Big Book of Apple Hacks

Chapter 10. Hack the Apple TV

Steve Jobs once said that the Mac was one leg of the Apple chair, the iPod was the second, and he hoped the Apple TV would someday be the third. This tells us two things: First, Steve took a long-term view when it came to the Apple TV, and second, he isn’t much of a carpenter: the minimum number of legs for a stable chair is three after all, so until the Apple TV really takes off, that is going to be one hard-to-use chair.

The Apple TV didn’t take off as hoped. Sales were lackluster, so Apple made adjustments. First the company released a software update that added YouTube videos to the mix. That didn’t result in much of a bump, so at MacWorld 2008, Apple unveiled Apple TV Take 2. It was a consumer-friendly revision. You could rent movies directly from iTunes without the need for an intervening computer. The resolution was bumped up to HD, and, best of all: Apple dropped the price.

Hackers already thought the Apple TV was pretty sweet. It is easy to see why: at a fundamental level, the Apple TV is a low-powered Mac. It has a single-core Intel processor, wireless and Ethernet connectivity, a USB port, a hard drive, and a video out. All that packaged in a small, unobtrusive package is a hacker’s dream. Well, if the hacker can get into the thing....

HACK 85: Use Your Apple TV with Standard Definition Sets

The Apple TV is made for a high-definition world, but ...