I thought he was strangely casual about it as if we were used to that kind of interaction and "flow", even though that's the kind of things that have been talked about for many years (the idea of starting something on my phone, it comes up on my TV screen when I get home, everything is sync'ed, etc.) without really seeing something commercial that really does it.
Absolutely. Your idea about the single boolean to allow an app to stream to Apple TV is brilliant. I was thinking Apple TV would be its own iOS platform with apps, etc, but I think you might have the solution here.
As I watched the presentation, I thought the biggest feature of Apple TV was the streaming from the iOS device. Sending Up from his iPad to the TV was cool, as is the idea of easy slideshows from pictures you take. If a friend could bring over a movie he has on his iPhone and zap it over to your TV, that would be hugely useful.
I see Apple TV at this point as akin to one of those music docks people have for their iPods. Same price and same idea. The music dock, you plop your phone down and now you have speakers for everyone to hear your songs. Apple TV, everyone can hear/watch your media on the TV.
I would love for Apple TV to eventually disrupt the awful TV industry someday, but for now I'm not sure it's much more than a low-margin accessory to generate more sales of iProducts.
The other angle here is that this could eliminate the need for Hulu entirely. Smart networks could make their own apps that follow their own desired content rules (letting you see live, non-live, only the last X days, whatever they want). And they can stream the content to the app in whatever manner of subscription they choose. And indie production companies could skip networks entirely and go straight to the App Store - just like indie musicians and podcasters are already doing.
The great thing would be that you have video on-the-go all the time, and you now have the additional option of viewing it on a bigger screen at home. It'll be hard for content providers to say, we're providing the video to users on the iPhone but we don't want them to have the ability to see it on their TV.
*Memes not required for API compatibility.
With no content storage and 100% streaming, there's no reason this couldn't work from any iDevice to any AppleTV. What I mean is: Say you have the MLB app on your iPhone, but your friend doesn't but he has an AppleTV and giant screen. You go over there with your iPhone, tap a single button, and you can both enjoy the game on the big screen. There's no syncing or sharing of iTunes accounts necessary. The same for sharing and enjoying movies and TV shows with friends. This is exactly the element that's missing in almost all current online content delivery schemes.
I think that feature is the disruptive angle to the AppleTV and that's the reason I bought one. Here's why:
All Apple has to do is add a single Boolean switch to the built in video player: allowsAirPlay. If they do this, then with a single line of code, any app developer can make an app that allows their content to be streamed to an AppleTV. Your iDevice becomes the worlds most powerful remote control almost instantly. Developers (studios, individual shows, whatever) just need to create apps for iOS which authenticate or manage the subscription to their content, and the customers can tap a single button to see it on their big screen. You gain all the advantages of apps on the AppleTV itself without actually needing them to be installed there!
Suddenly the App Store becomes a cable TV network. The added benefit is - you don't need to have an AppleTV to enjoy the benefits! Plug your iPad into your TV using that adapter cable, and you could still enjoy the same content. Or take it with you when you travel - your TV channels are all there. And when you're at home, just tap the AirPlay button to see it on the big screen.
That's the disruption I'm hoping for and Apple has every single piece in place now to do this.