[ishi]

Hi,

I am looking into options for my home theatre setup. I am interested in maybe using an Apple TV to play my movies and TV shows. I have a few questions though.

I have played around with Plex and XBMC and I like the look and feel of them. So I have researched on how to hack the Apple TV to instal XBMC. It seems pretty straight forward from all the YouTube videos.

I am a little confused though. When I do the hack am I installing XBMC with Boxee together? I get the impression that when the patchstick is created both programs are going to be installed to the Apple TV together. I think I am only interested in XBMC. I am not sure why I would also want Boxee also. Don't these two programs have similar functions?

Also how does XBMC actually function on the Apple TV? I saw lots of info and videos on the installation, but I couldn't really see anything related to after the install. I saw from the videos that on the main Apple TV menu there is a new link for XBMC/Boxee. If I use the link does XBMC just open to the XBMC main menu? After using XBMC can I just as easily go back to the regular Apple TV menu to access my photos, music, etc.

Any help with these questions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[davilla]

I am a little confused though. When I do the hack am I installing XBMC with Boxee together? I get the impression that when the patchstick is created both programs are going to be installed to the Apple TV together. I think I am only interested in XBMC. I am not sure why I would also want Boxee also. Don't these two programs have similar functions?

Also how does XBMC actually function on the Apple TV? I saw lots of info and videos on the installation, but I couldn't really see anything related to after the install. I saw from the videos that on the main Apple TV menu there is a new link for XBMC/Boxee. If I use the link does XBMC just open to the XBMC main menu? After using XBMC can I just as easily go back to the regular Apple TV menu to access my photos, music, etc.

You install a Launcher that handles a) the initial install of xbmc and/or boxee and b) launches either xbmc or boxee. You launch either app, then can exit it back to the atv frontrow.

[ishi]

You install a Launcher that handles a) the initial install of xbmc and/or boxee and b) launches either xbmc or boxee. You launch either app, then can exit it back to the atv frontrow.

Ah, okay thanks for the help.

[ishi]

Hi,

I'm back with some more questions.

I am wondering about the Apple TV menu. I want to install XBMC to the Apple TV for my movies and TV shows. Now after I do that on the menu I will see XBMC as well as the original Apple TV menu items.

Is it possible to alter the menu to remove the Apple Movies and TV Shows links? I don't think I would need them since I will be using XBMC. Could I change "XBMC" to "Movies & TV Shows" on the menu(No offense to the XBMC team, but Movies and TV Shows sounds more intuitive to non-techies than XBMC)? I thought it would be good to clean up the menu.

Also what tools do I need to do this? I'm no computer hacker/programer so it would have to be fairly simple. :p

If I can alter the menu, or if I make a mistake, can I restore it later? Is there some kind of factory reset?

Thanks.

[interceptor121]

Software Menu will help you managing the menu items (fraps)

[ishi]

Software Menu will help you managing the menu items (fraps)

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what "Software Menu" is though. :o

Is that included with XBMC and usable from the Apple TV?

Or is it something else I have to download separately?

Sorry. I'm new to all this.

Thanks.

[quotaholic]

Sorry for piping in here but I believe the mac mini can provide a better experience than that of the Apple TV. If you are pre purchase please consider the new mac minis as they have a great GPU/CPU combination. An intel c2d at 2.53GHZ and a Nvidia Geforce 9400. Sure the mini has a small fan but one cant hear it unless proximity is within a couple feet. That and it has a dvd drive to offer as well. As I stream video from a network storage source the task is a little easier to set up on the mini as well.

I had to do two things to get mine working the way I wanted. One was buy an inexpensive mini dvi to hdmi adapter. The second was to get a usb to toslink (aka optical cable) adapter so that I could pass through digital audio like DTS and DD5.1. The adapter handles downmixing as well whereas if I had a stereo source it passes it to my preamp as stereo down the same cable.

I recently took a couple videos and placed them on youtube for other reasons but feel free to view them. I work with a gifted iphone developer and was taking these videos to sell him on XBMC and to coax him in to make a remote app for the new ipad that would be a graduated version of the "Xmote" app for the iphone/itouch.

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlG8LC1eXgI

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LrRp3O9ub8

Let me know if you have any questions.

quotaholic

[ishi]

Sorry for piping in here but I believe the mac mini can provide a better experience than that of the Apple TV.
quotaholic

Thanks for the tips.

Cool videos.

I am still in the process of researching what I want to do for streaming my movies and TV shows. I am also considering the Mac Mini.

There are a lot of options available right now for HTPCs and media centers. I would hate to make a wrong decision and be unhappy with the results. So I just want to fully research my options before I make a final decision.

[quotaholic]

Completely understand. This is version 3 of my entertainment system. I started with a micro atx case and couldn't stand the noise it made. That computer is in my office as my desktop now. Version two brought network attached storage and a Zotac ION mini ITX platform. When videos started hiccuping half way in I found that troubleshooting was a PITA. I went apple for the reason that if I have a problem with either hardware or software I just pick up the phone and a shipping box for returning the item for repair is on my doorstep the next morning. Not many companies stand behind both hardware and software. If its in your means the mini is a solid platform that takes no hacking or voiding of warranty to implement. I am both CEDIA and Cisco certified and I cant explain why but the handshake between my two airports and that mac mini is amazing. I get better streaming results than I have ever had in any other configuration including a MAC address based QOS configuration in a WRT300N linksys router running DD-WRT.

[interceptor121]

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what "Software Menu" is though. :o

Is that included with XBMC and usable from the Apple TV?

Or is it something else I have to download separately?

Sorry. I'm new to all this.

Thanks.

Do a search on the awkwardtv wiki
Software Menu should come with your patchstick see if you see the menu if not you will need to install manually