Has anyone found a way to replace frontrow with the appleTV interface? I have an intel imac and would like to use this until I have enough money to buy an appleTV.

Yep, I have it running right now. You need two things:

The AppleTV OS, and the patched Finder file, both of which can be found on torrent sites. I did this about a week ago so someone may have just uploaded something with the files you need, and nothing you don't, so you don't have to download the entire several-hundred-megs OS image just for a few files. Specifically, you need the AppleTV Finder.app file, the iPhotoAccess.framework, and the BackRow.framework.

Basically, what I did was copy the AppleTV Finder.app to my desktop. Now, the patched Finder file is actually a file INSIDE the Finder application, so for future reference I will write 'Finder' for the patched file, and 'Finder.app' for the actual application.

1. Copy iPhotoAccess.framework and BackRow.framework to Volumes/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/

2. Right click on the AppleTV Finder.app, and navigate to Contents/MacOS/ and replace the Finder file there with the patched Finder file you downloaded.

3. Rename the Finder file you just moved to "Front Row" without quotes. Then head back out one folder until you see info.plist. Open this up with textedit and rename 'Finder' to 'Front Row'. (It's on the 9th line.) Finally, rename the Finder.app file on your desktop to "Front Row.app". Remember, you have to change all three of these or the program won't run.

4. Back up your old Front Row application which is in Volumes/System/Library/CoreServices/

5. Download Quit.frapplication and install it according to these instructions: http://www.appletvhacks.net/2007/04/...s-for-backrow/

This will allow you to exit AppleTV when you're ready to return to your computer.

6. Replace the Front Row application in Volumes/System/Library/CoreServices/ with the application on your desktop. Be sure and back up the old one if you haven't already.


A few things to keep in mind: If you're using a fresh install, make sure you update just about everything you can. I tried a fresh install, and then an update to 10.4.8 and it didn't work so I'd say update everything first.

One other thing I should mention: The original instructions, although a little inaccurate (they write Volume instead of Volumes), does mention setting permissions and typing some stealthy terminal lines. This is because those instructions were for replacing Finder with AppleTV, not just replacing Front Row, but here's the link if you find it doesn't work:

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2007/03/...-on-a-macbook/

You should probably repair permissions and restart before attempting to run your new Front Row.

Good luck!

Many thanks for the speedy reply! I will try this tomorrow when I get home!

In case you want to add some more features >>

http://www.hackint0sh.org/forum/showthread.php?t=463

This is the complete procedure.

Gah! That's where it went... I was looking for that one. Thanks XianLi.

Will this work on a hackingtosh or do I need to have an real Mac?
Also I'm at 10.4.6 do I need to update to 10.4.8 or will it work with my version?