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In this article we will show you How to Turn an Apple TV 2 into a Web Server. Mac Mini Vault has turned an Apple TV 2 into a web server to see how well it works. Our Apple TV website is one of the fun things we’re working on at Mac Mini Vault. Even though we’d love to see how many Apple TVs we could fit into a data centre box, it’s not a service we could ever keep up. Smart TVs are very popular, and almost every house will have at least one.
Apple TV is not a Smart TV, but it can turn an older TV into one. Apple TV is a digital media player that lets you cast material to your TV. It is one of the most popular ways to watch videos online. The AppleTV has many apps and features, including the ability to browse the web. This may not be as obvious as you think, since you probably think of a web browser, but there is more to it than that…
How to Turn an Apple TV 2 into a Web Server
- SSH into the newly Apple TV2 from the Terminal, the default root password is ‘alpine’ and you’ll need to know the AppleTV2′s IP address or you can try using the hostname apple tv.local:
- Change the root password from alpine to something else by typing ‘passwd’
- Install Lighttpd onto the Apple TV2 by using apt-get:
- Use your favorite SFTP app (CyberDuck is free) to upload a lighttpd config file to /etc/lighttpd.conf.
- Now launch lighttpd server with (you may need to run this as /usr/sbin/lighttpd-angel):
lighttpd-angel -f /etc/lighttpd.conf
- Your Apple TV2 web server should now be up and running, this can be verified by pulling up the ATV’s IP address in a web browser.
Can I use Safari on Apple TV?
No, Apple TV doesn’t come with Safari already loaded, and there’s no easy way to add it. The best way to get Safari on your Apple TV is to cast the screen from an iPhone, iPad, or any other Apple device using Airplay. There is a way to run Safari on your Apple TV if you are a tech person who likes to play around with the code. However, not everyone will want to do this.
Why Is There No Browser On Apple TV?
Because the Apple TV wasn’t made to work with a computer. The device could have a web browser, but Apple wants people to use their phones to connect to the device and cast or stream material to it. So, we can say there are mainly two reasons:
- It’s just not easy to use a web browser on your TV to surf the web. The remote is not easy to use, so the next best thing is to use your phone as the remote and the Apple TV as the screen.
- You can send your phone’s online browser to your AppleTV. You don’t get a browser because you can Google things on your phone and then cast that content to the device using the Apple Mirroring feature, which we’ll talk more about later in this piece.