The other day, I picked up a 3rd-generation Apple TV from a charity shop. It immediately caught my eye the condition was great, and I thought it could be the perfect candidate for a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 project. I imagined designing a custom PCB that would tap into the Apple TV’s internal power supply and reuse its original connectors — HDMI, Ethernet, Micro-USB, and even Toslink.

However, with my current lack of time (and already too many single-board computers lying around unused), I decided to postpone that idea. Still, the Apple TV was sitting there good looking but not really useful beyond acting as an AirPlay target. Even with a Raspberry Pi inside, I’d probably just end up using it for that purpose.

So I restored the device using Apple’s tools and connected it to my laptop only to hit a roadblock. I needed an Apple TV remote to finish the setup. And, of course, the remote wasn’t included when I got it.

I looked into universal IR remote solutions but decided to make something from parts I already had lying around. That’s when I remembered my Pitanga Hat, a board with 5 handy buttons. Even more fun  I dug out an old IR LED salvaged from a broken JVC TV remote at least 20 years ago, back when I was a kid obsessed with electronics. That IR LED finally found its purpose again.

For the brains of the remote, I just grabbed a simple Arduino Nano. As for buttons, I reused my Pitanga Hat it already has 5 buttons laid out in a really handy way, so it saved me from wiring up something from scratch.

Then I just wired up an IR LED and a current-limiting resistor. 

I used the IRremote library and wrote a simple sketch that reads the Pitanga buttons and sends the Apple TV IR commands. The Apple remote has seven buttons, but I mapped them cleverly so I only needed five physical buttons. For two of the commands — MENU and PLAY/PAUSE — I just use button combos: A+B for MENU, C+D for PLAY.

I like this kind of project because it mixes a bit of everything. It reused parts I already had, including something from my childhood. It gave new life to a device I grabbed second-hand. And it was quick no long build time, no fancy enclosure, just plug stuff together and make it work :)

Now I can use the Apple TV, and I didn't have to buy anything extra. Just a bit of code, even no  soldering, and the joy of seeing an old IR LED blink again.