Apple TV and SMART

I’m loving Xert having had it recommended to me - it’s science, construction, dynamic nature, and community. I also like the fact the player runs on older hardware like my early iPad as well as my iPhone or within Zwift on my Apple TV. However, is there any chance of it being able to run in an app on the Apple TV so that it has full SMART capability? (And to clarify, I mean Xert Player running to the Apple TV.)
Simon

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Hi Simon,

Thanks for the kind words, and the solid recommendation. It would be pretty neat, wouldn’t it?

We can’t commit to anything on our end at the moment, as it’d be a relatively large time sink for us for a (relatively) small population of users. As discussed in another thread, it may be more appropriate to approach Zwift and see if they’d be interested in embedding/integrating Xert metrics + workouts into their existing app architecture.

Thanks Scott, let’s see if they respond as I’ve reached out to them on Twitter. I’ve no idea what he user-base is for Apple TV but I find it really stable and reliable - it just works every time, just like my Polar H10 HRM and Neo 2T. It also has apps for Roucy, RGT, FULGAZ etc. And of course it is also DC Rainmaker’s preferred route to Zwift etc… #justsayin :wink:

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PS - working my way through the podcasts but having got to ones explaining focus and polarity so far - they are in there somewhere right?

I run the app from my iphone and have zwift on the appleTV just in the background. The app controls the trainer I like being able to see Focus and MPA. There is a way to overlay the remote workout player over top of Zwift using a laptop to run Zwift and the remote player. Here is a link how to do it
http://baronbiosys.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-training-with-xert-and-zwift/

Thanks Dave; I’ve got a handle on those bits. It’s more about trying top get native Zwift support or a full Xert Player app for the Apple TV like many other programmes offer.

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The last published podcast episode is all about FOCUS :slight_smile:

Thanks Scott - is that episode 21?

Could you add support to the iOS app for Landscape mode? That would make a HUGE difference in useability for AppleTV users and should be relatively painless to implement. That way we could use the player on our phones Mirrored to AppleTV and have an actually legible display to look at. There is just no way I can do a workout using only my phone - the display is WAY too small. I’ve tried Mirroring to AppleTV in it current form (Portrait orientation) and it’s just terrible to look at on a TV which is obviously in Landscape orientation.

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Wouldn’t this still require users to manually copy and paste to get workouts to Zwift’s platform? That’s what I do right now and it’s horribly inconvenient. A dedicated tvOS app for AppleTV would be so much better. Is there a way for Zwift to directly interface with our Xert accounts to use our personalized Xert SMART workouts in Zwift?.

I’m curious what happens if an iOS user mirrors their iPad or MacBook running the Remote or Session Player to AppleTV.
Does that work?

No you can’t mirror to an atv device.

This article implies you should be able to mirror from an iPad to Apple TV using AirPlay –

Does that only work for apps running on the iPad but not the Safari browser?

Ive no idea. I have an android phone and windows laptop. No apple devices apart from the ATV.

It should work but I have not tried it yet. It just mirrors what’s on your iPad screen.

Whatever is on the iPad, iPhone or laptop screen is mirrored.

In case anyone is interested, I have been able to run a Xert session player on an Iphone and mirror over to Apple TV with good results. The session player arranges nicely on the Iphone screen and the video quality is decent enough (I have also been running Wahoo Systm in the same way). I am controlling the trainer / running the workout from a Karoo 2. The only annoyance is remembering to turn off the screen lock on the Iphone before the session starts!

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How did you change the video when you did this? All I see is the big orange blob for the Xert podcast taking up half the display.

It’s very difficult and time-consuming to do all this on a tiny display like a phone. I don’t understand why Xert doesn’t just add landscape mode for the Xert app, or, even better, compile a version of the Xert app specifically for tvOS (Apple TV).

ATV is such a great platform for this stuff - it’s inexpensive and super easy and fast to jump into your workout. Ease of use is such a huge barrier to entry with these things and that’s exactly where Apple TV shines. It is so much faster, simpler and just works all the time - just like a workout appliance should be!

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It would be nice if ATV users could just get something like the display shown here:


Such a display is UNUSABLE on a tiny phone display but would look great on a TV!

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TrainerRoad gets it. Even though they still don’t offer an ATV app, mirroring works perfectly. Compare these 2 displays: