Don’t you love it when best things get even better? Well, our favourite AirPlay browser for Apple TV – AirBrowser, just got a major update and we’re loving it.

You might remember that we did a comprehensive review of AirBrowser last year, when we were blown away by its ease to get connected, intuitive interface and tutorials, lag-free surfing, Mac-like gestures, multi-tab support and custom features.

We were surprised at how satisfactory the browsing on the 50-inch HDTV was and concluded it as below:

I have used a couple of other AirPlay browsers as well as some normal iOS browsers over AirPlay. But, unlike others, AirBrowser seems to concentrate on just this one thing, to the point that there is no standalone browsing. And such a focus surely shows through in its execution, as AirBrowser is noticeably faster, powerful and more intuitive now, than what I saw back in July.

In short, AirBrowser is the most premium experience I’ve ever had with any AirPlay browsers.

In this review, I’ll be focusing on the new additions to AirBrowser, namely the AdBlock and YouTube optimizations.

Ad-blocker on AirBrowser

Anybody who has used an ad-blocker addon on their Mac or PC would know how pleasant the whole experience becomes. Websites load much faster, you have less distractions, browsing consumes less data and the content display is much neater.

If you are coming from such a surfing scenario, AirBrowser will feel right at home from now on. Tap on the gear icon in the left bottom corner and toggle AdBlock on.

YouTube experience with AirBrowser

Similarly, below you can see YouTube loaded on Safari over AirPlay mirroring to Apple TV, versus the AirBrowser version. It is obvious why one might want to choose the latter.

Besides, while playing YouTube videos, a navigation bar and media buttons show up on your iOS screen, which just simplifies the whole YouTube experience. You can seek, play, pause and scrub, even while playing videos fullscreen, without messing around with the cursor.

The verdict

After checking out this update, we have no choice but to stand our ground. We previously throned AirBrowser as the best AirPlay browser in the App Store and now, it’s just grown better.

An app backed by an active developer team who pushes out frequent improvements, and delivers extremely well on what it promises, is surely worth recommending. So if you are searching for a browser for your Apple TV, don’t look any further.

Get AirBrowser now for just $2.99 (usual $4.99) thanks to their App Store promotion.

Also be sure to take a look at our full review of AirBrowser.

The post AirBrowser – The best AirPlay browser for Apple TV gets even beter (review) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

I have a YouTube channel where I upload gameplay videos of the games I find interesting. But it has been a bit idle recently thanks to the dearth of good screen capturing softwares. I have been researching to find an ideal one, but most of them are directed towards Mac. As a PC user, I finally got the desired results with AirServer.

I had heard about AirServer before, but it filled the headlines some time ago when it gained Miracast support and enhanced performance features on PC. This is why I decided to give it a try.

AirServer is now called AirServer Universal and it turns your Windows PC into a universal mirroring receiver, allowing you to mirror using AirPlay and Miracast simultaneously to the same screen.

Setting up AirServer

As with most mirroring softwares, the setting up was pretty smooth. Once I downloaded a seven megabyte file, I was ready to start streaming in less than a minutes.

Those who have a firewall enabled will however need to exempt AirServer from its settings, which might be the only hiccup you’ll come across. Don’t worry, the instructions for the same come bundled with the software and will pop up during the setup. Just follow them and you will do just fine.

Mirroring to PC

As for my use, how my iOS screen gets recorded is more important than how it shows up on the PC screen. And that is why I have been coping with the subpar mirroring quality and occasional flickering I’ve had with other softwares, because the final recordings looked good with them. Or somewhere deep within, I believed that there was a limit of clarity one could achieve in such situations.

But the belief was blown to pieces by AirServer as I have been getting excellent results, even with the live stream. The lag is almost negligible and the least of all the apps I have tried.

So if your requirement involves you showing off your app or a mobile website directly on a PC, AirServer should do the trick for you.

Miracast with AirServer

AirServer Universan can simultaneously mirror both AirPlay and Miracast.

The best part is that there is no setup needed from the Android device. Just like you connect your iPhone or iPad to an Apple TV, you can Miracast your WP or Android device directly from the Settings.

