Archive:Mac FAQ

XBMC for Mac specific Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Where can I find more Mac-specific information about or support for XBMC?

Mac-specific end-users forum: http://forum.xbmc.org/forumdisplay.php?f=56

What platforms are supported today?

We support Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) and later on both Intel and PPC Macs, as well as the AppleTV.

Where are the UserData folder and the debug log?

See here.

UserData folder can be found at /Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata

On the Apple TV it can be found /Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/XBMC/userdata

What remotes work?

The Apple remote works just fine (both variants)

The Logitech Harmony range of remotes work via the "Plex Mediacenter" setting in the logitech software.

Can I control it with the keyboard or mouse?

You can enable the mouse through the settings, but typically it's better to use the keyboard. The default keys are as follows :

      <arrow keys> - navigate
      <page up and down> - scroll up and down
      <enter> - select 
      <esc> - previous menu  
      <backspace> - go up back (or up) a directory or menu
      <space> -  pause
      <period> - Skip Next
      <comma> - Skip Previous
      <tab> - Minimize Video
      <backslash> - Full Screen Toggle
      <printscreen> = Screen Shot
      <minus> - Volume Down
      <plus> - Volume Up
      <0 - 9> - 0 through 9

      p - Play
      f - Fast Forward
      c - Context menu
      r - Rewind
      x - Stop
      m - Player controls
      s - Shutdown menu
      i - Info
      q - Queue
      z - Change aspect ratio

Apple TV specific questions and answers

What happens to original Apple TV software after the XBMC installation?

XBMC is installed onto the Apple TV built-in harddrive but you will still be able you use your Apple TV software as normal, XBMC will only be an extra option that you can launch from the Apple TV's original menu when you want to utilize the extra features and functions that are available in XBMC compared to the original Apple TV software. So XBMC will not replace the original Apple TV software, it instead works as complement the existing Apple TV software.

Is XBMC running nativly on the Apple TV or under an Linux environment?

This installs XBMC for Mac which is a native Mac OS X application, (Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger to be precise), this does not run under a Linux environment.

Will the Apple TV playback 1080p videos encoded with the H.264 codec (like Blu-ray rips)?

No, the Apple TV hardware is only powerful enough to decode 720p videos encoded with the H.264 codec. However it is possible if a hardware decoding accelerator (like Crystal HD) is installed in Apple TV.

Why does my Apple Remote stop functioning after a while?

The default Apple TV screen saver may cause XBMC to not respond when it kick in , (more accurately it causes XBMC to lose control of the Apple Remote). This is due to the way that Apple TV handles its 'wakeup' from its screensaver mode different from an infrared remote event from the Mac OS X computer platform, we will need to make a source code change to the XBMC software change, but until then you can use this workaround to disable the screen saver on your Apple TV, (not from within XBMC, but in the Apple TV's own screensaver).