Apple TV gets a full blown specification list, sort of

Whether you've dropped your hard-earned $299 for Apple's forthcoming Apple TV, or you're just waiting to find out a bit more details on the thing before pulling the trigger, AppleInsider reportedly has the dirt we geeks adore. According to Apple's website, the device sports an elusive "Intel processor" and a 40GB hard drive, but we all know there's a lot more to this 7.7- x 7.7-inch box than what Steve is letting us know; thankfully, some folks in the know have supposedly dug up just what's under the silver lid, and it seems that you're paying three hundred bones for some rather antiquated components. Getting us started is a 1GHz Pentium-M-based chip, codenamed "Crofton," which has been underclocked to run on a 350MHz bus, and it's purportedly based on Intel's Dothan core, which includes 2MB of L2 cache. Additionally, an NVIDIA G72M with 64MB of DDR2 RAM is included for video purposes, and a quarter gigabyte of 400MHz DDR2 system RAM is soldered to the logic board. Also of note is its inability to function as its own wireless router / extender, despite the built-in 802.11n antenna, and while you'll find a USB port flanking the rear, it's presumably only there for "services and diagnostics purposes." So, in the end the Apple TV should still have plenty of horsepower to handle its well established duties, but it's certainly not packing a great lot of pizazz beneath the hood -- according to this report, anyway.

[Christopher Kalanderopoulos @ Jan 15th 2007 11:33PM]

Engadget editors do know that you need three dimensions to make a cube, right??
Therefore, 7.7inch by 7.7inch is only square, and by this statement, two dimensional.
We all know this is a rectangular prism.... not a cube. Common Engadget!

[Zorque @ Jan 15th 2007 11:51PM]

We should also all know that "come on" is two separate words.

[Christopher Kalanderopoulos @ Jan 16th 2007 9:14AM]

Actually, I was saying the word Common; I didn't splice come on into one word.
I think that it is common for Engadget to make these kinds of little mistakes without thinking the avid reading public would notice.

[c_r @ Jan 17th 2007 11:03AM]

Nice try, buddy. But no one is buying it.

[alloneword @ Jan 15th 2007 11:38PM]

'quarter gigabyte'

256MB a dirty word?

[Bobo @ Jan 15th 2007 11:47PM]

It can't do my laundry either, but I'll still end up getting one.
(Face it, so will you)

[Dave @ Jan 15th 2007 11:57PM]

ha, I don't think so

[max andrews @ Jan 15th 2007 11:52PM]

Well what do you expect for $299 anyways?
For a wireless high-def audio/video bridge with a built in hard drive, that seems plenty reasonable to me, regardless of the internals. I mean, what else can you put in it and keep manufacturing costs under $200?

[Matt @ Jan 16th 2007 1:19AM]

A 360 maybe? It wouldn't have wifi or a hard drive, but it would still play games along with doing media streaming the old fasioned way over copper.

I own a iPod and a Mac (in addition to several "PC's") and have bought a few things off of iTunes, and have been considering buying some sort of "extender" and now I am just leaning twards the 360, maybe when the new one comes out with HDMI and the 65nm chip. Cheap way to get HD-DVD too. Streaming media and downloadable content + games + future IPTV = win. I don't need wifi because I already pulled the copper, which is IMO a better solution anyway.

I am not suggesting that this is the best option for everyone out there, but for the price, the 360 just has a good deal more to offer for essentially the same price depending on what features you require, and especially if you already have a collection of Windows PC's (like most of us do).

[Bobby @ Jan 15th 2007 11:53PM]

Intel seem to be keeping mum about what type of processor the're packing

http://www.intel.com/news/apple.htm?iid=biztab+apple

[applesucksLeo @ Jan 15th 2007 11:56PM]

I`m so tired of that all white cheesy plastic look...Can`t they do someting better , like make it all clear or something ? LOL

[Bobby @ Jan 16th 2007 12:02AM]

They already did the translucent thing. Remember the first generation imac?

