Cupertino Hotel Adds Apple TVs to Guest Rooms

[Mike MA]

I hope Apple solved the Airplay issues for them, else it won't be any good advertising. Mine are not fixed using 10.8.3.

[JM-Prod]

Originally Posted by aristotle

Are you talking about the Netflix UI on the PS3? I happen to have Netflix on both my Apple TV 3rd gen and my PS3. I hate the UI for netflix on the PS3.

No, I'm talking about the horrible look of the Apple TV interface, i.e. compared to the elegant look of the PS3 interface.

[JasperJanssen]

Originally Posted by etarip

http://www.square-i.net/Square_[_i_]_In-room_entertainment_on_Apple_TV_41.php

System is a jailbroken ATV 720p version 2

I am not sure how Apple lets this happen at this hotel on their doorstep. They have done a good job with the network management to keep users from seeing or accessing neighboring rooms ATV.

Somehow I doubt they're supporting and installing new systems with hundreds of jailbroken ATV2s. Unless these guys invested 100 grand in ATV2s back when and just have 1000 in stock, but if so you're still going to run out actually pretty quickly...

[aristotle]

Originally Posted by JM-Prod

No, I'm talking about the horrible look of the Apple TV interface, i.e. compared to the elegant look of the PS3 interface.

Your stating your opinion as if it was fact without giving any specifics. I don't have a problem with people having different tastes. What I do have a problem with is when people state their opinions/preferences as if they were "facts" agreed upon by the majority without giving any specific reasons or criteria.

I happen to like the UI of the AppleTV as it has continued to evolve over time. The Sony XMedia bar interface, however, has not changed much over the years. It is a set of icon menus with with hierarchical submenus items. I find it frustrating to use at times.

Contrast that with the current AppleTV UI, each program is represented by an Icon and all settings are under the "Settings" icon. There is no hierarchical menus cluttering up the screen. Once inside the Settings section, you navigate into another submenu as another "screen" which can be easily backed out of.

If we compare the configuration screens for networks, for example between the Sony Playstation and the Apple TV, the sony version is really frustrating to use if you want to customize an existing network connection for DNS settings. With the Apple TV, you select the connection and then you can chose among the different settings of the connection from that screen. To change the DNS on a connection on the PS3, you have to select the connection and then go through the setup wizard again for that connection in order to switch from a dynamic DNS to a static (manual) address.

I'd like to see a detailed explanation from you or alternatively, stop stating your "opinion" as if it were fact. Did you notice that nowhere did I directly state that the PS3 was "horrible"? I stated my feelings about different aspects of it with specific examples. You can say that you "don't like it" or "I think it sucks" or "I think it is horrible" all day long but if you say "it is horrible" then you are making a statement as if it were fact without providing any reasoning behind it.

[coolspot18]

Originally Posted by etarip

http://www.square-i.net/Square_[_i_]_In-room_entertainment_on_Apple_TV_41.php

System is a jailbroken ATV 720p version 2

I am not sure how Apple lets this happen at this hotel on their doorstep. They have done a good job with the network management to keep users from seeing or accessing neighboring rooms ATV.

ATV 2 is getting rare, good luck getting replacements!

[PBUser167]

Originally Posted by JasonElise1983

Sure... makes sense. But how do you go about customizing an tv? No 3rd part apps, no way into it... nothing. Curious to know if they worked with apple on development for it as maybe a test run.

-je

You download the Apple Configurator from the Mac App Store. This is the same tool you use to customize and lock-down the iDevices. I have to use this app to put my AppleTV on the wifi network at work because we use WPA2. There are quite a few other options available to you as well. You just connect the devices via USB and can put the profiles on there. For iDevices it allows things like disabling the home button, locking to a single app, etc. A nice tool for sure.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appl...34433123?mt=12

[JM-Prod]

Originally Posted by aristotle

I happen to like the UI of the AppleTV as it has continued to evolve over time. The Sony XMedia bar interface, however, has not changed much over the years. It is a set of icon menus with with hierarchical submenus items. I find it frustrating to use at times.

Could be it's functional, but it still looks like ****. It's about just as elegant as the OS X 10.8 calendar.

[JasperJanssen]

Originally Posted by PBUser167

You download the Apple Configurator from the Mac App Store. This is the same tool you use to customize and lock-down the iDevices. I have to use this app to put my AppleTV on the wifi network at work because we use WPA2. There are quite a few other options available to you as well. You just connect the devices via USB and can put the profiles on there. For iDevices it allows things like disabling the home button, locking to a single app, etc. A nice tool for sure.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/appl...34433123?mt=12

You can do a lot of things with that tool, but I don't think putting Apps on ATV is one?

[Joe-Diver]

I wonder how many little silver remotes will get "lost"........

[iJon]

I've been to a hotel that uses this service. The Talbot in Chicago has Mac Mini's in every room, pretty slick.

It had its flaws but overall I thought it was pretty cool. The AppleTV solution certainly makes more sense and is cheaper.

[PhilMcCracken]

OK, so go check into the hotel and to use the Apple TV we have to log in with our iTunes account right? How is this reset every time? Are these reset remotely or something? Is this an additional duty of the chamber maid?

[PBUser167]

Originally Posted by JasperJanssen

You can do a lot of things with that tool, but I don't think putting Apps on ATV is one?

Interesting enough is that it will put them on there, but they do not show up in the UI. I had not clicked through to the other site so didn't see that they had customized the text menu. It shows the old text menus which are now gone in favor of the app icons. I'm wondering if there is an undocumented policy class for the customization.

[stefvaughn]

This is a brilliant idea, hotels need to add things that make us feel like its our home away from home! And adding an Apple TV to my room would do just that.

[Evelynds]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Image


The trendy Aloft Hotel in Cupertino, which is located a mere two blocks from Apple's headquarters, has installed an Apple TV in each of its 123 rooms. Using the Apple TVs, hotel patrons can access television shows and movies via iTunes, and use Netflix and Hulu in addition to the Apple TV's other apps.

AirPlay is available for playing videos and music, and according to Square International, (via CNET) the company that installed Aloft's Apple TV system, the hotel can use the set-top boxes to provide guests with important information and access to the front desk.

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The Apple TVs can be customized with iTunes accounts from any country and are wiped after each use to allow guests to access their private iTunes accounts.

Though the Apple TV is often referred to as Apple's "hobby" project because of its lack of popularity, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that more than two million of the devices had been sold during Q1 2013, an increase of 60 percent year over year.

Cook also reiterated that the Apple TV was an area of intense interest for Apple, saying "I tend to believe that there is a lot we can contribute in this space and we continue to pull the string and see where it leads us."

The Apple TV recently received a stealth update that added a smaller A5 chip to the device, but Apple is rumored to be working on a more substantial upgrade that could range anywhere from improved content and the inclusion of third party apps to a full blown Apple-branded television set.

Article Link: Cupertino Hotel Adds Apple TVs to Guest Rooms

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