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Unofficial AppleTV Plugins Thread

Jlentz823

By Jlentz823,
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Jlentz823
Jlentz823
Posted
Posted

Post any new plug-ins and what they do, along with a link, if possible!

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATVfiles - Play files locally, from the AppleTV's harddrive. Similar to how XBMC works. Does not include codecs.

 

Perian - The "Swiss-army knife of Quicktime"; Supports many codecs, such as FLV, AVI, H.264

 

A52Codec - Suport for multi-chanell AC3 audio.

 

Application Launch Menu - Adds an Applications menu to the Apple TV and lets you launch arbitrary apps.

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Mr. Bond
Mr. Bond
Posted
Posted

As was mentioned in another thread, it's now possible to play files locally. That can be found here.

 

What I'll do, is as with the information thread, as people post new plugins/coedecs/etc, I'll add them to the first post. Prevents the need to dig through pages upon pages of scattered info. :thumbsup_anim:

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joneSi
joneSi
Posted
Posted

All...

 

Do all the video and audio plugins go into /Library/Quicktime ?? The awkwardtv.org wiki says nothing on and the codec links page just says to put it there the /Library/Quicktime. However, the ac52 codec linked here says that there are other places that need to have the files in order to install the audio codec.

 

I have successfully gotten my aTV to show the 'files' menu, I'd just like to be able to play ripped DVD's through my network and have them play in the splendor of 5.1 sound (lol)

 

joneSi

 

edit: I want my internet audio streams to play on my aTV! There would be a MONEY plug.

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hazkid
hazkid
Posted
Posted

I know it's annoying, but I do have 2 feature requests (or easy plist edits) for ATVFiles.

A ) hide hidden files such as: .File Name.xxx

B ) Show folder icons as previews. Why? because it is easy to apply an icon - such as a movie poster - to any folder, thus making it possible to have pure VIDEO_TS folders.

This works beacause: if you add the extension .wdgt (dashboard widget) to a folder containing video_ts, you can set it to open with VLC by simply double-clicking it.

I again apoligize for this annoying post.

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AK2007
AK2007
Posted
Posted

Applications Menu Plugin for ATV V 1.0

April 26, 2007

 

Before you read any further please be warned that this software comes with no warranties, it is highly experimental, and it may fry your appletv and you may not have any recourse. I am not responsible for any damage to your equipment. Use at your own discretion.

 

I got tired of constantly renaming the Finder killing it and the running another app, then renaming it back. Luckily Erica Sadun figured out how to suspend the Finder and have it relinquish control of the screen. Read more at http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2007/04...ing_widget.html

 

This frappliance will add an 'Applications' menu to ATV that will allow you launch any application that is installed on ATV. This would allow us to run Centerstage without permanently disabling the Finder. It uses the code samples from EricIII and Erica Sadun.

 

I only hacked it together, they are the geniuses who who figured out how to do this.

 

Installation:

1. Move the frappliance to the usual location on ATV

2. copy the Applist.txt to \Users\frontrow\Documents, if the directory doesnt exist create it.

 

Usage:

1. Edit the file to your specifications the format is Menu Label,path/to/your/app, notice that you have to find the actual executable usually located in Contents\MacOS directory. Look at the Applist.txt file.

 

2. Restart Finder and you will find an Applications menu

 

Usage Notes:

 

Please note that there are no spaces between the Menu Label and the path, I haven't tested it with spaces so don't know how it would react.

 

This frappliance suspends the Finder until the application you are running terminates, in case the app you are trying to run doesn't launch the Finder will stay suspended. All you have to do is kill the finder and it will relaunch.

 

 

AK

App_Launcher.frappliance.zip

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DaveGee
DaveGee
Posted
Posted
Applications Menu Plugin for ATV V 1.0

April 26, 2007

 

Before you read any further please be warned that this software comes with no warranties, it is highly experimental, and it may fry your appletv and you may not have any recourse. I am not responsible for any damage to your equipment. Use at your own discretion.

 

 

Great stuff AK! Great stuff!! Any chance of getting the source for your plugin? I'd like to try my hand a writing a plugin and your code would greatly help me (since I always have a really hard time doing things from scratch) - yea I'm still in the learning stage (early learning stage).

 

If you do provide the source then I of course would do the same either privately or publicly... Your call.

 

Thanks for your efforts!

 

Dave

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AK2007
AK2007
Posted
Posted
Great stuff AK! Great stuff!! Any chance of getting the source for your plugin? I'd like to try my hand a writing a plugin and your code would greatly help me (since I always have a really hard time doing things from scratch) - yea I'm still in the learning stage (early learning stage).

 

If you do provide the source then I of course would do the same either privately or publicly... Your call.

 

Thanks for your efforts!

