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Installing Leopard on Apple TV?

ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
6,395
9,033
Toronto, ON
I'm very happy with my :apple:TV but the current bottleneck resides in that here in Canada, our selection of TV shows is lagging. I considered getting a Mac Mini as a second video source where I would watch TV shows online. Then I realized that I could get a second :apple:TV (much cheaper) and install Leopard on it.

Can anybody explain the process and reliability of installing a full OS on :apple:TV?

My project would involve stacking both :apple:TV's. One would run normally, while the other would be a bit torrent server where the main iTunes library would sit and feed the main :apple:TV with TV shows.

I'd install the TVshows app and VisualHub on it and throw in an automator script to make the whole process mostly hands off. TVshows downloads any new episodes of my subscribed shows, automator would throw it into VisualHub which would convert it and add it to the iTunes library which in turn would sync it to the main :apple:TV.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
 
ipedro said:
I'm very happy with my :apple:TV but the current bottleneck resides in that here in Canada, our selection of TV shows is lagging. I considered getting a Mac Mini as a second video source where I would watch TV shows online. Then I realized that I could get a second :apple:TV (much cheaper) and install Leopard on it.

Can anybody explain the process and reliability of installing a full OS on :apple:TV?

My project would involve stacking both :apple:TV's. One would run normally, while the other would be a bit torrent server where the main iTunes library would sit and feed the main :apple:TV with TV shows.

I'd install the TVshows app and VisualHub on it and throw in an automator script to make the whole process mostly hands off. TVshows downloads any new episodes of my subscribed shows, automator would throw it into VisualHub which would convert it and add it to the iTunes library which in turn would sync it to the main :apple:TV.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
Click to expand...


if this is possible could you also use front row instead of itunes?
 
^ Thanks for the info. I thought I heard of people using :apple:TV as full blown computers. Maybe they were just rumors.
 
isn't there some way to use it without ever using sound? there's no real reason the OP would need audio out from what would probably run headless and armless anyway, right?
 
I wouldn't really need sound if it were to simply be an iTunes and Bit Torrent server but I was hoping to use it to watch tv on sites like hulu.

I'm becoming convinced that the best solution here is just to buy a Mac Mini which will also allow me to rip DVDs. Maybe a Blu Ray update is coming up for the new Macs and I'll just get a Mac Mini with Blu Ray as my media hub and :apple:TV as the front end.
 
Leopard is not feasibly possible, since the Apple TV has a paltry 1GHz Intel processor and only 256MB RAM. Tiger however is very doable and runs pretty well. Search online for "install OS X on apple tv" and you should find what you're looking for.

Taken from Apple TV Hacks

1) remove the drive from the Apple TV

2) back up your drive! Make an image of it (see the harddrive upgrade tutorial for this)

3) Connect the drive to a regular Mac (use a Firewire or USB drive dock)

4) Install OS X (Intel version) to the drive (we suggest a slim install - no printer drivers etc.)

5) Boot from this drive, and set it up as you would like it. Make sure you do updates so it is at least 10.4.8.

6) Reboot to your normal OS X install.

Ok, you now have your fresh OS X install which will form the base of the customised OS X you will need for the Apple TV.

7) Remove mach_kernel from root of the drive containg the ATV install.

8 ) Replace it with the customised mach_kernel that you’ll find on Hackint0sh.org.

9) Replace /System/Libary/Coreservices/boot.efiwith the same file from your backup of the Apple TV OS drive (OSBoot partition).

10) Run bless:

bless --folder=/Volumes/OSBoot/System/Library/CoreServices --file=/Volumes/OSBoot/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi --setBoot

11) Delete all the Nvidia kexts (all beginning with NVD, there should be 5) from the target drive (in /System/Library/Extensions).

12) Transfer the drive back to the Apple TV

13) Turn the Apple TV on and cross your fingers.
Click to expand...
 
