Next-Gen Apple TV Doesn’t Play Nice with Home Control

All the more reason to add an iPad as an accessory controller to a home control system.  Load Control4’s app or put a Crestron iPanel on one, and you get an HA touch panel with the ability to switch modes and control Apple TV.

Am I wrong?

Here’s one other interesting question.

Will this make Savant the “Go To” choice for Apple TV fanatics who want a unified home control GUI on all of their touch interfaces?  Will Savant’s unique relationship with Apple result in a market advantage for these types of applications and be able to eliminate tedious switching between apps, integrating the Apple TV control into the same overall HA program?

Integrators who sell both Savant and other high-end control lines tell us that their Apple-maniacal customers generally go for Savant.

So with Savant controls installed at Apple HQ, any chance the locked code is on peurpose?

It would dictate either Savant (using mini Mac and Apple touch devices exclusively) or an iPad is placed in every HA system that includes Apple TV.

The apple tv can be integrated into a system. It will learn remote control com ands I am using a mx3000 urc and have successfully integrated it. 

Thank you

after testing an AppleTV Gen2 on a Crestron DM switch, the Gen2 only had 1 HDCP key. not ideal :(

Larry—Yes, on IR learning, but no on two-way IP communications

Dan—Interesting, thanks for sharing.

Option 4 - Use a PS Audio Perfect Wave Dac with new Bridge and NAS…essentially a high end version of Option 1.

@Mark Coxon - I haven’t seen any news that Savant is installed at Apple HQ.  I would be interested in reading that press release.  I would expect that to be on the front of their webpage??
@Julie - I have used the Sonos ZP as a stand alone and we Extra Vegatables - C4 driver - this is a great solution.  If only we could get full functionality into C4 it would be great.

Also - Option 3 - I would simply setup a “Favorite” on C4 that would allow a client to start a scan on the fly.  I would lean towards an HC1000 in the project if the client has a large music collection.

My 2 cents..

@ Apple Guy

PureLink can’t advertise that Apple Stores use their extenders either. . .but they do!

Remember the influence of three letters being N, D, and A.

If you were Apple, would you allow a vendor to disclose your potential market strategy for controls to the world so they can have something cool on their website???

I am not involved directly or under any agreement so maybe I’m misinformed, but I am more than sure that I am correct

Apple was using AMX quite a bit, but AMX is particularly close with another firm as well that Apple has some competition with, being Microsoft.

“Search your feelings, you *know* it to be true!”

How about 2-channel audio to multizone systems?  The new AppleTV doesn’t have that either!

So here are two reasons you would want that:
1. Multizone amplifier system distributed to a bunch of speakers throughout the house…these don’t have HDMI to connect in, just 2-channel RCA.

2. Zone-2 on most receivers, if you don’t have a multizone amplifier system, is used to power the backyard or a speaker selector for the other rooms in the house….problem is that most receivers don’t convert HDMI back to 2-channel for the zone2 so you would get to listen to dead-air.

I know that you could invest in an HDMI device that converts back to 2-Channel RCA - but if the controls don’t work either, then forget about it.

IMO this isn’t a big deal and shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone. AppleTV is a CE source. Sources change. So long as you engineer your clients systems so that AppleTV is a source you can always replace it with something else when the first gen fails and cant be purchased in the future.

You can stream/store with a bunch of different devices now. There are HTPC’s with 2way modules and the number of 1way ir controlled 10 foot UI devices is ridiculous. Every Blu-ray player on the market can access the internet now.

Hopefully the control system manufacturers get smart and create a $1000-2000 2way device that we can add to every system. Like crestrons FM and XM tuners. Imagine if ADMS was 1U rack space @ $1500. Who would care about apple tv or google tv or whoever whatever?

@39CentStamp

You are right.

Even with this unit however, if you use something like Crestron DM for switching, and use the HDMI with DSP down mix cards with analog RCAs, you will extract the 2 channel and can switch it where you want.

Couple that with an iPad loaded with the Crestron App, and you have 2 way control of everything (you will have to switch apps until the multitasking is introduced).  Add an iPanel, and you get the feel of a 6X with the compatibility of iPad with the ATV.

Am I off, or are there ways to work this out in the interim with iPad as an add in to any HA system with an app for it?

Still wondering how long till People accept that Apple simply dont want to play along with anybody else?!
1 HDCP key, encrypted protocol, etc.
If they will find another loophole to close they will do so asap.

Whilst you may have gathered we are not huge fans of the new Apple TV, I will defend it’s HDCP keys.

Our Lightware matrix (Hungary’s finest and superfast switching) reports that it has at least 16 keyspaces.  It MUST have more than one because otherwise you couldn’t connect it via a cinema amp to a TV screen.  In this scenario the ATV has to store the keys for both the cinema Amp and the TV.  Since Apple also advertise the ATV as being able to be connected to a cinema amp it has to work.

We’ve also tested it in our offices via the HDMI to two screens showing it can store at least three keys: one for each of the screens and one for the matrix.