It’s been a long time since the name XBMC echoed through our corridors. Apple TV 2 owners can start their celebrations as XBMC has released the Beta 1 of their next major update, v. 13.0. After Eden and Frodo, they’ve come up with Gotham as their codename, just to make sure it’ll never get unnoticed by movie fans.
Let’s see what XBMC 13.0 Gotham brings new to the table.
- Support for 3D movies: SBS, TAB, anaglyph and interlaced formats are supported but not 3D BluRays
- Improved UPnP capabilities: you can now send videos from your tablet or phone to your TV similar to AirPlay or Chromcast
- Massive improvements with the Audio Engine: simpler, faster, better quality and lesser breakage
- Better user experience with improved settings : categorisation of settings from beginner to expert, comprehensive descriptions with each setting and a ‘Reset to default’ button, in case you mess things up
- Better subtitle searches
- Better developer tools – means better add-ons in future
- Various visual changes throughout the skin which should improve usability and logic
- Numerous minor features and bug fixes
I have mentioned only the features relevant to Apple TV users here and in brief. You can read the complete changelog for Gotham here.
Note that Gotham is still in beta, which means it is not free from bugs yet and the public release is still some time away.
Soon, we will have a tutorial on how to install XBMC 13.0 Gotham on the Apple TV.
XBMC and Apple TV
For those who’ve no idea what I’m talking about, here is a little light on the context. XBMC is the major reason why most Apple TVs are jailbroken. It is basically an open-source software media player which can be used to browse and play videos, songs or pictures from your hard disk, network server or even the internet. It is available for all linux based devices, iOS, Mac, Android and PC and supports third party add-ons and skins/themes which makes it quite popular among its users.
Due to the strict guidelines laid down by Apple, it cannot be made available to users in the App Store or Apple TV without dropping some core features. Which is why they’re currently only available for jailbroken devices. Read more - What is XBMC? and Why is it not officially available on App Store?
XBMC 12.0 and above works only on jailbroken Apple TV 2 (latest jailbreakable Apple TV firmware is 5.3). If you’ve an Apple TV 1 and want XBMC badly, you can find out how to do it here.
More on XBMC:
- Top 10 best XBMC addons for Apple TV 1 and Apple TV 2
- How to change skins in XBMC on Apple TV
- Use XBMC to extend your Apple TV’s hard drive
- How to navigate XBMC’s menus options
- How to clone the XBMC installation
.. and more.
Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.
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