Back in January XBMC released the long awaited Frodo 12.0 for all of your Apple products. Now you can install XBMC on your iPads, iPhones, iPods, and your, glorious, little Apple TV 2. The installation is almost the exact same as installing previous builds of XBMC with 4 subtle differences. Here we have put together a guide that incorporates these changes. So, sit back, relax and grab a cup of coffee.

Note: XBMC is not yet compatible with the 5.1+ Apple TV software. XBMC Developer Memphiz said on XBMC forum that the team is “trying their best” to make XBMC running on Apple TV 5.2. XBMC now available on iOS 6.1 for Apple TV

Upgrading An Existing Installatin Of XBMC EDEN 11.0

So you may be asking the question, “what do I do if I already have XBMC Eden installed on my Apple TV?” If this is the case, we have a few tips for you specifically. After extensive testing throughout the BETA phase, the team at XBMCHUB.COM has discovered that you will find the best results by simply doing a fresh install of XBMC Frodo. Yes, it is possible to back up your settings and reinstall your preferences but this often leads to many of the same issues.

It is not the happy news you may have wanted, but it ends up that XBMC Frodo plays nicest with your Apple TV when you uninstall XBMC, and all of your presets, from your device. Though I am unsure where the problem is located when upgrading directly… The problem is there all the same.

Installing A Fresh Version Of XBMC FRODO 12.0

Requirements

• Jailbroken ATV2 running firmware 5.0.2 or older
• Mac computer (use Terminal App)  or Windows PC (use PuTTY App)

Step 1: Launch the “Terminal” or “PuTTY” application.

Step 2: Ensure that your computer and your Apple TV are on the same network.

Step 3: Connect to your Apple TV via SSH using the following commands.

• ssh root@[Your Apple TV’s I.P. Address]

Example: ssh root@192.168.2.18
This can be found under General/Network on your ATV’s main menu

Note: Should you receive an “Authentication Error,” copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window and press Enter, then continue.

• rm ~/.ssh/known_hosts

Step 4: Agree to any Security Prompts by typing “yes” (without quotations), then press Enter.

Step 5: When prompted for a Password, type the word “alpine” (without quotations) then press Enter.

Step 6: Copy and Paste the Following Commands into your Terminal App, pressing the Enter key after each. It’s important that you wait for each one to finish before moving onto the next. Don’t worry… you will know when each line is finished.

1)      apt-get install wget
2)      wget -O- http://apt.awkwardtv.org/awkwardtv.pub | apt-key add -
3)      echo “deb http://apt.awkwardtv.org/ stable main” > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/awkwardtv.list
4)      echo “deb http://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/atv2 ./” > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.list
5)      apt-get update
6)      mkdir -p /Applications/AppleTV.app/Appliances
7)      apt-get install org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2
8)      mkdir -p /Applications/XBMC.frappliance
9)      reboot

Step 7: Once the Apple TV menu reloads, Launch XBMC into XBMC Frodo.

Step 8: To ensure the new build fits your screen, let’s enter the “Settings” sub menu under the “SYSTEM” heading.

Step 9: Select the “Appearance” tab from the left menu bar.

Step 10: Under the “Skin” menu, you’ll now want to choose “-4%” for the “Zoom” field so that your XBMC configuration will properly fit your television display. Depending on the television, you might have to play around with this, but it should work flawlessly at the “-4%” setting. Press “MENU” on your Remote Control to return back one level once this is done.

Step 11. Also worth noting: in XBMC 12.0 you will need to set up your sound. For this simply navigate to Settings/System/Audio Output go to the second option from the bottom and sleet the audio option that is right for you. Afterwards, go to the very first option and select between HDMI and Analog. If you are unsure… you are on HDMI.

Congratulations! Your Apple TV now has XBMC Frodo installed on it, and fitting on your screen. Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

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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.

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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!

UPDATE: Although it has been confirmed by @MuscleNerd that evasi0n would support Apple TV 2, it seems that it doesn’t. Based on earlier news from evad3rs team, we believed their jailbreak was compatible with Apple TV 2 when publishing the below post just a few minutes after evasi0n went live. We are very sorry for causing confusion. We now have to wait for Seas0nPass to be updated with iOS 6.x support for Apple TV 2. We believe it won’t take long.

