One of the great things about Apple’s second-generation Apple TV is that the software running it is based on the same iOS used in the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad -- meaning that jailbreaking the box and installing cool stuff is only a few clicks away. If you think that requires a computer science degree, think again.

The original white Apple TV was a hacker’s dream -- after all, the software running it was just a stripped-down version of Mac OS X Tiger 10.4, so it was quite easy for even casual users to make it do things that Apple never imagined. That was especially true when using aTV Flash, an inexpensive collection of open-source and third-party applications that allowed the little box to play DVD disc images, AVI, MKV and other codecs normally shunned by ATV and more recently, even the ability to receive AirPlay video from iOS mobile devices, thanks to the developers of Remote HD.

Although the second-generation black Apple TV doesn’t have much on-board storage (only 8GB, as discovered by MacFixIt and others upon release), you can still bend it to your will and make it do plenty of things unsanctioned by Cupertino. Thanks to FireCore LLC, the developers of aTV Flash, the black ATV is almost easier to hack into -- although it’s early days yet and there aren’t too many apps available for it.

However, one of the classic ATV apps, XBMC (which stands for Xbox Media Center, the platform where the media player software first debuted) is now available for jailbroken second-gen ATV owners, so let’s dive in and get you up and running.

First, A Word of Caution

Because the black Apple TV is running iOS, the software running it is vulnerable to a jailbreak, much in the same way you can do with the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. That said, Apple TV owners with the latest 4.1.1 software (which is actually iOS 4.2.1, talk about confusing!) will have to do a “tethered” jailbreak -- in other words, you’ll have to connect to a nearby computer at startup in order to boot with the jailbreak intact.

The tethered boot is only necessary when you power up the ATV, or if you ever have a problem and need to reboot. This is a bit of a drag for a mobile device like the iPhone, but on the Apple TV it’s not so bad, especially if you happen to use something like a Mac mini jacked into your home theatre system -- otherwise you’ll need a laptop or an extra-long micro-USB cable to run to a nearby computer.

The good news is, if you plan to only use your jailbroken ATV occasionally, you can always restart the box without tethering and it will run just fine without the jailbreak, exactly as the Apple gods intended.

Finally, while the developers of these tools have extensively tested them without incident, there’s always the rare chance that something could go awry and put your Apple TV black into a coma -- generally speaking, you can always recover the device with a stock restore via iTunes, but forewarned is forearmed.

In order to jailbreak your Apple TV, you’ll need a cable with a micro-USB port at one end (to plug into the back of your ATV) and a regular USB 2.0 port on the other (to plug into a nearby computer). You also want to make sure that you’re running the most current version of iTunes (10.1.1 at this writing) and that no iOS devices are attached to your computer. Unplug your Apple TV from the power, and also have your ATV remote control handy.

Jailbreaking with Seas0nPass

FireCore’s developers have created a free, very slick piece of software designed to exclusively jailbreak the second-gen Apple TV, as well as handle the tethered boot for you (should it be necessary). This software is known as Seas0nPass, and is currently only available on the Mac (a Windows version is expected imminently). To get started, download the latest version of Seas0nPass, unzip the file and double-click to launch the software. You may also want to move Seas0nPass to your Applications folder so it will always be handy.

The Seas0nPass window contains two options: Create IPSW and Boot Tethered. Since we haven’t yet jailbroken our ATV, you’ll want to select the first option by clicking on Create IPSW. The software will now spend a few minutes downloading the latest Apple TV software direct from Apple’s servers and creating a new, custom restore file on your hard drive which we’ll use to jailbreak the Apple TV using iTunes.

While you’re waiting, remove your HDMI cable from the back of the Apple TV. After a few minutes you’ll be prompted to connect the micro-USB cable to the back of the Apple TV, in the small jack underneath the HDMI port. Make sure the other end of the cable is already plugged into your computer so you’re ready to go when prompted.

After plugging in the micro-USB cable, grab your ATV remote and hold down both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons for seven seconds. This will put your box into what’s known as “DFU mode,” which is required to restore from the IPSW file you just created. This step can be a little tricky, so if you don’t see your ATV box go into DFU mode after the required time, pull the micro-USB cable and give it another try.

Once you’re successful, you’ll see iTunes open with your Apple TV selected, and the device should begin restoring from your custom firmware. If that doesn’t happen, fear not! Simply click on the Restore button while holding down the Option key on the keyboard, then browse to your Home folder and find a file named something like “AppleTV2,1_4.2.1_8C154_SP_Restore.ipsw” (Seas0nPass places this file in your Home folder by default). Select the file, click OK and iTunes will install your customized software to the ATV.

After the restore is complete, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done -- you’re ready to move on to installing aTV Flash.

