FireCore has just updated its aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV to version 1.7, which, among other things, features seamless access to trakt.tv – a TV show and movie recommendation service that helps keep a record of what TV shows and movies you are watching. Trakt is different than other sites since it automatically keeps a record of what you are watching and don’t rely on manual check ins.

After login to trakt.tv on the Apple TV, your plays will be silently scrobbled back to trakt.tv where your watched history is stored. You’ll also have the option to rate movies and TV shows after you’ve watched them. FireCore is also working to bring support for 2 way sync and trakt.tv recommendations.

How to setup trakt.tv in aTV Flash (black):

• Through the Maintenance » Manage Extras menu, ensure the Media Player item is installed

• Navigate to the Media » Settings » General » trakt.tv menu

• Click login and enter your trakt.tv username and password when prompted

• That’s it! You’re all setup to use trakt.tv on your Apple TV.

Here is a full changelog for aTV Flash (Black) 1.7

• Added trakt.tv integration (scrobbling and ratings)
• Added localized movie poster art
• Added localized movie ratings
• Added AirControl (beta) – an open control API for Apple TV
• Added support for embedded DVB subtitles
• Added advanced read-ahead buffering for SMB and NFS shares
• Added Simplified Chinese translation
• Added ‘Update All’ option
• Added support for secure web logins
• Improved metadata fetching speed
• Improved video rotation detection for MOV files
• Improved support for YUVJ420 & YUVJ422 formats (used by digital cameras)
• Improved top-level menu layouts
• Resolved crash when accessing ISO files on certain shares
• Resolved potential streaming issues when using an unstable network
• Resolved AFP related memory management issues
• Other minor improvements & fixes

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black), the new 1.7 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your FireCore account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can get started here.

Here is a tutorial on how to install aTV Flash (black) on your jailbroken Apple TV 2.

IMPORTANT: Once the Apple TV 3 jailbreak is available your aTV Flash (black) license will cover both Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3.

Update: there seem to be some problems with Plex plugin:

A few users are reporting issues with Plex running on the 5.0+ software. The Plex plugin for Apple TV is quite outdated, and we recommend removing it before installing any updates. If you’re using Plex and are experiencing trouble a workaround can be found here please re-run the aTV Flash (black) installer.

The post aTV Flash (black) 1.7 brings trakt.tv to Apple TV appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

FireCore‘s Seas0nPass has been just updated to provide an untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running the latest 5.0.2 (iOS 5.1.1) firmware. Released yesterday, this minor software update for the 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TV only includes an Australia-specific issue with Parental Controls, no new features have been added.

All of the most popular Apple TV plugins, like XBMC, Plex, Media Player, nitoTV, Rowmote, Last.fm, Couch Surfer and Weather are currently supported on 5.0.2 (Remote HD and Overflow are not yet working and require an author update for 5.0.1 compatibility).

If you are not in Australia, there is no need to update to 5.0.2 but if you have accidentally updated or bought an Apple TV 2 with 5.0.2 already installed, you can jailbreak it by following this tutorial.

NOTE: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to untether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0.2 using Seas0nPass:

Pre-launch checklist

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes (check for updates through Software Update located in Apple menu).
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later] or Windows [XP or later].
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.
4. Disconnect any iPods, iPhones, and iPads from your computer.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Unzip the ‘Seas0nPass.zip’ file and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Select the ‘Create IPSW’ button to start the jailbreak process.

Step 3: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom ‘jailbroken’ software file.

Step 4:When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Note: This step will require the silver (aluminum) Apple TV remote that was included with the ATV2. The older, white (plastic) remotes will not work.

Step 5: iTunes will open automatically and start the restore process.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete – your Apple TV is now jailbroken.

Note: To confirm the jailbreak was successful a (temporary) red FC logo will appear in the lower right corner of the screen – as shown below.

Enjoy!

Now you can:

• install XBMC 11.0 Eden and all the great XBMC addons
• watch Hulu
• install IceFilms
• install aTV Flash (black) and Media Player
• and much, much more!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for the latest updates on Apple TV 3 jailbreak status.

The post How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0.2 (iOS 5.1.1) using Seas0nPass (untethered) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

FireCore has released an update to their aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV 2. aTV Flash (black) 1.6 adds integrated subtitle downloads (courtesy of OpenSubtitles.org), support for purchased iTunes content, expanded codec support, refined video playback, improved networking, Wake-on-Lan (WOL), additional translations and a bunch of other improvements and bug fixes.

