[chrisby]

I recently fell into a deal on one of these recently after upgrading/trading in my old Airport Extreme for a TimeMachine.  It will be a while before I get it running, as it will require some rethinking of my currently very basic video system (i.e. 2 channel audio only)

At the moment the sole source is Motorola HD cable box, with variable audio line out direct into small Rotel stereo power amp.  To provide signal switching and control in a single component, I may need to break and buy an AVR  - I'm thinking something like a small Denon would give me all the flexibility and power I'd need. 

For the most part I don't anticipate buying video content from iTunes - the ATV would be  mostly for slideshows of family photos, etc.  The local cable provider's PPV does a good enough job for our viewing habits, and if you wait long enough a lot of new titles come free in the premium package for which we're already paying - within the past 6 months I watched for free Watchmen, Avatar, District9, too many rom-coms to remember (or be embarrassed to name) and lots of HBO.  It takes a lot of content to fill the 1TB outboard drive, and they don't have expiry dates. 

So back to the main question -  does anyone have experience with this latest version of the ATV?  I'm wondering specifically about any difference in quality of audio from iTunes library between the HDMI and Toslink outputs.

[Crimson]

I put one on order today. Will let you know how it works out. I currently have first gen ATVs in a few rooms and really only use them for photo slide shows and local music playback, but use their own internal HDs. We'll see how it works as a streaming device, although I look forward to the iPad integration.

[JohnR]

I just use mine for streaming audio. Can't answer the question about HDMI vs Toslink. (I use the Toslink out into a DAC.)

[pardales]

I just got one of the new Apple TV units to watch iTunes movies and Netflix on the TV and am experiencing the whole "painfully slow download" thing. I thought I had a relatively high-speed internet connection but maybe I don't. Others here experience this?

[skunark]

Go to speedtest.net and check out your download rate.  From what I've read you need at least 1.5Mbps for standard def and ~4Mbps for high-def.    My connection is around 18Mbps which is more than enough for two streams at once.

[spudco]

I just got one of the new Apple TV units to watch iTunes movies and Netflix on the TV and am experiencing the whole "painfully slow download" thing. I thought I had a relatively high-speed internet connection but maybe I don't. Others here experience this?

I feel your pain!  Here at the Habitat, we have Wildblue as an ISP and it is unusable for video on demand.

I have had to resort to the following process to watch Youtube videos:

Download video via Safari
Convert to MP4
Play in Itunes

Needless to say, this greatly limits my internet fun.

[pardales]

Go to speedtest.net and check out your download rate.  From what I've read you need at least 1.5Mbps for standard def and ~4Mbps for high-def.    My connection is around 18Mbps which is more than enough for two streams at once.

Vey helpful. Thank you.

[Crimson]

Go to speedtest.net and check out your download rate.  From what I've read you need at least 1.5Mbps for standard def and ~4Mbps for high-def.    My connection is around 18Mbps which is more than enough for two streams at once.

That's what they say, but my experience for successful streaming is roughly double those numbers. And just to clarify, 802.11-n is essential if using wifi.

[pardales]

That's what they say, but my experience for successful streaming is roughly double those numbers. And just to clarify, 802.11-n is essential if using wifi.

I tried Speedtest and have come up up with some wildly different download speeds. As high as 19 and as low as 4, and at the moment, it won't play anything from Netflix.

[skunark]

I tried Speedtest and have come up up with some wildly different download speeds. As high as 19 and as low as 4, and at the moment, it won't play anything from Netflix.

I just noticed that speedtest also has a pingtest.net site that rates the quality of your ISP for streaming purposes.    Over the wireless connection my ISP rating is B, with wired it scored an A.  My network is rather simple: ISP's fios modem, 802.11n/gigabit router, gigabit switch.    Just goes to show how important it is to have a wired connection for streaming content.