Apps for HDMI inputs

WWDC is upon us and it's good to see so many rumors about Apple's hobby. Let the speculation begin...

Of course we're not going to see an 'Apple TV [set]' but there might be tools for developing apps on the existing 'Apple TV [box]'.  But that won't answer the question of how do you bring an Apple-like experience to the whole sorry mess.

I suspect my arrangement is not uncommon here in the UK. The TV programming comes through a cable company (Virgin Media) and they're not likely to be changing their UI anytime soon. I have children who love their XBox and who don't want to see it change. I use the cable companies catch-up services but I increasingly find myself watching content from Airplay enabled apps on an iPad.

This means that the only things I use the [rather large] TV remote for (together with it's clunky and slow interface) are:

  • switching the TV on/off
  • selecting the correct HDMI input
  • adjusting the TV volume



I was excited when I read John Gruber's Apps are the new Channels but I would settle for 'Apps are the new HDMI inputs' -  with a bit of wishful thinking, you can see how it would be possible to connect up a suitably improved Apple TV [box] to a monitor to make the beginnings of an Apple TV [set]:





Treat the HDMI inputs as apps - there must be some way to give them a name and icon - and immediately things are much improved. Switch on and you are presented with a modern app-based home screen with one less remote/UI style to worry about. Select the XBox app and you get the XBox experience. And if the TV can decode channels itself then you can still use apps as channels.




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