Just released this morning, the new software for Apple TV has interesting new features:

• AirTunes Streaming from Apple TV: Music can be streamed via AirTunes to Airport Express speakers or other Apple TVs in your house.

• Third-party Remote Controls: Apple TV can now learn other remote controls and use them in addition to the Apple Remote.

It is interesting to see that those two features makes are once again making Apple product moving a bit closer a B&O experience.

The first feature mentioned bring multi room capabilities. The second brings the unique remote.

I have seen a new trend on this forum lately, especially since the release of the Beosound 5 specs:

- Most of us seem to own Apple product. It wasn't appearant a couple of years ago.

- And also, it seems that Apple has become a competitor for B&O. Not in every domain, but specifically :

     - in the digital media where they excel. BS5 is often compared to solutions involving iPod,Apple TV, Beoport + Mac mini or Airport Express.

     - In the domain of design, not reaching B&O, but Apple is above the rest of the competition in that domain. We will notice a common use of noble materials like glass and aluminium, use of scroll wheels, and little detais like transparent aluminium!

     - Ease of use, simple remote.

     - Integration: like B&O, if you own 2 Apple products, the sum of the experience is more than adding the experience of both products individually.

Now in my mind Apple is far from replacing B&O in all domains, but imagine they do the following: Add a DVD (or BlueRay player) and a DVB-T tuner to their Apple TV. Allow the Apple TV to be connected to one of their sleek monitor. 

They would have an incredible solution there: Digital, Media player, CD, DVD, BlueRay player, DTV and possibly PVR. Multi room over wifi. Unique remote. 

If Apple TV can learn other remote controls, does this mean that we can teach it about Beo4 and use it to control AppleTV?

The Beo4 uses a different range from other remote, so I am not sure. But if you have a STB-C that does not have the Apple TV codes, you can use another code, and let the Apple TV learn it.

I do not have an Apple TV so I could not test.

If anyone could try and post here... 

Sounds really good!

I played around with the AppleTV, and it definately was nice but i didnt like the following:

1. 90% of the options on the ATV are for you to buy stuff, I.e. the search doesnt search your library, just itunes etc etc.
2. You cant get a preview of your photos, just slideshow, I spent a month travelling from Moscow to Hong Kong on the train, What happens if I want to show some a photo of an event in between? Splitting the album isnt an option... there are too many albums as there are!
3. Your Music and Videos are only shown as an extremely boring list!!! However all the new purchases are shown as really beautiful grids, which is exactly what i want!!!
4. 160GB HD is rubbish!

In this sense, B&O is light-years over it, providing a better user interface, from what we've seen of the BS5. I hate paying a premium for items, ATV costs 200 odd quid for a network card, hdmi out and a hard drive, and the majority of stuff is made in order for Mr. Jobs to force us to sign up to itunes with a credit card, so next time he makes this 'key' speaches, he can tell us all how many million users have credit cards connected to their accounts.

Dont get me wrong, I have 2 macs (imac 24 and mac mini, ipods and the lot) but the ATV still has a bit more to go. The only thing i like about it (not even the design) is its ability to sync my stuff from my imac (photos, videos and music).... i really wish there was a proper solution that would do this that work with B&O and had a great UI.

So far, the only options i see is: BeoSound 5 (not sure about that), BeoMedia 1, AppleTV and PS3. Each has their advantage and disadvantage, there is no ideal solution here, regardless of the money...

Hmmm. My Apple-TV sees all the content on my other servers in the house, which means it has access to 3TB of stored music and movies.

I get the cover-flow action from Front-Row with it. And I would probably never travel with it - I travel with my MBP, and that can be used to do what you have in point 2.

As to the ts.

Add a DVD (or BlueRay player) and a DVB-T tuner to their Apple TV. Allow the Apple TV to be connected to one of their sleek monitor. They would have an incredible solution there: Digital, Media player, CD, DVD, BlueRay player, DTV and possibly PVR. Multi room over wifi. Unique remote.

My Apple-TV plays my DVDs, stored on harddisk. When I want to play one off a disk, I use the Mac mini that is attached to the same TV, which also gives me web-access for browsing, etc. The combo of the dirt-cheap Apple-TV and the very inexpensive Mac mini, gives me everything I need - including multi-room, two-way, multimedia.
The newest generation portable Macs are rumored to be checking for HDCP-connection to third party screens, which means we can expect Blu-ray implementation soon as their ORs are supposed to be able to read BD-disks, requiring only a software change. Apple-TV already has such sign-off protocol implemented for stored HD-content.

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/18/apple-incorporates-hdcp-copy-protection-in-new-laptops/

 

marcus:

If Apple TV can learn other remote controls, does this mean that we can teach it about Beo4 and use it to control AppleTV?

Having download the new update, I went in to the remote learning option on the ATV but it wouldn't recognise any button presses of my Beo4.

kokomo:

marcus:

If Apple TV can learn other remote controls, does this mean that we can teach it about Beo4 and use it to control AppleTV?

Having download the new update, I went in to the remote learning option on the ATV but it wouldn't recognise any button presses of my Beo4.

 

B&O remotes operate in a different frequency than that used by every other IR in the world. You need a unit that takes your B&O IR signals and translates them into universal IRs, then you can use that function from the update. irTrans has such units, for instance.

soundproof:

kokomo:

marcus:

If Apple TV can learn other remote controls, does this mean that we can teach it about Beo4 and use it to control AppleTV?