As it turns out, not every PC is supported: the Miracast services in AirServer will work on all computers with WiFi adapter which has NDIS6,4 drivers (Windows 8.1). This is not a hardware limitation but a software (driver) limitation.

Check out system requirements for AirServer Universal.

iOS screen recording with AirServer

For me, this is the very reason I bought AirServer in the first place and, fortunately, it din’t disappoint. Unlike other softwares I’ve used in the past, I have more control over how the recording is stored, its resolution, type of audio output, refresh rates, contrast and sharpness, and much more.

I remember turning off 1080p streaming with other clients, but AirServer manages full HD easily even on my ULV processor. The results were stunning and I never experienced any loss of connection, glitches or bugs while recording.

Conclusion

AirServer is undoubtedly the best at what it does.

It can mirror multiple iOS devices simultaneously to your PC screen with ease and elegance. Though I am converting my free trial into a paid license only for its powerful recording features, I am sure its excellence in mirroring makes the possibilities endless for professionals. Especially if you can connect your PC to a projector, thanks to the bring-your-own-device feature, anybody can show off his screen with just a tap.

If you’re looking for the Miracast function, you might want to make sure you have a reasonably recent PC and a supported phone to make use of it. You can just drop in a mail to the ever-friendly AirServer support team to find out if your configuration supports casting feature.

You can check the AirServer website to read more about the features.

AirServer Universal is sold at $14.99 (consumer license), $7,99-$11.99 (educational license) or $19,99 (business license) and you can get it from here.

A free 7 day trial of a fully featured version is also available.

The post AirServer Universal – AirPlay and Miracast receiver for PC [Review] appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Remember the AirBrowser app? We reported its launch earlier this year and, in our hands on look, concluded it as “a good option to look into” for anyone who wants to browse the internet on the HDTV via Apple TV. It’s been a few months since the release and a bunch of updates claim to have manifolded the AirBrowser experience. And today, we’ll see if that claim holds up in our tests.

Spoiler alert: it does!

Air Browser gives you a full desktop internet browser experience, but without a PC. All you need is an iOS device and an Apple TV (or a supported HDMI Cable).

You will be able to surf the web, to watch streaming videos in full screen on your TV, to read newspapers and anything else you normally do with a standard PC or a Mac browser. Pinch to zoom, swipe gesture to navigate through the navigation history, an easy to use multi tab system, bookmarks and more.

Getting Connected with AirBrowser

To be honest, I have never had any difficulties in connecting any AirPlay apps to Apple TV, and AirBrowser is no exception. Even if you’re using AirPlay for the first time, there is an animated step-by-step guide which loads on start up and guides you through this (swipe up the Control Centre, tap AirPlay, select Apple TV and turn on Mirroring). Google loads up immediately on your Apple TV, while the iPhone or iPad is turned into a touchpad.

Browsing on Apple TV with AirBrowser

Not sure if it’s because we’ve been serially downgrading our screen sizes from the 22-inch desktop monitors to 4-inch mobile screen, but thinking of browsing on an HDTV kind of scares us or at least seems like an overdo. But from my experience, after an awkward ten minutes or so, you just start enjoying the full screen browsing and you find it hard to go back. Apple.com has never looked more beautiful and watching 1080p YouTube videos on the 50 inch screen is mesmerizing.

Since you’re seated on your couch much away from the television screen, things just feel normal and clearer, rather than overblown. AirBrowser really adds to the experience by its intuitive controls and if you’re a Mac user, you’ll instantly fall into the slot. Use single finger for moving the cursor, two for scrolling, pinch gestures for zooming and taps to open links. The best thing, whenever you tap on a text field, a virtual keyboard pops up on your iPhone/iPad and you can type on it just like with a physical wireless keyboard.

In our tests, the websites loaded quickly and the cursor movements didn’t show any noticeable lag. The navigation is similar to Macs not only in terms of the gestures, but the capacitive touch screen of your iOS device works so fluidly, that its feel is comparable to the touch pads on MacBooks.

AirBrowser’s custom features

Besides the central mirroring ability, AirBrowser comes packed with a wide range of options which makes it as powerful as most browsers for iPhone.

