Apple updates Apple TV, Remote app to allow multi-touch control
Apple breathed some new life into its Apple TV media hub on Wednesday with upgrades to both its firmware and the iPhone's Remote app that let owners control the wireless media hub through multi-touch input on their handheld's touch-screen. [Updated with additional feature info.]
The combination of Apple TV 2.4 and Remote 1.3 (free, App Store) provides a new Control button that can be dragged into the bottom icon bar and serves as an alternative to the regular navigation controls on the iPhone or iPod touch.
In the main menus, users can flick or drag a finger across the screen to scroll through items; a tap selects the current item. Pressing and holding on a "menu" item moves back up one level in the Apple TV's interface.
Controls are significantly more complex within playback but mimic actions that would normally require a mouse on a computer. In testing, it works extremely well compared to both the earlier iPhone system and the Apple remote bundled with the Apple TV at first. Apple so far provides a list of the following commands:
Tap: play or pause the current song or video.
Flick left or right: skips to the next track (music), fast-forwards or rewinds (video).
Drag left or right: fast-forward or rewind.
Flick down (video only): show chapter markers, then flick left or right to skip chapters.
Drag two fingers left (video only): invoke a 10-second replay.
Update:
Apple on Wednesday evening finally got around to updating its support documents with a list of other features delivered by the Apple TV 2.4 update. They include:
Flickr Search: Search Flickr photo tags to find recently updated photos of interest. Save searches to quickly find new photos or use as a screen saver for Apple TV.
New view options: View movies By Genre, By Movie, or Unwatched. View TV Shows and Podcasts By Date, By Show, or Unwatched.
Updated transport and chapter modes: During video playback, click right or left to fast forward or rewind. Additional clicks increase the speed. Click down to show chapter markers.
The combination of Apple TV 2.4 and Remote 1.3 (free, App Store) provides a new Control button that can be dragged into the bottom icon bar and serves as an alternative to the regular navigation controls on the iPhone or iPod touch.
In the main menus, users can flick or drag a finger across the screen to scroll through items; a tap selects the current item. Pressing and holding on a "menu" item moves back up one level in the Apple TV's interface.
Controls are significantly more complex within playback but mimic actions that would normally require a mouse on a computer. In testing, it works extremely well compared to both the earlier iPhone system and the Apple remote bundled with the Apple TV at first. Apple so far provides a list of the following commands:
Tap: play or pause the current song or video.
Flick left or right: skips to the next track (music), fast-forwards or rewinds (video).
Drag left or right: fast-forward or rewind.
Flick down (video only): show chapter markers, then flick left or right to skip chapters.
Drag two fingers left (video only): invoke a 10-second replay.
Update:
Apple on Wednesday evening finally got around to updating its support documents with a list of other features delivered by the Apple TV 2.4 update. They include:
Flickr Search: Search Flickr photo tags to find recently updated photos of interest. Save searches to quickly find new photos or use as a screen saver for Apple TV.
New view options: View movies By Genre, By Movie, or Unwatched. View TV Shows and Podcasts By Date, By Show, or Unwatched.
Updated transport and chapter modes: During video playback, click right or left to fast forward or rewind. Additional clicks increase the speed. Click down to show chapter markers.
Comments
Now that you can buy Blu-ray machines with internet access to rent from both Netflix and Amazon included on them- like what is the point?
Now give me new Apple TV hardware and i'm in.
Awesome!
Now give me new Apple TV hardware and i'm in.
Hahah. Yeah no kidding. In fact all I'd ask for is a bigger HD!! 160GB is nowhere near enough space to host music, photo & video libraries!
Jimzip
Awesome!
Now give me new Apple TV hardware and i'm in.
Well let's see:
1.) It's not gonna come with Blu-ray because that's "a bag of hurt".
2.) Maybe a TV itself, since Apple is now also an electronics giant like Sony. but I doubt it.
So exactly what would that new hardware be?
I know-
It will come with an on and off switch on the machine itself because that would make it environmentally friendly!
And Apple still hasn't figured out that we should be ably to search our own music files using the white remote that comes in the box.
Now that you can buy Blu-ray machines with internet access to rent from both Netflix and Amazon included on them- like what is the point?
Can't stream my music from my computer with one of thos e blu-ray players. Can't stream photos either.
Come to think of it, can't really store anything on that blu-ray player.
Not knocking blu-ray. I love Blu-ray. Got over 100 movies right now.
Awesome!
Now give me new Apple TV hardware and i'm in.
Yeah, and give that a high-quality plasma screen and I'm in.
Can't stream my music from my computer with one of thos e blu-ray players. Can't stream photos either.
