GigaOM » Living Room

Nintendo’s Wii U bets big on second screen TV

Janko Roettgers — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:48:39 +0000

Nintendo’s Wii U game console, which will go on sale mid November in the U.S., will feature on-demand video from Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon as well as some interesting second-screen action for live TV consumption. The company revealed details of its media offering, which is officially called Wii U TVii, at a press event in New York Thursday.

Nintendo had first announced that the Wii U would come with support for Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus at the E3 gaming show in Los Angeles earlier this summer. The move means that the company is catching up with its competitors Sony and Microsoft, which have been offering video services on their current-generation game consoles for some time. Microsoft in particular has been putting a lot of emphasis on TV, adding live TV feeds for pay TV subscribers and numerous other services in recent months.

The line-up of supported services on Nintendo’s Wii U TVii looks kind of meager in comparison, but the console has something that none of its competitors can offer: integration with a user’s existing cable or satellite TV service. That’s possible because the Wii U’s gamepad, which is essentially a touchscreen tablet, doubles as a remote control with IR blaster and second screen capabilities.

Check out a demo video of Wii U TVii below:

The gamepad can be used to browse both titles on services like Netflix as well as live TV listings. Owners of a TiVo can even control their DVR through the gamepad. And it will turn into a second screen while you watch live TV, displaying game stats during a sports game and making it possible to interact with your Twitter followers. This type of functionality was made possible through a cooperation with I.tv, a company that previously built second-screen experiences for media brands like Entertainment Weekly and AOL.

Nintendo said that the TVii service will be free to use. Of course, users will still have to pay for Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus — but making the service free itself sets it apart from media services on the Xbox, which require a Xbox Gold subscription in addition to any third-party fees. However, the question is: With so many apps for existing tablets already providing second-screen experiences, and other consoles offering access to many more services, will Nintendo’s Wii U TVii really move the needle and make users want to buy a Wii U?

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Video: Real Racing 2 HD Now Does 1080p Output On iPad 2

Darrell Etherington — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:15:00 +0000

Real Racing 2 HD previewed 1080p output from the iPad 2 back in March, but now the update is available and it is indeed as awesome as it looks, I can tell you from experience. The update provides a true two-screen experience across menus and in-game, and really shows what the iPad 2 is capable of in terms of becoming a force in living room gaming.

I won’t go into much detail describing how it works, instead check out the video below of me actually playing the game on my 40-inch Samsung LCD:

Watch this video for free on GigaOM

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Is Apple’s Living Room Gaming Strategy Already Here?

Darrell Etherington — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:06:12 +0000

The Apple Bandai Pippin: Due for the same kind of makeover the Newton received?

Many have speculated that Apple could make a move into the console gaming market. I’ve always been skeptical of such an idea, even though it isn’t without precedent. But what if Apple’s already made its living-room play, and we just have to wait for all the pieces to come together?

Apple’s gaming strategy is currently focused on the mobile space, but it could easily transition into the living room. Here’s why:

1. iOS Is a Robust Gaming Platform

It’s hard to overstate the success of gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch. There are an estimated 125 million iOS devices in users’ hands and more than 40,000 gaming titles in the App Store. Games continue to be among the top-selling apps on the iOS charts.

With iOS, Apple has the most important part of the gaming equation down: a solid software library for users to choose from. Though every title won’t translate well to a big-screen gaming experience, many would, including Galaxy on Fire 2, Reckless Racing and Age of Zombies. Upcoming titles like Infinity Blade, with its rich, Unreal 3 engine graphics, immersive gameplay, show that iOS titles could potentially compete with even the most ambitious console games.

2. No New Hardware Required

Apple doesn’t need to make a game console for the living room, because it already has all the components readily available to consumers. The Apple TV, the iPad, and the iPhone/iPod touch are all the home console many people could ever want.

Third-party developers are painting a picture of how this might work. The Incident, one of my favorite iOS games, recently introduced an update that allows you to use the iPhone as a controller for the iPad. A user figured out that, using Apple’s own dock connector-to-VGA adapter, he could run the game on his TV and control it with his iPhone. Here’s a video of the system in action:

This is a bit cumbersome, but once Apple introduces app support on the Apple TV, or at the very least, extends AirPlay beyond just movies and videos to streaming applications, it could be a more viable option.

3. Extra Investment From Apple Is Minimal

The only thing Apple has to do to move gaming from its mobile platform and onto users’ TVs is introduce an API. In fact, the company might only have to bundle existing APIs together and push the concept on developers.

Apple could just let people use the VGA connector to transmit iOS games to their televisions. However, the idea holds so much profit potential that Cupertino could easily introduce iOS gaming to the Apple TV. That would provide a major differentiator for Apple’s streaming media box versus its Google competition.

What do you think? Is Apple working toward becoming a major player in the home console gaming market?

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The New Apple Model: Cheap Player, Expensive Remote

Darrell Etherington — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:15:04 +0000

What’s the real price of admission for the new Apple TV? How about $300 U.S., give or take, not the $99 it says on the box? That’s factoring in the cost of the entry-level iPod touch, which is the least Apple is hoping you’ll be buying in addition to its new living room media player. They say marijuana is a gateway drug; meet Apple’s new innocuous gateway gadget.

The key to Apple TV’s addictive potential? Another recently introduced Apple product, albeit one that’s harder to put a price tag on. It’s AirPlay, the re-imagined AirTunes successor that allows Apple’s iOS devices (as of version 4.2, due in November) to stream video or audio content to the Apple TV, and therefore, to your connected home stereo or television.

