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I keep saying this.

YES!

-c

Personally I feel that a remote needs physical buttons. I don't want to have to be constantly looking back and forth at the remote just to flick up and down channels. I had a remote before that you could program and it was great, worked really well but it became a chore.

@ M.X.N.T.4.1

I think, long term, that 'channels' will seem quaint. I think it's going to be more like the YouTube interface - you'll bring up a show that's stored on, or linked to, your iPhone, then you'll just 'send' it to AppleTV. Instead of hitting buttons to control the big-screen interface, the interface will be in your hand.

But what are you going to do when you don't have your iPhone on you or your on a call and your wife wants to change the channel?!

that's ridiculous.

I agree with ChrissyOne here. You'd select the content on the iPhone's screen, without interrupting what is on the big screen. Press and button, and bam! the big screen changes.

@loki -- LOL

Who would've imagined the day when you'd have to phone your TV to pick a show?

Dumbest and least likely idea I think I've ever read here...

the iPhone has no IR transmitter, and the Apple TV has no Bluetooth, so how would the 2 talk together to implement this remote?

they both have WiFi, but somehow I doubt that would be used for this...

you do know that just because they patent it doesn't mean it makes it into a current product, don't you?

and with a charging pad to put on the side table, the iphone will not run out of juice - it could then be used to communicate 2-way with AppleTV

"they both have WiFi, but somehow I doubt that would be used for this..."

Well, I'm not saying you're wrong, but why would you doubt this? Is it just an idea you don't like?

M.X.N.T.4.1, you're still thinking B.iP. (Before iPhone).

Imagine iPhone as a universal remote. Got it? Want to change the volume? Turn it vertically and run one finger up the screen. Want to watch MTV instead of VH1? Turn horizontally, run one finger across the screen. Fast forward the DVR? Circular motion with two fingers. Pause? Double tap.

Just an idea. But, hey, Mr. Jobs, if you use it, can I get a freebie?

Does the iPhone have IR?
Does the TV have Bluetooth?
I guess Wifi is the only way for them to communicate.
That will open up other possibilities like using TV like a SlingBox to you iPhone.

That brings up an app I really want to see for my iPhone-SlingBox. I hope Sling can make a Safari app for the SlingBox.

Vague, great thinking. I like that idea of a trackpad multi-touch input.

But if it's just a virtual keyboard, that would suck to take your eyes off the tv and look down to change volume, channels, etc. I'm sure this won't be the case.

I had an interface/app like that on my very first Palm Pilot. It was a cool idea. But it was a bit limited because the IR transmitter was weak. But it was fun. There is a lot of potential to make it way cooler with an iPhone.

This all sounds so..... Max Headroom!

In the future these things may happen, once tv channels are available via the net on a universal basis or when cable/satellite boxes can integrate with the interfaces of all your kit but for the time being a universal iPhone remote would have to mimic the functions of your other remots and your Apple TV remote - functions which would involve you having to check what you were doing. Which is why I don't think this will happen.

If controlling all your TV content could be boiled down to simple controls or gestures then great but currently it can't. On Sky there are thousands of channels. You have to type numbers in, press up and down, select, different coloured buttons to access the wealth of information. It'snot complicated and can be done quickly and without looking because I can feel the buttons.

I'm not against it, it's just that before a remote of this nature would be useful I think there needs to be more effort on the part of the hardware providers to integrate everything. If you plugged your cable/satellite box into your TV and it automatically extended the menus of your TV to add its own functions and could use your existing TV remote then that would be great. Sadly their is no sort of consistency of this nature which is partly why we have so many remotes.

iPhone is basically a mini Macintosh computer. Macs can joint wi-fi networks. Computers on a network can share their iTunes libraries. In the bottom of iTunes, it allows you to select which remote airport expresses your music is sent to. Why can't iPhone run iTunes, which allows you to browse content on other computers on the network and select where you want it to play? Why can't Apple TV be one of the choices? It seems like not a leap at all from what Macs currently do.

In V for Vendetta everyone had a slim gold, all in one device that controlled the tv, show, it was a phone and god only knows what else.

this could be the iPhone in a few years.

Consider this....

@ loki, you can conference a call, pick up and make a call while web browsing without closing your browser, so where does that leave your question.

@ wait a minute, what do you think a web browser is? The AppleTv is linked to the web browser via your Mac and will display your web pages on the TV, think!

Other wise I think that the killer function is programming your AppleTv from abroad or across states to make it look like you are at home! You could even control what your kids are watching by programming a feedback to the iphone from your Mac!

The possibilities are just endless....

Imagine you are running late for a meeting because of traffic or delayed flights, you could attend the meeting wherever you are by hooking your iphone to the boardroom Mac, present your keynote, project yourself via ichat into the meeting and take questions live!!

The World is the iphones Office to dominate! when more and more people become savvy.

I agree that this would be easy to impliment via WiFi, but the ability to control other devices would require infra-red unless the AppleTV incorporates some sort of infra-red repeater that would convert the WiFi signal from the iPhone to an infra-red signal.

My other qualm about this is that I want to make my home completely 802.11n in the near future. As y'all are no doubt aware, to bring a slower WiFi standard in to this system will slow the whole system down, and I think the iPhone only goes to 802.11g. I also see me setting the base stations to "802.11n only" as an extra modicum of security.

M

I love MDN but this remote concept was mentioned on the PowerPage in January.

http://www.powerpage.org/2007/01/iphone_the_ultimate_itv_remote.html

@ Dave Walter

We've been talking about the iPhone as a remote since before we knew it existed. I heard talk of the idea at least a year ago.

You do realise that you are talking about a $500 to $600 universal remote with $40 plus per month user fees.

Right?