An article over at AppleInsider.com has proven to be chock full of juicy tidbits regarding Apple's upcoming Apple TV set-top box.

The piece reveals the following information:

-The Apple TV will be powered by a Pentium M-based Intel processor running at 1.0 GHz with an underclocked 350 MHz system bus. The chip is based on a pre Intel Core Duo architecture known as "Dothan" and includes 2 megabytes of Level 2 cache.

-The Pentium M chip will receive video decoding support via an nVidia G72 graphics chip with 64 megabytes of DDR2 video RAM (the card is essentially equivalent to nVidia's GeForce Go 7400) and 256 megabytes of DDR2 RAM which is reportedly soldered to the logic board.

-The Apple TV's internal 40 gigabyte hard drive is a 2.5" PATA drive that can store 50 hours of movies and video data, 9,000 songs or 25,000 pictures.

-As mentioned before, users will be able to synch their itunes libraries to the drive but will require an Internet connection in order to access licensed content purchased from the iTunes Store.

-The Apple TV can access a wireless network either via its 802.11n wireless system or through its 10/100 Ethernet port.

-The device won't be able to act as its own wireless router nor will it support Apple's AirTunes. The device also lacks Bluetooth support.

-The Apple TV's sole purpose is to act as a set-top unit capable of streaming audio and video data from up to five separate iTunes libraries to either an enhanced definition or high-definition television set.

-The unit uses an 802.11 mini PCIe card and five separate antennas spread throughout the device - two antennas for data transmission and three antennas for data reception.

-The unit will also include a fan for cooling, albeit exact technical details as to its location are currently unavailable.

-The Apple TV's USB port is for "maintenance only" and available only for diagnostic and service purposes.

-The Apple TV will be supported by future versions of iTunes and QuickTime (7.1 and 7.1.5, respectively).

If you have any ideas, comments or have heard anything else, let us know.