[Kichigai Mentat @ Jan 16th 2007 8:23AM]

Eew. 100% clear plastics are just... ugly these days. The white plastic is nice, but getting kind of old. They've been using it for what seems to be longer than the blue pinstripes (which I actually liked). Can we just move everything towards the metalic industrial style of the Mac Pro? Or how about some sort of polished metal, similar to the PS3?

[hh @ Mar 20th 2007 12:58PM]

i know right. apple's style has always seemed a bit cheesy and fake. too much acid for those guys.

[Nick @ Jan 16th 2007 12:00AM]

I wonder if it can run OS X...

[wahoo scott @ Jan 16th 2007 12:02AM]

as if there were any more reasons to just spend an extra $100 or so and get a used mac mini!

it may not do my laundry, but i will definitely not be getting one. i'd much rather go the mac mini route, and have a full comptuer hooked up instead. i'll still be able to watch video on my tv, pull down trailers and listen to itunes. not only that, but i'll be able to pull up firefox, my calendar, my address book, adium, office, iwork, ilife...or to put it simply, EVERYTHING.

hooray for lcd's with vga inputs and bluetooth keyboards and mice.

[Aron Trimble @ Jan 16th 2007 12:14AM]

i'd still rather have a mac mini in my ht rig

[tc @ Jan 16th 2007 12:19AM]

I think they spent too much time on iPhone and low-balled the tv. I thought a Front Row v2 kind of software would be running in tv ... even the graphics seems a little 'low-end'.

I Agree, I think you'd be much better with a MacMini next to your TV ... oh yea, it's over-priced too.

Apple charges premium prices, why can't they come out with premium hardware, i.e. 1080, etc.

[Dax50 @ Jan 16th 2007 12:20AM]

This would be sweet if true....

http://www.codenameitv.com/index.php/topic,5.0.html

[J @ Jan 16th 2007 12:32AM]

Yes, but does it run Linux?

[Mahkno @ Jan 16th 2007 12:28AM]

No HD tuner, no buy.

[Keaton @ Jan 16th 2007 12:33AM]

I wonder if you could get it to run Window's Server 2003...
This would make a great little file server, domain controller, etc.

[Ben @ Jan 16th 2007 12:48AM]

Why are you guys complaining about the graphics/ processor?

Its designed to show hi-def video NOT PLAY GAMES OR BROWSE THE INTERNET OR CRUNCH NUMBERS etc.

You don't expect your pocket calculator to have a dual core 6ghz chip so why should this?

[wahoo scott @ Jan 16th 2007 1:05AM]

ben,

regardless of what it is designed to do, if you can find an alternative device that does the same and more for only a minimal amount of additional money, why shouldn't it factor in to the buying decision calculation?

i don't think anyone is saying "i'd rather have a g5 or mac pro hooked up to my tv." people are comparing a similarly sized device that does significantly more and doesn't have to cost all that much more than the apple tv.

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Jan 16th 2007 12:55AM]

Too expensive for what it is and what it does. And I mean, I'm not cheap, I'm ready to buy the iPhone so... I truly hope that Apple comes out with a new Mac Mini soon with more power, a decent HD, a Bluetooth keyboard with integrated trackpad and rechargeable battery, and so forth.

[Justin France @ Jan 16th 2007 11:47PM]

Mac Mini... with a replacable battery?

Think before you type. Jesus.

[anonymous @ Jan 16th 2007 12:58AM]

A quarter gigabyte of ram? Wtf, I get so tired of engadget trying to make everything Mac sound so good. How much do they pay you guys?

[Kichigai Mentat @ Jan 16th 2007 8:24AM]

Yeah. Damn those Engadget guys for trying to sound nice and use less-than-common phrases to spice up their articles! They should know better than to be creative! That's not what we pay them for... oh, right.

[T Nguyen @ Jan 16th 2007 1:05AM]

XBMC > AppleTV


No Divx or Xvid support, no care!

[Arbee26 @ Jan 16th 2007 5:40AM]

Couldn't have said it better myself. No DivX, no buy.

[Jason @ Jan 16th 2007 1:09AM]

Why oh why did they not add an HD ATSC tuner and DVR software? Charge a bit more for it, I don't care, but that would have made the Apple TV MUCH more interesting to a lot of people.