Having download the new update, I went in to the remote learning option on the ATV but it wouldn't recognise any button presses of my Beo4.

 

B&O remotes operate in a different frequency than that used by every other IR in the world. You need a unit that takes your B&O IR signals and translates them into universal IRs, then you can use that function from the update. irTrans has such units, for instance.

Thanks Soundproof, assumed as much but just thought I try it.

Happy using my iPod touch anyway 

 

I expect Apple to revise Apple TV with a much larger disk probably at least 500 gb and the addition of internet radio.  I agree HDCP connection means Blu-ray maybe downloadable BD movies in 1080p.

BOXEE for AppleTV adds a TON more functionality, and for those of us with Mac Mini's or other Macs, Boxee is also available in a downloadable application. I'm on the alpha testing of the app now, and it's fantastic! -Sal

Slightly metaphysical: I taught my Universal Remote the Apple-remote commands, in order to be able to use one remote with units from Cambridge Audio, Pioneer, B&O, Apple and my STB-manufacturer ... I get this vision of a future where we can't disentangle to where we began when trying to get everything to work with ease!

Hey Sal! Itmight just be the thing im after!! How does it install on the Apple TV? can a beo4/5 control it if we have the stb

PhilLondon:

• Third-party Remote Controls: Apple TV can now learn other remote controls and use them in addition to the Apple Remote.

i have been doing the inverse since i bought my appletv -i have never used its remote! i programmed one of my harmony 880's and it works perfect!

logitech thread

timhanna:

Hey Sal! Itmight just be the thing im after!! How does it install on the Apple TV? can a beo4/5 control it if we have the stb

Sign up for the Alpha, they'll send you a confirmation in a week or so, then you can download the app which installs to the appleTV via a usb Flash disk... it merely ADDs additional menus and options to you appleTV experience, absolutely fantastic... Hulu and other items on your AppTV! -Sal

Boxee will not work with the latest Apple TV firmware update. Sadly, I think Boxee went too far in including Hulu. Apple had been permissive in allowing such hacks, but Boxee is going too far in taking away revenues from Apple. I would have been happy just for the divx and video_ts capabilities as well as the ability to add an external hard drive to the Apple TV USB port.

I personally would use a mac mini, they even say that its better for 1080p because boxee doesnt use the apple gpu (graphics processing unit). Perfect solution, controlled using an apple remote = beo4/5 = perfect!

I then get that bluetooth keyboard and were all set for anything and everything!

As for hulu, i think it only works in the US, so we cant view it, but frankly, i am happy that they are getting at Apple, nothing better than using their hardware against them :) hehe

I dont think that matters even though on first view one would think. It will take them a few days to adopt the software and Apple knows that. I think it just happens as part of the software changes Apple puts in

beojeff:

Boxee will not work with the latest Apple TV firmware update. Sadly, I think Boxee went too far in including Hulu. Apple had been permissive in allowing such hacks, but Boxee is going too far in taking away revenues from Apple. I would have been happy just for the divx and video_ts capabilities as well as the ability to add an external hard drive to the Apple TV USB port.

*phew* That stinks! I went for the Mac Mini route, so I'm using the Boxee Application... I'm going to hook it all up to the BV8 this evening. (Last night was spend prepping the Mini, and getting it just the way it should all work). Has anyone hooked up a computer to the BV8 via the VGA socket? How is the picture? If it's decent, I'm going to use my Mini as a DVDplayer/media center, and get rid of my standalone dvd player. -Sal

Sal-

If you're not aware of this, you'll be excited to know that you can use Mac the Ripper to rip dvds as video_ts files, move them to the "movies" folder on your mac, and Frontrow will access the movies just as if they were physical dvds. This is very nice. You can store all your dvds on your mac as a server without losing any quality.

I've been reluctant to install Boxee on my Apple TVs. I was hoping you were the guinea pig! 

Sal-

P.S. I'm sure I have an extra apple VGA to DVI cable if you need it.

beojeff:

Sal-

P.S. I'm sure I have an extra apple VGA to DVI cable if you need it.

Thanks for the offer, Jeff, I bought a VGA cable from Best Buy last night, and will be using the Apple-supplied DVI to VGA adapter on the mini end. -Sal

Can one of you peeps please send me a boxee invite. I think that is what I need to love my apple TV again ....

 

Thanks

 

Not quite the same application, but have you seen atvflash? http://www.atvflash.com/product_info.php?products_id=27 

It's software patch for AppleTV that allows it to play just about any format, plus a few other nice features. I routinely play AVI files on my AppleTV, and native DVD files (from video_ts folder) on a Beovision MX7000 (4:3 screen). Letterboxing is done automatically and this neatly solves the stretched image problem (ATV does not officially suppoort 4:3 TVs). That's something that iTunes/MP4 cannot do. Not a problem if you've got a widescreen TV, but for everyone else, atvflash makes the AppleTV perfectly usable on an older TV.

The kicker with Boxee is that it adds Hulu.com. This is only available in US but it streams full feature movies and television show with few commercial interruptions for free.

 Also, I want to access my movies on my NAS, it also seem to have some auto library management functions. If I understand correct it will search for the trailer for your movie and reviews and such. 

 I gave in and ordered an Ipod Touch, so I can control my Apple TV through 2way. I havent really sued it in ages to be honest and this may bring it back to life.

 

JK