 

Dave

 

I am not a mac programmer, and this is the first time I have written anything for this platform, so some of the things I am doing are probably stupid. If any of you find any stupidity please point it out. Here is the source code.

 

Get the awkwardtv.org's helloworld sample running and make this project dirertory a sibling to the the helloworld sample.

App_Launcher1.0_src.zip

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hifimac
hifimac
Posted
Posted

This looks like it'd be a good way to intergrate EyeTV, but it doesn't seem to work on my mini, I can add things to the menu but they don't seem to launch. The screen flashes, then the menu is unresponsive and I have to kill frontrow. Does the code need to be modified for the backrow to frontrow hack on my mini?

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DaveGee
DaveGee
Posted
Posted

AK,

 

First off... a big thanks for providing the source code! It's a GREAT starting point and I'll have something to send back to you in return! While it's not quite ready for prime time, I've got MAME (sdl mame) running very well under this plug-in. Simply scroll down to the Games menu and then select what game you want to play then bang you're in that game. Press escape (while in the game) and bang you're either back to the FR menu or a black screen (where you need to press the menu button on the remote)... Not quite sure why that's happening yet but I haven't looked too far into it either.

 

This looks like it'd be a good way to intergrate EyeTV, but it doesn't seem to work on my mini, I can add things to the menu but they don't seem to launch. The screen flashes, then the menu is unresponsive and I have to kill frontrow. Does the code need to be modified for the backrow to frontrow hack on my mini?

 

Now as to this problem...

 

-----

EDIT: Ugh! I just reread your post and see you too are running a Mac mini (not an AppleTV) so most of this doesn't really pertain to you) but since it would perhaps pertain to others I'll leave it here... Maybe someone will benefit from it. ;)

 

 

But since we know you have a mini with the full OS X please provide a copy of the line you have in your config file that tells the plugin what program you want to launch. Maybe that'll help.

 

-----

 

Are you running a real AppleTV with the real AppleTV OS (cut down version of OS X) or an AppleTV / Full Intel Mac with the full OS X and a modified FR2 Application? The reason I ask is the AppleTV doesn't have everything (kernel extensions) you get with the 'full os x install'. As an example the kext that helps provide playback for DVD movies is just an EMPTY SHELL (no program code) on the AppleTV where as on OS X the dvd extension actually contains the program code and as such really does something.

 

The dvd extension is just an example.. I'm sure there are quite a few others....

 

Now if the AppleTV is missing some kernel extension that eyetv is looking for then you are sure to have a problem.

 

Heres a test you can do.

 

- Doesn't the AppleTV run eyetv when FrontRow2 isn't running?

 

If it doesn't run then the base AppleTV is probably missing something (some extension?) that's preventing the app from running. This plugin isn't going to change that I'm afraid. Always test that an app works prior to using this to launch it from within FR2.

 

If it does run then it could be that running eyetv *and* having frontrow2 running (but suspended) is putting too much demands on the AppleTV resources. Either memory or cpu I'd guess...

 

------

 

For example, the project I'm working on runs great on my box (an Intel Mac Mini) running the full os x and a 'modified' frontrow2 application.

 

What I wonder is will the AppleTV (with its cut down OS) work the same? sdlmame is a command-line based application and requires the addition of an sdl kext (downloadable on the net). If you don't have that framework you can't run sdlmame... but I assume you can add new kexts to the AppleTV box (via ssh or whatever) but the real question is does sdlmame require (make use of) other Apple OS X 10.4 provided kexts that might not be included on the AppleTV OS.

 

I'll know for sure when I get my AppleTV sometime next week (I hope).

 

Dave

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AK2007
AK2007
Posted
Posted
AK,

 

Press escape (while in the game) and bang you're either back to the FR menu or a black screen (where you need to press the menu button on the remote)... Not quite sure why that's happening yet but I haven't looked too far into it either.

Now as to this problem...

 

I haven't used mame so not sure. It could be that mame sdl also acts like a a launcher and exits when you press escape. Because as soon as the the task you have launched exists this code will get out of the way and let Finder do its thing.

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hifimac
hifimac
Posted
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Yeah sorry, should of made it clearer, I am running the ATV OS on my intel mini.

 

The script is working, it launches eyetv, it just doesn't exit FR2. Eyetv is there behind FR2. Probably because I'm still running it in window mode doing the hex edit hack to sync it with the local itunes. I left it on because it makes testing and syncing it with the itunes on the system easier. I'll try and go back and set it back to full screen.

 

The only thing I'm using the syncing for is to get pictures into the screen saver. Is there a way you can make a stream source the default menu? I'm not interested in syncing anything cause it's all already on the mini. I think it'd be easier to just go straight to the source you want than the ATV menu.

