XBMC on AppleTV 1

Got 3 Apple TV 1's?

Got XBMC on AppleTV?  Upgrade not working?  Did they change the name to Kodi?

From the GUI it fails, from commandline, file not found:

wget http://mirrors.xbmc.org/releases/osx/xbmc-11.0.dmg
wget http://atv-xbmc-launcher.googlecode.com/svn/tags/ul-info/scripts/xbmc-11.0_update.sh

(file not found)

Here's the fix:

ssh frontrow@appletv (pw frontrow)

wget http://mirrors.xbmc.org/releases/osx/i386/old/xbmc-11.0.dmg
wget http://atv-xbmc-launcher.googlecode.com/svn/tags/ul-info/scripts/xbmc-11.0_update.sh

sudo sh xbmc-11.0_update.sh xbmc-11.0.dmg

This will take you to Eden, the highest release for AppleTV 1.  Unless you want reinstall with Linux / OpenElec. BUT then you lose iTunes access.... (this was my first hybrid Frontrow launcher)

----- 2016 -----

Now there's a fork out of OpenElec, called LibreELEC that will take you up to the latest releases of Kodi for your AppleTV hardware.  This what I recommend you do.

----- 2017 -----

Forget it, the LibreELEC release sucks mud, the newer Kodi version requires too much memory. Which means chewitt's OpenElec 6.0.1 is the final ever release for the Apple TV 1.  And, it doesn't boot, at least the USB img file didn't work for me, so the only way to go is with the 6.0.0 img, which is not show on the site.  However, here's a direct link.  And the harddrive img.  This takes you up to Kodi 15

OSMC?  Maybe, the installer hangs on the versions I've tried, so I don't know.  Truth be told, even with the OpenELEC-ATV build I had to redo it 5 times due to odd hangs, but once I got a clean install it's been totally solid.

TV Wifi card

Why you want to do this!

If you have a TV, projector or other video device that only has Component Video input (YPBPR 1080i/p), the Apple TV1 is your best bet, it's pretty much the only computer you can buy that has Component Video output. It also has HDMI output, but of course there's many devices out there with HDMI support.  My display is the Pioneer SD-532HD5 1080i analog HDTV.

What you should do:

First, order some parts.  You'll need 3 items: T8 Torx screwdriver, SSD drive, Crystal HD video card.
You don't have to do this hardware upgrade in order to run Kodi, but it's easy and it's a huge preformance boost.

Simply pry up the four corners of the rubber pad on the underside of the AppleTV 1 and remove the Torx screws.  Open the AppleTV up, replace the harddrive with the SSD and replace the wifi card with the Crystal video card.  Close it up and install LibreELEC via a USB stick.  There's several videos on Youtube showing how to do all of these steps and/or Google OpenELEC and LibreELEC if you need help.
The Apple TV1 runs very hot.  Replacing the Apple harddrive with a SSD solves the heat problem and greatly speeds up boot time. You can pop your original Apple drive back in to revert.  Many instructions say you must completely remove the rubber pad on the underside of the AppleTV, this is a lot of work that's not necessary!  You can locate the screws by feel and/or look at the Youtube video.  Just peel up the edges or cut a little hole with an exacto knife.

The Crystal HD video card will get you smooth playback in 1080i/p video, mostly.  Sometimes I still have playback issues, when this happens the fix is convert the video via Handbrake, on the Video tab choose MPEG-4 as the Video Encoder and set QP: 3.  Check the Audio List tab to be certain you're getting 5.1 past through audio.  MakeMKV and DVD Audio Extractor are also very useful tools.

Remote control!  The stock Apple TV remote with its 6 buttons is very limited to control Kodi.  However all the USB based remotes and keyboards I've tried work fine with the Apple TV, as do USB splitters. The best one I've used is the mini wireless Trackball Mouse, you can really fly through the Kodi menus with this and it's not line of sight limited like the Apple remote is.  Also there is Yaste, the Kodi app for your phone/tablet, most of the time I'm using Yaste, not the IR remote.  Keep in mind you need to enable remote control devices and start the web server on the Kodi Services/Control menu in order to use Yaste or Kore.

YouTube!  Often a pain to use with Kodi, however there is a simple fix.  Use Yaste and Android device to select the video.  Open YouTube on your tablet or phone, touch the "share" right arrow, select play with Yaste.  This assumes you've already config'd Yaste to connect to your Kodi center.
You can also build up a play list of YouTube videos that can be added to the Kodi play queue.