IceFilms XBMC addon has been recently updated to version 1.1.12 that fixes minus.com resolver for metadata zips, adds ShareBees user login support (does not detect free user vs premium as of now), fixes JumboFile and ShareBees resolver for site changes, updates VidHog resolver to check for ‘server in maintenance mode’ msgs and disables ‘Video Seeking’ option (not needed for current sources and has been causing problems).

Note that you need a free account at ShareBees to be able to download their larger files.

You can download IceFilms addon from here and install it on your Apple TV by following this tutorial.

[image: HD420p]

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We at Apple TV Hacks have offered many guides that enable you to jailbreak your Apple TV, install XBMC, and even install addons, plugins and extras to your XBMC installation. So, now that we have given you the tools to increase the awesome of your little box, I figured it would only be fair to share with you what addons have proven to be the best of the best. So enough explanation… lets jump in to the good stuff.

Here is the list of 10 best XBMC addons for both 1st and 2nd generation Apple TV.

10.   IceLibrary

• Content Source:
  • Works in conjunction with the IceFilms addon
• Features:
  • Allows users to sync movies and television shows from the IceFilms add-on to their internal library
  • Offers the ability to refresh your library in intervals that you decide.
  • It offers filters so that you can scan for all movies released after a certain date… allowing to you have access to all movies released since 2003, should you desire to.
  • The possibilities are endless, making this one of my favorite add-ons.
• Download & Support:
  • IceLibrary Development and Releases come directly from xbmchub.com, via its development team. This add-ons has gone from a one man team, to a community driven project. You can download IceLibrary addon from here.

9.   HULU

• Content Source:
  • Hulu.com
• Features:
  • Access to all of Hulu’s website content
  • Access to all Hulu + content, for users who have signed up for the service.
  • This add-ons comes with the unique ability to add shows and movies, from Hulu, to your XBMC library. This enables you to do a lot of cool stuff!
  • Allows control of the amount of ads, or pre-roles, displayed.
• Download & Support:
  • HULU ADD-ON Development and Releases come directly from forum.xbmc.org, via its developer bluecop. This developer is known for having some AMAZING addons in his repos! You can download Hulu addon from here.

8.   Fast Pass TV

• Content Source:
  • Fastpasstv.ms.
• Features:
  • Though this add-on offers both television and movies. It is known for its movies.
  • Latest movie release are updated to FastPassTV at a rate that is second to none. If there is something you gotta see NOW(!) FastPassTV is a good way to go.
• Download & Support:
  • FastPassTv’s Development and Releases come directly from xbmchub.com, via its developer, who is also a developer for IceFilms. Its actual creator is always open to help with problems.Fast Pass TV addon from here.

7.   Live TV

• Content Source:
  • Combines live tv streams with a handful of 24 hour streams.
• Features:
  • Combines live tv streams with a handful of 24 hour streams of shows like Friends, King of Queens, and more.
  • 24 movie channels including Starz.
  • Live streaming sports
• Download & Support:
  • LiveTV’s Development and Releases come directly from forum.xbmc.org, via this add-ons developer. Its actual creator is always open to help and can be found either at xbmc.org or xbmchub.com. You can dowlnoad Live TV addon from here.

6.   Super TV

• Content Source:
  • Live TV Streams (think antenna TV)
• Features:
  • View live tv via your APPLE TV 1, 2, or 3
  • You can mark channels as broken so that the developer can fix streams if they go down.
  • Live streaming sports
• Download & Support:
  • SuperTV’s Development and Releases come directly from supercloudtv.com, via this add-ons development team. You can download Super TV addon from here.

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IceFilms is back and ready to increase the “awesome sauce” of your Apple TV! If you are one of our many fans with XBMC installed on their Apple TVs, you are likely aware of the fact that XBMC has always offered the ability to install third party add-ons. Sadly, this past December, the official XBMC Team took the odd step of closing access to some of XBMC’s most popular add-ons.

Just when it appeared as though these amazing tools would disappear, a new home arrived to connect developers, users, and add-on development. Since moving to XBMCHUB.COM the IceFilms team has been hard at work expanding the abilities and functionalities of it’s add-on and now it is ready, once again, for the prime time.

There are a few things that must be in place prior to installing the latest build:

• Jailbroken Apple TV with XBMC installed (see existing guides for details)
• SSH File Client
  • Windows – WinSCP
  • MAC – CyberDuck
• The Current IceFilms repo
  • Use This Link http://anarchintosh-projects.googlecode.com/files/repository.googlecode.anarchintosh-projects.1.0.1.zip
• A willing mind and a CAN-DO attitude

INSTALLATION

1. SSH into your Apple TV by using the following command. Make sure you use the IP address of your Apple TV. This is located in the Network information under the Settings menu on your Home Screen.

