![]() You lose Front Row, built-in optical options and more though with the more modern models, making them a little less desirable in some ways, but certainly more capable in many others with newer features and more powerful graphics/CPUs (however they too should all be able to run iTunes 10 unofficially). 2012 and BeyondĪt the other end of the spectrum, sure – the more modern 2012 to 2014 Mac mini (current model) can do the same trick as the others and to a degree do it significantly better (4k video is technically do-able on the 2014 models). Even older still PowerPC Mac minis can do much of the same as their Intel counterparts, but at a single PowerPC G4 CPU with speeds ranging from 1.25 GHz to 1.5 GHz, you won’t be watching much beyond DVD quality 480p video. Older models that shipped in 2006 though 2008 will probably have to stick to 720p video unless upgraded to a T7600 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo (even then it will technically fall just short of the official 2.4 GHz cut for 1080p, but it should work fine). Earlier Intel Mac minisĪt any rate, any Intel Mac mini running iTunes 10.6.3 (or 10.7 – Intel Only) will do just fine as a replacement for the first generation Apple TV. The 2010 Mac mini even retains the built-in optical drive to boot (no pun intended), which makes it stand out for a few reasons. The Mac mini (2010 and later) takes up about the same amount of space as the the Apple TV 1s generation (the 2009 and earlier models are a bit taller), and all 2010 and earlier Intel Mac minis can take a retail install of Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard and updates to 10.6.8, hence be guaranteed compatible with iTunes 10 (iTunes 10 is officially supported through OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but it has been found to run just fine on later versions of OS X/macOS). ![]() Why iTunes 10 or Front Row though, and why the Mac mini? What makes that solution a somewhat viable replacement? This answer is pretty simple – the user interface and the system footprint. I have a feeling iTunes 10 number is going to be up soon due to the fact that Apple likely has no interest in keeping PowerPC Macs alive for being authorized endpoints much longer (iTunes 10.6.3 is fully compatible with Macs running Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.8 including a wide variety of officially supported PowerPC G4 Macs and others hacked to run Leopard).Įxample of Apple’s Front Row (available as part of Mac OS X v10.4 – v10.6.8) – very similar feel to the original Apple TV OS. Where does that leave us though as Low End Apple TV users? Well I’ll be perfectly honest – the next closest thing without going through some real trouble is using either iTunes 10 or Front Row with a Mac mini (Front Row can be found in Mac OS X Tiger through Snow Leopard). That’s an entirely different topic of its own. Someone else can yank the plug at any minute, but I digress. ![]() It was fun while it lasted in terms of the content you paid to use that you can’t any longer.įunny how that works, right? You do not have control of digital content. The Apple TV 1st Generation was a completely different animal due to its local storage. With that said, is the Apple TV 2nd Generation or later truly a great viable replacement to the 1st Generation? Absolutely not. Newer Apple TV Can’t Replace the Original Data limitations from cellular providers and reception of LTE signals put you at the mercy of your signal strength and proximity of the tower from your provider and even then, you are stuck competing for a clean 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz channel wherever you go now. There are dead zones everywhere and bad WiFi implementations today in most hotels. Lack of a modern single-purpose non-streaming Apple TV: This is where Apple really screwed up. In case you didn’t read into it – this was a very sarcastic paragraph. There would never be a dead zone or a place where WiFi just stinks in 2018, would there? There would never be cellular providers with data limits, would there? Just stream away like turning on the faucet. The Internet must be so great now that no matter where you go, it just works. Must be the only path forward, right? Ease of use and no need for storage anymore. Why should you care though? Stuff is streaming everywhere, and you can now get content in 1080p and 4k streaming through various providers – including Apple through more recent devices like the Apple TV 3rd Generation, 4th Generation, and Apple TV 4k 4th Generation. RIP AppleTV 1st Generation: – Streaming Isn’t Always the Solution
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