Without it, you’ll be paying Apple for the privilege of streaming all your content, since the new Apple TV doesn’t really have any onboard storage to speak of. If you choose to go that route, I’m sure Apple will be pleased, but I’m willing to bet (and I’m sure Apple is too) that the majority of customers will opt to stream their media from their own existing sources most of the time. Which means having something to stream from.

According to Apple’s own website, video won’t be streamed from computers to the Apple TV, only pictures and music. That means you’ll need at least an iPod touch just to start streaming video from your own sources. Of course, an iPod touch also makes a great remote. So Apple’s turned around the normal order of things, and made the storage device the controller and the player itself little more than a conduit.

It’s a risk. Most obviously because consumers could fail to see the link, or just refuse the price of entry that comes along with an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and the Apple TV could fail utterly without affecting sales in the mobile silo at all. But it’s a risk Apple can take. The Apple TV wasn’t ever a star in the company’s lineup anyway, and even as a $99 Netflix box, it’s bound to have at least some success.

Apple may be waving its hands and pointing to Netflix and 99-cent rentals as the major selling points for Apple TV, but the sleeping giant is AirPlay (and maybe the iOS powering it, too). Watch the reviews when it hits living rooms; there won’t be one that doesn’t mention how simple and impressive watching your media via an AirPlay-connected iOS device is. That’s when it’ll become apparent that Apple’s living room strategy is really just another part of Apple’s mobile strategy.

YouTube XL: The Living Room Remodel Gets Delayed

Liz Gannes — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:29:51 +0000

YouTube today presented YouTube XL, a TV-optimized alternate layout for its site that runs through any web browser. Here’s a very short video demo, so you can get a look at what XL looks like on a big screen. Amid the bloggers’ heads and rapid typing, you get a view of an Android phone being used as a remote for XL, and HD video showing up full-screen.

Having returned home from the presser, I have a few more thoughts. Not to spend too much ink on this announcement — it’s just a browser version of YouTube, but the move of web delivery to the TV is one of the most important things we’re tracking. And upon reflection, I think YouTube’s lack of an aggressive take on the living room means a slowdown of that whole process. Bringing video to the TV is a matter of business development and marketing, and YouTube’s strategic revision indicates it’s divesting from that. Where in days gone by, it was busy signing Apple TV, HP MediaSmart, Verismo, Panasonic Viera…this year it seems to be saying, “Take it or leave it.”

It’s worth noting the limitations of the different approaches Hulu and YouTube have taken for the lean-back experience. Hulu Desktop, which also just came out, explicitly prohibits use in the living room, in the interest of protecting its content providers’ business models. So the new Hulu app is crippled and, in my opinion, not very compelling.

YouTube also has to deal with content licensing holdups to some extent, and XL is missing some premium content that’s only available online. But XL surfaces another limitation as we get closer to the living room. By choosing the browser as the delivery vehicle for online video, YouTube is pushing off mainstream usage until browser-enabled TVs become commonplace (at least two to three years, it says). Or, until folks go out and buy connector cords en masse.

I guess we shouldn’t expect to see any more glitzy CES presentations featuring YouTube, since the company said it will phase out TV-specific implementations via business development in favor of this open browser-based approach. But meanwhile, there’s an app store-ification of TVs and set-top boxes under way, with each platform trying to cultivate its own development. So this hands-off approach may mean YouTube gets pushed below the fold rather than prominently featured. YouTube is effectively removing itself as a prominent lobbyist for web content on TVs.

YouTube also reveals its expectation that XL will not be a massively popular product by leaving out ads entirely. The last people YouTube wants to anger are its loyal revenue-sharing partners, and if significant views started coming in through XL, you can bet they’d be pissed. So…we might want to take a rain check on this whole living room shebang.

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My Idea for an Apple Living Room Experience

Arvin Dang — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:00:08 +0000

The question for the past few years has been simple: who’s going to make it into the living room first. The market is growing, features are being added, but no clear victor has been declared.

I think I may have come upon a conclusion that appeases almost everyone. Bear with me, it’s a bit loopy. I plan on purchasing an Apple TV, 40 gig (to save money at first). Then by hacking it, get it to run OS X. Understandably a bit slower then most Macs, the Apple TV will at least be able to run core applications within the OS.

Then I plan on re-installing the Apple TV software as a separate application. Not only will my Apple TV function as a both, since it’s running OS X, I can plug in my Miglia HD USB Tuner. I can use my MacBook to set up programming over the web, and have Migila default to record shows in the Apple TV format. Then have it automatically delete after viewing or save as necessary.

To get around the different subsystems, including launching applications I might need a heavier remote application. I suggest checking out Remote Buddy. The app will breath new life into your Apple remote. Not only can you launch applications, you’ll be able to function without a keyboard and mouse for most other uses within your computers platform. Here’s some extra Apple remote tips just in case. But now you’ll be able to access iTunes or iPhote, stream content, or just check out the weather using Dashboard. With Perian and OS X installed, DivX will be a cinch to install, not to mention upgrading your hard drive should be pretty straight forward.

Not only will that help get you the shows you want, but since besides YouTube, the Apple TV is a bit lacking in streaming content from the web, you’ll now be able to access Hulu right from your big screen. To make accessing Hulu even easier, you can save it as an “application” using Fluid. If you haven’t heard of Fluid, it takes your favorite web apps and creates an independent, executable application for it, icons and everything. Hell you can even Cover Flow through your RSS from your TV. No muss no fuss.

If anyone has already considered this or has tried it out, I’d love to hear about it, please comment below.

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