Oh well, maybe it's coming with a software update down the road.

[kitt2112 @ Jan 16th 2007 1:49AM]

all i need to know is, will i be able to stream avi video from my mac to my tv. thats all i need to do. can someone plz answer my question plz.

[... @ Jan 16th 2007 2:12AM]

I like how if this device were running some type of windows OS you guys would totally rip on it for being so underpowered with its measly 256mb of ram and 300mhz processor, but since it is made by apple is 1/4GIGABYTE of ram and 350MEGAHERTS processor is totally sufficient for the job.



I wonder if we will be able to get the main processor running at full speed and get some decent wireless functionality out of it when we finally get Linux running on it... If it would work as an a client for mythtv I might consider buying it.

[smoke Tetsu @ Jan 16th 2007 3:22AM]

This thing has a better GPU than the Mac Mini. :P

[marcin @ Jan 16th 2007 3:52AM]

In short:
It runs linux!!!!! how about to run MythTV on it???

[Lucas @ Jan 16th 2007 4:05AM]

Yes, but will it run Doom ? Honestly im not an Apple Fanboy, but ... do you realy need 6 Cray Super computers coupled with a Gigaquad of Ram to stream video content onto a Quadrilateral HDD ? Just to stream and watch video from your mac ? I think not. Specs seem fine.

Silly article, very silly.

[wiliamo @ Jan 16th 2007 5:48AM]

surely they'd put in another 256 of RAM! It's a bit ridiculous.
I wounder if you can plug an EyeTV into the USB port...... They do interface with front row on your computer, after all, i wonder if they'd do it on the AppleTV...
interesting possibility. i'd buy it then, too.

[gustavo_brasil @ Jan 16th 2007 6:21AM]

I really hope they update Front Row to AppleTV's gorgeous user interface. It's not fair people buying mac mini as a media center and having to buy another gadget to a better user experience.

[Paul M @ Jan 16th 2007 6:18AM]

I may not be a mac user, but a little note. It doesnt say it runs at 350Mhz, the devil is in the details. "Bus speed" ring a bell? Who knows what the multiplier frequency is, as long as it does its job.

But yeah, I think the general opinion is that it should have included PVR functionality. I wont be buying one because by the time stuff gets to the UK it suddenly and mysteriously gets very expensive!

[Jeff @ Jan 16th 2007 7:21AM]

Apple's last two major announcements (iPhone and Apple TV) have both been pretty behind the curve in technology, with the iPhone's lack of 3G support and Apple TV's 720p max and lack of DVR functionality. What's going on? Do they really think it's enough to just put out a pretty interface and an eye-catching form factor?

Come on Apple, what's under the hood does count for something...

[mj @ Jan 16th 2007 7:46AM]

So why 299 usd for this POS when you can get more powerful hardware for same price which can do more than this. Xbox 360 does what Apple TV will do and on top of that it is not just tied up to iTunes so you can get other media also playing on your TV apart from just Apple's crap. And how about adding 300 usd extra to this and geting one that does all of this plus has blue-ray player built-in, allows you to go on net as well as plays media at 1080p instead of just 720p (anyone heard on PS3 ?). Its ironic to see when PS3 came out with price of 599 everyone was saying it is too high whereas Apple comes out with POS and prices it at 299 and still no one complains about price/value point.

[Mike @ Jan 16th 2007 7:34AM]

Why are people ripping on the iPhone for "lack of 3G" when the thing has friggin Wi-Fi!

I have a Nokia E61 which has EDGE and Wi-Fi. Edge is fine for most stuff and free Wi-Fi is so prevalent that the lack of 3G is practically a non-issue. Not having to pay 3G data fees is also nice...

[Mike S @ Jan 16th 2007 7:32AM]

I don't need an ATSC tuner or DVR software. I have my cable box DVR for that. I do want to stream video from my PC though. The Apple TV is very close to what I want except I wish it supported DIVX/XVID as well. Although I can use Nero Recode to backup my dvd's to iTunes, ability to read .iso format would be awesome as well. I may have to look at the other offerings like MVIX and TVIX. I really wanted the Apple TV to be more open and maybe someone will hack it. I do know there are ways to put DIVX into itunes but I don't know how to do it.

