Intrinsic AppleTV Driver NOT compatible with TVOS 15

[RAV]

Passing along the message.

 

[IntrinsicGroup]

Please note the original poster has omitted a crucial part of the message sent out to dealers... that being that tvOS 15 requires a new driver due to a change in Apple protocol (which has also broken their own MRP based apps and many other third party licensed products which use it).  We continue to support all of our Apple driver range (1-3rd Gen, tvOS13-14 and now the new tvOS15 driver).  We deliberately market our drivers by the tvOS's that they support for clarity.

As the rest of the email states, we already have a new driver in production that uses the new protocol currently employed in the tvOS 15 Public Beta. This driver will require final testing once tvOS 15 is released to the public. As we do not know the date tvOS 15 will be released we cannot release the new driver instantly, and are therefore suggesting auto-update is turned off so all clients can keep complete control of their ATV via Control4 by temporarily remaining on tvOS 14 or below.

Once the new driver, utilising the new protocol is released this will be a free upgrade for all users of our existing driver.

 

Original Email sent out to all dealers using our existing Apple TV (tvOS13 and 14) Driver:

Immediate action required: Ensure auto-update is turned OFF on all Apple TVs that are using an Apple TV MRP Driver.

As you may be aware Apple currently have tvOS 15 in public beta, and we expect it to be released as final version software at the beginning of September.

This beta software is using a completely new protocol for the Apple TV, with Apple themselves no longer using MRP on their own apps. This new protocol is not compatible with any driver that uses MRP including our existing Apple TV drivers for Control4, Crestron, Elan and RTI. Please therefore ensure auto-update is turned off on all Apple TV devices that use our driver to ensure control continues uninterrupted for your clients.  MRP will continue to work on all systems that remain on tvOS 14 or below.

What happens next?

Our team are already working on drivers for all platforms that will work on the new protocol currently being tested in the tvOS 15 public beta.

These drivers will need to be tested on the final release Apple TV software once it goes live, which is why it is important all Apple TVs remain on tvOS 14 or below whilst we carry out our final internal testing. 

Once we have finished testing the drivers for the new protocol they will be rolled out FREE OF CHARGE for the first six months to anyone using our existing Apple TV drivers for tvOS13 and 14.

Can I still buy your existing Apple TV drivers?

Yes, we will continue to support all existing Apple TV drivers and they will work as expected on all Apple TV devices running tvOS 13 or 14. If you decide to update to tvOS 15 in the future you can download and install the new tvOS 15 driver (when available).

When will your tvOS 15 driver be available?

We can't give a fixed date for this as we do not know when Apple will release the new software. Once tvOS 15 is released we will complete internal testing as a priority and then push it out to our beta testers for final checks. 

We would like to assure you that releasing our tvOS 15 drivers as quickly as possible will be our top priority. You will receive another email as soon as the drivers are available.

[South Africa C4 user]

Good to see a proactive email like this.  I wonder if the native C4 driver will also need an update to work on TV OS15… I don’t even know where my Apple TV remotes are so maybe I should turn updates off for a while.  

[RAV]

3 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Good to see a proactive email like this.  I wonder if the native C4 driver will also need an update to work on TV OS15… I don’t even know where my Apple TV remotes are so maybe I should turn updates off for a while.  

Official Control4 driver uses the Apple API is not suppose to have any issue with tvOS15.

I agreed, glad to see their response and they'll have a solution for their client base.

[Amr]

One of the best companies out there, they stand behind their products and their ATV driver is one of the best IP based driver for no fans like myself!

[TundraSonic]

Will the Intrinsic tvOS15 driver support some of the new capabilities that Apple are providing for like selecting specific apps and controlling those apps?

[dinom]

5 hours ago, TundraSonic said:

Will the Intrinsic tvOS15 driver support some of the new capabilities that Apple are providing for like selecting specific apps and controlling those apps?

Are you saying tvOS15 will support direct app launching with mini apps like Roku?

[IntrinsicGroup]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:42 PM, TundraSonic said:

Will the Intrinsic tvOS15 driver support some of the new capabilities that Apple are providing for like selecting specific apps and controlling those apps?

Not initially, the first release of the driver will most likely include current features only. We hope to be able to add in additional features soon though as we get a lot of requests for them.

[TundraSonic]

We were having a discussion about this over breakfast this morning. Being able to control ATV from C4 would be an extremely welcomed ability.

[ekohn00]

1 hour ago, TundraSonic said:

We were having a discussion about this over breakfast this morning. Being able to control ATV from C4 would be an extremely welcomed ability.

The C4 driver for AppleTV still works under OS15.

I've read here that a lot of folks love the intrinsic driver, I've not had problems, but if they solve can move forward an implement a direct app select for the appletv - my wallet might finally be open for that!!!!

 

[RAV]

1 hour ago, TundraSonic said:

We were having a discussion about this over breakfast this morning. Being able to control ATV from C4 would be an extremely welcomed ability.

Many options:
1. The AppleTV IR driver has NEVER broken.
2. The Official Control4 IP driver will work, some hoops to jump through.
3. Other's love the Intrinsic, no personal experience.