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DaveGee
DaveGee
Posted
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I haven't used mame so not sure. It could be that mame sdl also acts like a a launcher and exits when you press escape. Because as soon as the the task you have launched exists this code will get out of the way and let Finder do its thing.

 

 

Oh no... you misunderstood....

 

sdlmame is a non-gui mame that runs on OS X. It's not a launcher that goes off to yet another application that then runs the rom code.

 

Pressing esc in sdlmame (when a game is running) is suppose to exit the process, that is totally normal.

 

The part that I thought was odd was that sometime after I end a game of nostalgia bliss (Defender, PacMan, Tempest, etc) by pressing the esc key (the normal way to end the game) I sometimes (usually) came right back to my list of games (the app-launcher.appliance menu) but sometimes I thought I was instead returning to a blank screen (where I had to press a key to wake the FR2 back up) but the more I've used it the more I think that sometimes it (FR2) is 'really quick' to show back up on the screen and other times it has a slight pause (where the screen was black) and then the menu returned.

 

Dave

 

Yeah sorry, should of made it clearer, I am running the ATV OS on my intel mini.

 

The script is working, it launches eyetv, it just doesn't exit FR2. Eyetv is there behind FR2. Probably because I'm still running it in window mode doing the hex edit hack to sync it with the local itunes. I left it on because it makes testing and syncing it with the itunes on the system easier. I'll try and go back and set it back to full screen.

 

The only thing I'm using the syncing for is to get pictures into the screen saver. Is there a way you can make a stream source the default menu? I'm not interested in syncing anything cause it's all already on the mini. I think it'd be easier to just go straight to the source you want than the ATV menu.

 

You're first message was clear enough... I just read your post too fast (a common thing for me) and skipped right over the part about you running on a mini.. :)

 

As for your problem....

 

I think you might be right... doing that hex-edit that allows for 'windowed' operation of FR2 (aka being able to tab/pop back and forth between different apps could indeed be the culprit. While I was tempted to do that to my FR2 app I just never got around to it and now that this is out I don't really see the need for me to do it. Anyway the only way to tell for sure it to back out that edit and give it another go... (boy that was way more easily said than done eh?) :(

 

As to syncing... I too have been doing it just for pics and I'd rather not if possible... Come-on Apple some of us a BIG BOYS and BIG GIRLS and can handle mapping a freakin drive to get access to content. You'd think we were back in 1989...

 

One of the biggest beefs I've got with syncing is how Apple stores the content... I've NEVER seen a more random freakin creation of folders / names and file placements in my life! Somebody had to be trippin 'real nice' when they came up with that format.

 

Dave

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hifimac
hifimac
Posted
Posted

I read somewhere that the ATV uses the same file structure and database as the ipod. If so, how hard would it be to get something like ipoddisk for macfuse working for ATV? I'd go full on syncing if I could mount the ATV drive like I can my iPod with this software. It'd be read only, but would give you better access to the media stored on it.

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DaveGee
DaveGee
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Posted
this looks promising for a DVD playback menu item, launching VLC or similar. can command-line args be supplied to the executable?

 

 

Sure can... that's how I'm calling sdl-mame in the CLArgs I specify not only the 'short-rom-name' but also the location where sdl-mame is to get/read its config ini file.

 

Dave

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maccabbi
maccabbi
Posted
Posted

I had the alt-tab hack and app launcher just froze the computer. I removed the hack and it work hack and it worked, but now that i have rebooted it has stopped working again. Freezes every time. I made a similar plugin to launch the DVD Player only, and that works fine. It would be nice to just make a list of apps like this plugin does or to be able to sort plugins into some kind of submenu system so that I could set up to launch VLC and DVD Player and other apps

 

Any suggestion on why it doesn't work but did breifly?

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thescientist34
thescientist34
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Sure can... that's how I'm calling sdl-mame in the CLArgs I specify not only the 'short-rom-name' but also the location where sdl-mame is to get/read its config ini file.

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave, can you share with us how your applist.txt config file looks in order to launch games through a command line argument? I'm trying to do the same using ZSNES emulator, but I can't get the app to launch a specific rom file.

 

For instance, i'm trying to launch Super Mario Kart (smk.smc) via the following:

 

SMK,/Users/frontrow/Applications/ZSNES.app/Contents/MacOS/ZSNES /Users/frontrow/Roms/smk.smc

 

however, the app does not launch. If i ssh to appletv and run the same command line + argument, the game runs fine. any thoughts?

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munky
munky
Posted
Posted

Is this only working when AppleTV OS is installed? I have the 'Front Row Replacement' ATV installed on regular Mac OS X, and whenever I select an application from the menu, the screen goes black, then the menu fades back in but is uncontrollable. I have to forcibly quit [Front|Back]row.

 

Any ideas?

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