Using wireless keyboard with Apple TV

Question

Level 1

8 points

Using wireless keyboard with Apple TV

So why don't they make things easy and somehow add a firmware upgrade that allows you to use your wireless keyboard when making searches on the Apple TV. Every new owner of an iMac has one! This would be a great improvement over the hunt and pick that the remote gives you. Even Sony's playstation 3 has a remote keypad available as an option.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Oct 21, 2010 4:11 PM

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Answer 1

captfred

Level 7

26,422 points

Oct 21, 2010 4:20 PM in response to mysticTV

Maybe we'll see that in the future. If you have an iPad, the remote2 app at least pops up the iPad keyboard anytime input is needed.

Regards

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Answer 2

mysticTV Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 22, 2010 3:13 PM in response to mysticTV

In addition to my post;
With Sony's Google TV coming out that gives the buyer not only LED HDTV in huge sizes, but the ability to surf the web.
Checking out Sony's homepage, they've even got a Blueray player with Goggle TV that gives not only web surfing but a keyboard to easily input search requests.
Come on Apple! You've got millions of wireless keyboards out there with your desktop systems and all you got to do is a minor tweak to be on the same level as Sony's offerings.

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Answer 3

Jan 21, 2011 4:25 AM in response to mysticTV

I'm considering getting one but this is an issue that puts me off. It's for my wife and I know she's going to think it's a pain in the posterior using the remote to enter text. Seems like a no-brainer addition. What's the hold up?

Do you just WANT us to hack the thing?

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Answer 4

Rudegar

Level 10

170,736 points

Jan 21, 2011 7:54 AM in response to Christopher Robinson1

ipod touch ipads, and iphones using the remote app works wonders for text input

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Answer 5

tmartine

Level 3

995 points

Jan 21, 2011 8:05 AM in response to mysticTV

as others have said.. if you have an iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone you can use the remote app to type text fort the appleTV in a tiny package... and navigate your appleTV (don't have to use the remote at all) and surf the net and check email, twitter etc, etc without annoying everyone else in the house that just wants to watch the movie or TV show... and if you want to share something with someone on the big screen you can use airplay to transfer the video to the big screen.. next iOS update adds API for developers of 3rd party apps to add the ability to show video or audio on the big screen.. this direction seems to make WAY more sense to me than the google direction that seems to serve to mainly annoy your family..

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Answer 6

Jan 21, 2011 4:23 PM in response to mysticTV

The Apple TV is not designed as a computer with a keyboard. Use the I phone/Ipad remote app. If you want to use a keyboard and want to do more, get a mac mini.

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Answer 7

Todd McM

Level 1

25 points

Mar 7, 2012 11:48 AM in response to mauijiminar

Lame: Lots of things that aren't computers use keyboards. It's designed to use text yes? Then it should be designed to be ABLE to use a keyboard.

Hopefully they figure that out. The remote kinda *****.

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Answer 8

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Mar 7, 2012 12:24 PM in response to Todd McM

As said you don't need to use the remote. Any IOS device running the remote app can be used in it's place.

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Answer 9

Jan 29, 2013 1:33 PM in response to mysticTV

Now you can use a bluetooth keyboard with Apple TV thanks to the 5.2 iOS update. It's awesome using a keyboard to type on the Apple TV! Apple should have enabled this functionality much sooner!

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