Note: The first thing you need to do after setting up the app is go into the Settings tab and toggle the Size pages to fit’mode on. Else some websites will load ‘boxed’ instead of full screen and spoils the whole fun.

AirBrowser supports multitabs, meaning you can have many tabs open at the same time. Switching between tabs is as easy as a ‘tap and swipe’.

There is a separate Bookmarks and History manager for the app. Also you can access the recently opened pages via the Grid icon in the app. This will show up as a tab on the TV screen and can be selected directly over there, instead of you looking down into your device every time.

On the iPad/iPhone screen, you do have the options to load the desktop or mobile versions but I highly recommend keeping it to the former. Also, the webpages can easily be shared from here via AirDrop, Message, Mail and more.

Compatibility

AirBrowser is compatible with iPhone 4S and up, iPad 2 and up, and iPod Touch 5th gen. It can stream to Apple TV 2nd gen and Apple TV 3rd gen. If you have doubts as to how well your devices will work with the app, Airbrowser has a dedicated checker app for the same. You can get it here for free.

Verdict

I have used a couple of other AirPlay browsers as well as some normal iOS browsers over AirPlay. But, unlike others, AirBrowser seems to concentrate on just this one thing, to the point that there is no standalone browsing. And such a focus surely shows through in its execution, as AirBrowser is noticeably faster, powerful and more intuitive now, than what I saw back in July.

In short, AirBrowser is the most premium experience I’ve ever had with any AirPlay browsers. If your job involves showing off websites or articles or web pages over AirAplay, the 1080p output of AirBrowser is something you shouldn’t miss. Even for normal home users who’re holding out just because you think HDTV browsing is awkward, should try AirBrowser to realize it isn’t.

Get AirBrowser from the App Store for $4.99

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

The post AirBrowser – The best web browser for Apple TV (Review) appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Apple is planning to get the most out of their 3 billion Beats acquisition by making its streaming service available to as many as possible. With the 7.0 software update, they’ve added a brand new Beats Music channel to Apple TV, which corresponds to the app of the same name on iOS.

The channel begins by inviting you to a 14-day free trial, unless you already have an account. After two weeks of streaming unlimited music, you can opt to subscribe for $10 a month or $100 per year, which will be charged directly to your iTunes account.

Beats Music channel is similar to its iOS app in almost all aspects, except that the former shows up in 1080p.

My Library is pretty much self explanatory while Just for You features a playlist curated especially for you based on your song habits and interested genres. You can Browse their catalog or Search for more songs based on Artist, Albums, genres or even by Awards and Events at the Highlights tab.

Stream unlimited, ad-free music anytime you want with Beats Music. Choose from over 20 million songs from nearly every genre imaginable. Not sure what to play? The Beats in-house curators can guide you.

However, a major left out in the Apple TV channel when compared to the Beats Music app is the feature called “The Sentence”, where you can enter exactly what you are doing at a particular moment, and get a custom playlist right for the mood. That was a really cool feature and will surely be missed.

The app is a little pain to set up initially since there is a lot of typing involved. You might want to download the official Remote app, especially if you are Signing up for the first time. But once set up, the overall experience is pretty good with a minimal UI and unobtrusive streaming sessions.

So what’s the take away? Beats Music does exactly what it is supposed do and the major decision lies in whether you prefer Beats Music over countless other services and whether you’ll be comfortable streaming songs to your television.

If you already have a Beats Music subscription, it would be unwise not to setup your account on Apple TV too. Else, you might want to make use of that 14-day trial on your iOS device before jumping into a subscription on the big screen.

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

The post Beats Music on Apple TV – Review appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

You are probably already familiar with Motion Tennis for Apple TV, an app that brings Wii-style gaming to Apple TV. Thanks to Rolocule Games and its award-winning rolomotion technology, your iOS device turns into a tennis racket while the grand slam tournament takes place on your television via Apple TV. You can read our in-depth review of Motion Tennis here.

Celebrating yesterday’s Djokovic’s great victory in Wimbledon (as well as last week’s Independence Day…), Rolocule has reduced the price of Motion Tennis from $7.99 to ZERO, so go and grab your free copy of the game now, as this amazing offer may not last long.