[zargon @ Jan 16th 2007 8:49AM]

All these media units/media streamers coming out are one big disappointment after another. At least for me that is.

I have been spoiled with my Roku PhotoBridge and have been looking for a replacement for it that has all the important features it does and most importantly, mpeg-4 support. The Photobridge has an older ATI embedded chip on it that cannot handle mpeg-4 formats, but it can handle mpeg-2 TS HD streams. On top of that, it can run on its own with out any stupid media software (which most seems to only run on Windows). It also supports all kid of network shares, from NFS, Samba and OSX even directly plugging in a USB drive or NAS. On top of that, they released an SDK for their software. Meaning that third party scene is alive and kicking with some amazing software.

I just want something to match that, but have yet to find anything. I think the MIVX and TVIX units are the most promising, but not exactly what I need or want. Roku's new BrightSign, the replacement to the PhotoBridge, even falls way short.

For those who want ATSC tuners, check out the HD HomeRun network dual ATSC tuner. You plug it into the cable and then into the network. Any numberous pieces of software can view, a app has even been created for the PhotoBridge to watch live TV. I would assume that media servers are starting to take advantage of this and that Apple TV and other devices will also be able to take advantage of it. I want to buy one, but I may just wait and see if a CableCard version comes out.

[Peter @ Jan 16th 2007 9:54AM]

i spoke with someone over at apple and they assured me that this would replace my air port express (ie, it WILL work as a router, but i guess i'll lose my wireless printing). This does support 1080i and i give it a week or two before I can hop online and find hax to get other video support. I'm not apple fanboy but i pre-ordered mine just minutes after it was officially released and I cant wait to get my hands on this!

[Stranger @ Jan 16th 2007 9:57AM]

If this is true I must say I'm rather surprised that Apple decided to use a general-purpose CPU instead of a dedicated solution like Sigma Design's 8622L or SMP8634 to lower cost and power-consumption.

[Peter C. @ Jan 16th 2007 10:47AM]

Same price as an Xbox 360 core with less power. I guess you're stuck with Apple/eye Tunes instead of Microsoft/Windows Media Player. I guess it's better to get raped by an devil in an angel costume then by the devil itself.

[Don @ Jan 16th 2007 10:57AM]

$150 Xbox v1
$20 Modchip (or simply a $0 firmware hack)
$50 200gb HD =
-------------------
$220 Media Center that does everything that this box does, plus isn't tied to the Itunes platform, plus plays games, etc etc...

The AppleTV is ridiculous. I like Apple, I really do, but this thing is pointless.

[George @ Jan 16th 2007 12:21PM]

Gosh all you guys ever do is whine about what a product doesn't have. The majority of the country is still on 480p and you all whine that it doesn't do 1080p. You guys will complain even if this has all the specs you wanted. You will find something to cry about. If the 360 is better for you, go watch it ad scram out of here. Why are you even reading this if you have the perfect device? Hmmmm, not so perfect eh. Who cares what the specs are if it does what it is supposed to do. Does your station wagon have 900hp. Idiots. So Apple will give the iphone 3g then you will cry and say that your battery dies too quick and you whine that cingulars plan for 3g is too high. Why don't you all just shut up and not buy anything apple. You can keep the club exclusive to people that want working devices and we will remain virus free with our low market share. If their products don't work for you, DON'T BUY THEM.

[Brian @ Jan 16th 2007 12:06PM]

This thing is merely meant as a streamer guys. Seriously. You guys must not get it. Here's the plan. You have one centralized server with all of your media on it. Then, you get a very lightweight system that does nothing but stream all of that data to your TV to watch. Photos, TV, movies, etc. All this thing is acting as is a thin client to a distributed home AV system. I don't care about a hacked up xbox that doesn't stream this stuff cleanly like the AppleTV does. I want something that just works out of the box.