Hey, most of the time I read the twitter feed, the blog comments and even the forums, the comments are something like this:
I jailbroke and nothing is working
I jailbroke and nothing I was looking forward to is working
"I hate firecore" which is usually quickly followed by...
Supporters that point out that firecore is doing what no one else is daring to do and that the software is in BETA
To be honest, I'm mostiy in the camp of people supporting firecore. They have an established track record and tossing out the 'vapor' buzz word is unfair at best. Plus it's $20 people. You probably spent more at Outback Steakhouse. Anyway, that's my 2 cents about that. Whiners will always find some justification.
So I'm curious - who out there has a mostly working ATV2 setup? Who is using it on a daily basis? Maybe some of the features aren't working - doesn't have to be 100%. Bottom line - who is running aTV Flash on ATV2 with any kind of positive results?
Maybe it's no one, maybe it's a ton of people. Just figured I'd approach this from a possibly positive perspective.
I am running with ATV Flash beta without major issues (other than I would expect from a beta). Because I am Windows 7 based I used GreepPois0n to do the Jailbreak and that was very painless.
I thhink the very nature of the product means that it tends to be those who encounter issues who tend to be the ones who post a lot. Those who have no issues are quite likely to enver even bother to visit the forum.
I'm happy with it so far. Things were running better with 4.2.1 as I am now on 4.3. I had to have the 5.1 in Netflix. I eagerly await the new features while enjoying what I have working. I just hope that this software gets released before Apple opens up their own AppleTV App store! ;)
I have said before, Firecore could better manage customer expectations. I get the feeling that they don't have someone over there of a high caliber on the CS side. Having said that, they are responsive (if not proactive) to questions. The product is coming along. I have it working now with nito, XBMC. Waiting for the stand alone video player, SMB, flash and so on.
So I'm happy and things are just getting better. In the mean time I have a life to lead and don't feel like stressing if my wish list is satisfied any given day. I put in $120 for this rig and am getting close to that in functionality now. Once they are done then I'll be getting more.
Concluding - Firecore relies on the work of others. That's hard for people to understand who have not jailbroken another device. Firecore is a small company. They don't charge much. They don't communicate well, but they try. Probably by mid summer all this will be mute.
I've jailbroken 2 x ATV2 untethered without a hitch 1st time with both units. in fact was surprised how smoothly it went after reading posts from people who had difficulty. Probably has a lot to do that I didn't rush into it and followed instructions to the letter... after lots of reading.
I've been a user of aTV Flash on ATV1 for over a year and very happy with result. Now enjoying all the function of ATV2, iTunes, Home Sharing, Netflix, etc, in separate areas of house, with XMBC to watch my library of 100's films and TV shows.
Currently using 4.2.1, won't upgrade to 4.3 until untethered jailbreak is available.
Used Seas0nPass to do jailbreak, again without a hitch.
I agree with cjaerw.103340, for $120 (or $129 for me as i'm in Australia) + Firecore, i'm pretty satisfied with result. And look forward to further improvements.
I also agree that Firecore can do lot better in communications.
Even though i could probably do jailbreak, installation of XMBC, without use of Firecore. i see the value in $'s i invested in Firecore is well paid back by savings in time and effort it would take me to do work they do in package product. Its a no brainer for me.
Based on the dev life of this product so far, i give it 8 out of 10 marks. And remember, its still beta!
I've jailbroken 2 x ATV2 untethered without a hitch 1st time with both units. in fact was surprised how smoothly it went after reading posts from people who had difficulty. Probably has a lot to do that I didn't rush into it and followed instructions to the letter... after lots of reading.
I've been a user of aTV Flash on ATV1 for over a year and very happy with result. Now enjoying all the function of ATV2, iTunes, Home Sharing, Netflix, etc, in separate areas of house, with XMBC to watch my library of 100's films and TV shows.
Currently using 4.2.1, won't upgrade to 4.3 until untethered jailbreak is available.
Used Seas0nPass to do jailbreak, again without a hitch.
I agree with cjaerw.103340, for $120 (or $129 for me as i'm in Australia) + Firecore, i'm pretty satisfied with result. And look forward to further improvements.
I also agree that Firecore can do lot better in communications.
Even though i could probably do jailbreak, installation of XMBC, without use of Firecore. i see the value in $'s i invested in Firecore is well paid back by savings in time and effort it would take me to do work they do in package product. Its a no brainer for me.
Based on the dev life of this product so far, i give it 8 out of 10 marks. And remember, its still beta!