Here is a full changelog:

• Added integrated subtitle downloads from OpenSubtitles.org
• Added support for purchased iTunes content (matching iTunes login required)
• Added video deinterlacing option
• Added Wake-on-Lan (WOL)
• Added Portuguese (Portugal) translation
• Added support for displaying subtitles in lower ‘black bar’
• Added support for .WTV files
• Added support for multiple simultaneous AFP connections
• Improved bulk fetching & added automatic artwork caching
• Improved automatic downscaling for large thumbnails
• Improved metadata reloading for images
• Improved buffering over AFP
• Resolved various audio synchronization issues
• Resolved possible overflow in 5.1 AC3 audio
• Resolved issues with zoom for 4:3 movies
• Resolved missing audio for .dvr-ms files (ASF containers)
• Resolved rare SRT file crash
• Resolved issues with slideshow animation
• Resolved file specific metadata fetching issues
• Resolved rare ISO file crashes
• Resolved issue with displaying identical thumbnails for images with the same name
• Resolved metadata loading issues for files containing non-latin characters
• Resolved rare 5ch audio file crash
• Resolved issues with incorrect metadata for files with ‘<TVShow Name>/S01E0.avi’ pattern
• Resolved auto-start issues in Couch Surfer
• Reduced memory footprint for large software-decoded videos and slideshows
• Other minor UI improvements & bug fixes

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black), the new 1.6 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your FireCore account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can get started here.

And here is a tutorial on how to install aTV Flash (black) on your jailbroken Apple TV 2.

IMPORTANT: Once the Apple TV 3 jailbreak is available your aTV Flash (black) license will cover both Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3.

The post aTV Flash (black) 1.6 for Apple TV 2 released appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Seas0nPass jailbreaking tool has been updated today to provide an untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 running the latest 5.0.1 (iOS 5.1.1) firmware. All of the most popular Apple TV plugins, like XBMC, Plex, Media Player, nitoTV, Rowmote, Last.fm, Couch Surfer and Weather are currently supported on 5.0.1 (Remote HD and Overflow are not yet working and require an author update for 5.0.1 compatibility). The new Apple TV 2 untethered jailbreak has been successfully tested by nitoTV.

The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to untether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0.1 using Seas0nPass:

Note: If you’re already running a tethered version of 5.0.1 you will need to re-jailbreak using Seas0nPass to take advantage of the new untethered version.

Pre-launch checklist

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes (check for updates through Software Update located in Apple menu).
2. Download Seas0nPass for Mac [10.6 or later] or Windows [XP or later].
3. A micro USB cable will be required to complete the jailbreak.
4. Disconnect any iPods, iPhones, and iPads from your computer.

Jailbreaking

Step 1: Unzip the ‘Seas0nPass.zip’ file and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Select the ‘Create IPSW’ button to start the jailbreak process.

Step 3: The latest Apple TV software will be downloaded and used to create a custom ‘jailbroken’ software file.

Step 4:When prompted, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected).

Once the light on the front of the Apple TV begins to flash rapidly, point the remote at the AppleTV and hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Note: This step will require the silver (aluminum) Apple TV remote that was included with the ATV2. The older, white (plastic) remotes will not work.

Step 5: iTunes will open automatically and start the restore process.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete – your Apple TV is now jailbroken.

Note: To confirm the jailbreak was successful a (temporary) red FC logo will appear in the lower right corner of the screen – as shown below.

Enjoy!

Now you can:

• install XBMC 11.0 Eden and all the great XBMC addons
• watch Hulu
• install IceFilms
• install aTV Flash (black) and Media Player
• and much, much more!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for the latest updates on Apple TV 3 jailbreak status.

The post How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0.1 (iOS 5.1.1) using Seas0nPass (untethered) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Seas0nPass jailbreaking tool for Apple TV has been updated to version 0.8.4 that supports a tethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 5.0.1 (iOS 5.1.1). Released this Thursday, Apple TV 5.0.1 (9B206f) adds HD previews for TV shows and movies in the iTunes store and brings fixes to Netflix, AirPlay and Home Sharing.

Here is what’s new in Apple TV 5.0.1:

• iTunes previews: Previews for movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store can now be viewed in HD.
• AirPlay: Fixes an issue that caused some iOS apps to have trouble connecting via AirPlay.
• Home Sharing: Improves the reliability of Home Sharing connections.
• Netflix: Addresses an issue affecting Netflix login and navigation.
• Stability and performance: Includes fixes for issues affecting stability and performance.

FireCore, the developer behind Ses0nPass, also said on Twitter that Apple TV 3 jailbreak is still in progress.

You can jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.0.1 with Seas0nPass by following this tutorial.

The post Jailbreak for Apple TV 2 5.0.1 released. Apple TV 3 jailbreak still in progress appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.