Today we are pleased to announce the release of aTV Flash (black) Beta4. In terms of features, this is the most substantial release since Beta1 first became available in early December 2010.
The marquee addition found in Beta4 is an 'alpha preview' version of our brand new Media Player that has been under development for the past few months. This player enables the playback of non-iTunes media (streamed from a network source) on the AppleTV with no special software or transcoding required!
More details on what's new and improved in Beta4 are below.
What's new in Beta4?
General
- Added 'alpha preview' version of new Media Player
- Added native Weather and RSS apps (will appear under Internet menu when installed)
- Added support for Remote HD iPhone/iPad app
- Added option to restart 'Lowtide' via Maintenance menu
- Added support for AppleTV 4.2.1 (iOS 4.3)
Couch Surfer Pro
- Added Google search suggestions to Search menu (iOS 4.3+ only)
- Added ability to delete bookmarks
- Improved animations, HTML5 and CSS3 support
- Improve iPhone/iPad Remote app navigation
- Improved text box handling
- Resolved issues related to Facebook and similar sites
- Many other performance improvements
What can I do with the new Media Player?
What's included in this version
- Support for many non-iTunes media file types (MKV, AVI, MP4, etc...)
- Native VIDEO_TS (VOB) file playback (with menus)
- AFP network streaming (Mac, TimeCapsule, AirPort Extreme, etc...)
- Automated cover art/metadata fetching
- Basic subtitle support for VOB files
- 5.1 AAC audio
- Watched, unwatched and partially watched markers (includes resume support)
- Volume control (up/down arrows during playback)
What we're still working on
- Better support for HD video files
- SMB network streaming
- 5.1 sound
- Chapter controls
- Video playlists
- Subtitles (.srt)
- Alternative file browsing options
- Photo slideshows
- Improved memory management
- Countless other bug fixes and performance improvements
A brief demo of the Media Player in action can be seen here.
Great! Where can I get it?
Beta4 is now available through the Downloads tab in your account. If you already have aTV Flash (black) installed all the new features and updates can be downloaded on your AppleTV through the Maintenance --> Manage Extras menu.
Comments are welcome below.
Enjoy! :-)