Not bad for a beta. I paid the 19.99 due to my lack of knowledge about apple tv. But, now I know how to get around and do my own upgrades, so probably I will not upgrade. XBMC and Plex on ATV2G have all the funtional requirements I want. Plex has a live tv stream of Aljazera plus other plugs that in due time will work. XBMC is the most stable right now. I am using SMB to stream my library and right now is working great. So far, for a beta version all this apps are working as intended. Firecore initial add ons are no longer usefull to me, because XBMC is not only doing it, but with all the additional add ons, I am getting more than I bargain for. There is a guy out there that was able to plug ESPN3 as an add on to XBMC and it works like a charm.
Nonetheless, I thank Firecore for introducing me to this new hobby, but XBMC and soon Plex will make them absolite.
Unless, they come out with something better and reliable.
I've been using ATV flash since July 2009. While I did get it up and running pretty well on my ATV (first gen), I would describe it overall as fairly unstable. in fact, I plugged my ATV into a surge strip with an on/off toggle switch because it SO often needs a hard reboot. If you view it as a work in progress, then ATV flahs is more than acceptable for what it provides. But frankly, there is much weirdness (in addtion to the instability) to tolerate, especially wrt subtitles and audio channels. Importing music took, literallly, days (I've got a very large library but certain filenames would, apparently, crash the import). Boxee worked initially... then I couldn't get it to find anything on my network, though I made several efforts. Etc... I could go on. It's a bit like modern medicine: it works ... sort of--and it depends on context.
As for ATV 2g, I had gobs of problems trying to install it (and yes, I read the instructions quite fastidiously), but finally did JB it using GreenP0ison. The new iOS update has features which I'm eager to try (namely, MLB streams and 5.1 channels on Netflix streams) but the thought of another tethered boot is unpleasant.
Despite these criticisms, I do think it has been worth the hours spent wooing it. We are talking about transforming the ATV functionality, so the potential upside is very large. But if you're not a geek it may all be a bit forbidding.
Can't seem to get the tethered JB working and spent a lot of time reading, researching and double checking - got it to tether boot once but aTV flash didn't see the device, following reload now I'm at the point where tethered boot isn't working at all,
And, contrarory to some of the posters opinions in this thread when people hit issues, I'm no noob when it comes to tech in general or indeed Jail breaking - but hey, I can wait a while for seasonpass to be untethered or GP to work on 4.3 and then I'll get to see what the fuss is about ;)
After 12 wasted, wretched hours spent in [what felt like] endless install, uninstall, re-install cycles that always ended with only a few seconds of the Apple logo before losing HDMI output, I can't comment here.
I've spent the 20$ and I'm satisfied with Firecore.
They have nothing to do with the applications, but they help you to manage them and keep them updated. That means a huge amount of time saved. I think that's a good value for the money.
Not happily installed and working for me at all for me sorry. I have vented in other posts so I'm not going to go on again about my issue.
What I would like to say is I wholeheartedly agree with previous posts saying that FC need to work on managing customer expectations. What I see is people thinking this is Release Canaditate or beyond software, and it clearly isn't. This software still has major "showstopper-class" bugs and deserves to still be in beta. I think a way to be clear about it being beta is by not charging anything for it. I understand there are development costs, but I don't think the amount of complaints received via twitter, blogs, forums, etc, etc is doing FC's reputation any good.
I'm glad I came across this thread as I'm reminded a key point, and that is "aTV Flash (black) Beta4 is just that, Beta Software"
I have been a supporter of FireCore and still have the original Apple TV using the original aTV Flash, although I see no further action on enhancing this offering going forward. I sent an email asking about keyboard support and got a very prompt reply with a clear answer. I went out and bought the Apple TV 2 and set it up according to Apple and got it updated to 4.3. I suspect that this was my first mistake.
4.3 requires a tethered jailbreak. I downloaded the latest build of aTVFlash Black (beta 4) I tried using SeasonPass and did manage to get the device into DFU mode, but still don't know which order of plugging and unplugging cables resulted in this, but the tool's restore failed and dropped me into the Finder. So I attempted a restore from iTunes using the created IPSW file. Well that froze like the high arctic. Box dead, no joy. I did manage to get the device restarted in DFU mode and iTunes came up and saw it asking if I wanted to Restore. I did the factory restore which went very quickly and have the Apple TV 2 working in the default Apple mode and very low confidence in aTVflash Black. I cannot yell and scream, it's beta software. I am a bit disappointed though because on the old device I could launch a browser, type in a url and do some of the trainings I want from lynda.com on the big screen. Now that former capability is gone.
I commend all the users on the forums for their efforts to help each other and did read the posts in depth, but at this point am still at the starting line. Clearly others have made it work, I'm not one of them.