This setup is particularly useful for games. Imagine the game getting displayed on the 1080p screen and your iPod has all the controls. Your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch + Apple TV combo can very well replace your console. And the advantages of this over plain mirroring of games are:

• First, the black pillars on the sides of the screen will vanish (i.e. full screen gaming)
• Secondly, the gameplay will be a lot more smoother as your A5 chip doesn’t have to power two displays in two aspect ratios, simultaneously
• Lastly, it is annoying and distracting to have both devices running the same game together.

Despite the advantages, there is a real dearth of dual screen airplay enabled games at the App Store. In fact, I could only come up with about five worth mentioning in this article. Whatever the reason for that might be, if you’re looking for a console-like gameplay with your Apple devices but don’t want to spend for that MFi controller, here are the games to get.

• Real Racing 2 ($4.99)

This penultimate title in the Real Racing series would be the smoothest dual screen AirPlay game of all. It was real easy to get connected, no lags whatsoever and incredibly perfect controls. My TV showed awesome cut scenes while I was configuring the race and as soon as the whistle blew, it was HD rubber burns. In the meantime, my iPad displayed a mini map of the track, my position, laps, time and speed. The controls vary according to your settings of accelerometer or button controls. I was amazed at the flawless full screen quality of the game, despite using an iPad mini and keeps me wondering why Real Racing 3 didn’t include the feature.

TV screen:

iOS device screen:

• MetalStorm : Online (free)

This is the game which really gives some sense to dual screen AirPlay. Sporting only accelerometer controls, MetalStorm on iPad would’ve wanted your eyes to go in circles while maneuvering your fighter plane. Sending the display to the 1080p screen makes you enjoy the visuals of the game while your hands does all the twisting. Though not as intensive as RR2, MetalStorm gives a pretty decent graphics with no chokes at all. The controls hub (below) is one of the most realistic ones and they work seamlessly while AirPlaying.

TV screen:

iOS device screen:

• Race Illegal High Speed 3D ($0.99)

This one from Chillingo is another perfect execution of the dual screen functionality. The game has three levels of graphics and even the ‘high’ one doesn’t have any stutters. The game also has multiple modes of controls and different camera views to be set and they too work like charm. The control board at hand is simple with sticks (or blank for accelerometer controls), a map, the speedometer, the brake and a unique rear-view mirror too. You can also change the music track and camera angle here. Now that we think about it, it is comparable to Real Racing in its execution, keeping aside Unreal Engine graphics and the street racing theme.

TV Screen:

iOS Device screen:

• N.O.V.A. 3 ($6.99)

To tell the truth, I had high hopes for this game. An FPS game seems to be a perfect fit for dual screen gaming as you seldom need to look at the controls for using stick controls. And for the most part, N.O.V.A. 3 faired well too. But the game seems to be streaming at 15 frames per seconds or so. Yeah, there are so much dropped frames that at times, you wouldn’t even realize where you’re going. There is a high chance that it is due to my under-powered iPad mini but Real Racing 2 performed very well on the same device. So I would like my iPad Air friends to clarify this part for me.

TV screen:

iOS device screen:

• Beat Hazard Ultra ($4.99)

I took up the game just for this review, but once I did, I couldn’t drop it for an hour. It is a simple old-school Space shooter themed game in its core but on the outside, its spectacular and colorful. A techno beat plays in the background while your weapons vary with the tempo in its type, strength, colors and frequency of bullets. A minute into the game and it’ll light up all the pixels on your TV with those 16 million shades. Both single-stick controls with auto aim and dual-stick controls are available for the too simple iOS screen and the latter seems more challenging and addictive. Though the frame rates never took any hits, the sounds (the essence of the game) consistently takes some time to get going. Often the game starts with a mute but in about 3 seconds or so, it comes back on and what you have is a cracker-party!

