Currently though, the Apple TV remote is not what it used to be in terms of battery life. While in the past you would need to replace the battery after a year or two (sometimes even less often than that), now you need to recharge it once every few months. So why did this happen? The answer is quite simple: Apple decided to add more functionality to the Apple TV remote. Right now, the Apple TV includes an App Store where you can download a lot of games, but also a  remote packed with a trackpad, sensors and Siri. Speaking of which, Siri can be controlled via voice commands. As you can imagine, this has a massive impact on the battery, draining it much faster than before.

According to Apple, under normal use, you will need to recharge the battery once every 90 days or so. On the other hand, if you’re a gamer and you use the remote for gaming, then you will need to charge it more often.

The good news about this is that no longer will you need to visit your local electronics store in order to get batteries for your Apple TV remote. The latest generation Apple TV remote features a lithium ion rechargeable battery that charges in the same way as your other iOS devices, including your iPad, iPod, and iPhone. So with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at how this new remote works and how to charge apple tv remote.

How to check the charge level on your Apple TV remote

Checking the charge level on your Apple TV remote is simple.

1. To do this, you’ll first of all need to go to the Bluetooth menu since that’s where the charge level is displayed. If you want to check the charge level manually, then from the home screen, you need to go to the Settings menu.
2. Here, you’ll need to go to Remotes and Devices.
3. While you’re in this menu, look for Bluetooth and access this menu.
4. It’s in this menu that you will see an entry for the default remote. This entry is called Remote and it features a battery indicator that displays how much charge your remote has left before it needs to be recharged.

Recharging the Apple TV remote

Let’s say that you found out your Apple TV remote is low on battery. How do you recharge it? Well, compared to the previous generation of Apple TV remote controls where you had to open the remote to replace the battery, the latest generation requires that you charge it in the same way you would charge any other iOS device.

If you take a close look at the bottom of the remote control, you’ll notice a small lightning port. It’s the same type of port that you can usually find on an iPad or iPhone (latest generation). If you’re not an Apple user that already had a few other Apple devices, don’t worry. Your Apple TV will ship with a lightning cable that you can use in order to charge your Apple TV remote. Be sure to plug the cable into the remote’s Lighting port and the other end into a USB wall charger or port (either from your desktop PC or laptop).

Even if you do actually have a USC-C to lightning cable lying around, hijacking the USB-C port on the back of your Apple TV for the purpose of charging your Apple TV remote isn’t possible. This may be very practical, but it’s simply not possible. That’s because the USB-C port on the Apple TV can only be used for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes.

Charging time

Now that you know how to charge apple tv remote, you may be wondering how long it takes for the Apple TV remote to actually charge. In our tests, the Siri remote needed about 2 hours and 30 minutes to charge. What we also liked on top of the short charging time is the fact that while the remote is charging, you can still use it.

Charging your Apple TV remote may be something you’ll be doing a lot more often with a Siri Remote, but we also cannot disregard that  this minor annoyance comes with a lot of pros as well. First of all, the new and improved Apple TV remote is packed with a lot of useful features. Secondly, you no longer have to worry about going to your local electronics store to get new batteries. Just plug your remote into a USB wall charger and in 2 and a half hours the remote is fully charged!

The post How to charge the Apple TV remote appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Admit it, you’re not necessarily a fan of all Apple’s products. Some are life changers for sure – you’ll have to pry my iPhone out of my cold, dead hands. Others are maybe more, ‘meh’. iTunes falls into that latter category for a lot of people. While it was groundbreaking back in the day, these days it is more of an unkempt warehouse for Apple to cram things into. So how do you maintain your love for your Apple TV, while hating iTunes and not using it?

