A few weeks ago, in collaboration with of Squirrels (maker of AirParrot and Reflector) and Beamer, we started a contest inviting you to share with us (and the rest of the world) your vision of a perfect Apple TV – the Apple TV of your dreams. The participation was amazing (thanks!), we got tons of submissions and a lot of great ideas. Here is a short résumé:

Almost all of you think of a new Apple TV as a standalone TV set that features:

• a big, 3D, ultra HD display (Retina?)
• a built-in Kinect-like camera (FaceTime/Skype calls, gaming, face recognition)
• Siri
• App Store (yes, you want apps!!!)
• social network integration
• DVR functionality

All the above features seem to be a MUST for the future Apple HDTV.

Other ideas we liked:

• NFC
• push notifications
• multiuser personalized profiles
• gesture interaction with social media
• a full TV experience available everywhere (on the go!)
• wireless charging (in the fuuuuuture)

Interestingly, a lot of you want your TV to become… a phone.

Though these are all great ideas, we think we are still missing something here, a truly revolutionary, game-changing, killer future that could reinvent a TV and it seems that we will have to leave it to Apple to figure out what it is.

Here are some of your ideas:

Sean O’Neill

• My vision for the perfect Apple TV would require one simple interface addition: voice.  A few simple words should be all it takes to communicate with your TV, across all devices and services.
  Examples:
  “Hi TV. Change channel, CNN.”
  “Hi TV. Netflix, House of Cards. Episode 2.”
  “Hi TV. Search TV, Next Daily Show, New Episodes.”A minor hardware challenge would be including a small microphone in the remote, which would transmit voice commands to the box.An alternate approach to voice control would be to simply hold the current center button for a few seconds, which would trigger a high-gain microphone on the Apple TV itself. An animated speech waveform could be displayed on the TV to entertain the user & confirm actuation.Another interesting twist on this would be to provide multi-service search results, as Roku has done with the latest version of their Roku 3 player. e.g. “Hi TV. Iron Man 2. Anywhere.” might return a list of results on screen that list comparative pricing spanning multiple services, so users can select the best offering.

• Another “killer” feature would be Push Notifications. Users can register their favorite programs (via an Apple TV app, for instance, that could resemble a supercharged Remote app) using their Apple ID. They could then be notified about various events: when a favorite show is about to be broadcast, when a podcast they’ve subscribed to has a new episode, or when a movie they’re watching becomes available on Netflix, Amazon VOD, Vudu, etc. On acknowledging the notification, users could either select the content for immediate viewing, “Add to Queue”, or Record, depending upon the source.

G J P R Verasdonck

My Apple TV should be:

• any “computer” from which I can access the content from anywhere in the world (if I am on holidays in “Timbuktu” I do not want my screen to say that I am not authorized to view my content due to geographic restrictions)
• suitable for views on the go (e.g. iPad/iPhone) or at home (e.g. large screen)
• be “low-key interactive”: if I like the holiday program on Fiji Islands, I want to be able to look at booking options or in reverse: if i consider a holiday to the Inca ruins I want to be able to look for a travel program on the region I am interested in and see booking possibilities
• my TV should also be my phone; I like to see the people I’m talking with.

Mark Villapando

• Deals with all the premium channels for their on demand content
• Access to the NFL Network, or better yet, RedZone
• Deals with more sports networks to make pay subscription apps (to combat Internet piracy through illegal streaming sites)
• Easy ability to share viewed programs through social networks
• A VNC-like app to access the screens of computers on the network (from TV)
• Make iOS hackable again to allow programs like Plex, XBMC, or Media Player to stream local media (wishful thinking)

Alejandro Timpanaro

• A laser pointer (Wii-style)
• Google Chrome browser
• Google maps
• Access to Google Drive and other cloud services
• A download manager like Jdownloader.
• Backup config of the Apple TV in iCloud

