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iOS 5 to Unlock Bluetooth Capabilities of Apple TV?

mcmlxix said:
I think that since media can be served up through Flash/Silverlight, that it would conflict with Apple wanting to be the middleman for media delivery.
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That's exactly my point :p

So what is the point of mobile Safari being on :apple:TV if I can't use it to consume other types of media from other types of sources?

Browing the web 6-7 feet away from my TV is not that great of an experience and sitting 2 feet away defeats the whole purpose. I'd rather browse the web with my MB in my lap while sitting on the couch than strain my eyes to browse the web on my TV from my couch.

I just don't understand what people would use mobile Safari for on the :apple:TV, that's all. I can't seem to think of a use for it. As I said, it needs to be the full version of Safari for desktop in order to be usable.

Either way, I'm sure I'd still use it to some degree anyway
 
OmegaRed1723 said:
There's only 8GB of storage on the current :apple:TV, which, among other things, is used for buffering downloads of iTunes rentals. This, and the prospective introduction of 1080p content coming to iTunes leads me to believe that we will see an :apple:TV3 launch in the near future with at least 16GB of storage.
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Enter icloud....
 
Friscohoya said:
Enter icloud....
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icloud still needs to buffer content, just like iTunes does. I think an ATV3 is emminent, along with 1080p support, bluetooth, and bigger flash memory. As for the iPhone/Bluetooth pairing, think Airplay on steriods. Opens up lots of possibilities for 3rd party devices.
 
Yes, but 8GB is more than enough to put Apple TV to use.

Apple TV would make an great low cost network node. All it really needs is access to the USB port. Even then many useful things can happen with Apple TV with just the bluetooth interface.

For examples of Blutooth enhanced apps:
  1. Mail app. Note very little to no local storage is required.
  2. Safari
  3. Calendar and contacts apps
  4. An audio Facetime node.
  5. That is four without even thinking.

Give us access to a USB port and we culd have all sorts of uses for AppleTV, for example:
  1. Facetime with video support.
  2. A smart network interface node. that is a frontend node for things connected via USB such as weather stations, instrumentation and other goodies.
  3. A simple file server
  4. A web server.
  5. A camera server. Think security, or remote monitoring.
  6. Actually with an upgraded processor the little box could make for one nice web connected vision system.
  7. Like Facetime but more generally a Voice over IP node.
  8. A general experiementers platform. Frankly in some ways more interesting that Arduino.
  9. A video and picture server when used in combination with a card reader module or dongle.
  10. There are so many that this list could go on forever.

OmegaRed1723 said:
There's only 8GB of storage on the current :apple:TV, which, among other things, is used for buffering downloads of iTunes rentals. This, and the prospective introduction of 1080p content coming to iTunes leads me to believe that we will see an :apple:TV3 launch in the near future with at least 16GB of storage.
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I wouldn't doubt that one bit. 8GB is rather thin even now. But what could really turn this thing into a general purpose network node is a bit more RAM and a standard USB port. I have this feeling that the current AppleTV's mini USB port is there because the power supply is not designed to drive the extra load of USB devices that could be easily plugged in if the standard port is there.

Even today Apple TV is more computer than many that I've owned over the years. Yeah 8GB is very little storage by todays standards but very useful things happen in a lot less space.
 
what is needed is an iSight camera for the apple tv and facetime.
boom! an inexpensive, great home video conferencing solution for your living room for keeping in touch.
 
I'm hoping for a Facetime link too, though I'm not sure Apple would want to brand it's name on another iSight - plus with the variation in TV hardware setups, there wouldn't be a standardized mount on top.

Thinking it will be more along the lines of Airplaying your Facetime session, but still using the iPhone's mic and camera. Video and audio would play on the TV though.

Video mirroring with that dongle looks crappy. Hopefully they will be moving that to wireless.
 
mattraehl said:
AFAIK all the current crop of game consoles use Bluetooth for their wireless controllers. So . . . yes. ;)

Edit: Fact checked myself. Wii and PS3 use Bluetooth for their controllers. Xbox 360 uses some MS proprietary protocol.
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In fact you can currently use the PS3 controller with bluetooth on the current version of SL. So it isn't too far a stretch for Apple to say they support PS3 controllers which would be awesome for some gaming the on ATV.
 
A brushed aluminium controller in the same design style of the current keyboard would be nice. Rounded edges of course and with elements of the PS3 controller like handles would be ideal.

As for applications, I doubt the current Apple TV with its measly 8 GB of on-board storage would be updated for them to be installed in it. With Airplay mirroring there is no need to do that. The Apple TV will become more or less a dumb client that applications running on iPads and iPhones would stream video to.
 
nmrrjw66 said:
Does anyone know if you can use 1 keyboard on 2 devices with multiple dongles? Like if I want to use my logitech on my iMac and also have a usb dongle plugged into an apple tv will it work on both?
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No, at least not Apple keyboards. They pair with 1 device.
 
