Have you wanted to expand the types of media your Apple TV can play without opening up the box? aTV Flash is the product for you. It’s a $60 flash drive you can plug into the “maintenance” USB port on the Apple TV that immediately gives you a menu offering various software installs. Installable software includes:
Those video codecs get all those videos of various origin to play on your TV. It really makes the Apple TV quite versatile. You can indeed install this software on your own for free, but when it comes to being non-invasive and easy, aTV Flash seems to be the right solution.
Speaking of Apple TV, whatever happened with your friend whose computer bit it? He'd wanted to retrieve his media off his Apple TV without cracking the box open.
I just learned that aTV Flash has been taken off the market until further notice.