Nicholas Chan

• Every single broadcast gets relayed to the billion-dollar data center for recording. This includes news broadcasts, morning/late night talk shows, etc. Everything gets recorded. A user with an Apple TV can then jump back in time to a specific hour to watch his/her favorite program from any channel, streaming directly from the data center. User does not have to worry about local storage. Program list can be sorted and presented in many ways. Programs can stream to iPhone/iPad/Macs. Premium channels are available to those that are paying for it currently.
• The Archive: for stuff that predates the Apple TV (stuff that didn’t get recorded at the data center), becomes available for on-demand streaming. Basically – Netflix. Score some deals Mr. Cook!
• Three ways to control the TV: 1) everyone has their phones with them, make that the remote (people would buy iPod touches dedicated for this). Very similar to the current Apple TV’s iOS remote. 2) if the phone isn’t in the room, use Siri, an obvious choice. 3) if all else fails, a multitouch display directly on a TV. Tap on screen to bring up a menu. Swipe to switch channels. Third party apps can utilize this. Apps can be educational and ask children to select things on screen, etc…(classrooms desperately need this feature available).
• Killer GPU for competition against consoles
• iSight -> direct all phone/FaceTime calls to the TV rather than your phone if your identity is detected in the room

Mike Bowen

• I’d like to see the TV have full touchscreen compatibility (you can’t play Angry Birds without a touchscreen)
• PIP of course that would support watching TV while checking apps
• Built in 4g & LTE support so you can actually make and receive phone calls from the TV set itself

Adrian Büsselmann

• I dream of gesturing from my couch to control the Apple TV. No more searching for the small controller. Apple TV could get a “Kinect” plugin to realize this
• Even a virtual keyboard can be shown on the TV and the Apple TV would see my gesture and get the right input

Eric Dykstra

• A monthly iTunes subscription (be able to watch everything on iTunes for a monthly cost; the cost would be high, $150+ per month)
• Control interface for cable and satellite (run the Cable signal through Apple TV, and change channels with ATV)

Eric Olson

• The Apple TV should be able to mirror to another apple TVs and support a “party-mode” where all apple TVs on the local network display and control the same media
• Open the “remote” IP port for 3rd party display of meta-data & control. This will make it easy to integrate an Apple TV into high & mid-range entertainment systems

Rik Moedt

• The Genius function that Apple uses to show you things you might like is going to be integrated. It will offer you playlist with things you might like to watch. In the playlist live television, on demand video and internet content can all be combined.

And the winners are:

1. Maria Panagi – for the brilliant idea of using simple gestures to interact with social media:

The Apple TV of my dreams would have highly developed gesture recognition, that would be used not only for playing games (bringing all the Wii feauteres) but the whole controlling of the TV would be based on gestures.

click to enlarge

When it comes to social media, the gesture recognition would be highly integrated with the biggest social media platforms. On the above picture there is an example of Facbook ´Like`- the gesture of thumb-up would be recognized and would make it possible to give a like only using a gesture. Other gestures would be recognized as “share” and reading the news feed would be possible with a hand swing.

On the below picture there is an example of how the gesture control system could work with Apple TV menu. I believe that the main menu should have only 6 icons, so that it can be easily navigated with gestures (it would recognize moves: left top, right top, center top, left down, right down, center down). One hand swing would  bring another screen with the next set of 6 icons.

click to enlarge

Prize: iPad mini

2. Cristhian Flores – for an idea of a fingerprint (on the remote)/face detection to recognize users and update the TV with their personalized profiles (channels, apps, movies, music, etc.)

Other ideas of Cristhian:

• Led notification for personal mail, Skype calls, or iMessage
• A built in mic on the touch remote to allow the user to communicate with TV without making too much noise around
• NFC chip, to allow smartphones and tablets to transfer information with a tap on the TV’s stand. When tapped to a laptop will also transfer information.
• All Corning Gorilla Glass with plasma like refresh rate 600HZ
• Has built in set-top box, way to activate is to call Apple and with their deal with Direct TV/Dish will transmit signal to the television to allow channel viewing
• Special coating on the television that activates when people (in a meeting) are trying to show their products can write on the screen with a stylus. This information is saved on the flash and can be transmitted to devices via NFC.
• Quad-core processor to allow heavy intensive applications to run, the visual would match the graphics of the Playstation 3
• 4GB RAM: allows applications to run at ease, also streaming any content while also doing iWork (multitasking.) It would allow either side-by-side or Top-bottom screen to be able to run two applications.

