Apart from pairing the Apple TV Siri Remote with your Mac to test Apple TV apps running in Xcode’s simulator, the remote is not of much use on the Mac. That’s where SiriMote, an awesome third-party app comes into play: it enables you to use the Apple TV Siri Remote with all sorts of applications.

Aside from controlling your Mac’s system volume, SiriMote lets you use Siri Remote to control:

• iTunes (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Next Track, Previous Track)
• Keynote (Next Slide, Previous Slide)
• QuickTime (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind)
• VLC (Play/Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind, Next Track, Previous Track)

You can also use it to controll any other application that react to the media keys on the Mac’s keyboard.

SiriMote translates remote buttons into media key presses of your Mac’s keyboard. For example, when you press Volume Up on the Siri Remote, the app will translate that into the Volume Up key on your keyboard and send it to the system.
Likewise, it translates the Play/Pause button on the Remote to the Play/Pause media key on your Mac’s keyboard and sends that to the system.

That enables your Remote to interact with any application that hooks into the media key event system.

SiriMote requires OS X El Capitan 10.11 or newer and a Mac with Bluetooth 4.0. 

The app is free and can be downloaded from the Eternal Storms Software website.

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We’re hearing from some developers that iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan use a new AirPlay encryption, which is not compatible with older Apple TV firmwares and software mirroring solutions like AirServer and Reflector.

In iOS 9 and El Capitan, Apple TVs running firmware version older than 6.2 appear as an audio only destinations:

In order for AirPlay to work, both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan require Apple TV running firmware 6.2 and newer, meanwhile the latest jailbreakable Apple TV software version is 5.3.

People with jailbroken Apple TV’s running 5.3 will need to upgrade to 6.2 or newer to continue using AirPlay.

Of course, if you’re using a jailbroken Apple TV, you may choose not to update to iOS 9 or/and El Capitan and keep AirPlaying your content to the Apple TV.

Some developers told us they are re-implementing the encryption in their software to be ready for the final iOS 9/El Capitan update.

It is expected that iOS 9 will be released in mid-September. OS X El Capitan will launch sometimes in October.

This Wednesday, Apple is hosting an event where it is expected to unveil a next-generation Apple TV, which is rumored to be be thicker and slightly wider than the current-generation model and feature Apple’s A8 chip, a new, “drastically improved” remote with touchpad, more on-board storage, an improved operating system with support for Siri voice control and a long-awaited App Store.

Read more on Apple TV 4: 

• Apple TV 4 specs and price revealed
• Apple TV 4: big focus on gaming and Siri, support for Bluetooth game controllers
• Apple TV 4 will cost $149-$199, available in October

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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We all know that Apple TV’s are great, and we have already taken an in-depth look at how to use a Smart DNS service to stream content that is otherwise blocked due to restrictive (and deeply unfair) licensing terms that seek to maximize copyright holder’s profits by “geo-restricting” content (only allowing viewers located in certain geographic area to access services.)

Fantastic as watching cool stuff on your Apple TV is, there are times when you want to watch shows and movies when you are using other devices. Perhaps you like to watch South Park on your iPhone as you commute to work, or maybe watch movies while at work on your MacBook.

Smart DNS

One great thing about Smart DNS is that it will work on just about any internet-enabled device. It does this by changing a devices’ DNS settings so that they point towards a Smart DNS provider’s DNS server rather than the default one supplied by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This means that instead of your ISP performing DNS translation (converting domain names such as www.apple.com into the numerical IP addresses that computers understand e.g. 17.172.224.47), this is done by the Smart DNS provider.

Because you appear to be accessing the internet from where this DNS translation occurs, and because Smart DNS providers maintain servers located in various countries around the world, Smart DNS is a great way to avoid artificial geographic limitations. And because the process is very simple (basically just matching domain names to IP addresses on a big database), and therefore requires minimal processing power, Smart DNS is very quick.

This means that you will experience the fastest possible streaming speeds, although you should be aware that since electrons can travel no faster than the speed of light (pesky e=mc2), large distances will always introduce some lag time.

VPN

Another way to geo-spoof your location is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. VPN will only work on general purpose computers, smart phones, tablets (so it will work on your iOS device and Mac, but not on your Apple TV), and is slower than Smart DNS thanks to having far more computational overheads. This means that for simply unblocking and streaming media content, Smart DNS is usually a better choice than VPN.

However, VPN provides a number of distinct privacy and security advantages. Because the connection between your device and the VPN provider’s VPN server is securely encrypted, your ISP (and anyone looking over its shoulder, such as the NSA) does not have transparency on your activities on the internet.

In addition to this, because all of your internet activity appears to originate from the IP address of the VPN server, your true IP (and geo-location) is hidden from everyone on the internet. Many (but not all) VPN providers go to great lengths to ensure that they cannot know what their customers get up to when surfing the net (for example by keeping no logs, sharing IP addresses among many users etc.) This can provide meaningful levels of privacy to users.

