Putting Atv to sleep with keyboard or remote?

Is there anything in the works to put my ATV to sleep without clicking through my settings to trigger it? Sure would be nice,
seeing as there is no magic button on the Atv itself, and I like the thought of the sucker resting once in a while. She
certainly can run hot, even without me even doing anything on the unit.
Isn’t this a function that most people would like to see on a more user friendly basis…?

While at the main menu just hold the play/pause button for a few seconds until the AppleTV goes to sleep.

Do not know if that trick will accomplish what you want it to, since the AppleTV never goes into standby/suspend/sleep. Following GuardianMax suggestion will merely pause the video output on the AppleTV, and it will not get much cooler. The harddrive will still spin, the OS will still run and produce heat.

Guess Apple did this to make sure the AppleTV is always in sync with your iTunes library…

With the lack of sleep in mind, have there been any issues with the newer “Green” external HDDs going to sleep while the ATV doesnʻt? Iʻm shopping for an external at the moment and that seems to be the new feature. Not that Iʻm complaining… I prefer things go to sleep when Iʻm not using them to save on wear and tear.

A harddrive usually experiences more wear and tear spinning up/down, so leaving it spinning is usually the best from a Hd-perspective. The components however will wear out faster by being left on. But since the lifespan of the components usually are longer than the lifespan of the product (it becomes obslolete) the question is if it really matters…