If this takes us one step closer to apps then YIPEE!

I don't think Safari or Mail would be a great experience on a TV though, although I suppose if you don't have an iPad. But really, does anyone use the browser on their PS3/XBox/Wii for anything except watching video (which wouldn't work on Apple TV due to lack of Flash)?

OnLive, now there's something that sure as hell would work, and would be amazing.

@people saying the 8gb isn't enough for apps - sure it is! Most apps are only a few meg, and you don't need 8gb for buffering!

Gimma apps, I want them now! If we had things like BBC iPlayer it would help make up for the lack of TV Programmes on the Apple TV in Britain.
 
it has a usb port on it. but i dont think it is powered to attach a camera. but maybe an extra hard drive. but for games a service like onlive would work you just need to add a bluetooth controller. so that could take care of gaming. with out taking storage space. i like apple tv and netflix is great on it. video conferencing would be awesome too if there was a way to add it. but i dont need email or contacts as i have a computer for that.
 
MattInOz said:
Yep...Open the market and lets see where it takes us.
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You sound like a share-holder. I would only want to see Apple pursue TV apps only if they can offer a great experience. Maybe that is when Apple TV will be built-in to the television.
 
This already works well on jailbroken atv2's using the btstack addon, couch surfer pro and my apple bluetooth keyboard. Also a pretty handy controller for XBMC as it's light but has a full keyboard. It makes sense for Apple to add it as a standard feature.
 
@Sol
A lot of this is already proven with a large jailbroken community having ATVs mostly for XMBC and the options it brings. Firecore's ATV Black suite also brings a lot of new functionality that I'm sure it's only a matter of time until it is replaced as standard.

Apple did this with the iPhone i.e. the jailbroken community added functionality and proved the demand was their: Installer->App Store, MMS, Video Recording, mobile hotspot, bluetooth streaming, to name a few.
 
@Bokdol
The USB port in the ATV2 cannot act as a host so we aren't able to attach devices. It can only act as one. Still bluetooth and Wireless-N connectivity works fine for accessing files shares for Video/Music. My ATVs are velcroed behind wall mounted TVs remote can still control them but no wires. Don't think I'd want to have a USB cable dangling out of it anyway.
 
Why cant you just plug your IPAD into Apple TV

Why dont they just allow you to plug your IPAD 1 or 2 via wireless or via HDMI and then you add a blutooth keyboard and track pad. Bank extremly fast internet on your HDTV. For now you would get 720 and with the new Retina display that is coming you would get the tru 1080p.

Maybe I am missing something but that would be the next itteration of the Apple TV and IPADS...They do not have to build it in apple tv just use what you have. It could help sell more of these little buggers...Put it on the dock with the plug into ATV and away you go...

What do people think of that?
 
I've been saying this for a long time. Activate Bluetooth, add Safari, Mail and iTunes and you've got a 100$ Apple computer in the living room.

Enable the micro-USB port in the back for FaceTime and you've got a pure winner. At that price and the low power required when in stand-by mode, it would be worth buying for FaceTime alone.

P.S.: keep in mind that it must NOT require an expensive iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, otherwise the 100$ price is completely meaningless. I'm talking about people who could buy this and use it as their main "computer" instead of having to deal with those 300~400$ Linux or Windows netbooks.
 
applehouse said:
Why dont they just allow you to plug your IPAD 1 or 2 via wireless or via HDMI and then you add a blutooth keyboard and track pad. Bank extremly fast internet on your HDTV. For now you would get 720 and with the new Retina display that is coming you would get the tru 1080p.

Maybe I am missing something but that would be the next itteration of the Apple TV and IPADS...They do not have to build it in apple tv just use what you have. It could help sell more of these little buggers...Put it on the dock with the plug into ATV and away you go...

What do people think of that?
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You can already plug your iPad2 into your TV via HDMI using the HDMI adaptor cable. You can also attach a bluetooth keyboard to your iPhone or iPad1 if it's jailbroken. Unfortunately there's no jailbreak for the iPad 2 so can't quite do what you ask at the moment but if you could I don't see where the AppleTV would then come in as you'd effectively be using the £500 iPad to replace your £99 AppleTV.

Though the ATV2 has a limited ability at the moment (out the box) it definitely does have it's place and plenty of potential. I see it as being where the original iPhone was before the App Store appeared. There was a thriving jailbreaking community proving what it was capable of before Apple started making these things standard features.

At the moment for the money I think the ATV2 is the best log power, small, quiet and connectable media centre platform (when augmented with ATV Black and XBMC). The fact it also provides iTunes streaming and Air Play (my partner loves this....doesn't care how it works. Just loves that she can easily show her mum and friends pictures on the TV), etc. just make it even more of a bargain.
 
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