smorgasbork

I was having trouble syncing iTunes to my Apple TV (this is after I have been syncing for a number of months).  All of a sudden, iTunes would crash during the synchronization with Apple TV.  I tried limiting what was being synced (unchecking Movies, TV Shows, and Photos).  Nothing was working.  Turns out Genius is to blame...
After a lot of scouring of various forums, I came across a suggestion to delete the Genius playlist from the Apple TV.  This made sense to me, as we do have a Genius playlist on the Apple TV (although we have been using it for some time with no problems syncing).

To delete the playlist, go to Music > My Music > Playlists

Arrow down to Genius and hit the right arrow.  A small blue trash can icon should appear.  Click the center button on the remote to delete the playlist.

Now iTunes should sync again.

Apple TV version: 2.3

iTunes version 8.0.2 (windows)