[PSP]

I'm wondering whether the current version of Apple TV can significantly outperform cable for movies (we have Comcast) and if so, what equipment is required to do that. 

While I am very serious about music and my audio system, I am a bit more relaxed about movies.  For movies, I am looking for "very good" but I am not motivated to strive for perfection. That said, the audio must be really good, and I won't tolerate drop-outs or other glitches that distract from the movie.

Our current wireless setup is based on "plain vanilla" Comcast internet service and Airport Extreme.  We have an iMac G5 (running the latest version of 10.4) with 1.5Gb ram... will that do?

Can the Apple TV stream from sources other than the iTunes store?

Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Many thanks,
Peter

[mshan]

I used to own an Apple TV and it worked fine if you use it stock.

If you try and add on other programs (see ATV Flash), the very underpowered hardware (1 ghz cpu with 256 MB RAM) becomes a real issue.

For stutter free streaming (I think the Apple TV may only be able to stream up to 720p because of relatively weak hardware), hardwiring the system is the way to go.  Streaming wirelessly often seems much more hit and miss, though I suspect if you stream from iMac or Airport Extreme purchases from iTunes store (h.264) you will be fine wirelessly.  Anything else is probably ymmv.

Good luck!