“Earlier this month, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that revealed one of the possible next chapters for Apple TV,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“In today’s patent report we take a look at Apple’s latest vision for Apple TV that will put more relevant data at your fingertips,” Purcher reports. “Let’s say that you like a tune that you’re hearing on the latest episode of House or Fringe. You’ll be able to put the scene on pause and have a new navigational bar appear that will give you the option of finding the data on that tune in one click.”
Purcher reports, “Apple’s latest Apple TV patent lists eight new possible data options that could make watching TV more fun in the future.”
Read more in the full article, which includes Apple’s patent application illustrations, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
I was just shopping for an AppleTV this past weekend and finally passed on it. It just doesn’t have enough features for my liking and until the TV model of the world actually changes to programming on the net first, I need and want a media box to be able to access real TV. I don’t always want to pay for simple TV programming. I PVR it and skip the commercials. So why pay Apple.
So I like this navigation bar idea. I think it has potential. I just wish it came with the ability to access cable programming.
“Shazam!”
Exactly. IOW kids, there are already apps for that.
I don’t see much traction with this patent application considering that there is plenty of prior art from other developers. I’d rather have Apple open the AppleTV v2 to third party apps.
I just wish I could play .mkv files on my atv.
Handbrake for Mac can convert Mkv to mp4 super easy and it’s free
@ TowerTone. Ya, the Apple rep showed me that Shazam on her iPhone on the weekend. Very cool. But I’d like it intergrated into AppleTV and because songs snippets are so short on TV programs some time, I think an integrated solution would be better than an app like Shazam at home. On the road though, that little app sounds like it could come in handy.
I just don’t understand the holdup with opening ATV up to dozens of cool little applications. For example, ATV has been on the market for years now, and it still only supports flickr. What if I have Shutterfly? Sorry, no neat little app for that on ATV.
What is Apple waiting for?
It was almost a year after the iPhone came out the Apple released the iPhone SDK. Since ATV only recently became ‘legitimized’ with the no-harddrive model, I imagine Apple didn’t want to start an SDK until the product took its final form. It was only released in September, so I wouldn’t expect an SDK before summer.
BTW: There are plenty of ways to hack BOTH AppleTV v1 AND v2. My favorite site for instruction and links to kewl third party software is:
AppleTV Hacks
I have a pile of stuff installed and working on my AppleTV v1 including a fully functional web browser running Flash video if I am loony enough to bother. I use my iPod Touch v4 as a remote and keyboard. I can’t call the result exactly user-friendly. But it’s incredibly more functional than what comes in the box from Apple.