Hack Allows Canadians to Access US Netflix

Know any digital media junkies living in Canada? If so, you’ve likely heard how good we supposedly have it here in the US when it comes to streaming video and that their options are seriously limited… despite nearly two years of Netflix. And, as it turns out, the Canadian Netflix library does indeed pale in … Read more

How To Turn Your HDTV Into An Apple TV

As our digital streamers have shrunk in size, placement options have increased. And I stumbled upon this clever little mount for my Apple TV. The Innovelis Total Mount ($20) can be positioned in three ways – either bolted to your wall with included screws, Velcro strapped to a HDTV wall mount, or hung from your HDTV by … Read more

HBO GO on Apple TV (via Xfinity)

Supposedly today is the day Xbox 360 owners will be treated to HBO GO. Unless you’re a Comcast customer. In which case you’ll likely be accessing HBO on demand content via the Xfinity app… as they apparently intend to own the experience. Likewise, while Comcast doesn’t offer a Roku app, they block HBO GO access … Read more

YouTube on Roku. Via Facebook.

While most of the competition offers YouTube on the big screen, Roku remains a notable holdout. At one point, we did enjoy an unofficial “private” channel… which Google had shut down (to new users). And while there was a glimmer of hope last fall that an authentic YouTube channel was headed our way, it’s yet to materialize. … Read more

Hack Your Apple TV

appletv-remote

Don Reisinger’s out with a column pitching the Xbox 360 as an Apple TV replacement. While we’re big fans of the 360 (and PS3) as an all-purpose digital media solution, it doesn’t offer the elegant simplicity of a Roku ($50 – $100) or Apple TV ($99). Further, once you add the remote and (recurring) Xbox Live annual subscription, even the base Xbox 360 console will run you about  three times ($280) the cost of an aTV. And that power brick is still huge. For many, Netflix and YouTube are the streaming tentpole supplements to Apple’s iTunes ecosystem. And it’s really no longer the walled garden it once was with content partners such as NHL and Vimeo recently joining the solid prior lineup including MLB, Flickr, and podcast directory.

Having said that, for this class of device, I still generally prefer Roku over Apple TV given it’s broader catalog of content partner, USB drive support, and more traditional remote. And why I was thinking of picking up another Roku. But a few Twitter followers convinced me to jailbreak my Apple TV once again, instead of investing in another box. Once jailbroken, apps like XBMC and Plex allow you to get at the media on your home network… and in some cases, beyond. With relatively no downside.

Hacking Apple TV is ridiculously simple these days thanks to Seas0nPass.

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Apple TV 4.4 Jailbreak Now Available

Just a few short days after Apple TV was upgraded to 4.4 (and then 4.4.1), the user friendly Seas0nPass jailbreak utility has now likewise been updated to free you from the stock confines of Apple’s diminutive media streamer. Sort of.

Unfortunately, this initial 4.4 Apple TV jailbreak requires the aTV be tethered  to a computer at boot. An annoyance, yes. But not a deal breaker. Which brings us to the fairly critical plugins which fail to work under the update… including XBMC.

Considering a majority of jailbreakers do so to harness the more extensive local media playback capabilities of XBMC, this limitation could be a non-starter for many. So it’s probably good news that for the time being it’s possible to abstain from upgrading your hacked 4.3 Apple TV. By the time Apple removes 4.3 code signing and forces an upgrade, one hopes these early jailbreak issues will have been resolved.

Itemized plugin status follows:

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Hacking The Nook Touch

What a difference a week makes… When we last discussed Barnes & Noble’s new Nook Touch e-Reader ($139), I lamented the absence of a web browser. While some browser components were clearly present, to enable WiFi hotspot login functionality, there was no obvious means to launch a full-on browsing experience. As it turns out, it’s … Read more

Watching HBO GO On The Big Screen

Coincidentally, last week, both Blake Krikorian and I worked out methods to move compelling HBO GO content from smartphone to television. Blake, who you might recognize as the inventor of the Slingbox and champion of the Crestron Android app, ultimately got it done via his Motorola Atrix… in conjunction with the multimedia dock. Like the … Read more