The big problem is that your Apple TV requires you to fully incorporate all your media (music, photos and video) into your iTunes catalog, if you want to connect that media to your Apple TV. This is easy if you’re buying all your stuff in iTunes. But if you’re like a lot of people, your media comes from a lot of different places – ripped CDs/DVDs, downloads from Amazon, friends, etc. Not all this is quickly or cleanly imported into iTunes, ignoring that many of us just don’t remember to do it all the time.

younity makes it easy to use your Apple TV for all your media, even if it is not in iTunes. When you install younity on your computer, it indexes your hard drive for all your video, music and photos. When it discovers all of it, it reads the file metadata (stuff like the artist name, album, song, movie title, etc.). If your content is in iTunes, younity will have all your library categorization, like your playlists; but for all your media not in iTunes, younity will automatically organize it into the same type of sections for Artist, Album, Songs, etc.

younity turns your computer into a personal media server, so you can stream all your video, music and photos to your iPhone or iPad without having to sync. This means you can carry all your digital content around with you, without taking up any storage on your mobile devices. When you want to access something, younity streams it from your computer to your mobile device.

Of course, younity also uses AirPlay, which means that you can stream everything on any of your computers directly to your Apple TV – with or without using iTunes. You can still browse your music library by Artist, Album, Playlist, etc., because younity will read all your media’s metadata and recreate those lists for you – no importing required.

You can also use younity to access all your computers at once , instead of one at a time, to stream any of your content to your Apple TV.

Click here to learn more about younity.

Throughout our series on hacking your Apple TV with younity we’re giving away FIVE Apple TV 4s! Enter below until 10/31 for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

younity is a simple easy and free app that enables your computer to work like a home media server, giving you access to all your media files on your computer from your iPhone or iPad.

The post How to love your Apple TV and hate iTunes, successfully (and Apple TV 4 giveaway!) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

At one point or another, we’ve all been visiting family or friends and wish we could watch a movie stored back on our home computer while we’re at their house. Or listen to a favorite playlist at someone else’s backyard party, or show off our latest GoPro video on a friend’s big screen.

While the Apple TV lets you stream video, music, and photos from your computer to your TV, what about when you want to stream stuff from your computer to someone else’s Apple TV?

This has previously been impossible because the Apple TV only connects to a computer on the same WiFi network – if your computer was back at home (on another network), it was off limits.

With younity you can take all your media with you to stream to any Apple TV, or even share your media with friends for them to stream on-demand when you’re not around. younity turns every computer you install it on into a personal media server, similar to Plex. It’s easy to set up and free.

How to install younity:

1. Install younity on each computer you want to access and let it index that content (about 5-30 minutes, depending on how much stuff you have).
2. Install the iOS app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you install younity on more than one computer, it will unify all of your files into a single list within the younity iOS app.

Not only does younity let you connect to all your computers at once, it lets you stream all your video, music and photos to your iPhone or iPad no matter where you are in the world. This means that the next time you’re at your friend’s house you can easily stream anything you have at home to their Apple TV using AirPlay.

How to stream a video to your friend’s Apple TV:

1. Start playing avideo in younity
2. Pull up the Apple menu from the bottom of your iPhone. If an Airplay-enabled device is nearby then the AirPlay option will appear.
3. Click on AirPlay
4. Select the device you want to connect to, and your video will stream.

You can also share videos, photos, and music with friends or family through the younity app. Just find what you want to share and choose your friend’s email address of Facebook account and they’ll be allowed to stream your content from your computer to their mobile device or Apple TV.

Whether it’s taking your media with you or sharing it with friends for them to watch on their TV, younity is a simple, unlimited and free way to always have access to your stuff.

Click here to learn more about younity.

Throughout our series on hacking your Apple TV with younity we’re giving away FIVE Apple TV 4s! Enter below until 10/31 for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

younity is a simple easy and free app that enables your computer to work like a home media server, giving you access to all your media files on your computer from your iPhone or iPad.

The post How to stream your content to your friend’s Apple TV (and Apple TV 4 giveaway!) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

In the same way my house has more than one TV, it has more than one computer – many more, in fact. There’s the iMac we share, a few laptops (mine and my wife’s) and the home media server. For some reason, however, Apple has enforced a 1-to-1 relationship between the Apple TV and my computers. Being able to connect the Apple TV to only one computer at a time is a real pain – each time I switch between computers is time consuming and frustrating.