Watch this video to learn more about Motion Tennis.

Rolocule is currently in the process of adding some final touches to its next motion powered game, Dance Party. Their rolomotion technology has been vastly improved and the developers are boasting console quality precision and performance for their new release.

Dance Party is a multiplayer game where users can dance along with an on-screen artist while your iPhone or iPod touch analyses how well you’re doing. The best dancer wins, but all users will get a count of the calories they burned during the last dubstep.

In short, its a mix of game, dance and workout:

Dance Party is set to be released on the App Store in the second half of July but you can already sign up here for an early free access.

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

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You might remember our huge coverage (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) of iOS games that allow dual screen AirPlay mirroring with Apple TV, turning your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into the controller, while the HDTV becomes the game arena. However, there is an app that not only does dual screen mirroring but actually brings motion gaming to your iOS device using Apple TV. Here is a complete review of this one-of-its-kind game, Motion Tennis for Apple TV.

As you might have already figured out, Motion Tennis turns your iPhone or iPod touch into the tennis racket while the grand slam tournament takes place on your television via Apple TV.

Swish your hand in the air and give your wrist some exercise to score aces in this spectacular game. The developers at Rolocule promise “the most immersive tennis experience ever on iOS”. But does it really live up to all the hype? Let’s see.

Getting Motion Tennis connected to the Apple TV

The first thing you need to know before purchasing this 8 bucks game is that you have to own an Apple TV to make any good out of it. Don’t expect to start an idle match directly on your iPhone while travelling or in the bedroom, because there is no provision for an in-device display of the gameplay.

Unlike other dual screen games, AirPlay is not just an optional feature in Motion Tennis, but rather the only way of playing the game – you won’t be even able to have a glimpse of the home-screen without connecting to an Apple TV.

The process of connecting to the Apple TV is as usual and fairly straight forward. Pull up the Control Center -> tap on the AirPlay button -> choose the Apple TV -> toggle on Mirroring.

Once you set up mirroring and fire up the app, you’ll see large banners on the Apple TV and their miniature versions on your iPhone or iPod touch, prompting that the dual screen gaming has been activated. A few taps into the game, a short tutorial and some calibration and you’re holding the virtual tennis racket similar to Nintendo Wii games.  At the same time, the beautiful 80 ft. court pops on your television.

The gameplay

Raise the iPhone above your head to serve the ball and the game starts with a smash. Of course, the automated second player will have the green ball flying back to your side. Use the device just as a bat and thrash it back in any direction or height you want.

As you would expect, your TV avatar would replicate your gestures. Fortunately, you don’t have to do any of the running up and down the court. You’ll be automatically placed at the best positions and all you have to do is decide the side and type of the shot you need to play.

You already know the rules and point system, no surprises there. The real eye popper is the different kinds of shots you’ll be able to execute just using your wrist movements – you can do standard, slice or lob shots depending on the angle at which you hold the device.

Once you score the game point, your performance is measured in stars and, more importantly, you get an approximate count of the calories you just burned while playing the digital tennis. Obviously it is not accurate, but to know that you’re contributing to your health and not just wasting time with silly games, it’s hilariously comforting.

The game has single player, survival and multiplayer modes. The first one lets you rally with the ‘A chip’ of your iPhone and has various difficulty modes. The survival mode is analogous to the endless modes and goes on till you lose a point. Finally, in multiplayer mode you can ask one of your friends to join you in a doubles match against the CPU.

The verdict

To be honest, Motion Tennis scores the most by being unique and nothing like anything else we’ve ever seen – no complaints there. However, the gameplay as a whole feels buggy or, more correctly, a bit automated, at most times. Your digital form seems to play the perfect shots even if you completely screw up the swing or timing. Sometimes you shoot to the right and the ball bounces to the left and gets you a point.

Also, you hardly score any outs or faults while the guys on the other side of the net has plenty of them. Overall, it all seems a bit biased for me.

Motion Tennis is a great app to be showcased when you have some friends over or to test the power of your iDevice – Apple TV combo. But you won’t find yourself playing it everyday nor will it replace your gym.