Prize: iPad mini

Runner-up: Leo Hellberg – for a futuristic idea of The Plug (wireless power) and professionally designed Apple-style graphic (below.)

click to enlarge

Prize: free copies of AirParrot, Reflector and Beamer.

Big thanks to all for participation! Stay tuned for more contest and giveaways!

The contest was sponsored by Squirrels (maker of AirParrot and Reflector) and Beamer.

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Apple has always treated Apple TV as a “hobby” device. The original silver Apple TV, the second and third-generation hockey pucks – these are really great devices, but, undoubtedly, they are not as “magical and revolutionary” as were iPods, iPhones and iPads.

There is 1080p, there is AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring, there are some content deals, there are apps like AirParrot and Beamer, there is XBMC, Plex and aTV Flash on jailbroken devices, but it’s still not even close to what we think a perfect TV solution from Apple could look like. And now we have learned that the next Apple TV will probably come with a slightly improved processor and a new antenna/chip. Oh, come on Apple, you know you can do better!

But there is no doubt there will be a bloody battle for our living rooms and Apple will take part in it. We have no doubts that Apple will come out with something big: a revolutionary TV solution, whether it will be a standalone TV set or next generation set-top box. But since we are not hearing anything from Apple on this matter, we hope to hear something from you.

We are giving you a chance to share with the world your vision of a perfect Apple TV. The Apple TV of your dreams. The king of your living room. A standalone TV set or a redesigned set-top box? Apps, games, Siri, Facetime, gesture control, 3D, social networks? And what about the content?

You tell us how the next Apple TV’s hardware, software and/or interface should look like!

If you have graphic skills, mockups, renderings and all other kinds of concept designs will be more than welcome. If Photoshop is really not your thing, just write down your ideas and send them to us in a text file. During the contest, we will be regularly posting the best ideas on our website, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The authors of the best works in both “graphics” and “text” categories will be awarded an iPad mini 16 GB, courtesy of Squirrels (maker of AirParrot and Reflector) and Beamer.

Rules:
-       The contest starts right now and ends on Sunday, March 17^th at 11.59 PM EST.
-       Submissions should be sent to editor@appletvhacks.net; the subject line should read “Contest: Apple TV of your dreams”.
-       All graphic and text file formats are allowed.
-       If you are submitting a graphic work, please include a short description of it.
-       Submission of work that has already been published elsewhere is not allowed.
-       Two winners (one in each category) will be selected by Apple TV Hacks editorial team and announced not later than on March 29^th.
-       The contest is open internationally.

The contest is sponsored by Squirrels and Beamer.

UPDATE: We got tons of submissions and we’re reviewing them now. The winners will be announced by the end of the week. We are sorry for the delay!

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Squirrels, a developer behind AirParrot and Reflection, is running a sale for its products: both AirParrot and Reflection are 20% off. AirParrot, an app that enables your Macs or Windows machines to AirPlay its screen to Apple TV, is now $7.99 (was $9.99). Reflection, a little piece of software that lets you AirPlay mirror your iDevice to any Mac or PC, sells at $11.99 (was $14.99). Hurry up, sale ends on November 16^th at midnight EST.

Sale’s page.

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Mac version of AirParrot, a fantastic little app that enables your Macs or Windows machines to AirPlay its screen to Apple TV, has been recently updated to version 1.5 that brings lots of performance enhancements, few bug fixes and improved compatibility with Apple TV’s latest firmware. Windows version of AirParrot will also be updated soon.

What’s new in AirParrot 1.5?

• Automatically detect TV Overscan settings
• Added ability to force 720p for improved performance on slower networks
• Corrected an issue that could cause passwords to not save
• Improved logging for network problem resolutions
• Improved menu status messages when unable to connect
• Resolved an issue that could cause problems connecting audio to an Apple TV
• Added support for deployment to all users (when installed as admin/root) – contact support@airparrot.com for more details on bulk deployment
• Added support for date-limited promotional keys
• Improved compatibility with iOS 6
• Misc. performance improvements and bug fixes

AirParrot is available from here with a single machine license for $9.99 USD and a 5-machine license for $29.99 USD. 10 minutes trial version is also available.

Check out our review of AirParrot.