• At the top you will likely see a drop down menu that says “File Transfer Protocol.” Here you will need to select the option that says “SFTP” or “SSH”
• Server: Here you need to enter the IP address of your Apple TV that we located earlier.
• Username: root
• Password: alpine

2. Click on the “Connect” button and you will find yourself inside the File System of your Apple TV.

3. Next you will need to navigate to the location that XBMC associates as its Home Page. This location is found @ “/User”

4. Now we need to find the repo that you download earlier in this tutorial. Once you have located the file, you will need to drag it from your computer into this file location as seen below.

5. Open XBMC on your Apple TV and navigate to the System Menu.

6. Select the option titled “Add-ons”. This will open the Add-ons control panel that is built into XBMC.

7. Click the option titled “Install From Zip File”

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So you caved in and bought the new 1080p Apple TV 3 and were horrified to discover that you cannot jailbreak it yet. Perhaps you were fortunate enough to find your older Apple TV (1st or 2nd gen) sitting in a dark damp corner of your closet underneath your old PlayStation. Regardless of which device you are fortunate enough to have, you will need one simple skill in order to take full advantage of your XBMC experience.

XBMC comes with the unique ability to install extra tools within the confines of its system. This means that once XBMC is installed you can add new add-ons/plugins to your Apple TV in order to give it some new features such as streaming live television, streaming movies from external websites, Pandora, Sports Channels, and much more.

Installing, and using, XBMC add-ons and plugins is a very simple process that can sometimes intimidate newbies, or first time users. The good news is that, by the end of this post, you will be able to install, uninstall, and find any XBMC tools you want within the confines of your Apple TV (1 or 2). Before we begin, let’s go over what we need:

• Computer
• Add-On/Plugin Source
• Apple TV (1st or 2nd-generation)

XBMC does come with many add-ons/plugins preinstalled in its database for you to install and play with. If you would like to use these specific tools simply skip ahead to STEP #9. If, on the other hand, you would like to add specialized add-ons/plugins such as IceFilms, NaviX, SuperTV, FastPassTV, 1Channel, or even Watchseries you will need to follow these instructions from beginning to end.

The first step would be to find the add-ons you want to install. You can search XBMC’s forums for things like skins, movie scrapers, music add-ons, picture add-ons, and more.  Once you find what you want… download the .zip file to your computer and remember file location you save it to.

The next step would be downloading an SSH client onto your computer. This tool will enable you to browse the Apple TV menu from your computer.

• Windows – PuTTY or WinSCP
• MAC – CyberDuck

Once you install these tools, you will need to connect the SSH client to your Apple TV:

1. Open XBMC on your Apple TV and navigate from your Home Screen to Settings > System Information. You need to locate and take note of your system’s IP address:

2. You now need to open your SSH Client. You will likely be met with either an option to open a Connection, if so select this option, or a group of boxes requiring input. Fill out the boxes using following:

• At the top you will likely see a drop down menu that says “File Transfer Protocol.” Here you will need to select the option that says “SFTP” or “SSH”
• Server: Here you need to enter the IP address of your Apple TV that we located earlier.
• Username: root
• Password: alpine

3. Click on the “Connect” button and you will find yourself inside the File System of your Apple TV.

4. Next you will need to navigate to the location that XBMC associates as its Home Page. This location is found @  “/User”

5. Now we need to find the add-on that you download earlier in this tutorial. Once you have located the file, you will need to drag it from your computer into this file location as seen below. In this case I have copied XBMC’s repo from my desktop into the file location provided.

Now that we have copied all desired items from the computer into the ATV we are now ready to put down the computer and pick up the ATV remote. The rest of these steps take place inside of your XBMC installation:

Installing  Add-ons & Plugins

1. Open XBMC on your Apple TV and navigate from your Home Screen to the System Menu. From there you should see menu options similar to what is shown below.

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Our polls for the “Apple TV Hacks Best of 2011 Award” closed on the 15th of February. The participation was amazing: we have received over 3000 entries. Surprisingly, the competition wasn’t stiff. It looks like it was pretty easy for you to decide who should have won as aTV Flash (black) has been clearly leading the competition from the very start to the end. As a result, FireCore’s flagship product won with 40 percent of the vote. XBMC for Apple TV 2 took the second place with 21 percent and the third place went to Seas0nPass with 9 percent of the vote.

Other strong candidates were IceFilms, Remote HD and nitoTV.