It sure shows a lot of potential to grow into a more realistic game someday in the future and when that happens, it’ll be undoubtedly a must buy.

Get Motion Tennis for Apple TV from the App Store ($7.99) and try it out yourself.

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

The post Motion Tennis for Apple TV: Wii style gaming on your iPhone [review] appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Apple has created the awesome platform of AirPlay to get your iOS device displays into Apple TV‘s large screen. But the major drawback has always been the lack of AirReceiving enabled devices. There are some great apps, like AirServer or Reflector, that mirror iPhone and iPad screens to your Mac, and now there is a new app called X-Mirage that does the same job, but promises to take AirPlay to the next level.

In addition to the basic mirroring capability, X-Mirage supports simultaneous display of multiple devices (similar to AirServer and Reflector), turning any game into an exciting multiplayer tournament. The one-click recording is similar to Reflector‘s and helps to capture all the content on the screen, perfect for showing off your apps or slideshows. Click the red dot, perform with your iPhone or iPad, tap the dot again and there you have it, the HD video ready to be uploaded or showcased.

Personally, my favourite feature would be the separate media control bar on X-Mirage. If you’re playing a video or music on your device while mirroring, you needn’t pick your device and browse to change tracks or pause/play. Just use the Media bar on X-Mirage. It’s really handy and works like charm.

If you’re still not convinced, head over to this link and download a 7 days free trial. If things go well, you can subscribe for the premium version or even apply for their huge discounts. Also, be sure to share your experience with X-Mirage as comments below.

Yes, X-Mirage is pretty much similar to other clients like AirServer and Reflector, which lets you turn your Mac or PC into an AirPlay receiver. So what is the need of a new one? According to the developers, X-Mirage is the best tool of its kind, made to overthrow others with its easy handling and most user-friendly design. Well, all developers say that about their products. Don’t worry, we’re doing a comprehensive review of X-Mirage and also a comparison between these three popular apps. Stay tuned to know the results.

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If you’ve heard of the popular Apple TV software aTV Flash – the software that adds significant functionality to your jailbroken Apple TV – then you’ve heard of FireCore. Well, they’ve just announced a significant update to their media player app Infuse.

We’ve previously reviewed Infuse as the best video player we’ve ever used and now Infuse 2.0 is set to only increase the greatness of the application.

If you’ve not used Infuse before, it’s a video player for the iPhone and iPad which can play pretty much anything you throw at it. Infuse can play MP4, M4V, MOV, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DVR-MS, FLV, MKV, OGM, OGV, WebM, WMV and WTV videos. The beautiful interface and easy design make watching videos of any format a breeze.

FireCore state that Infuse 2 is being completely redesigned “from the ground up” and will include a new iOS 7 inspired design featuring a cleaner layout and new UI. In addition, FireCore have said they’ve announced they’re bringing the widely anticipated Pro features to Infuse 2 which include the ability to browse and play videos stored on other devices such as a Mac, PC or NAS.

In Infuse 2 every pixel has been redrawn, and every bit of code freshened up to ensure it works seamlessly with iOS 7. In essence, Infuse 2 is an entirely new app. Even with all of this, we’ve decided to thank all of you and make Infuse 2, including all the Pro features, a FREE update!

Anyone who downloads Infuse prior to the release of version 2 can get the Pro features for free. In order to unlock the Pro features coming in Infuse 2, all you need to do is open the 1.5 version (before the release of version 2) and take advantage of the free In-App purchase option that appears. That’s it. All the Pro-level goodies coming in Infuse 2 will be yours to keep, for free.

FireCore stated that Infuse 2 isn’t quite ready for release yet, but they have released version 1.5 in the meantime. The 1.5 update features TV show groups for seasons with multiple episodes which will allow each show to have its own poster on the home screen.

Another new feature is gesture controls.

Swipe once to seek forward or back 30 seconds, or use multiple swipes to a quickly seek a few minutes or more into a video. A dedicated 30 second rewind button has also been added to the playback bar.

Also included in 1.5 are: toggle switch, saved playback settings, and other performance improvements and fixes.

