Full Review
Apple TV Design
The design of the Apple TV matches the look of other Apple products. It is thin, sexy and looks nothing like any other TV component on the market. Apple's industrial design team struck gold once again with the Apple TV. In some ways, it looks like a Mac mini that was squished down to 1" thick. It's no surprise that the brushed metal exterior matches the metal exterior of every modern Mac computer with exception to the MacBook.
While the Apple TV looks like a thinner version of a Mac mini, it is much wider and longer. It's also bigger than the recently released AirPort Extreme base station (which coincidentally is the same width and length of the mini). The Apple TV measures 7.7" x 7.7" x 1.1", making it roughly 1.2" wider and longer than the Airport Extreme, Mac mini or LaCie mini external hard drives.
At first I thought the irregular size of the Apple TV was a mistake or an oversight. Given the fact that the Apple TV gets pretty warm during use, it makes total sense that Apple would give the Apple TV dimensions that are not conducive to stacking drives on top of or under the unit. The insulating effect could cause those components to overheat and possibly fail. I could be wrong about this assumption, but it has some merit.
Apple uses an Intel based processor and 30GB hard drive to power the Apple TV, other than that Apple is keeping the specs hidden (we might crack open the case in a future article to see what's they are :) )There are very few ports on the back of the Apple TV. This means that there are fewer ways an average consumer can get confused by the setup process or use of cables. Apple essentially limits users to two connection methods - HDMI (which handles both digital video and digital audio) and component audio/video. There's a digital audio port as well.
The Apple TV does not use an external power adapter or brick. The power cable connects directly from an outlet to the back of the Apple TV. This makes setting up and even transporting the Apple TV much easier. 
Included with the Apple TV is a remote and power cable
The back of the Apple TV
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by Stacey on May 5, 2008:
“We loved Apple TV so much, we now have two... one for each floor of the house. The larger size is a must, especially with the movie download capability, from the couch. That said, here's what I would suggest to make users like us even happier: - allow...” More...