1^st place – aTV Flash (black)

In 2011, FireCore’s aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV 2 has finally left beta. Version 1.0 came with all-new Media Player, WebKit based browser, Last.fm radio, Weather, RSS feeds and gives you fast access to plugins like nitoTV, Remote HD, XBMC and Plex client.

Read: FireCore releases aTV Flash (black) 1.0 to supercharge the Apple TV 2

2^nd place – XBMC for Apple TV 2

XBMC for Apple TV 2 supports a very complete spectrum of audio and video multimedia file formats and codecs right out-of-the-box. The 2011’s release also features full hardware decode for 720p/1080p movies as well as network files sharing. Add-ons like Icefilms, Bluecop and Navi-X make XBMC on Apple TV a must-have.

Read: XBMC for Apple TV 2 now available

3^rd place – Seas0nPass

Seas0nPass, a jailbreak tool designed by FireCore specifically and exclusively for the Apple TV 2, has been consequently updated during the whole year to jailbreak the newer and newer versions of Apple TV firmware. Both Mac and Windows, it also includes a simple tethered boot option when an untethered jailbreak is not yet available.

Read: How to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 using Seas0nPass – untethered (tutorial)

We’ve told you we had some cool prizes for those who voted and here are the winners:

iPod nano 16 GB (6^th generation) – Destery Hildenbrand

Apple TV 2 (newest version) – Miquel Valentijn

Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control (for Apple TV) – Ann F

Oregon Scientific RM901A Rainbow Clock – Harold Dufrene

Skin Sticker for Apple TV 2 – Eric Malenfant

Congratulations!

Thank you all for voting for you favorites and we hope there will be even more cool Apple TV hacks, jailbreaks, plugins and software to choose from for “Apple TV Hacks Best of 2012”.

You may also want to read:
AirPlay Mirroring coming to Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X
aTV Flash (black) 1.3 for Apple TV 2 released
Rogers and Bell already have the Apple iTV in their labs, controlled with Siri and hand gestures

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

The devs of IceFilms XBMC plugin for Apple TV haven’t given up after FBI took down Megaupload, the source of the most of IceFilms links, and they just released a new IceFilms 1.0.24 beta that supports RapidShare links. 2Shared links are still an option too. Going forward links will be posted to both 2Shared and Rapidshare so users will continue to see both in the sources section.

According to the developers, the new beta isn’t perfect but “it’s a development build and updates will be pushed through quickly.” There seems to be a bug with the tvshownextaired script but this should be fixed quickly as well.

The devs have disabled the metadata install pack from 1.0.24 so if you are doing a fresh install of this release you won’t be able to get metadata until the beta testing is done 1.1.0.

Things to know about RapidShare:
- Time limit on files varies to what appears to be server load, busier they are the longer you wait;
- No download limits, you can download as much as you want per day;
- Files stream and download just like Megaupload – still high quality AVI and HD scene releases.

To update to version 1.0.24 open XBMC, go to Videos -> Add-Ons -> Get More ->Icefilms -> Update. Some users report this didn’t work and they had to reinstall IceFilms. Here is how to install the new repository:

• Download IceFilms 1.0.24 zip
• Open XBMC, go to Settings > Addons > Install from zip file, browse to your downloads and select it. Repository installed!
• Now you can install Icefilms.info from within XBMC, by navigating to Settings > Addons > Get Add-ons > anarchintosh add-ons.

Here is a video of the new IceFilms in action:

[via hd420p]

You may also want to read:
AppleTVHacks Best of 2011
Will record 1.4 mln Apple TV sales take Apple to iTV?
How to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 using Seas0nPass – untethered (tutorial)
How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

UPDATE: Winner of “Apple TV Hacks Best of 2011 Award” Announced

2011 was a good year for Apple TV. Although it seems that everyone is already waiting for Apple TV set (are you?), some hackers and developers have worked really hard through the whole 2011 on jailbreaks and software that supercharged our silver and black boxes. Various hacks, jailbreaks, plugins and add-ons convinced us the Apple TV is more than just a simple hobby device that only lets you buy movies on iTunes and listen to some odd radio stations.

It’s time to select the best of the best, to choose “AppleTVHacks Best of 2011”!

We are asking for your votes for the best Apple TV (both 1^st and 2^nd generation) hack/jailbreak/plugin/add-on/software of 2011.  We chose the nominees; the award is people’s choice. The winner will receive “AppleTVHacks Best of 2011 Award” and will be featured on our site.

