Got a few questions if anybody can help me?

[mozza]

Hi Everybody,

Im new to the apple tv and boxee so just had a couple of questions if anybody can humour me?

1. Will installing boxee do anything to my warranty and if I remove it from the apple tv will it break anything?

2. I read that theres plans to make boxee work with dtv usb sticks??

3. Can anybody point me in the right direction on how to setup a share between my atv and my mac?

4. Im in the uk so is there any way that hulu can be used?

5. Will I have to use the normal apple tv stuff for my purchased content

6. If you change the containter of an mkv to mp4 (really easy if you have QT pro) will that allow the HD content to work with apple TV (Ive heard that some mkv files dont run so well?)

Sorry to be dumping all these on but couldnt find the answers anywhere on the site... any help you guys can give me would be wicked

[clm421]

hi

let me try give you some answers:

1) no. as long as you dont attempt to actually open the box your warranty wont be voided. it's always possible to restore to factory settings by rebooting the atv and pressing the - and menu keys on the remote

2) no clue about plans. currently there's a eyetv-plugin which works with external saved recordings. there's no way to attach a dvbt (or similiar) stick directly to the atvs usb port

3) if you are not comfortable with using scp/ssh you'll need to find a ftp-like program that supports scp. check forum for 2-3 being mentioned there. an apache server is already to be found on the atv. you can set that one up as well.

4) not really. a stable vpn connection will get you there. openvpn or a pptp should both work on the box. (fees may apply, u know)

5) yes. if you are talking about drm'd content.

6) the limit here is not the container-format but the horsepower of the atv. which is not too much for real hd-content in a very processorpower-needing format. try to convert them in a processorfriendlier format which will usually result in a much bigger file-size.

hope that helps...

[mozza]

Thanks for the responses, my main concern was always the warranty bit since it doesnt do anything I dont mind having a tinker with boxee.

What you said about getting hulu to work with a VPN is interesting Im not really an expert on vpns so how would openvpn or pptp work? is it something where Id need to install something to the apple tv or how would it work?

Also, one last thing, whats the friends bit of hulu about? is it a case of you can just add people on?

[docbrown]

2) no clue about plans. currently there's a eyetv-plugin which works with external saved recordings. there's no way to attach a dvbt (or similiar) stick directly to the atvs usb port

yes you can use usb dtv sticks on appletv for live tv and dvr action. check out:
http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/EyeTV

[clm421]

give that one a shot:

try to find a pptp vpn hoster that will provide you with a serveraddress and maybe an username plus password.

ssh into your atv.

execute following command where you'll have to replace the xxx placeholders with the appropriate entries.

sudo pppd plugin /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/PPPController.bundle/Contents/PlugIns/PPPDialogs.ppp plugin pptp.ppp remoteaddress XXXip-adressXXX redialcount 1 redialtimer 5 idle 1800 mru 1500 mtu 1448 receive-all novj 0:0 noipdefault ipcp-accept-local ipcp-accept-remote user XXXUser-NameXXX password XXXpasswordXXX hide-password noaskpassword looplocal defaultroute usepeerdns persist

watch out for any error messages that prevent that daemon from starting.
(so for instance the missing pppd.kext which you would have to put into the systemlibrarys extensions folder. most of the missing files can be found in the osx10.4.7-10 combo update packages)

sorry for not being any clearer on that issue but it's quite different and depends on your machines current installations and stuff...

[clm421]

@docbrown

thx for that hint. i will have to look into that one.
any success with atv2.3 so far?
is it working for you or have u just found that link?

[mozza]

Thanks for the help with that... I'll have to have a play later on