FireCorehas just announced on its forum that they are “hard at work” on a new version of Seas0nPassthat takes advantage of the evasi0n jailbreak. They expect to have it available “soon”.

aTV Flash (black) seems to be almost ready for 5.2 but there is still a lot of work ahead for the developers of other Apple TV software/plugins:

Please keep in mind that while the FireCore plugins will work on Apple TV 5.1, a few minor adjustments (which are currently in progress) are needed to ensure things continue to run smoothly on Apple TV 5.2. Things like Plex and XBMC do not yet work on Apple TV 5.1 and later, and will likely require A LOT of work by their respective developers in order to be compatible.

@thomashw, the developer of Plex client for Apple TV, has already confirmed on Plex forum that he will work on getting Plex working on the latest Apple TV software.

You can jailbreak your Apple TV 2 running software version 5.2 using recently updated Sn0wbreeze 2.9.8 but jailbreaking is a bit pointless at this moment as most of the plugins are still not combatible with the latest Apple TV firmware.

We will let you know once any of ATV tweaks/plugins is updated for iOS 6 and available.

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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!

This time we didn’t write a word on a new jailbreak until we had everything double checked. And so, as we have just jailbroken our Apple TV 2 running 5.2 firmware, we can now confirm that the recently updated Sn0wbreeze 2.9.8 does bring the untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 on iOS 6.x.

Most of the software like XBMC, aTV Flash (black), Plex, etc. is not yet compatible with Apple TV 5.1 – 5.2 and the device constantly crashes when attempting to install additional software from nitoTV, so we definitely don’t recommend updating to iOS 6.x.

Other known bug/issues:

• First boot on an AppleTV 2 for 5.1/5.2 firmwares has funky glitches. Should be fixed by updates pushed via repos.

If for some reason you still wan’t to update to iOS 6 and then jailbreak using Sn0wbreeze, you can download it from here (Windows only).

We will let you know once any of ATV tweaks/plugins is updated for iOS 6 and available.

Sn0wbreeze doesn’t support Apple TV 3.

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!

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!

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:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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!

Apple released minor software update for Apple TV 2 – labeled 4.2.2 – which generally fixes some audio and video playback issues (see the full list of changes below). The IPSW name is still 4.3, but the build version changed from 8F202 to 8F305. @i0n1c has already updated Apple TV 2 kernel for his original 4.3.1 untether. NitoTV confirmed that the new untether works “beautifully” and he said there should be a new Seas0nPass out very soon.

If you do feel like updating to 4.2.2, you can then use the latest version of PwnageTool and the freshly released bundle for atv2 8F305 biuld to jailbreak your device. Remember to place the bundle in FirmwareBundles directory before you start.

For Windows users, sn0wbreeze has also been updated to version 2.7.2 which supports untether jailbreak on the latest firmware version 4.2.2. To jailbreak your Apple TV 2 with sn0wbreeze, use the instructions from this tutorial, just make sure you are using the latest version of sn0wbreeze.

Apple TV Software Update 4.2.2 features:

• Audio: addresses an issue in which audio is not output when playing some video content.
• Video playback: addresses an issue in which video is not displayed when playing some content.
• Audio output setting: adds an audio output setting for switching to 16-bit audio for compatibility with some TVs and AV receivers.
• Live FF/RW improvements: improves the performance of fast-forwarding and rewinding live events.
• Movie description: addresses an issue in which the description information is not displayed for some movies.
• YouTube video order: addresses an issue in which YouTube subscription videos were not ordered by date.

You may also want to read:
How to Jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 with sn0wbreeze (untethered)
SHOUTcast Radio App Updated to Support AirPlay
AirPlay-Enabled Apps: Air Video (review)
Remote HD now supports Apple TV 2 (updated)

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!

For those who still have problems jailbreaking Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 with SeasOnPass, sn0wbreez is the alternative you should give a try to. The software has been updated to version 2.5.1 just a couple of days ago and it can now jailbreak your atv2 on the latest software in a flash (less than 10 minutes in our case). Considered as the unofficial PwnageTool for Windows, sn0wbreeze works with Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Here is the step-by-step tutorial on how to jailbreak your Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 (Apple TV 4.2.1) using sn0wbreez 2.5.1:

Pre-launch checklist

1. Make sure you’re running the latest version of iTunes.
2. Download sn0wbreez 2.5.1 for Windows.
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Launch sn0wbreeze and click the arrow to continue.

Step 2: Download the latest IPSW or browse for it if you’ve already downloaded it (drag&drop didn’t work for us).

Wait until IPSW is verified and click the arrow to continue.

Step 3: Custom IPSW file will be built (meanwhile, you can play PacMan…if you have Adobe Flash for IE!).

Step 4: sn0wbreez will notify you that the IPSW has been successfully created (and located on your desktop). Press OK.

Step 5: Connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Step 6: Hold both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds. Apple TV will enter in DFU mode.

Step 7: Launch iTunes and restore your atv (Shift + ‘Restore’ button) from the custom IPSW located on your desktop.

Done! Your Apple TV is now jailbroken.

What to do next?
1. Install nitoTV or aTV Flash (black) to get the access to further enhancements.
2. Instal XBMC to watch Hulu.
3. Check out Remote HD app and atv2 plugin and control your Apple TV 2 with the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch.

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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!

And here it comes, another untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3.1. Snowbreeze has been updated to version 2.5 and can now jailbreak your atv2 on the newest 4.2.1 software. Sn0wbreeze is considered as the unofficial PwnageTool for Windows. It works with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and can be downloaded from here. A tutorial on how to jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3.1 using Sn0wbreeze 2.5 will be posted shortly.

Update: As you all noticed, Sn0wbreeze 2.5 didn’t really bring the support for Apple TV 2; for the last two days we’ve been trying hard to jailbreak our atv2 on the latest 4.2.1 firmware (iOS 4.3) using Sn0wbreez but we didn’t succeed (famous error 14). Good news is that the software has just been updated to version 2.5.1., which is said to provide “full Apple TV 2 support”. DFU instructions for atv have also been added. You can download Sn0wbreez 2.5.1 from ih8sn0w website and give it a try.

You may also want to read:
Untethered iOS 4.3.1 Jailbreak for Apple TV 2 Released (updated)
aTV Flash (black) Beta4 for Apple TV 2 Now Available
Remote HD now supports Apple TV 2 (updated)

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!

You love NBA and MLB but you haven’t yet updated your Apple TV 2 to iOS 4.3.1 because you love XBMC, Hulu, Couch Surfer, Plex and Remote HD even more? The waiting is over and you can now have it all as iPhone Dev-Team has released untethered iOS 4.3.1 jailbreak for all iDevices (except iPad 2). Just update your tiny black box to 4.3.1 (Apple TV 4.2.1) and then re-jailbreak it with the freshly released PwnageTool 4.3. Note that PwnageTool is Mac only, Windows users will have to wait until redsn0w is updated to support atv2.

Here is the official PwnageTool 4.3 link (Bittorent). Some unofficial mirrors are here.

Update: sn0wbreeze, a custom IPSW creator and jailbreaking tool for Windows has also been updated to version 2.5 which can now jailbreak your Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3.1.

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!