UPDATE 2: How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2 (iOS 6.1) using Seas0nPass (untethered; Mac & Windows)

Evad3rs, a group of four top iOS hackers (@pod2g, @musclenerd, @pimskeks and @planetbeing) has just released a long-awaited evasi0n jailbreak for all iDevices running iOS 6.0 through 6.1, that include Apple TV 2 running software version 5.1, 5.1.1 or the latest 5.2. This is an untethered jailbreak, meaning you will be able to reboot your Apple TV without attaching it to a computer. Evasi0n jailbreak doesn’t support Apple TV 3 (however, there is some hope that it will in the future).

Here are the direct download links:

• evasi0n jailbreak for Mac OS X
• evasi0n jailbreak for Windows
• evasi0n jailbreak for Linux

Official mirrors.

Requirements:

• 5 minutes of your time
• A computer running Windows (XP minimum), Mac OS X (10.5 minimum) or Linux (x86 / x86_64)
• An Apple TV 2 running iOS 6.0 through 6.1 (Apple TV firmware 5.1 through 5.2)
• A micro USB cable to connect ATV to the computer

Apple TV 2 running iOS 5.x (atv software version 5.0.2 and earlier) can be jailbroken using Seas0npass.

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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!

We have had XBMC 11.0 Eden for 8 months now and, if you are anything like me, it is time to begin the process of upgrading our XBMC installations to the new & improved XBMC 12.0 Frodo. The process should be fairly straight forward and essentially identical to the process we used for install the previous version of XBMC. Before we get started let’s clear the air on a few points so that we are all on the same page:

• This is a BETA release and as such may result in some unexpected behaviors.
• This is the 1’st BETA XBMC has released, there will be more to come.
• XBMC Frodo can cause a good time and may be habit forming.
• To install Frodo to Apple TV 1 you will need to:

- Visit OpenElec.tv regarding their 2.0 project
- Visit Stnlabs.comregarding their 2.0 project

How to install XBMC 12.0 Frodo (beta 1) APPLE TV 2 (Running iOS 5+)

Requirements

• Jailbroken ATV2 running iOS 5+
• Mac Computer (use Terminal App)
• Windows PC (use PuTTY App)

Step 1: Launch the “Terminal” or “PuTTY” application.

Step 2: Ensure that your computer and your Apple TV are on the same network.

Step 3: Connect to your Apple TV via SSH using the following commands.

• ssh root@[Your Apple TV’s I.P. Address]

Example: ssh root@192.168.2.18
This can be found under General/Network on your ATV’s main menu

Note: Should you receive an “Authentication Error,” copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window and press Enter, then continue.

• rm ~/.ssh/known_hosts

Step 4: Agree to any Security Prompts by typing “yes” (without quotations), then press Enter.

Step 5: When prompted for a Password, type the word “alpine” (without quotations) then press Enter.

Step 6: Copy and Paste the Following Commands into your Terminal App, pressing the Enter key after each. It’s important that you wait for each one to finish before moving onto the next. Don’t worry… you will know when each line is finished.

1)      apt-get install wget

2)      wget -O- http://apt.awkwardtv.org/awkwardtv.pub | apt-key add -

3)      echo “deb http://apt.awkwardtv.org/ stable main” > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/awkwardtv.list

4)      echo “deb http://mirrors.xbmc.org/apt/atv2 ./” > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.list

5)      apt-get update

6)      apt-get install org.xbmc.xbmc-atv2

7)      reboot

Step 7: Once the Apple TV menu reloads, Launch XBMC into XBMC Frodo!

Step 8: To ensure the new build fits your screen, let’s enter the “Settings” sub menu under the “SYSTEM” heading.

Step 9: Select the “Appearance” tab from the left menu bar.

Step 10: Under the “Skin” menu, you’ll now want to choose “-4%” for the “Zoom” field so that your XBMC configuration will properly fit your television display. Depending on the television, you might have to play around with this, but it should work flawlessly at the “-4%” setting. Press “MENU” on your Remote Control to return back one level once this is done.

Congratulations! Your second generation Apple TV running iOS 5+ now has XBMC Frodo installed on it, and fitting on your screen. Now that wasn’t so bad… was it?

• More on FRODO from Apple TV Hacks : XBMC 12.0 Frodo (beta 1) released: One media center to rule them all!
• More on FRODO from XBMC.ORG
• Installation on other platforms.

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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!