Infuse 1.5 is available in the App Store for $4.99.

Be sure to also check out a great review of Infuse by our friends at What’s On iPhone.

The post Infuse 2 coming this fall, version 1.5 already available appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

You probably already heard of Infuse, a beautifully designed video player for iPhone and iPad, developed by FireCore, the maker of aTV flash and aTV Flash (black). If you somehow missed this great app, you can check out the review of Infuse made by our friends at What’s On iPhone or read our own full review of recently released version 1.3 of the app.

We are giving away 5 copies of Infuse. Here is how to participate:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Giveaway: win a copy of Infuse – the best video player for iPhone/iPad we’ve ever used appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Editing photos on your iPad, iPhone, iPod, and yes, even your Apple TV! It is no secret that we all love to take photos with our mobile devices leaving the only question to be: “How can I edit, and share, my pictures?” Well, Air Show HD hopes to be an answer to this question. And a few others. It is true that Apple has offered the ability to share and edit your photos since the release of iOS 5. That said, there is one thing that Apple has never addressed and that is in regard to the photos you may not want to share publically.

As of today, if you decide to set up a slideshow with your iOS device, on your Apple TV, you have little-to-no control over what photos you will be showing. The only power you are given is the ability to select what folder you will be viewing within the default photo gallery. Well, if you are anything like me, you may not want to show every photo within that location to others.

This is where Air Show steps in.

Air Show HD by Splitmo – Straight From The Source

• Show off your best pictures on your big screen TV using Air Show and an Apple TV. Zoom in, crop and caption your best pictures while Air Show automatically builds a slide show for you.
• Air Show allows you to search through your photos, adding them directly to the TV or the generated slide show. Air Show shows only the photos YOU want without your friends seeing potentially embarrassing pictures by accident.
• If you want to save more than 3 slide shows, Air Show provides unlimited slide shows as a one time in-app purchase.
• Full Retina support for the iPhone 4, 4s, 5 and the new iPad.

The GOOD:

1)  This application works AS ADEVERTISED. With every press of a button you are given clear directions on what you need to do, and how you need to do it. This enables all users, at every skill level, to be able to use this application. Air Show keeps it simple.

2)  The UI of Air Show makes navigation quite easy. The ability to drag and drop photos gives the feel of a more advanced program, like Photoshop, running on your iOS device. Though the functionality could be considered “advanced” the use of these features does not leave you feeling as if the app were overly complicated.

3)  The AirPlay function is insanely responsive. Though most of the credit for this feature may go to Apple, iOS, and the software development behind the two, Air Show HD has done a great job taking advantage of these features. You are given the ability to zoom in, and out, while the slideshow is streaming to the Apple TV. This is a feature that the default iOS gallery does not have functioning fully.

The BAD:

1)  At first glance, this application feels lacking. When I first launched it and started using it to stream slideshows, I felt it was missing some basic functions that iOS does very well by default, such as multiple transition animations. That said, the longer I played with Air Show, on my iPad 2, the more I began to see it for the benefits it offers. Not to mention, updates are prevalent in all apps. Surely there will be more to come from this app.

The UGLY TRUTH.

In the end, Air Show HD stands on its own against the latest features, and options, of the default iOS gallery and its’ ability to stream slideshows to your Apple TV. As of today it is missing quite a few features that I would want to see in order for this application to become a full time app that I would use on a regular basis. Again, that said, there are two things that make Air Show stand out as an application worth downloading to your device today:

• The Price Is Right!

Air Show is absolutely free, right now! The fact is that we all love finding free apps and taking them for a test-drive. So, I would encourage you to head over to iTunes and give Air Show a shot.

• Privacy Control

The simple fact that I can select photos from different locations and easily create a customized slide show, is a powerful feature in-and-of itself. If you have “private” photos mixed in with your collection,  this app is absolutely  worth trying. I was able to create a slide show of select wedding pictures, vacation shots, and some graphic art I had made, all the while forgoing some “more embarrassing” shots.

Grab a copy today.

Also read:

Air Show updated with music playlists and color captions support

The post Air Show HD – Review appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.