Jailbroken Apple TV Can Run Full-Screen iPad Apps
When the second generation of Apple TV (ATV2) was first released, rumors flew about the possibility of the set-top box being able to access apps the way iOS-based gadgets can. So far, Apple has not produced so much as Angry Birds for ATV2.
This is where hackers Steve Troughton-Smith and The Mudkip come in. They recently released video showing iPad apps running on ATV2 using a hack dubbed “MobileX.”
We are not talking about mirroring the iPad to ATV2. MobileX will run any iOS app to a high definition television set, scaling up the image to 720p resolution with no degradation. The hack is not quite ready for the public, but it looks promising. In order to overcome the missing touch screen feature when using iPad apps on ATV2, the developers are using combination of Virtual Network Computing (VNC), Secure Shell (SSH) and the Apple Remote to control the interface.
Troughton-Smith showed a demo of the hack running the iPad’s native Facebook app and it ran smooth. In the video, he stated that MobileX will allow users to “quit apps, launch Safari, connect to Wi-Fi or show multiple apps side by side.” Although, Troughton-Smith noted that Safari was a bit sluggish because of need to run the apps through VNC.
From the video, it is clear that a jailbreak to allow iOS apps to run on ATV2 is a complex and technical hack that is not for the faint of heart. It is meant for those who love a good hack and enjoy getting into the culture of jailbreaking. If you just want to run apps on your TV, you’d be smarter to wait for Apple to come out with their upcoming rumored television set.
[Via: Apple Insider]