To be more specific: out of the box Apple TV only decodes H264 video and has some really old hardware, however by replacing the Wifi card with a brand-new 1-watt hardware decoder called the “Broadcom Crystal HD” you can start playing very high quality video for other codecs such as DivX, Xvid, WMV, and so on. As for a video library, personally I’ve opted to stream video from a NAS in my house, but others have upgraded the internal hard drive on the Apple TV to hold more videos.

For this project you’ll need:

- 1st Gen Apple TV (40GB or 160GB)
- Torx T8 and T10 screwdrivers (to install Crystal HD)
- Broadcom Crystal HD BCM970015 (~$50)
- Non-wifi connectivity for your Apple TV (we’re replacing the wifi card)
- About 45-90 minutes depending on your comfort level

Alright, let’s get started…

1.) Install the Broadcom Crystal HD BCM970015 (or the inferior but okay BCM970012 or Habey HB-VD904). Logic Supply has some as of Oct 2010.

2.) Follow Gizmodo’s well-written guide to hack your Apple TV for Boxee, except on step 6 just install XBMC as well as Boxee (it’s in the same place).

3.) Install custom Crystal HD drivers [source] by running the following commands in the Terminal in Mac OS X (or whatever you want in Windows) [credits]:

ssh frontrow@appletv.local

The default password is “frontrow”. Now enter this command into the terminal once the password is accepted to add a menu item for downloading the drivers:

defaults write com.teamxbmc.xbmclauncher XBMCAdditionalDownloadPlistURLs -array-add http://crystalhd.sartori.at/files/crystalhd.plist

Also add a menu item for the nightly build of XBMC; this makes the very most recent version available rather than just major releases:

defaults write com.teamxbmc.xbmclauncher XBMCAdditionalDownloadPlistURLs -array-add http://mirrors.xbmc.org/nightlies/osx/update_urls.plist

Finally, go to the Launcher menu and then Downloads in the main Apple TV menu and select “Crystal HD r171 (20101009)”. Do the same for the nightly build (e.g. “XBMC svn r33778″). These two downloads will install the driver and update XBMC respectively. Reboot the Apple TV afterwards.

4.) Launch XBMC and confirm the setup worked by navigating to System -> Video -> Playback and the second item down should say “allow hardware acceleration (crystalhd)”.

5.) Profit.

That’s all! Enjoy the 720p and 1080p HDTV video. Btw, (re)focus is a really well-designed skin for XBMC that works more fluidly on the Apple TV.

PS: You can remove the extra download menu items we added in step 4 by using the following Terminal command after SSHing into the Apple TV:

defaults delete com.teamxbmc.xbmclauncher XBMCAdditionalDownloadPlistURLs

Let’s hook it up!

24x16 LED Matrix Wiring (made using Fritzing)

If you reverse the GND and 5V wiring you will probably blow up the display. The pin numbers are on the back of the display, so be sure to reference those. The connections:

- Arduino Digital Output 12 to pin 1 of the display connector (CS).
- Digital Output 11 goes to pin 5 of the display (WRCLK)
- Digital Output 10 goes to pin 7 of the display (DATA)
- Digital GND goes to pin 11 of the display (GND)
- Power 5v goes to pin 12 of the display (+5V)

Now to the software. I found a post by westfw (#94) on Arduino.cc with some sample code that goes through a variety of demos on the display using various contributors’ code. I’m a novice programmer at best, but I took his demo and cut out just the core parts for the display and wrote my own implementation to have the whole matrix select and toggle random LEDs on and off. Download the whole thing here. It’s not pretty, but here’s my hasty code:

void setup ()
{
ht1632_setup();
randomSeed(analogRead(0)); //get some analog static from pin 0 for the random number generator
}

void loop ()
{
int x, y, p;

x=random(24); //pick a random X coordinate
y=random(16); //pick a random Y coordinate
p=random(2); //pick on/off (1 or 0, respectively)

plot(x,y,p); //tell the display to execute the randomness

}

So if you’re vaguely familiar with Arudino (like me at this point) you should be able to plug wires in, run the code, and watch some LEDs blink randomly. Behold the awesome power of microcontrollers!

Related links:

- Sure Electronics DE-DP016 Data Sheet
- Arduino.cc Forum Post on the DE-DP016 (and related displays)

I needed a replacement Superdrive and I’ve been really curious as to what exactly is inside the Apple Macbook Air External USB Superdrive. So I bought one for $108 at my local Apple Store and proceeded to destroy the case by opening it using metal clippers to ensure nothing inside got damaged. However, now knowing more about how it is encased using tabs, I’ve written instructions here on how to open it without damaging anything.

While the MacBook Air SuperDrive only works externally with the MacBook Air possibly due to the USB adapter (Update: confirmed), the internal drive component is interchangeable with the internal 12.7mm 17″ Macbook Pro and most G4 PowerBook drives. It will not work with 15″ MacBook Pro or 13.3″ MacBook models since they need a slimmer 9.5mm SuperDrive.

Since it appears nobody has written a pull apart anywhere else, you can view the gory details after the jump…

Pull apart instructions…

Difficulty: Easy/Intermediate.

Requirements: MacBook Air SuperDrive, old ID or credit card (or similar), and a tiny phillips screwdriver.

Warning: Opening the case will no doubt void the warranty on the whole product. But this can be our little secret.

Step 1: With the bottom facing up, gently insert a credit card (a screwdriver is pictured, but in retrospect a credit card is less damaging since the metal is very pliable). There are three tabs (Update: better view) that need to be popped out and then you can pull one side of the undercarriage free, then the other.

Step 2: Remove three (3) screws and disconnect the USB adapter board (shown below).

Step 3: All done – now one can use it to replace essentially any 12.7mm height slot drive or even create your own external USB case. As of June ’08, you could even put the bare drive on eBay and turn a profit.

If you need instructions on pulling apart various Macs and iPods, check out ifixit.com/Guide.