The problem with this is that our content (music, video and photos) is spread across these computers. Certainly, the media server captures most of it, but there are a lot of home videos and photos that get stuck on other computers. What’s worse is that most of the time I’m not sure which computer has the content I’m looking for – the media server has our movies, but our GoPro video is on the iMac; music is spread all over. So how am I supposed to easily find that video to stream to the TV when friends are over or switch between music playlists on different computers?

younity is a fast, easy way to search and stream content stored across multiple computers right to your Apple TV. By installing younity on all of your computers, you are able to unify all your content right onto your smartphone and tablet – no browsing files by devices, just all your content in one place.

Much like Plex, younity turns each computer into a sort of media server, however it also unifies all the content across all your devices. While Plex is intended as an alternative to an Apple TV, younity is its compliment.

By installing younity on your computers, it will discover all the music, photos and videos across each computer. All that metadata is then organized into a single, easy to browse menu on your iPhone or iPad.

It can differentiate your movies from your home videos and even your GoPro video. That way you can easily find the video you’re looking for and push it to the nearest Apple TV using AirPlay.

There’s no complicated setup, configuration or management. You don’t browse by individual devices and can even search across all devices at one. It’s sort of like a peer-to-peer iCloud, built from your computers. Only it’s easy, secure and free.

younity integrates with iTunes and even merges multiple libraries  across your computers into one simple catalog of music. It also includes all your music not in iTunes and plays media types that the Apple TV doesn’t like, like lossless formats.

This way we can switch from streaming music on my laptop to a playlist on my wife’s computer without having to go into the Apple TV’s settings to connect to a different computer.

Away from your house (and your computers), but still want to access your content? younity streams all your stuff to your phone or tablet. But we’ll save that for our next post.

Click here to learn more about younity.

Throughout our series on hacking your Apple TV with younity we’re giving away FIVE Apple TV 4s! Enter below until 10/31 for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

younity is a simple easy and free app that enables your computer to work like a home media server, giving you access to all your media files on your computer from your iPhone or iPad.

The post How to access all your computers at once on your Apple TV (and Apple TV 4 giveaway!) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

The Apple TV is a pretty awesome little device. The supremely portable hardware enables us to stream content from our computer, or from several pre-installed channels like Netflix, directly to our TV/stereo/home theater. For about the price of a month’s worth of Starbucks lattes, you can easily watch all your favorite content on the big screen.

While that’s cool and all, no product is without its frustrations. With limitations ranging from connecting to one computer at a time to the requirement to use Apple’s iTunes, Apple TV is no exception. In a series of posts, we’ll describe how one free application can offer a variety of ways you can side-step many limitations and make your Apple TV even better.

younity is a simple service that connects your devices together, so they can access each other’s content. Have a computer or two at home, but want to access files stored on them via your iPhone or iPad? younity does that. Easily. And for free.

You may be thinking, “hey, can’t I sync my phone to each computer to get some of my
stuff?” Yep, you can do that. Just find that trusty cable, plug it in, launch iTunes, find the content (wait, is it on my desktop computer or laptop computer?) then get iTunes to fit it on the phone. Whoops, out of storage. Sorry – you’re out of luck.

Then there’s that guy next to me telling me to just put all my stuff in the cloud. Only after I upload 1.2TB of files (which takes about 3 months) and shell out between $100-200/year, do I then realize that it can’t read my iTunes catalog, nor my photo albums in Lightroom, nor stream my HD video (it’s got my docs covered though!). Weak.

Alternatively, you can install younity on your computer and your mobile devices and just access all your stuff via your iPhone or iPad as if it were stored locally. No storage? No problem – younity streams content by default (don’t fret, you can download files if you know you’ll be offline). Better yet, install it on several computers and it will unify all your music, photos and video onto your smartphone or tablet.

Have a giant music collection stored on a bunch of hard drives from college? No worries, younity creates your own private version of Apple Music and streams your music (even your playlists) right to your phone (without destroying the library you worked so hard on creating). Want to access your massive video library, ranging from your GoPro to your movie collection? Easy-peasy, younity turns your computer into a private Netflix.

Ever wish you could access all those photos and photo albums (you know, the photos you really care about and not the 739 photos of your dinner or dog or whatever you shoot with your phone) no matter where you are in the world? Yup, younity lets you have all those too. All as if they were on your phone, via one simple app.