Install aTV Flash (black)

With your Apple TV black successfully jailbroken, you can get on to the fun part of actually installing aTV Flash. Thankfully, the toughest part of this process is forking over the money to buy it -- although it’s normally priced at $29.95 for one year, FireCore is offering it for a mere $19.95 for the first year while the software is in beta, since the full feature set isn’t yet complete (you can also get a lifetime license for $30 more).

If you happen to have taken advantage of FireCore’s lifetime upgrade option with your original Apple TV, the good news is you’ve already got aTV Flash (black) -- just head to their website, log into your account and you’ll find it ready to download. For everyone else, you’ll want to drop the money now and save $10.

Before you proceed, make sure that you’ve connected your black Apple TV to your home network, via either Wi-Fi or Ethernet -- unlike Seas0nPass, aTV Flash will install the necessary software over this connection, no cables required.

Once you’ve made your purchase at the FireCore website and downloaded the aTV Flash (black) software to your computer, open the DMG and drag the application to your Applications folder. Double-click to run it and you’ll be greeted by the installer; click Continue and then Install to proceed.

Next you’ll be prompted to find your black Apple TV from an available list of devices -- the installer should find it with no problem, but if it doesn’t appear right away, try pulling the menu down to see if it’s listed. If not, be sure to double-check your network configuration on the Apple TV; try playing some streaming media via iTunes to confirm that you’re connected.

With your ATV selected, click Continue and the installer will transfer the necessary files to your Apple TV and then report a successful installation. Your ATV will then restart automatically and you can click Close on the installer software.

Tethered Booting from Seas0nPass

If your Apple TV is running an older software prior to 4.1.1, you should see a new menu when your box restarts called “Maintenance” -- this is what aTV Flash installed during the last step. If you see the Maintenance menu, you can jump ahead to the next section and install XBMC.

Don’t be surprised if your ATV menu hasn’t changed at all -- that’s because most of us have updated our ATV software to 4.1.1, which requires what’s known as a “tethered” boot each time you start up the box in order to properly jailbreak it. Thankfully, Seas0nPass does double duty here as well.

If you’ve already closed Seas0nPass on your computer, open it again and this time select the second option, Boot Tethered. You’ll now be prompted to connect your ATV via USB again; wait for a rapid flashing light on the front of your box and then connect the power cable as well.

With both cables connected, grab your remote control and again hold both the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons at the same time for seven seconds -- Seas0nPass will do its thing, injecting some code into your Apple TV to complete the boot up with jailbreak in place. When it’s finished, you should see a message “Tethered boot complete! It is now safe to disconnect USB” -- at this point, pull the micro-USB cable, plug in your HDMI and your Apple TV should be ready for fun.

Timing is everything with this final step. As soon as you see the “Tethered boot complete!” message, you should remove the USB cable and plug in the HDMI cable before the front light on the Apple TV stops flashing. Thankfully, there’s plenty of time to do so, but we wouldn’t go brew a pot of coffee while it’s working.

Now For the Fun Part: Installing XBMC

With your tethered boot completed, you should now see the elusive Maintenance menu, which is where all of the aTV Flash goodness is hiding. From the Maintenance menu, select “Manage Extras.”

On the next screen, you’ll see a few different options you can install -- Couch Surfer Pro, which is a version of Safari exclusively for your TV; Last.fm for music streaming; nito TV to install widgets for RSS feeds, weather or other hacks; PLEX Client to stream media from PLEX installed on your computer and last but not least, XBMC.

Installing XBMC (or any of the other Maintenance apps) is as easy as selecting the option you want and clicking it -- you’ll see a spinning wheel on your TV screen for a few moments and then you’ll be asked to restart Lowtide, which is the code name for the Apple TV’s main menu. Select Yes and you’ll be taken back to the main menu. Don’t worry, restarting the menu isn’t the same as restarting the entire box -- you won’t have to do another tethered boot unless the power goes out or you intentionally pull the plug.

When Lowtide restarts, you’ll now have an XBMC menu option -- choose it, press the Select button and you’re catapulted into the world of a full ARM-based XBMC port, capable of playing normally unsupported media such as AVI or MKV on your Apple TV over a variety of network connections including SMB.

Much More to Come

Of course, these are the salad days for the black Apple TV, and the FireCore folks (as well as the developers who support them) are hard at work bringing many more features to the table. As these new features and updates are added, you’ll be able to quickly and easily install them right from the Maintenance menu -- no muss, no fuss.

Seas0nPass will likely require future updates as Apple continues to update the software driving the ATV itself, so be sure to use Maintenance (or nito TV) to deactivate automatic updates from Apple if you don’t want to temporarily lose your jailbreak while the hackers figure out another way in. Enjoy!

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