Tvmama

1 Comment Written by Atila on July 14, 2008 – 1:17 pm

Apple TV may be able to pull content off your computer and put it on your TV, but it can’t do something far simpler: turn off.

In browsing the Apple Support Discussion forum, it is clear that many Apple TV users don’t like the lack of an on/off switch. Some are concerned that keeping it on all the time could hurt the device; others worry about the wasted energy and the consequent damage to the environment (not to mention their electric bills).

AppleTV does have a standby mode that can be activated by holding down the play/pause button, but the amount of time the button needed to be held varied from unit to unit, causing some confusion amongst forum participants. Furthermore, even in standby mode many users were still concerned about the amount of energy the device wastes.

“Even in standby mode AppleTV remains quite warm to the touch, almost hot. It absolutely must be drawing a considerable amount of power in standby mode. I’m surprised Apple didn’t design this thing to be more green (what with Al Gore on the board), and I’m very disappointed,” said one post.

However, it appears that the heat generated by the device owes more to a lack of a cooling system than a waste of energy. One forum participant claimed the Apple TV uses a maximum of 48 watts when on based on the device’s specs, while another claimed that he measured that his unit used 17-19 watts while in use and 13.8 watts after having been in standby mode for a couple of days. Apple TV may not qualify for an Energy Star rating, but leaving it on all the time certainly consumes less energy than leaving on your computer or refrigerator.