Apple TV 2.3.1 update

(Update with response from Boxee) Apple has quietly released a software update for the Apple TV, its media-streaming set-top box. A list of changes made in the v2.3.1 update is currently unavailable, but it is known that the code breaks Boxee, a popular third-party software client which provides functions such as better format support, access to online streaming services and various social networking options. Earlier updates have also broken Boxee, though this is not believed to be intentional.

The Apple TV has seen an unusual resurgence in sales in recent months, and it in fact multiplied sales by a factor of three in the last quarter when compared against the same period during 2007. Apple's COO, Tim Cook, attributes the success mostly to the addition of movie rentals, which have expanded the practical value of the set-top. Hardware has not been updated since May of 2007.

Update: Boxee's Andrew Kippen informs MacNN that the software is in fact compatible with the new Apple code, the only issue being that it removes Boxee from the main menu. After re-running the appropriate patchstick, Boxee and all of its associated user data should be restored.

by MacNN Staff