360iDev: Getting ready for apps on the Apple TV

I agree that iOS apps on Apple TV will be coming soon and it will make an excellent game console. However, I would like to see a new controller. The remote that comes with it needs to be updated, maybe that's why bluetooth is being added with iOS 5.

http://www.iostv.com/

ATV2 will not be a great gaming system. It lacks the CPU, gpu, ram, and storage compared to other consoles. I love my atv2, but at best, it will ave iPad quality games - which are nice. But this oes come close to being "the greatest game console in history". Seriously, with 8gb storage, no external strange support - that right there severely limits its capabilities.

I couldn't agree with him more. This WILL happen, it's just a matter of when. A next generation Apple TV using the A5 or A6 processor will have graphics very close to an XBOX 360. One of the most significant things about iOS 5 is that it makes the Apple TV 2 a full iOS citizen, bringing it up to date with all the other iOS devices. All Apple has to do is bundle a standard Bluetooth driver for gamepads, and suddenly all the iOS devices (especially the Apple TV 2 if they open up an app store), become even more competitive in the games space. Very similiar to what happened when they includes a bluetooth keyboard driver - it opened up worlds of potential with very little effort on Apple's part.

Correct me if I wrong but doesn't IOS5 offer the ability to mirror whats on your ipad/phone to your TV through Apple TV. I've see some very impressive demos of racing games being mirrored and running very smoothly. This in itself offers up all apps through your TV.

Plus, it'd be nice to finally get official Amazon instant playback.

Since content can be loaded to an Apple TV via iTunes-connected systems, it would make sense that one could load apps on the fly - choosing from the libraries that exist in the homesharing mechanism.

Doesn't the current Apple TV not even have a hard drive (or it does but a tiny one) as everything streams? How would apps, DVRing, etc work? Seems odd that the original Apple TVs would have hard drives, they'd get rid of the hard drives and then go back to having hard drives again down the road.

Hello, thought you might also be interested in direct links to slides and sample code from my 360iDev talk:

http://tumblr.com/xz34orjixf
https://github.com/mgile/atvHelloWorld

Cheers,

Michael Gile
mg@mgile.com
@mgile

Technically, couldn't the cable operators port their iOS apps (or really just reuse the HTTP live stream they already have for their iOS apps)?

That would be fantastic. We'd finally be going IPTV! It'd suck for Microsoft, though: they've been trying to push this for decades. It'd be horrible for them if the one who got some traction on that front was Apple :P

It'd also allow for DVR capabilities without the complex hardware and regional variations thereof. Seems like a good strategy if Apple can get the operators on board. I'd also be hoping for some type of iTunes-style industry overhaul. Why can't I subscribe to one channel for a month? Or for one show? Once? Why the long contracts and bloated packages?

I'd be more likely to pay for things like live sports if I could subscribe only to my teams games, and maybe pay for additional good matches on-demand. At the moment you need a multiple-year contract with an expensive package containing lots of junk you'd never consider even watching, maybe even expensive and time-consuming equipment and installation too.

Nice read! I've been waiting for this since day one. Having XBMC and Plex installed on my ATV2 really gave me a glimpse of the possibilities. Though, I'd rather install apps like that officially, and nix the headaches that come with jailbreaking.