If you can’t choose between Smart DNS and VPN, never fear. Many providers (such as IronSocket) offer both as part of their basic packages. This means that you can setup your Apple TV to stream content via Smart DNS, while at the same time affording yourself privacy while surfing the internet on your Mac. They also allow for VPN usage without encryption, which helps when streaming because there is no encryption bandwidth overhead.

Setting up SmartDNS in OS X:

1. Go so “System Preferences”
2. Select “Network” (under “Internet & Wireless”)

3. Select your current network, and then click on “Advanced”

4. Select the “DNS” tab

5. Remove existing “DNS Servers” by selecting them and clicking the “-” icon. Warning: it is definitely worth making a note of your ISP’s default DNS settings before doing this so that you can easily switch back (very useful if you like to switch between services based in different countries)

Setting up SmartDNS in iOS 8:

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Select “WiFi”
3. Select current network
4. Touch the “DNS” field and change the DNS Address numbers to those provided by your SmartDNS provider. Note: it is definitely worth making a note of your ISP’s default DNS settings before doing this, so that you can easily switch back (very useful if you like to switch between services based in different countries).
5. Return to the main menu and perform a “power cycle” (hold the Power button and Home button until the phone restarts).

Conclusion

Smart DNS is a great way to stream geo-restricted content on all your devices – not just on your Apple TV. Just remember, though, that a DNS proxy provides no additional security or privacy. If this is what you are after, then using an encrypted VPN does a great job for that.

Lastly, we are happy to announce that IronSocket has created an exclusive 40% discount coupon for all Apple TV Hacks readers to enjoy and share. Use the coupon code “APPLETVHACKSDNS” at checkout for a yearly subscription rate as low as $2.49 per month.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Couple of days back, Apple seeded the second beta to their latest Mac operating system, OSX 10.11 El Capitan (read more). And as usual, developers tore it down in an attempt to track down Apple’s upcoming products. One of the results turned out to be a new Bluetooth remote control, most probably designed for the Apple TV 4.

9to5Mac came across a file inside El Capitan named AppleBluetoothRemote.kext, which wasn’t there on previous builds nor on Yosemite. 9to5Mac’s editors scanned the file and extracted some useful details about the remote.

The new remote will pair with devices over bluetooth and control them with infrared bursts, just like the current remotes.

But what is interesting is that the mentioned remote will have a multi-touch trackpad, which supports inertial scrolling like what we’ve seen with the Remote app for Apple TV. Developers also found references to Apple’s latest force-touch technology in the file but aren’t sure if it will make way to the final product.

It could also be made out that the new remote control will support audio interface, which seems to be an input for Siri voice commands rather than for a speaker.

Unfortunately, they haven’t found any direct mentions of Apple TV 4 in the file. However, this remote uses the same technology as the current Apple TV remotes and is packing touch-pad and Siri input which have previously been rumoured about the Apple TV 4 remote. Hence, we believe that the file references the same and that Apple is planning to launch the revamped Apple TV by the time El Capitan becomes available to the public.

Read more on Apple TV 4.
Check out:Apple TV Remote troubleshooting guide

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Last Monday at the WWDC, Apple previewed the next major software update for Mac, the OS X 10.11 El Capitan (check out the major highlights). Safari on El Capitan brings a wonderful new feature for Apple TV users: the ability to AirPlay web videos to the Apple TV without sharing your whole screen and in the background.

In Yosemite, you can of course AirPlay your entire browser screen to Apple TV and whenever a web video is played, it will show up in full screen on your television. But as soon as you stop playing video on the Mac, the view on the TV goes back to a pure mirror of your screen.

In El Capitan, you will be able to broadcast a separate web video to the Apple TV. It continues to play while you open new tabs on Safari or multitask with different apps – only the video and nothing else is mirrored to the TV.

Use AirPlay to share web video without sharing your whole screen.
Play video from a web page to your TV with Apple TV — without showing everything else on your desktop. Just click the AirPlay icon that appears on compatible web videos and you can watch your video on the big screen.

If you can’t wait till this fall for El Capitan to get this feature, or you have an unsupported Mac you can check out AirParrot 2 for Mac that features media streaming and specific app mirroring.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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Apple has just unveiled a new operating system for Mac – OS X Mavericks at WWDC 2013. Among the new power user features introduced in Mavericks is multi-display support enhancement: the menu bar and dock are now available on any display, and users can run windowed or full-screen apps on whichever display they choose, with no configuration required. With Mavericks you can also use your HDTV as a second display using Apple TV and AirPlay.

With AirPlay and Apple TV, your HDTV works as a fully functional display. So while you’re using your TV to present a slideshow or stream a video lecture, you can take notes on your Mac or chat using Messages.

While native multi-display support in Mavericks is a great feature, the apps like AirParrot have offered this feature for almost a year and a half.

OS X Mavericks is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to download Mavericks from the Mac App Store this fall.

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