Squirrels, a developer behind AirParrot and Reflection, is running a sale for its products: both AirParrot and Reflection are 20% off. AirParrot, an app that enables your Macs or Windows machines to AirPlay its screen to Apple TV, is now $7.99 (was $9.99). Reflection, a little piece of software that lets you AirPlay mirror your iDevice to any Mac or PC, sells at $11.99 (was $14.99). Hurry up, sale ends on November 16^th at midnight EST.

Sale’s page.

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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!

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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Just in case you were unaware, XBMC has finally released an Eden copy of XBMC for your old Apple TV (1^st generation). Though this 1^st gen device is not the easiest to load XBMC on to, it is by no means impossible. If you simply follow these steps, from beginning to end, you will be enjoying unlimited multimedia goodness in no time.

Before we start, there are some basic requirements that are absolutely necessary for this installation process.

• Computer (Windows or MAC)
• USB port and ATV USB Creator  (grab it from the link provided and download it to your machine)
• A Flash Drive (USB Stick) that is a minimum 512MB.
• A 1^st Generation Apple TV that has been updated to the latest software, version 3.0.2!

BE SAFE: To be on the safe side, make sure that you have unplugged all other USB drives from your computer before continuing. USB Creator does erase whatever drive you are using, so you want to make sure there is nothing vital loaded on any devices plugged in once we begin.

1. Download the ATV USB Creator and save it onto your system.

2. Insert your flash drive into your computer and format it to FAT32. Be aware that this step will erase anything located on your USB stick.

3. Open and run the ATV USB Creator software that we downloaded in step #1.

4. Once the software opens up, select the following options:

- Where you see “Choose an Installation” select “ATV-Patchstick”

- You don’t need to do anything for “Download AppleTV Update DMG or Choose a DMG”. ATV USB Creator will automatically download this file from Apple’s servers, so you don’t need to do anything there.

- For “Installation Options” you should not need to change anything. “AppleTV version 3.x” should already be selected, and there should already be check marks for “ssh tools”, “bin utils”, “SoftwareMenu”, and “XBMC/Boxee for Mac”

- For “USB Target Device” select the USB drive you plugged into your computer in step #2. You may need to hit the refresh button for it to show up. Now you can click on “Create Using ->”

- When the USB drive patchstick is done being created you can then remove it from your computer.

5. Unplug your Apple TV and insert the USB drive patchstick into the back of your device.

6. With the flash drive plugged into the back of your Apple TV, plug the power cable back in. As the Apple TV begins to power up it should now be loading from the flash drive. Now we will wait for the picture of a Penguin (Tux) sitting on an Apple TV. If you do not see this picture when you boot up, and the Apple TV 1 just boots up normally, you likely need to create a new USB drive patchstick using a different USB drive (preferably using a different brand). This problem isn’t often, but it does happen.

7. After the installation is finished, the screen will say that you can reboot. When you see this screen, remove the USB drive patchstick and then unplug (& then) re-plug the power chord to your Apple TV. This will reboot your device.

8. You now have ALL KINDS OF GOODNESS installed on your Apple TV. This is most noticeable in the fact that you now have a new option on your HOME SCREEN Menu Bar named “Launcher”

9. From your Home Screen, navigate to the option labeled “Launcher”. Once there continue to “Downloads”, and then select XBMC. This may show more than one entry for XBMC, if so, select the option that says “Stable”.

10. If you are one of the lucky people who have opted to install a new Crystal HD card you should visit stmlabs.com to get more information on Crystalbuntu. It is a different software… that is installed in the exact same manner as the steps listed above.

11. Finally, from the “Launcher” section, head “XBMC” in the sub-menu to start XBMC.

12. Enjoy some amazing new features.

umOuch (Andrew Brasher)

You may also want to read:
XBMC 11.0 Eden for Apple TV 2 5.0 (iOS 5.1) released (+how to install tutorial)
How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0 (iOS 5.1) with Seas0nPass (tethered)
XBMC 11.0 Eden for Apple TV – Review

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Downgrading to older version of Apple TV 2 firmware just got easier, thanks to a new version of Seas0nPass. Recently released by FireCore, Seas0nPass 0.8.2 uses previously saved firmware signatures (SHSH blobs) to jailbreak and restore an Apple TV version that Apple may no longer be signing.