Come to think of it, can't really store anything on that blu-ray player.
Not knocking blu-ray. I love Blu-ray. Got over 100 movies right now.
I got both but rarely use the AppleTV. Love Blu-ray too.
I don''t need an AppleTV to stream music from my computer - I have Airport express.
Photos? Meh. I'd rather view on the computer.
Give me Safari on the ATV and then I would embrace it. It makes absolutely no sense why we can't have that.
Now I can get to my frozen screens or "syncing with iTunes" with more elegance and verve.
Well let's see:
1.) It's not gonna come with Blu-ray because that's "a bag of hurt".
2.) Maybe a TV itself, since Apple is now also an electronics giant like Sony. but I doubt it.
So exactly what would that new hardware be?
I know-
It will come with an on and off switch on the machine itself because that would make it environmentally friendly!
Already have a Blu-ray player.
I need something that's going to display my photos once I get around to gettings a good camera that shoots RAW.
Other than that I'd love to see ARM processing and 1080p playback for my own content at the very least.
Oh yes better routing options so that I can take any content and pause and send to another room (zone).
I'm thinking about keeping my 32" HDTV and adding a 55" pretty soon so I'd need two Apple TV.
Plus I'm just as interested as watching my own creations as I am with major motion picture content.
I need something that's going to display my photos once I get around to gettings a good camera that shoots RAW.
Please, this is a family website.
I'm thinking about keeping my 32" HDTV and adding a 55" pretty soon so I'd need two Apple TV.
Plus I'm just as interested as watching my own creations as I am with major motion picture content.
So do you own one now? If not, are you in for an ordeal trying to get your own creations up on there. I hope to god the new Quicktime simplifies this nightmare.
Now I can get to my frozen screens or "syncing with iTunes" with more elegance and verve.
For me that mostly happens when I have my iPhone connected to iTunes while I am trying to use the AppleTV. I don't think that iTunes does well when trying to deal with more than one device, or when you have more than one iTunes syncing to the same AppleTV (particularly two iTunes sessions running at the same time on the same computer in different user accounts).
So do you own one now? If not, are you in for an ordeal trying to get your own creations up on there. I hope to god the new Quicktime simplifies this nightmare.
I had no problem, just use handbrake to convert to mp4/AppleTV, and drag into the iTunes window.
Anyone else think this just might be paving the way for apps on the Apple TV? Imagine an ATV app store, using your iPhone as a multi-touch interface. I think this could be HUGE and finally make the ATV the killer living room device that it could be.
Right- I want to hear farts in 5.1 Dolby Digital.
Right- I want to hear farts in 5.1 Dolby Digital.
He actually makes an intriguing observation and your response really does it no justice. Yes, there are dozens of farting apps, but some developers are turning out quality products.
Anyone else think this just might be paving the way for apps on the Apple TV? Imagine an ATV app store, using your iPhone as a multi-touch interface. I think this could be HUGE and finally make the ATV the killer living room device that it could be.
I hope so...I don't need Playstation/Xbox quality ..but just something fun that shows off my mondo home theater
So do you own one now? If not, are you in for an ordeal trying to get your own creations up on there. I hope to god the new Quicktime simplifies this nightmare.
Nope..I've almost pulled the trigger on a few used ones. I've decided to wait for more CE like hardware (meaning low power chips and hopefully some sort of NAS support)
I got both but rarely use the AppleTV. Love Blu-ray too.
I don''t need an AppleTV to stream music from my computer - I have Airport express.
Photos? Meh. I'd rather view on the computer.
Give me Safari on the ATV and then I would embrace it. It makes absolutely no sense why we can't have that.
For the first time ever I completely agree with teckstud. It's amazing! He's absolutely right though. Give me a larger hard drive, the ability to hookup an external drive for movie playback and Safari for watching Hulu, Amazon video etc... and I'm there. Sold my Apple TV since it was far less than me hooking up my MacBook Pro via HDMI --> Mini Display Port and Tos Link Cable for audio.
I'm still thinking an HD flat screen tv hooked up to a Mac Mini running Elgato's Eye TV hooked up via HDMI --> Mini Display Port and Tos Link Cable for audio is honestly the best scenario and a hell of a home theatre system to boot.
Awesome!
Now give me new Apple TV hardware and i'm in.
I am just waiting for 500GB hdd, which won't happen anytime soon. The current hdd capacity is a joke. I was thinking about buying a used AppleTV with 40GB, replace it with my MBP 250GB hdd, and upgrad MBP hdd to 500GB. Turn out Apple uses older ATA hdd.