Cast your vote for a chance to win the following fantastic prizes:

iPod nano 16 GB (6^th generation)

Apple TV 2 (newest version)

Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control (for Apple TV)

Oregon Scientific RM901A Rainbow Clock

Skin Sticker for Apple TV 2

Here are the nominees (in alphabetical order):

• AirPlay for Windows

AirPlay for Windows Media Center, Thomas Pleasance’s free addin, enables AirPlay streaming (video and pictures; music is not supported yet) to your Windows PC running Windows Media Player. Simple to install and use, works seamlessly.

• aTV Flash (black)

In 2011, FireCore’s aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV 2 has finally left beta. Version 1.0 came with all-new Media Player, WebKit based browser, Last.fm radio, Weather, RSS feeds and gives you fast access to plugins like nitoTV, Remote HD, XBMC and Plex client. The only drawback – it’s not free ($29.95).

Read: FireCore releases aTV Flash (black) 1.0 to supercharge the Apple TV 2

• aTV Flash (for original Apple TV)

Luckily for the owners of the original Apple TV, in 2011, FireCore continued to develop the software for the old shiny Apple TV boxes. Released in November, version 4.4 of aTV Flash brought support for the new Remote HD features (iOS 5 AirPlay streaming, support for playing DRM protected media, support for doubleTwist + AirTwist add-on), as well as the support for Mac OS X Lion and NFS file streaming.

Read: aTV Flash 4.4 for original Apple TV now available

• Bluecop repository (Hulu on Apple TV)

Bluecop, a repository of XBMC video plug-ins, brings Hulu to Apple TV after fast and easy installation. It also features Amazon Prime, ESPN3, Free Cable, Cartoon Network, CBS, MTV, South Park Studios and The Daily Show plug-in addons.

Read: How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2

• greenpois0n rc6

Developed by Chronic Dev Team (with a contribution from nitoTV), greenpois0n RC6 allowed us to perform an untethered jailbreak on Apple TV 2 running iOS 4.2.1. The development has not been continued for further Apple TV software updates.

Read: How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 with greenpois0n rc6

• IceFilms

The most popular XBMC plugin gives you an instant access to the library of dozens of thousands movies and TV shows that can be streamed directly to your Apple TV.

• nitoTV

@nitotv, one of the first Apple TV developers, not only contributes to FireCore’s Seas0nPass but also continues his great work on developing his own plugin – nitoTV (recently updated to version 0.8.1-3). NitoTV features Weather and RSS functionality and lets you install other add-ons and software, like XBMC, RemoteHD, Overflow, openSSH, BT Stack, Rowmote Helper and more. NitoTV is also available for the original Apple TV.

• PwnageTool 4.3

PwnageTool 4.3, a custom IPSW creator and jailbreaking tool created by iPhone-Dev Team, supported untethered jailbreak on Apple TV 4.2.1 and Apple TV 4.3. The tool has not been updated to support Apple TV 4.4 firmware.

Read: Untethered iOS 4.3.1 Jailbreak for Apple TV 2 Released (updated)

• Remote HD

Remote HD, an Apple TV plugin that works with a dedicated iOS app, gives you complete access to your Apple TV. It works like an Apple Remote, but it can do a lot more – one of the greatest features is Remote View that brings your Apple TV’s display to your iPhone/iPad or iPod touch. In 2011, Remote HD added support for Apple TV 2 and brought AirPlay functionality as well as iOS 5 and iTunes DRM-encrypted video support to the first generation Apple TV.

Read: Remote HD now supports Apple TV 2
Remote HD 5.0 plugin keeps old Apple TV kicking with iOS 5 support

• Seas0nPass

Seas0nPass, a jailbreak tool designed by FireCore specifically and exclusively for the AppleTV 2, has been consequently updated during the whole year to jailbreak the newer and newer versions of Apple TV firmware. Both Mac and Windows, it also includes a simple tethered boot option when an untethered jailbreak is not yet available.

Read: How to jailbreak Apple TV 4.4.4 using Seas0nPass – untethered (tutorial)

• Sn0wbreeze 2.5.1

Considered as the unofficial PwnageTool for Windows, sn0wbreeze works with Windows XP, Vista and 7. Version 2.5.1 supported untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 4.2.1. Further Apple TV software versions are not supported.

Read: How to Jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 with sn0wbreeze (untethered)

• XBMC for Apple TV 2

In 2011, XBMC has finally been released for the Apple TV 2. XBMC supports a very complete spectrum of audio and video multimedia file formats and codecs right out-of-the-box. The 2011’s release also features full hardware decode for 720p/1080p movies as well as network files sharing. Add-ons like Icefilms, Bluecop and Navi-X make XBMC on Apple TV a must-have.

Read: XBMC for Apple TV 2 now available

Let the voting begin!

Here is how to participate:


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