Frankly, until the Apple API adds features that the IR driver doesn't have, I'll stick an emitter on it.
And even then, I'll wager good money, that Apple will change course and mess it up within two years.
Unless Apple evolves the AppleTV, I don't expect another generation, although I'm sure it's a huge profit margin item for them.

[TundraSonic]

The new API provides capabilities for launching specific apps and controlling those apps. So for instance a C4 button press may be able to select 'Hulu', select 'Live', select 'Channel Bloomberg'. 

Selecting an app s/b doable just w/ the new capability. I'd assume that stuff inside the app will require app updates to provide the needed hooks.

[sonic30101]

That is why I have only ever done IR control of Appletvs since 2015 on projects. Never had to deal with the old one breaking when the atv4 came out, no dealing with the bridge issues, and no issues with another unofficial driver causing service outages for customers. Maybe one day but I won't do IP anytime soon for anything other than the lab or science fair projects for customers. Not ready for prime time for the hassle factor and service outages.

[JJ7]

Any news on when the updated driver is going to drop?

 

[Amr]

10 hours ago, JJ7 said:

Any news on when the updated driver is going to drop?

 

I believe they need time, The driver needs to checked against the final release, beta tested first then rolled out.

[IntrinsicGroup]

On 9/25/2021 at 3:38 AM, Amr said:

I believe they need time, The driver needs to checked against the final release, beta tested first then rolled out.

Thanks @Amr that's exactly what we're working through currently. We do some initial testing on the Apple Beta software but wait until the final release software is publicly available before we do proper testing and polishing of the driver. We're working through that as we speak and then we'll roll out the driver to our beta testers and assuming feedback is all positive  from them we'll roll it out publicly. 

If anyone would like to join our Beta Programme please drop us a message, the quicker we can get feedback on the driver once in beta the quicker we can release it. Otherwise we're working to get it out as quickly as possible but recommend staying on tvOS 14 or below for now until the new driver is ready as this will ensure control continues without any issues. 

[therockhr]

On 9/18/2021 at 11:16 AM, TundraSonic said:

The new API provides capabilities for launching specific apps and controlling those apps. So for instance a C4 button press may be able to select 'Hulu', select 'Live', select 'Channel Bloomberg'. 

Selecting an app s/b doable just w/ the new capability. I'd assume that stuff inside the app will require app updates to provide the needed hooks.

you have a link that tells about these new capabilities in the Apple TV OS API?

[Amr]

11 hours ago, IntrinsicGroup said:

Thanks @Amr that's exactly what we're working through currently. We do some initial testing on the Apple Beta software but wait until the final release software is publicly available before we do proper testing and polishing of the driver. We're working through that as we speak and then we'll roll out the driver to our beta testers and assuming feedback is all positive  from them we'll roll it out publicly. 

If anyone would like to join our Beta Programme please drop us a message, the quicker we can get feedback on the driver once in beta the quicker we can release it. Otherwise we're working to get it out as quickly as possible but recommend staying on tvOS 14 or below for now until the new driver is ready as this will ensure control continues without any issues. 

Sign me in for Beta, I had made a lot of tests to a lot of developers, I can test on one of eight of my atv's, I belive u will get the driver out for basic control then role out extended functionalties like Apps launching?

[dinom]

Does the Intrinsic driver rely on any sort of reverse engineering of a proprietary AppleTV control protocol?  Or is it based solely on a released API?  

[BXTR]

Reverse engineered. Not a fan

[therockhr]

On 9/18/2021 at 11:16 AM, TundraSonic said:

The new API provides capabilities for launching specific apps and controlling those apps. So for instance a C4 button press may be able to select 'Hulu', select 'Live', select 'Channel Bloomberg'. 

Selecting an app s/b doable just w/ the new capability. I'd assume that stuff inside the app will require app updates to provide the needed hooks.

I want to bump this again to make sure I am reading this right; can someone confirm that there is a new AppleTV API that will allow developers to be able to select an app and even control things inside that app like changing to a specific channel?

[Amr]

1 hour ago, therockhr said:

I want to bump this again to make sure I am reading this right; can someone confirm that there is a new AppleTV API that will allow developers to be able to select an app and even control things inside that app like changing to a specific channel?

Yes, am not sure on in-app controls thought, if this is also true apps need to leverage these controls but can’t see a lot of apps updating recently so we have to wait …

[Pierre Ståhl]

Let me know if you need any help with protocol related things, I already did most of the reverse engineering for pyatv (both for tvOS 15 support and the Companion protocol, used for app launching amongst other things). I'm interested in any other potential findings you make.

[tmj4]

6 hours ago, Pierre Ståhl said:

I already did most of the reverse engineering for pyatv (both for tvOS 15 support and the Companion protocol

Is there some documentation on Apple's Developer site about this functionality?

[Pierre Ståhl]

2 hours ago, tmj4 said:

Is there some documentation on Apple's Developer site about this functionality?

It is internal protocols and not documented by Apple. AirPlay 2 documentation is probably available under NDA for partners as it can be licensed. Not the parts used here though.