If you want to get all technical, younity actually creates your own cloud by building one out of your computers (like your laptop and your desktop). So that cool cloud thing can be yours, but also free and private (nothing gets uploaded or stored online). While you do have to keep your computers on to access their content (similar to Plex), by not storing your files online the service can remain free.

By now you’re thinking, “get to the Swiss Army-like features this thing has for my Apple TV.” We’re getting there! Ever wish you could connect all the computers in your house to your Apple TV  at once? Hate using iTunes, but love your Apple TV ? Wish you could play content stored on your computer when you are at (using their Apple TV)? Ever wish you could take the Apple TV on vacation  with you to use, even though all your stuff is stored back on the home computer?

Stay tuned- over the next month we’re giving you four new tricks on how to hack your Apple TV with younity.

Click here to learn more about younity.

We’re giving away FIVE brand new Apple TV 4s! Check out all our upcoming tips on hacking your Apple TV with younity to enter to win. Enter below for your first chance!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

younity is a simple easy and free app that enables your computer to work like a home media server, giving you access to all your media files on your computer from your iPhone or iPad.

The post Hacking your Apple TV with younity (and Apple TV 4 giveaway!) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Seas0nPass, the popular Apple TV jailbreak tool, has been recently updated by FireCore and now allows for an untethered jailbreak of Apple TV 5.3 (Apple TV 2 only). Released in June last year, Apple TV software version 5.3 added HBO GO, WatchESPN, Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello to our little black boxes.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to untether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.3 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: Seas0nPass will complete the restore automatically, and confirm when complete.

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!

aTV Flash (black) users that are already running 5.3 can jailbreak by following these two easy steps:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Manage Extras
2. Install the Maintenance (2.4) update and the Click to Untether (1.2) items – restart the Apple TV when prompted.

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

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.3 (iOS 6.1.4) using Seas0nPass (untethered; Mac & Windows) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

So you didn’t update your Apple TV 2 firmware to version 6.0 (iOS 7) when it came in September, hoping for a jailbreak for 5.3 software (iOS 6.1.4 – 10B809) to come sooner or later? The wait is finally over as an updated version of FireCore‘s Seas0nPass now allows for an untethered jailbreak of Apple TV 5.3 (Apple TV 2 only).

The update was possible thanks to the help from @iH8sn0w, @winocm, and @SquiffyPwn.

FireCore also revealed that “there has been some encouraging progress made on Apple TV 6.0+” (thanks to the work of @evad3rs and @nitoTV) and they hope to have more news available “soon”.

If you’re on 6.0.x but have the SHSH blobs saved for 5.3, you can use Seas0nPass to first downgrade and then jailbreak your atv2.

Here is how to jailbreak (instructions provided by FireCore):

Option 1 – if you’re already running 5.3

1. On the ATV2, navigate to Maintenance > Manage Extras
2. Install the Maintenance (2.4) update and the Click to Untether (1.2) items – restart the Apple TV when prompted.

Option 2 – to update or reinstall 5.3

1. (Optional) Navigate to Maintenance > Settings > Manage Backups and create a new backup. Double-check to ensure the backup is listed in the Restore From Backups menu.
2. Download the latest version of Seas0nPass.
3. Open and run Seas0nPass normally, to update the Apple TV to 5.3 untethered.
4. Download and run the new 2.4 version of aTV Flash (black) to reinstall.

If you’re new to aTV Flash (black) you can read our full review here.

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

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post Untethered jailbreak for Apple TV 2 5.3 released appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Think you’ve got what it takes to become a contributing editor at Apple TV Hacks?

We are looking for experienced writers to contribute quality tutorials, how-tos, tips & tricks, software/hardware reviews, opinion articles, news and all other kinds of Apple TV-related articles.

Requirements:

• excellent written English (spelling, grammar)
• deep knowledge of the Apple TV (and generally of the Apple world)
• you must own an Apple TV (atv2 or atv3 is a must, atv1 is a plus) and an iPhone/iPad (upgradeable to iOS 7)
• you must be reliable! (responsive, working to deadlines)

If you think your up to the challenge, let us know since we would love to take a look at your style!

You can apply here.

Good luck!

