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Apple TV what does jail breaking an apple tv do???
- Thread starter backinblack875
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A stock AppleTV will only play iTunes compatible files. JBing and adding aTV Black from FireCore for $20 (which I prefer) or Plex or XBMC, allows you to play AVI and MKV files.
is that it? because all my movies and tvshows are in iTunes in m4v or mp4 format
tv allows you to attach an external drive and access media from there as well.If you dont download movies from the net illegally then dont bother
You wont approve of icefilms
Having jailbroken my ATV2 3 months ago, I can tell you that my favorite feature (and really the only one I use often) is access to Hulu via XBMC.
For that, you do the jailbreak, install XBMC, then install the Bluecop Repository (google all this for the latest instructions), which has a Hulu plugin for XBMC.
We use clear QAM cable TV going through EyeTV on our macbook pro, and transcoded to ATV2 format for most of our shows. But for cable shows like The Daily Show (which aren't included on our free clear QAM cable), we use Hulu on the ATV2. Note this is the free version of Hulu. Does NOT require a Hulu Plus subscription like the Roku units do. Though if you already have a Hulu Plus subscription, that should work via the plugin as well.
I don't use icefilms. Netflix, EyeTV, and Hulu cover my needs.
I want to also buy an ATV but I've been holding out for a new version with the A5 processor and 1080p.
But I'm getting impatient and I know if I buy it the new one will probably come out this spring.
But I'm getting impatient and I know if I buy it the new one will probably come out this spring.
I was waiting for that too (to buy a second ATV2), half-expecting there would be a new version at the September itunes/ios/iphone4s announcement. But there wasn't so I got tired of waiting and bought a refurbished one from apple.com for $85. If a new version comes out I'll probably buy it and give one of my previous versions to my mom.
It took a very long time to go from ATV1 to ATV2.
Also, Apple will only need to put out a 1080p-capable ATV once streaming 1080p video becomes viable an relatively widespread. That is also likely to be a long time (in the terms of Apple product cycles).
The only thing, IMHO, that would drive an upgrade of the ATV is the launch of an app store with games that require a faster chip (and 1080p output). As to when that is likely to happen, that's anyone's guess, but I suspect it's a long way down the list of priorities at Apple.
1080p streaming content is out there already (via Vimeo and YouTube, for example). But I take your point that it is not really "widespread" yet.
However, the iPhone 4S takes 1080p video. The fact that apple has introduced a product that records and deals with 1080p video seems to indicate that they are acknowledging people want this resolution. Being able to Airplay and actually display all 1080 rows of pixels from one apple product (the 4S) to another (the ATV2) would make a lot of sense.
Hence, I don't think we have TOO much longer to wait for a 1080p ATV2. But I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't show up until next September.
*shrug*
Completely disagree with you on this one. I don't download illegal movies. I like to have my DVDs ripped and available to watch in a media center type arrangement, so jailbreaking lets me do that easily. I also have a lot of home movies I've converted from VHS and MiniDV that we like to watch. While I could have imported these into iTunes, then I'd have to have a computer running to access them from the ATV2. With the Firecore ATV Flash Black's built in media player, I can access all this from my NAS easily.
why though?? why not just convert the videos to iTunes format with handbrake like i do??
seems much easier
seems much easier
I'm with you.
But I THINK that a significant number of people have very large archives of movies/shows/videos in AVI or some other format that iTunes does not recognize. (Whether these videos were obtained legally or not is another question we'll leave aside.)
If they want to watch these videos on their TV using an ATV2, they have a choice: spend a significant amount of computation time to convert all those files to an iTunes-readable format (possibly creating duplicates and taking up additional hard drive space in the process), OR jailbreak the ATV2 so they can access the large archive of videos directly. The latter option saves time and hard drive space.
So that's one reason why.
I've converted almost all of my videos to m4v to minimize issues, but I still prefer to not have clunky itunes running ALL the time whenever i want to play a video in the living room. So for that reason, and the fact that my new TV has it built in, I've become a big fan of Plex. If iTunes had a simple media server application, then I'd probably use my apple TV instead and buy 2 more for other TVs in the house. As it is now though, I've jailbroken it and now I'm just struggling to install plex successfully.
Of course, even before i got my new TV and started appreciating plex, what really started the dust gathering on my Apple TV was the realization that my Xbox 360 played everything great as a WMC Extender...and again, unlike the Apple TV, didn't require me to make sure I had a particular application running on my PC first.
I really dont mind running itunes on when i want to watch something. Another point which I think is important is streaming from itunes to atv was much more smoother than using xbox and streaming avi files.
I converted all my avi, mpv to mp4 in a very quick time by using iflicks. It has a free trial version for 14 days which was more than enough to convert my media and its a great app, well worth $19. It took me 5-7 mins on my imac for a 5 gb mkv/avi file to be converted to mp4. It also automatically deletes mkv and avi file if you are concerned with disk space.
Having said that I kind of think that apple tv is too restrictive wrt media content. They should have at least supported hulu and amazon on demand. These are really popular apps.
I converted all my avi, mpv to mp4 in a very quick time by using iflicks. It has a free trial version for 14 days which was more than enough to convert my media and its a great app, well worth $19. It took me 5-7 mins on my imac for a 5 gb mkv/avi file to be converted to mp4. It also automatically deletes mkv and avi file if you are concerned with disk space.
Having said that I kind of think that apple tv is too restrictive wrt media content. They should have at least supported hulu and amazon on demand. These are really popular apps.
Jailbreaking can run XBMC, in my opinion the most powerful media center so far. Icefilms is great because it basically gives you every single TV show/Movie in the world, but if you are not ok with illegal movies, not for you. Also, XBMC has a ton of addons to suiit your interests. I cancelled my cable two months ago and I needed to watch live sports. I used the ESPN 3 add on for that. I liked watching Food Network on cable, and turns out XBMC has a plugin for that too. Theres a ton of add ons you can check out that add capability to your shiny black box of joy.
ESPN addons to watch live games
did this cost anything???so is XMBC something you have to install first before you can get stuff like espn and "ice films" ??
ESPN addons to watch live games
so is XMBC something you have to install first before you can get stuff like espn and "ice films" ??
ESPN 3 is free, if you have Xbox live, its the same thing. The add-on is not the best quality, but it still works fine. I would recommend using Xbox live for HD sports. Also the selection isn't THAT great, just the things that ESPN broadcasts, so games on abc or cbs will not be broadcasted.
To get all the awesome stuff, you have to get XBMC. To do that, of course your Apple TV has to be jailbroken. If you want to see how XBMC would work, just download it for your mac/pc. Once XBMC is downloaded, you can search for all the add-ons that fit your interest (icefilms, ESPN 3).
The reason why you have to get XBMC is because there are a bunch of developers to develop add-ons for XBMC that make things that apple wouldn't regularly accept. XBMC is kind of an open source media center. If you decide to get XBMC and have some trouble, just ask. I'll be glad to help.
cool, thanks. And i have a ps3. so XBMC is like cydia for jailbroken iPhones, touches, and iPads.
Kinda like it, but for entertainment. Some people prefer to run Plex media center, which is kind of like a more advanced apple tv interface, more clean than XBMC. The only complaint I have about XBMC is the interface. It has multiple skins, but none of them really appeal to me.