Guidance for a new 2.4 AppleTV
#1
Thanks for this forum. I've spent a lot of time reading lately and it rocks. I've got a brand new Apple TV with firmware 2.4 on it and I'm just trying to figure out the best strategy for getting XBMC (and possibly Boxee) to run. I don't care about any of the stock ATV features. I've been running XBMC on my XBOX for years and after reading forum posts for hours, making patchsticks, and getting XBMC on my ATV, my XBOX actually functions better and faster. This doesn't seem right to me as the ATV has much faster and powerful hardware. So, before I post a bunch of log files and issues I'd really appreciate some advice for what firmware I should try to get on my ATV and which patchstick how-to I should follow, and any other useful links to get me headed towards the optimal XBMC install. Like I said, I've been reading a lot on Awkwardtv and here and just can't quite put all the pieces together. Surprisingly to me, the ATV has a steeper learning curve than the original XBOX did. Thanks for any help you can give.

Useful information:
Current ATV Firmware: 2.4
My machine: Macbook Pro (Leopard), or Macbook with Tiger (whichever is most desirable to use)
Most important XBMC Features to me: Streaming music, pictures, .iso movies from a NAS drive
Frustration Level: Defcon 2
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#2
As the author of atvusb-creator, I'm biased Smile You only really need ssh installed, once that's there, then everything else can be installed manually.

ATV OS 2.1 was a good version. Don't forget to disable ATV OS updates.
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#3
Thanks davilla for the reply. That actually helps a lot. I didn't want to invest a ton of time into 2.4, only to learn that it's destined for failure. I used atvusb-creator and was quite impressed by its bad-a**ness. I'll puruse a 2.1 install and go with atvusb-creator from there.

Thanks again
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#4
For what it's worth I find 2.4 very stable on which to run XBMC. As a Windows user I use the excellent winscp if I need file level access and putty if I need to get to a command line. It all just works, no problems.
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#5
Thanks S80_UK. That's good to know as well. Perhaps I'll try both if I can get my hands on a 2.1 firmware and see which I like better. Have you (or anyone else) had experience with both the XBOX and Apple TV and made any comparisons? Should I be seeing a significant difference in performance?
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#6
Sorry - I have never used an Xbox - haven't got one.
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#7
xbox seems a bit smoother to me than ATV, but that's just my perception.

I don't really have any hard data on it.
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#8
Thanks for the tips guys. For anyone else looking for similar help. Here's what I did to get myself up and running:

1. Factory Restore of ATV to firmware 2.4

2. Created the patchstick with this excellent tool: http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/

3. Applied patchstick without a hitch

4. Updated the launcher

5. Updated XBMC

6. Did not touch anything with the other software installers. Just XBMC, not even Boxee yet.

7. Added the download for the latest SVN to the launcher by following this: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...n+download

8. Installed latest SVN

9. Installed the Aeon skin optimized for ATV found here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ight=apple

10. Had to fix the timezone with this how-to here: http://www.mikeandheth.com/techie/84-how...ezone.html

Now I'm cruising with a nicely working XBMC install without downgrading firmware or anything. Hope this helps someone else with a new 2.4 who was as lost and frustrated as I was for a couple of days. Smile
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#9
babaraccas Wrote:10. Had to fix the timezone with this how-to here: http://www.mikeandheth.com/techie/84-how...ezone.html
Thanks for the pointer. I now have the correct time displayed for the first time since getting my ATV.
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Guidance for a new 2.4 AppleTV0