TV screen (sorry about the glare, it’s so flashy, this is the best I could get and to put up a non-flashy snap would be an injustice to the game!):

iOS Device screen:

So these were some of the best dual screen AirPlay compatible games for iPhone and iPad. I wonder why such a great feature is utilized so little by the developers. Even giants like Gameloft and Electronic Arts aren’t seen to be implementing dual screen functionality in their games. Hopefully, there’ll be more such games in the future and we’ll make it sure to let you know.

Also read: 5 more great AirPlay-enabled dual screen games for Apple TV

Note: Dual screen apps will only work on:

• iPhone 4S or later
• iPad 2 or later
• iPad mini and mini with Retina
• iPod touch 5th gen.

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UPDATE: We did some deep digging and found a few more dual screen games. We’ll put up a new post soon. So stick around! Here it comes: 5 more great AirPlay-enabled dual screen games for Apple TV

The post 5 best AirPlay-enabled dual screen games for Apple TV appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Apple TV, which has recently taken the #1 spot of top-sellers in the TV and Video category on Amazon, is experiencing a surge in sales in recent months and developers like Firemint, Splitmo or Cerebral Gardens are taking notice.

“We are excited about how popular Apple TV has become as a way to enjoy content without paying high cable bills,” said Rob Witman, founder at Splitmo, makers of Air Show, a photo sharing and editing tool for iPad and iPhone via HDTVs. “And we are taking it a few steps further. We are focused on letting customers enhance their devices and use their HDTV and iPad for a shared video and entertainment experience. Companies like us see an opportunity to create very cool experiences to share on the big screen using platforms like Apple TV.” Apple has sold 5 million Apple TVs in fiscal 2012.

Also read: Air Show HD – Review

Cerebral Gardens is a developer that leverages AirPlay‘s dual screen capabilities with their popular app Party Doodles for iOS. “Apple’s AirPlay technology opens the door to all kinds of innovative app ideas that aren’t possible on other platforms,” said Dave Wood, president at Cerebral Gardens.  “Being able to wirelessly connect a big HD screen to a mobile device enables developers to create a much more immersive experience for their customers.”

Also read: Apple TV gaming: Party Doodles for iPad and Apple TV

Whether it’s multi-player games like Firemint’s Real Racing 2 HD, which offers a split-screen gaming experience from iPad to HDTV, or MetalStorm: Wingman from Z2Live that features seamless AirPlay compatibility, an ecosystem of games and tools is emerging around Apple TV.

Also read: Real Racing 2 HD First to Support Wireless Gaming over AirPlay on Apple TV 2

Witman says that Splitmo has a few additions to Air Show in the works like stickers, art and freehand (you can already share your HDTV-edited photos through the app on Facebook and Twitter). He say that Splitmo is also rolling out some “unique mobile to HDTV products” in the coming months that will add to the growing array of offerings that enhance the Apple TV experience for customers.

The post Apple TV’s increased popularity is creating ecosystem of tools and apps appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Movie trailers have always been sort of a side hobby for Apple. Now this hobby seems to be getting some attention, as Apple has released an app specifically for movie trailers.

When you first open iTunes Movie Trailers on either your iPhone or iPad, you’ll find the trailer layout very similar to the Apple TV’s graphic-based layout. Here you can scroll and search based on movie art, or simply search for whatever trailer you are looking to watch and then watch it on your device or on your TV, through AirPlay.

A nice calendar feature is included with this app. From here, you can see all upcoming theater releases, along with past releases. I can easily see movies that were released many months ago, and check movies that are expected in the somewhat-distant future (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises are slated to hit theaters July of next year, for example).

Read the full review on Whatsoniphone.com

You may also want to read:
Real Racing 2 HD First to Support Wireless Gaming over AirPlay on Apple TV 2
AirPlay-Enabled Apps: Air Video (review)
AirPlay-Enabled Apps: Web Browser, Camera and Videos for Apple TV, TVOut Genie! (review)

The post AirPlay-enabled Apps: iTunes Movie Trailers appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.