A new iPad app wants to give users a new way to control YouTube content on their television sets.
“I don’t use the term web video,” explains Shelby.tv founder Reece Pacheco, “because it’s all just video.”
Pacheco thinks that connected TVs will soon similarly blur this line
for more people, and the latest addition to his online video player
demonstrates how closely an online viewing experience can resemble an
offline one.
At the Consumer Electronic Show next week, Shelby.tv will launch a
gesture-based remote function for its iOS apps that turns mobile devices
into remotes. While their Shelby.tv video queues play through Apple TVs, users can simply swipe the screen to move on to the next video, move to another channel, like a video, pause or fast forward.
The feature, Touch Play, makes what are actuality queues of YouTube
videos collected through a bookmarklet or friends’ social streams seem
more like television channels. For now it will only work with an Apple
TV, but if rumors that Apple is releasing a connected TV this year pan
out, it will likely work with that as well.
Boxee’s iPad app and startup Squrl
also allow users to beam online video through Boxee and Apple TV while
using a mobile iOS device as a remote. Neither has turned the remote
into a true clicker, however — instead replicating the mobile app screen
on the TV screen.
Pacheco demonstrates the new feature in the video below. Let us know
in the comments whether you think a gesture-based remote improves the
viewing experience.
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