AppleTV App?

Posted on
Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:30 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: AppleTV App?

Colorado4Wheeler wrote:
When it was just basic HTTP commands it was easier (but still bad) but ATV4 changed it all.


iTunes control has never been that easy (HTTP commands). It's socket oriented connections with binary BOB's (bags of bits) which have to be decoded. They were never documented by Apple though someone did a preliminary job many years ago (which is what the current iTunes plugin is based on). But no public work since then that seems particularly reliable/repeatable. I believe the ATV uses the same approach though with different payloads (and which, if I'm not mistaken, are encrypted).

Bottom line: those guys spent a TON of time and energy reverse engineering to get as far as they have. Nobody who's spent that kind of resource is going to give away their secrets since it's a valuable competitive advantage. No Indigo plugin will likely ever be able to communicate with the ATV unless Apple provides an API. Which if they haven't by now, they never will.

Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:51 pm
Colorado4Wheeler offline
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Re: AppleTV App?

I agree on all counts Jay, lessons hard learned from many hours trying to hack together an ATV plugin for Indigo and for other coding projects. The encryption has changed and the payloads have changed and unless you had the resources to hack it then it's all throwing darts at an unknown.

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Posted on
Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:25 pm
Fxguy offline
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Joined: Mar 24, 2011

Re: AppleTV App?

durosity wrote:
A while ago they did ask if we’d rather an Apple TV app or a watch app.. not that either happened.. but I seem to recall the tvOS option winning out so it’s certainly something they’ve considered.

On a side note you can voice control indigo with an appletv already if you setup HomeBridge.



This seems to be an issue. I've setup HomeBridge and also running the Phillips Hue Bridge for voice control with Alexa but the system keeps working inconsistently. I also tried setting up fing for ip detection and had trouble with the home event and trigging repeatedly. This made me feel as though I might be having problems with my router.

Still running an air port base station router, any suggestions for upgrades?

Posted on
Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:51 pm
Colorado4Wheeler offline
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Location: Colorado

Re: AppleTV App?

Fxguy wrote:
I've setup HomeBridge and also running the Phillips Hue Bridge for voice control with Alexa but the system keeps working inconsistently.


You may need to post questions with more details about your problems on the forums for both of these plugins, I maintain the Homebridge Buddy application while Autolog maintains the Alexa Hue Bridge. Inconsistencies on BOTH may indicate some strange configurations within Indigo that may easily be fixed.

My Modest Contributions to Indigo:

HomeKit Bridge | Device Extensions | Security Manager | LCD Creator | Room-O-Matic | Smart Dimmer | Scene Toggle | Powermiser | Homebridge Buddy

Check Them Out Here

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