Apple TV

Stay up-to-date on the latest Apple TV news and learn how to get the most out of your device with our comprehensive tutorials and guides. Discover new features, troubleshoot issues, and explore the best apps and games for your Apple TV.

Apple to announce Amazon Prime Video for Apple TV at WWDC

Cody Lee ∙ May 11, 2017

Amazon Prime Video is finally coming to Apple TV, reports BuzzFeed. Citing sources familiar with the plans, the outlet says that Apple will make the announcement next month at their World Wide Developers Conference.

The move signals that the two companies have reached an agreement to end their years-long feud, which not only kept Amazon's video app off of Apple's set-top box, but also removed the Apple TV from Amazon's storefronts.

BuzzFeed's John Paczkowksi, who has an excellent track record reporting on Apple's future plans, says that the app is expected to go live this summer. Also, as part of the deal, Amazon will resume Apple TV sales at some point.

If true, this will be a significant win for Amazon Prime customers using Apple TV. Currently, there is no way to natively access Amazon Prime Video on tvOS. WWDC will take place in San Jose, California and begin on June 5.

Source: BuzzFeed

How to make SSH persistent on the liberTV jailbreak for Apple TV 4

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated April 22, 2019

If you've been tinkering around with your Apple TV 4 jailbroken on tvOS 10 with liberTV, you may have noticed that its built-in SSH client, Dropbear, has a tendency to be purged every so often, requiring it be re-spawned and set up again. This is due to the developer's (admirable) desire to retain all jailbreak-related files in temporary folders on the filesystem, reducing the risk of bricking your device while fiddling with it to near-zero. If you are confident enough to move a few files out of their temporary folder however, you can easily get your SSH client up and running persistently, avoiding those tedious reconfigurations which otherwise occur.

Infuse media player gains supercharged subtitles, 10-bit video playback & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2017

aTV Flash Black developer FireCore recently pushed a new version of Infuse, implementing vastly improved subtitle support, gorgeous 10-bit video playback and a host of other improvements.

Infuse 5.4 for iOS and tvOS, a free download for existing users, recently celebrated its fourth anniversary. Since making its App Store debut back in 2013 [review], this versatile media-player app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV has been gaining new features on a regular basis.

10-bit video playback

10-bit videos now look great thanks to some slick new hardware decoding options available in Infuse 5.4. Not only does hardware-assisted decoding on newer iOS devices provide great playback performance, it unlocks hours of extra battery life as well.

Hardware-assisted decoding of the Hi10P video format (H264-encoded 10-bit video) requires Apple's A9 chip or later, meaning this feature is supported on iPhone 6s or later models, all iPad Pro models and the new 2017 iPad model.

Supercharged subtitles

Subtitles have been “entirely revamped” in Infuse 5.4.

The new subtitle rendering engine includes support for subtitles on 3D videos (SBS and TAB), plus subtitle position (AN) tags. The app now accepts many more subtitle formats, including .TXT files (MicroDVD, MPL2, SRT and TMP). As a bonus, the update introduces new options for adjusting text color to your liking and fancy styling and animation effects.

Infuse now uses the secure HTTPS protocol to download subtitles from OpenSubtitles, increasing your privacy. Lastly, Traditional Chinese is now supported for metadata and artwork.

Infuse availability

For a complete list of what's new in Infuse 5.4, visit the official Infuse website.

Infuse 5.4 for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV is a free download from App Store.

Advanced features are available without limitations as a $6.49 per year Pro subscription via the In-App Purchase mechanism. A free one-month trial of Infuse Pro is available within the app.

Alternatively, buy Infuse for iOS and tvOS outright for $12.99.

How to install Kodi on Apple TV 4

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated April 15, 2019

Kodi, previously known as XBMC, is an open source media player, and a veritable one-stop shop for all your media needs. Whilst it has been a favourite of Apple TV users for a long time, there is not always a recent tvOS release, and the process to install it has been complex at times. This guide gives the simplest process, without recourse to unofficial distributions.

It doesn't require a jailbreak, and should work on both tvOS 10 and tvOS 9.

Amazon may launch its video streaming app for Apple TV in the summer

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2017

After pulling all Apple TV hardware from Amazon.com in December 2015 because it didn't “interact well” with its video-subscription service, online retail giant Amazon has at long last warmed up to the idea of permitting owners of Apple's set-top box to use its service.

Recode reported Friday that the two companies are “close to an agreement” that would bring Amazon's Video app to Apple TV in the third quarter of the year, possibly coinciding with the introduction of a next-generation Apple TV with support for 4K video streaming and more.

“It’s unclear what got the two companies to reach an agreement, though some industry observers suggest that any pact would have been worked out, at a high level, by CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos,” said Recode.

That app would let Amazon Prime Video subscribers watch TV shows and movies directly on their Apple TV set-top box without having to use AirPlay.

It's unclear if Apple TV hardware will be returning to Amazon.com anytime soon and whether or not the two tech giants might have settled other disputes involving their rival video ambitions.

