When last we left Apple TV, it had just received its Apple TV 2.01 ‘upgrade.’ Unfortunately, this improved version also came with some problems. Now, with the just released Apple 2.02, the Apple TV gets the 2.01 improvements without the 2.01 bugs.

2.01 gave us the ability to sort movies by genres. As our video libraries grow larger—my own collection of 55 films is sitting on a SimpleTech SP-U35/500 SimpleDrive 500 Hard Drive—this ability is getting to be handy. Unfortunately, under 2.01 shifting from say science fiction to film noir sometimes took as long as 20-seconds.

Even more disturbing, while I never saw this problem with either my 40GB Apple TV and 160GB Apple TV., many users reported that their video streaming would simply stop in the middle of a show. The network connection would remain stable; it was just the video streaming itself that came to a sudden stop. Afterwards, without rhyme or reason, it would restart. This is not my idea of a pleasant evening of movie-watching.

With 2.02, these bugs seem to be gone. I’ve also noticed that fast-forward and rewinding seem to have been improved. While running back and forth on that best Star Trek, but not Star Trek, movie Galaxy Quest, both fast-forward and rewind, even over my 802.11g connection to my iTunes server, clearly worked more smoothly.

The last time around, I recommended users to steer clear of the Apple TV 2.01 update. This time, I’m giving Apple TV 2.02 a firm thumbs-up.

To upgrade your Apple TV, use the following menu sequence from the Apple TV: Settings>General>Update Software. You’ll then see a “Software updating” message. In about 12-minutes, on my 3Mbps down DSL line, you’ll get the choice of choice: “Update now” or “Update later.” In either case, it will take about five-minutes for the update to run and then you’ll be ready to go.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to watch one of my favorite modern noir movies, Chinatown, with my Apple TV.