On the fence as to whether or not you should buy an Apple TV for your living room? Feeling a little constrained by the device's restrictions? From upping your unit's hard drive to getting it to run unsupported video codecs, these hacks will make your $299 purchase worth the splurge.

Boot Apple TV from an External USB Drive

Major props to the guys at AwkwardTV who found a way to boot Apple TV from an external USB drive. Why is this cool? It means you can now hack Apple TV without having to crack open the box.

Get Apple TV to Run XviD Files
One of Apple TV's most disappointing traits is its inability to play nice with different video formats. But that doesn't mean you're stuck with MPEG-4 and H.264. Follow these instructions and soon you'll be able to add XviD and perhaps a few other video codecs to your new white box.

Bump Up Apple TV's Hard Drive
One of the first Apple TV hacks to hit the interwebs had us replacing the unit's anemic 40GB hard drive with a more supple 120GB HDD. Master this one and your $299 will be well spent.

Make FrontRow Look Like Apple TV
If you've got the hots for Apple TV's tasty new interface, this simple hack will replace Front Row's images with Apple TV's menus/icons.

Get Apple TV to Work on Your Old Boob Tube
Far from being a hack, but useful nonetheless, is confirmation that Apple TV does indeed work with non-HDTVs. All you need is a TV with component inputs. Just make sure your TV has a simulated widescreen mode and you're good to go. – Louis Ramirez

Boot Apple TV from an External USB Drive [Get USB Info]
Get Apple TV to Run XviD Files [Gizmodo]
Up Apple TV's Hard Drive [Gizmodo]
Make FrontRow Look Like Apple TV [Winnopeg]
Get Apple TV to Work on Your Old Boob Tube [Apple TV Hacks]

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