Last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said why they stopped selling Apple TVs:

We want our player, our Prime Video player, to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms. And so, you can always get the player on the device; the question is can you do so with acceptable business terms.

And if you can’t, then we don't want to sell it to our customers, because they’re going to be buying it thinking they can watch Prime Video and then they’re going to be disappointed. And they’re going to return it.

Currently, Apple TV owners and Prime members must use AirPlay to wirelessly send movies and TV shows to their Apple TV via Amazon's pretty limited Prime Video app for iOS, which still won't let you buy or rent individual programs without visiting Amazon.com first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0

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“As we have already succeeded in developing an app for iPhone and iPad, we hope to make an app separately for the Apple TV,” said the online retailer a year and a half ago.

The app was supposed to release before the end of 2015, but negotiations between the two tech giants obviously took a lot longer than expected.

Earlier this year, Apple hired Amazon's former Fire TV chief to head up its Apple TV business.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s shopping app is available on the fourth-generation Apple TV with purchasing support for Prime members and other features.

Apple rolls out fifth developer beta of tvOS 10.2.1 for Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Apple today rolled out a fifth beta of what would become a minor software update for the fourth-generation Apple TV. If you're a registered developer, tvOS 10.2.1 beta 5 (build 14W585) can be installed via the Software Update mechanism provided your set-top box runs an appropriate configuration profile obtainable through Apple’s portal for developers.

tvOS 10.2.1 beta 5 can be deployed on your Apple TV in Settings → System → Software Updates → Update Software. Apple says it includes bug fixes and security improvements.

The most recent tvOS beta follows the fourth developer-only betas of tvOS 10.2.1, iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5 and watchOS 3.2.2 that released on April 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRNjTVppF4I

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The most recent stable release of the Apple TV software, tvOS 10.2, released on March 27 with minor improvements, including accelerated scrolling on Siri Remote, mobile device management improvements for enterprise, the Video Toolbox framework, bug fixes and more.

Only Apple's registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program can deploy and use tvOS and watchOS betas. The general public can test-drive upcoming iOS and macOS releases via Apple's Beta Software Program.

Spike and Nickelodeon now support Apple TV universal search

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 1, 2017

Apple has added a few new content providers to tvOS's universal search feature, like Spike and the Nickelodeon channel, including Nick Jr. The feature currently works with a bunch of popular video apps in the United States and select international markets, allowing Apple TV owners to search for movies and TV shows using Siri across all supported apps.

How to SSH into your jailbroken Apple TV 4 or 4K and change your root password

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated April 15, 2019

With several Apple TV jailbreaks in use by our readership, it's important to remember that with them comes both the power and risk of running SSH connections to your device.

Once jailbroken, you may want to tinker around with the device, grab your apticket off of it, copy files to and from it, or investigate the filesystem. To do this you'll need to connect to it from another device via SSH. In this guide we'll take you through how to do just that, as well as how to protect yourself by changing the default passwords.

Fourth betas of iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5, watchOS 3.2.2 & tvOS 10.2.1 now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

Apple on Monday issued fourth betas of what would become maintenance and bug-fix updates to its four major software platforms: iOS, macOS Sierra, watchOS and tvOS. Members of the Apple Developer Program can now deploy iOS 10.3.2 beta 4 (build 14F5086a), macOS Sierra 10.12.5 beta 4 (build 16F67a), watchOS 3.2.2 beta 4 (build 14V5485a) and tvOS 10.2.1 beta 4 (build 14W5583a) through the Software Update mechanism.

Apple posts third betas of iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5, watchOS 3.2.2 and tvOS 10.2.1

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2017

Apple on Monday issued third betas of what would become maintenance and bug-fix updates to iOS, macOS Sierra, watchOS and tvOS. Members of the Apple Developer Program can now deploy iOS 10.3.2 beta 3 (build 14F5080a), macOS Sierra 10.12.5 beta 3 (build 16F60a), watchOS 3.2.2 beta 3 (build 14V5480a) and tvOS 10.2.1 beta 3 (build 14W5578b) through the Software Update mechanism.

Apple TV should gain Picture in Picture and multiple user support with tvOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 17, 2017

A report Monday by the Israeli outlet The Verifier has it that the next major update to the operating system powering the Apple TV set-top box will include support for Picture-in-Picture mode and the ability for multiple users in a household to share the device with multi-user logins.

Picture-in-Picture launched on iOS 9 two years ago. Currently available on compatible iPad and Mac models, Picture-in-Picture allows users to watch videos in a floating window while multitasking.

Lara Croft GO gains new levels and iMessage sticker pack via Mirror of Spirits update

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 13, 2017

Developer Square Enix this morning issued a new content update to its turn-based isometric puzzle mobile game, Lara Croft GO. Bumping version number to 2.1.7, the game now lets you take Lara through a whole new journey in an alternate reality. Specifically, the update brings out a whole new chapter named Mirror of Spirits with 25 new puzzles and three new mechanics. As a bonus, players get a brand new Lara-themed sticker pack for iMessage. The update is available at no additional charge to those who have purchased the game.