A hacked together media center originally meant to run on the first Microsoft Xbox, XBMC runs pretty much on every platform under the sun these days, including the original Mac OS X-based, Intel x86 AppleTV… so it was probably only a matter of time that it was ported to the second-gen, A4 based model. That time is now!
The new port of XBMC not only makes the second-gen AppleTV one of the cheapest devices out there that can run XBMC short of a used Xbox, but it also adds some lovely functionality to Apple’s woefully slim-featured set-top box, including the ability to pump out 1080p video, play a myriad of codecs and web content natively, as well as install and expand your experience with new apps.
Even better, after porting XBMC to the A4 CPU for the new AppleTV, the devs behind XBMC have also released the software for the iPad, iPhone 4 and current-gen iPod Touch. Granted, there’s less of a point on any of those platforms, but still, we’re pretty impressed.
If you’re disappointed with your $99 AppleTV and want to give it a lot more oomph, there’s a lot to recommend XBMC. It’s a mature, stable platform that does a lot more than what your ATV can do stock, and it only costs the price of a jailbreak.
[via Engadget]