Backing up signatures using TinyUmbrella has been possible for quite a while. Last week, FireCore added this feature to aTV Flash (black): version 1.3 automatically backups Apple TV firmware signatures to the cloud. New Seas0nPass works with local signatures as well as those saved online.

Here is how to downgrade to older version of Apple TV 2 firmware using Seas0nPass:

Note: you can downgrade the firmware only if you’ve previously saved your Apple TV’s firmware signatures using TinyUmbrella or aTV Flash (black).

1. Connect AppleTV via USB
2. Launch Seas0nPass
3. Right-click the ‘Create IPSW’ button and select your desired version.
4. Seas0nPass will handle fetching saved signatures and restoring the firmware automatically.

If you’re receiving a ‘not eligible’ message, this means Apple is no longer signing that particular version, and Seas0nPass was unable to locate any saved signatures for that device/firmware combination.

Seas0nPass (both Mac and Windows) is available as a free download from Seas0nPass.com.

You may also want to read:
aTV Flash (black) 1.3 for Apple TV 2 released
How to install aTV Flash (black) on Apple TV 2
AirPlay Mirror your Mac’s screen to Apple TV with AirParrot

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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!

FireCore has just released an Apple TV supercharger – aTV Flash (black) 1.0, which features a new Media Player, Couch Surfer Pro web browser, Last.fm radio, Weather, RSS feeds and gives you fast access to plugins like nitoTV, Remote HD, XBMC and Plex client. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to install the new version of aTV Flash on both Mac and Windows.

How to install aTV Flash (black) on Apple TV 2:

Pre-install checklist

1. Jailbreak your Apple TV 2 running software version 5.0.1 (untethered)
2. Connect the Apple TV your TV like normal (power, HDMI and wifi/ethernet). An active network connection will be required (the ‘In Theaters’ option under ‘Movies’ should be visible).
3. Enable Home Sharing and AirPlay (Settings -> AirPlay)

Run the installer – Mac

Step 1: Download the latest version of aTV Flash (black) from your account.
Step 2: Open the DMG and double-click the installer.

Step 3: The installer will copy a few small files to your computer (these will then be transferred to the Apple TV).

Step 4: You will then be prompted to select your Apple TV from a drop-down list.

Step 5: The files will be transferred to the Apple TV.

Step 6: When complete, the Apple TV will restart automatically for the changes to take effect.

Step 8: After installation all apps and updates can be installed directly on the Apple TV through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu.

Run the installer – Windows

Step 1: Download the latest version of aTV Flash (black) from your account.
Step 2: Open the exe and choose a location to save the application (desktop is recommended).
Step 3: Run the aTV Flash (black) program.

Step 4: Select your Apple TV from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: The files will be transferred to the Apple TV automatically.

Step 6: When complete, the Apple TV will restart automatically for the changes to take effect.

Step 7: After installation all apps and updates can be installed directly on the Apple TV through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu.

You may also want to read:
How to Jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 5 (Apple TV 4.4) Using Seas0nPass – Tethered
How to Jailbreak Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 with Seas0nPass (untethered)
How to Watch Hulu on Apple TV 2
How to install XBMC on Apple TV 2

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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!

FireCore has just released Seas0nPass 0.7.7 that features support for Lion and a handful of bug fixes. It’s generally designed to jailbreak your atv2 running iOS 4.3.x (Apple TV 2 4.2.2 software version) but, according to nitoTV, it also supports the latest iOS 5 beta.

Similar to PwnageTool, Seas0nPass allows you to jailbreak your atv2 by creating custom Apple TV IPSW files and restoring them in iTunes. The new version of Seas0nPass is Mac only – it adds support for Lion and fixes Mac specific bugs.

Here is the tutorial on how to jailbreak your Apple TV 2 on iOS 4.3 (Apple TV 4.2.2) or iOS 5 using Seas0nPass 0.7.7:

Pre-launch checklist

1. Make sure you’re running the latest version of iTunes.
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later]
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Launch Seas0nPass and select ‘Create IPSW’.

Step 2: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom jailbroken software file.

Step 3: When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected), and hold both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds. Apple TV will enter in DFU mode.

Step 4: A message will appear giving you further instructions.

Step 5: Open iTunes and restore your Apple TV (Shift + ‘Restore’ button) from the created custom IPSW file (located in My Documents -> Seas0nPass).

Done!

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 or 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!