With the recent release to the developer community of the latest iteration in the Apple TV firmware (Apple TV 7) it would appear that Apple are almost confirming the second generation Apple TV end of support life.
The latest version of the popular media centres operating system is thought not to support the second generation Apple TV. Leaving owners on the soon to be outdated TV 6 Firmware.
This will be no great shakes to early adopters. Unless of course your wanting to take advantage of the iOS 8 peer-to-peer air play facility, said to allow streaming from iOS 8 devices direct to Apple TVs running firmware version 7.
Those wanting to take advantage of the peer-to-peer streaming will need to purchase a third generation Apple TV (MD199B/A in the UK) then upgrade to firmware version 7 on day of public release. Which is scheduled for sometime at the end of this year.
Apple TVs have been available since January 2009, and proved hugely popular due to their ‘budget’ price for their media streaming capabilities. The third generation unit was first unveiled on March the 7th 2012. With a “revision” to the unit arriving on the 28th of January 2013. So far there has been no rumours of a fourth generation unit. However, the second generation unit was released in September 2010, so perhaps this September will see an all new fourth generation.