Apple TV Tip #5
The Apple TV may be one of the most “hacked” of all Apple products. There are hard drive upgrades and loads of plugins from various sources to extend the features of Apple TV.

See The AwkwardTV Plug-in Directory for plug-ins that you can use with your Apple TV.

ATV Loader available at AwkwardTV Plug-in Directory must be installed manually. That currently requires opening up the Apple TV box, removing its hard drive, manually copying the files to the drive, and then putting it all back together. Once installed however, ATV Loader can then install further plugins. After it is used to activate file sharing, the Apple TV’s drive can even be mounted over the network.

This makes it easier to add new QuickTime codecs, including Perian’s support for Divx and A52codec’s AC3 audio support. The ATVFiles plugin allows users to then open and play those additional types of media files store anywhere on the network, without requiring them to sync through iTunes.

The Streamer plugin provides a way to play Internet radio streams, and the nitoTV plugin lets users play DVD Video_TS folders, both using mplayer. Other plugins display live RSS feeds, sports scores, and weather. ASeriesOfTubes, a new plugin still in development, will provide a way to browse YouTube videos directly from Google’s servers.

Build Your Own
This is not for average users. But, if you’re interested in developing plugins for the AppleTV, you’re going to want to check out the Backrow Developer’s Kit. The BackRow Developer’s Kit program allows users to create custom menu interfaces and other software compatible with Apple TV. The package includes templates as well as framework code to begin working on projects.

    | Tags: Apple TV