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

With friends like AirParrot, who needs a jailbreak for the Apple TV 3? You are able to stream movies, watch TV, run XBMC, play music, and watch home videos – all on your Apple TV 2 or Apple TV 3, without any hacking whatsoever. AirParrot is a fantastic little package that enables your Macs running 10.6.8 and up and your Windows machines running XP and up to AirPlay its screen to Apple’s little hockey puck. Yes people, Windows machines! Now we can take full advantage of these Apple TV’s, especially those 3rd generation units that are still, patiently, awaiting a jailbreak.

Now, obviously Windows and Macs have been missing out on the AirPlay fun over these past few years. That is until Apple recently added this exact functionality – AirPlay Mirroring - to its latest OS release Mountain Lion. That said AirPlay Mirroring is only available on certain machines and what about those of us who do not intend to upgrade or own Windows machines? Well, AirParrot is here as a digital savior to us all.

The GOOD

1)  Unlike so many applications out there, AirParrot works right when you install it. There was not a set up, no trying to adjust a million little settings that are far outside my realm of understanding. I just clicked the download link, installed, and was streaming my Mac to the Apple TV in a matter of moments!

2)  I love that fact that the audio streams to the Apple TV as well. You can actually choose where your sound is going: computer speakers or the Apple TV connected television (with dolby digital surround sound perhaps). This program can really make you forget you are using a computer, and with the help of a iOS remote you can forego the mouse and keyboard all together.

3)  I was able to stream video, in fullscreen, without stutters and/or freezes. This has not always been the case with this application. The AirParrot team has done some fantastic updates to get us where we are today.

4)  When you do decide to play with the settings, they are easy to understand. Everything was very self explanatory.

The BAD?

1)  There was only one thing I found wrong with my time using this program, and it was easily fixed. When I first installed AirParrot I attempted to stream a movie right away. This caused my television screen to stutter and everything began to slow way down. I then checked the settings and saw that I was streaming in 1080p to my Apple TV 2. Once I adjusted the picture quality I was sending to the television, everything smoothed out and I was watching The Daily Show in no time. Shout out to #JonStewart!

The UGLY TRUTH

In the end, AirParrot is a great option for work or entertainment, the home or office, the shed or your bathroom. It opens up a world of possibilities to your laptops and desktop computers. For me, I am all things XBMC and and therefore I am all things media, so my interest was in streaming movies, shows, and music and AirParrot handled it all. I then ran PowerPoint, Keynote, Chrome, and even iMovie: AirParrot knocked it out of the park. You haven’t lived until you have edited a movie on a 55 inch screen.

If you are one of the millions of owners of an Apple TV 3, I cannot see why you would not download and install AirParrot today. Load it on the computer in the other room, download a free iOS, or Android, or Windows 7 (soon to be 8) remote control for your computer, sit in the living room, and watch TV as if it your device had a glorious jailbreak. I did it, and so can you.

AirParrot is available from here with a single machine license for $9.99 USD and a 5-machine license for $29.99 USD. 10 minutes trial version is also available.

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

We have recently reached 10000 likes on Facebook. Thank you so much for being with us there on Zuckenberg’s land! We thought the best to say „BIG THANKS“ is to run a small giveaway of:

• 2 sets of: AppleTVHacks T-Shirt + AppleTVHacks Sigg Water Bottle + AppleTVHacks Mug
• 5 copies of aTV Flash (black)
• 5 copies of AirParrot (for Mac or Windows)
• 5 copies of AirServer

We’ll be picking the winners from among those of you who comment on this facebook post, like it or share on their timelines.

The giveaway starts right now and ends on Sunday, September 2nd. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 4th.

Good luck!

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Apple’s new operating system OS X Mountain Lion is now on the scene, giving us Mac fans yet another reasons to profess our undying love for our favorite devices. Probably the most anticipated new feature is that Mountain Lion gives users the ability to take advantage of AirPlay Mirroring, which allows for wireless video and audio streaming from your computer right to your Apple TV. But not all Apple owners will be so lucky.

You’re going to need an iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or Mac Mini from 2011 or later to make it work, even with Mountain Lion installed. So what’s the deal? Some conspiracists believe it’s Apple forcing people to upgrade to newer machines. Others think that the Intel chips are to blame, as the DRM technology required for Mirroring to work wasn’t available in these computers until last year.