^ Thanks for that. Looks like there is more involved than I'm willing to tinker with. Mac Mini it is :D
 
On a broken atv i've hacked away, installed mac os (10.4), but to be honest, if you actually want to use it, for whatever, buy a second hand intel mac mini..

there are all sorts of restrictions and problems. it's really honestly not worth it... no sound for instance

it's fun to tinker with it and play... but for actual use... forget it
 
After a long search, I've come up with a solution for the lack of certain shows on iTunes Canada: I'm getting a Mac Mini that I'll run as a DVR along with El Gato's EyeTV.

I'll set it to record my fav shows on OTA HD which will be fed to :apple:TV and I'll always have fresh TV Shows.

Does anybody have experience with EyeTV's DVR? Does it export directly to iTunes/:apple:TV and does it specify the file as a TV Show with the show details populated?

El Gato could make a killing by simply adding an HDD to their EyeTV: a standalone device that could record TV shows and export them to your device of choice (in this case an :apple:TV).
 
ipedro said:
After a long search, I've come up with a solution for the lack of certain shows on iTunes Canada: I'm getting a Mac Mini that I'll run as a DVR along with El Gato's EyeTV.

I'll set it to record my fav shows on OTA HD which will be fed to :apple:TV and I'll always have fresh TV Shows.

Does anybody have experience with EyeTV's DVR? Does it export directly to iTunes/:apple:TV and does it specify the file as a TV Show with the show details populated?

El Gato could make a killing by simply adding an HDD to their EyeTV: a standalone device that could record TV shows and export them to your device of choice (in this case an :apple:TV).
Click to expand...

I have EyeTV right now and love it. I only use it occasionally, but it works great. I am using it as a ClearQAM tuner since my area has this source through the standard cable coming into my house. With ClearQAM the channel guide gets a little wonky, but works otherwise.
 
ipedro said:
After a long search, I've come up with a solution for the lack of certain shows on iTunes Canada: I'm getting a Mac Mini that I'll run as a DVR along with El Gato's EyeTV.

I'll set it to record my fav shows on OTA HD which will be fed to :apple:TV and I'll always have fresh TV Shows.

Does anybody have experience with EyeTV's DVR? Does it export directly to iTunes/:apple:TV and does it specify the file as a TV Show with the show details populated?

El Gato could make a killing by simply adding an HDD to their EyeTV: a standalone device that could record TV shows and export them to your device of choice (in this case an :apple:TV).
Click to expand...
*
I'm pretty sure it does exactly what you just wrote...eyetv pretty much rocks...streaming you DVR recordings to your iphone through wifi is the best feature it has
 
Cave Man said:
Reread the title of this thread.
Click to expand...

reread his post. He asked if an OS could be installed on Apple TV. Moreover if someone can port 10.4.8 we can assume 10.5 will follow shortly, although ram would be an issue.
 
milani said:
reread his post. He asked if an OS could be installed on Apple TV. Moreover if someone can port 10.4.8 we can assume 10.5 will follow shortly.
Click to expand...

The ATV already ships with an OS - 10.4. OP asked about Leopard, as his title indicates. And considering the minimal requirements of Leopard, it's not going to work on an ATV, unless you take out a lot of things, like Aqua, Core Imaging, etc.
 
Cave Man said:
The ATV already ships with an OS - 10.4. OP asked about Leopard, as his title indicates. And considering the minimal requirements of Leopard, it's not going to work on an ATV, unless you take out a lot of things, like Aqua, Core Imaging, etc.
Click to expand...

Well if he did mean just Leopard which I doubt he did I would ask why Leopard in the first place. He could do what he wants to do with Tiger no problem.
 
milani said:
Well if he did mean just Leopard which I doubt he did I would ask why Leopard in the first place. He could do what he wants to do with Tiger no problem.
Click to expand...

The title of this thread is "Installing Leopard on Apple TV?"

Installing stock 10.4 has problems with audio because the audio chip used in the ATV is different than the audio chips used in Macs, thus stock OS X does not have the proper routines to decode the audio. There was one guy who claimed to have solved it, but his solution (if real) has not been publicized in the usual places.

In addition, the ATV uses a special version of Quicktime that is different from what gets installed on Macs as well. I suspect this version leverages the NVidia gpu in the ATV, unlike on Macs where the cpu does the brunt of video decoding.
 
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