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Two-way IP driver released for AppleTV


thecodeman

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Is all your music in iTunes?

Is some of it in AAC and worse still does some of it have DRM?

Are you used to the way iTunes catalogues their music?

Are you refusing to re-rip all your music into MP3 or FLAC?

Are they complaining that "lesser" wireless digital music solutions can handle AACs?

Do you want a simple way to enjoy your music collection within Control4?

Not wasting any time, Extra Vegetables is offering up the V8 version of IP control for the AppleTV in Control4 systems. Now you can enjoy your AAC and DRM wrapped audio files purchased with iTunes, all easily selectable from touchpanels, remotes, and the on-screen GUI. Check out additional details and a video on the blog.

www.c4central.com and www.extravegetables.com

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I bet this will be popular. Does it allow for selection of video devices as well using the Apple TV GUI?

While this is great for music, it would be nice if it allowed for integration of the video products Apple TV offers as well.

I am sure this will be a big hit. Can you let us know what the driver costs?

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You'll have to contact your dealer for installation pricing, since the dealer who created it is in the UK and the price is in Pounds, it has to be converted and differs depending on the exchange rate to USD. I think we will charge somewhere in the neigborhood of $275 installed for it, until Jan 15 when the introductory price is over.

In regards to movie selections, this is what they have to say:

"You can also use the driver to select movies from the Apple TV interface without an IR bug on the front of the Apple TV. Once a movie has been selected you will get the details on the Now Playing screens.

We are looking at integrating movie choices from the Control4 interfaces. With Control4 2.0 not far off we will be looking at that release before adding these features. "

"What you get right now is a simple way to choose and playback AACs and DRM protected music through the Control4 interface. No converting, no scanning, no re-ripping, no time wasting!"

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You'll have to contact your dealer for installation pricing, since the dealer who created it is in the UK and the price is in Pounds, it has to be converted and differs depending on the exchange rate to USD. I believe it's approximately $200 USD.

In regards to movie selections, this is what they have to say:

"You can also use the driver to select movies from the Apple TV interface without an IR bug on the front of the Apple TV. Once a movie has been selected you will get the details on the Now Playing screens.

We are looking at integrating movie choices from the Control4 interfaces. With Control4 2.0 not far off we will be looking at that release before adding these features. "

"What you get right now is a simple way to choose and playback AACs and DRM protected music through the Control4 interface. No converting, no scanning, no re-ripping, no time wasting!"

Thanks Cody. I sent a message to my dealer, but haven't heard back yet...$200 is fairly pricey though, especially if it doesn't include installation labor. I would be willing to convert and scan quite a bit of music for $200.

Oh well, to each his own.

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Will this display movie or music album cover artin the control4 GUI?

Apple TV is so badly in need of an update, I wouldn't advise anyone to buy one, or spend $200 on a driver written for what will be old school in a few months when the new apple TV is released. My two cents.

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I don't want to be the negative one here but I'll bite ... the cost of the driver ~= the cost of the device. Everybody's got to eat (and price their own work product) but doesn;t that seem a little ridiculous.

Yes, yes it does. That means your shelling out over $400 to play some DRM tracks.

Ouch.

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I don't want to be the negative one here but I'll bite ... the cost of the driver ~= the cost of the device. Everybody's got to eat (and price their own work product) but doesn;t that seem a little ridiculous.

Yes' date=' yes it does. That means your shelling out over $400 to play some DRM tracks.

Ouch.[/quote']

Its not that bad of a deal considering the other options. The C4 iPod dock is $299 plus price of an iPod. The Driver plus an Apple TV will be a little more than $400. Another feature that has not been mentioned is that you can create a Movie Playlist and select it from the Playlist Menu on C4 Navigators. Not as nice as the C4 Movie Cover Art but a good substitution for now. Hopefully C4 2.0 will bring nice solution.

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^ "Hopefully C4 2.0 will bring nice solution."

That's kind of my take on this piece of the market right now. Don't invest too heavily since there are significant changes on the horizon. The C4 media player is half baked, Apple TV has limitations of it's own when it comes to video (read codecs and frame/bit rates), etc, etc. And as many have pointed out, this category of product is targeted at the early adopter anyway, not the main stream ... who's going to be processing their own DVD catalogues, not John Q Public.

If you're getting in the game spend wisely and make sure there's some resale value from your initial investment so you can move up the ladder as technology in this space matures. For me that means not spending $200 on a driver to support some transient technology platform. A driver that is not resellable and an AppleTV that will bring $100 6-12 months down the road. That's like throwing $300 bucks out the window. For me XBMC is the best bet right now.

This all said, I do have worries about the 2.0 app marklet place relative to pricing. I'm afraid this may be an indication of what's in store.

Anyway, just MHO.

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My 2 cents - I already own an Apple TV because I want to play my iTunes around the house. I use Navigator to bring up Apple TV on the screen then use my iPhone's REMOTE app to control Apple TV. Works nice as long as I stay within Apple TV. It's great for walking around during parties and being able to change songs on the fly. If I want to raise or lower the volume I have to exit REMOTE and load the iPhone's Control4 app. That's a pain. And then there's the Apple TV / IR pausing bug to deal with. Still having my thousands of iTune songs available is worth the Apple TV cost. (Plus I use the movie rental feature a lot.)

I've already spent tens of thousands on my Control4 system so spending an extra $200 for a driver plus a service call feels like nothing. If it will make my system's ease of use smoother, well, that's the price for playing in this game. Would I like the driver to be $50 instead? Sure. But I'm also not complaining.

And when 2.0 comes out I'll spend a bunch more to get locks on the doors and all the other new bells and whistles.

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..Yes..but also via C4 (like what has been demonstrated with this new 2 way apple TV driver).

This is my ideal world. Keep all the Sonos software and hardware controllers AND put additional control of track selection onto the C4 platform.

I keep my Sonos for music. And I add the new C4 media player into each zone for Video. That's why I keep harping on that the 2 systems are such a great fit.

C4 get to sell alot more gear to customers like me(rather than lose sales to Apple)....in fact, suddenly there is no need for Apple TV!

...I know I'm asking alot. Anymore such "outlandish" requests and you'll have me excluded from the forum and deleting posts (again) :lol::lol::lol:

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