But according to the good folks at Cult of Mac, the truth is much simpler. The graphics in Mac computers prior to 2011 just aren’t up to the challenge. In order for AirPlay Mirroring to work, the computer must be able to compress video on the graphics chip without using the CPU. Since the hardware can’t handle it alone, the CPU would be forced to work overtime, and the performance would degrade to the point of uselessness.

And Macs aren’t alone in this obsolescence. On the mobile side, you’ve got to have an iPad 2 or later, or an iPhone 4S to use AirPlay Mirroring. With those devices, it still comes down to the encoding issue. AirPlay Mirroring is much more complicated than you would think. There’s encoding, scaling, and color conversion, translating the audio and video from your wee monitor to the HDTV hanging on the wall.

It’s not impossible for the dedicated programmer, however. AirParrot has an app that allows Mirroring even with old Macs. But the image is compromised, and we all know how Apple feels about settling for less than perfection. It will work more often than not, but you’re still pushing your older device further than is comfortable, resulting in high fan usage and more than a little bit of heat.

And the issues aren’t hardware-based alone. The network you’re working over is also an important consideration. You’re going to need a high-end internet network and rock star wireless router for smooth Mirroring, especially if you’re streaming a web-based video player. And you’ll have to let your device focus on that one task. If you’re trying to surf the internet or BitTorrent at the same time, you’re going to be one unhappy camper.

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Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Windows version of AirParrot, an app that streams your computer’s screen to your Apple TV 2 or Apple TV 3 over AirPlay, has been released a few weeks ago but if you haven’t grabbed your own copy yet, here is a chance to get it for free.

AirParrot works by encoding your display’s image as H.264 video and sending it to your Apple TV in real time. Since it also features audio mirroring, AirParrot seems like a perfect solution to watch your movies and videos on the big screen, and, especially, to bring web pages based on Flash content, like Hulu, to your HDTV.

Initially, AirParrot for Windows is not as full featured as the Mac version but the developers expect to release the improved Windows version of the app this summer.

AirParrot for Windows requires Windows XP or later and works with Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3 running firmware 4.4.x or 5.0.x; no hacking/jailbreaking needed.

We are giving away 10 free copies of AirParrot for Windows. Here is how to enter the contest:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

AirParrot, an app that streams your computer’s screen to your Apple TV 2 or Apple TV 3 over AirPlay, is finally available for Windows. AirParrot works by encoding your display’s image as H.264 video and sending it to your Apple TV in real time. Since it also features audio mirroring, AirParrot seems like a perfect solution to watch your movies and videos on the big screen, and, especially, to bring web pages based on Flash content, like Hulu, to your HDTV.

Initially, AirParrot for Windows is not as full featured as the Mac version but the developers expect to release the improved Windows version of the app this summer: “We’re still working on some features for Windows, but we hope to release updates that add most of the functionality users find on OSX,” said David Stanfill, head developer at Squirrels.

AirParrot for Windows requires Windows XP or later and works with Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3 running firmware 4.4.x or 5.0.x; no hacking/jailbreaking needed.

AirParrot is available from here with a single machine license for $14.99 USD and a 5-machine license for $49.99 USD. 20 minutes trial version is also available.

We will ran a giveaway of AirParrot app soon. Stay tuned!

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

A new beta of AirParrot, an app that streams your Mac’s display to your Apple TV 2 or Apple TV 3 over AirPlay, is now available. AirParrot 1.3 beta5 comes with 1080p support for the third-generation Apple TV,  individual app mirroring, “greatly” improved mirror speed and some stability fixes. The new version uses an almost completely rewritten method for mirroring and encoding frames. This results in lower CPU usage and faster frame rates.

AirParrot also features audio mirroring and external monitor support. It requires Mac OS X 10.6 or 10.7 and works with Apple TV 3 and Apple TV 2 running firmware 4.4 or 5.0; no hacking/jailbreaking needed.

AirParrot is available from here and costs $9.99 for a single license or $29.99 for 5 licenses. 20 minutes trial version is also available.

You may also want to read:
Apple TV 3 teardown
The new 1080p Apple TV 3 proves to be a tough cookie to crack
Apple patent reveals advanced TV remote

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!