next big venture!