The post Want to write for Apple TV Hacks? We’re hiring! appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

The power of XBMC is its ability to manage content weather on your Apple TV, N.A.S. device, or network connected computer. It does not matter if you have movies, television shows, music, or pictures XBMC is designed with the unique ability to incorporate this content into the software itself. This is an extremely attractive feature for those of us utilizing XBMC on our Apple TV, especially the Apple TV 2. With its limited storage and lack of USB drives, the Apple TV 2 is primed for taking advantage of XBMC’s custom Library features. Let’s start by looking at the primary libraries and what each offers.

VIDEO LIBRARY

The Video Library, one of the XBMC databases, allows the organization of your video content by information associated with the video files themselves. This information can be obtained in various different ways, like through Scrapers (ie. Movies, TV shows and Music Videos) and nfo files. Library view allows you to browse your video content by things such as; Genre, Title, Year, Actors and Directors.

MUSIC LIBRARY

The Music Library, one of the XBMC databases, is a key feature of XBMC. It allows the organization of your music collections using the information stored in your music file ID tags, like title, artist, album, genre and popularity. It also allows users to add network sources, such as Last.FM, to their library. Making this a much needed, and must have, feature.
Luckily, each library functions the same when it comes to Adding and Removing Content. So let’s take a quick look at the ins and outs of adding files to our libraries. If you are simply looking to remove items from your library you can skip to the bottom of this article.

ADD FILES

1) From within the correct category you will want to select “Files.” This will open a new window displaying any content that is already added. This will assuredly be blank.
2) Select the option that reads Add (content). Meaning, if you are in the Video section, you will choose Add Videos.

3) Here you will see a pop up window asking you to enter the path of your content. This best way to select this location is by clicking on the Browse.

4) You  see a long list of options on the right. From here you can navigate to any folder located on your Apple TV as well as any number of network locations. This is how you will add a folder to XBMC. If you are adding Network Storage then you want to know what protocol the source is using. Typically SMB (Windows) or UPnP. By selecting these options, XBMC will scan your network for devices. For example, I will scan my network for UPnP sources. The results are below.

5) Now it is a simple matter of navigating to the folder that contains to content you want to add. It is important to note that you must be viewing the content WITHIN the folder when you select OK. You don’t want to select OK while merely highlighting the folder itself. Once you select the correct folder you will need to name it again within XBMC. For this example I am naming the source Network Movies Folder.

6) We will need to tell XBMC what type of content is in the folder we are adding to our XBMC Library. This is of the utmost importance for you to get the full benefit of Fanart, backgrounds, posters, and thumbnails. For the sake our my example we are telling XBMC that I am scanning a folder of (Movies). The last thing:

7) Lastly, we will want to select the option RUN AUTOMATED SCAN. This will let XBMC know that you want it to scan the content into your library and then update your Library at the same time. When you click OK you will be met by a POP UP Windows – fear not and select YES!

REMOVING FILES

1) To remove items from your XBMC Library, you must first tell XBMC to allow this functionality. By default, it is disabled to prevent accidental content removal. So, how do we do this? From your home scree go to the System menu option.
2) You will want to select the top option titled Appearance.

3) Now you will have access to the settings options for the Files controls. Here you can adjust multiple options, but we are interested, specifically, in “Allow file renaming and deletion.” Select this option and make sure the circle on the right becomes illuminated.

4) Now that the hard part is done, we will simply navigate to any Library within XBMC. To keep with our theme of movie content I will navigate to my Movies Folder. once there, navigate to the file you wish to remove and while the video selected hold down your MENU button until the context menu pops up.

The post Use XBMC to extend your Apple TV’s hard drive (XBMC library integration) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Here is a step by step tutorial on how to tether jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2.1 using Seas0nPass:

NOTE: This is a TETHERED jailbreak. This means every time there is a need to reboot your Apple TV, you have to connect it to a computer. Functionally, both tethered and untethered jailbreak are identical.

NOTE 2: The current version of Seas0nPass doesn’t provide a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3.

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.

The post How to jailbreak Apple TV 2 5.2.1 (iOS 6.1.3) using Seas0nPass (tethered; Mac & Windows) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.