San Francisco — If you possess an assortment of iOS devices and crave that your Google TV could support iOS AirPlay so that you can stream content from your devices to your TV — you are very fortunate. A new app dubbed as Airtight has just been released to the Android Market that promises Google TV users would now be able to stream content stored on their iOS devices to their television sets via Apple’s AirPlay wireless streaming technology.
Airtight, which is available from the Android Market for $0.99, is especially conceived for Google TV set-top boxes running on Android 3.0 or higher. The app has been developed to use the AirPlay feature which comes built in with iOS devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad, to stream videos and photos.
As the array of Apple devices has widened, Apple has continually exploring ways to keep them connected to one another. This seems to be the first time that a Google device is able to receive video streams via AirPlay instead of just broadcasting content to other AirPlay enabled hardware. A developer named Yossie has come up with a solution called Airtight. All you have to do is install the app onto your Google TV, connect it to your iOS device, and you can start streaming content wirelessly over to the set top box.
For instance, a video being played on an iPhone could be sent via AirPlay to an Apple TV. While Apple devices are not the only ones harmonious with AirPlay, Apple has generally tried to exert a measure of control over which devices are AirPlay compatible and which are not.
For some time Apple users could stream movies, music and photos from an iOS device to the TV using AirPlay. The app is not without its limitations, however. It does not currently support streaming music, nor does it support DRM-protected content, which means that any movies you get from the iTunes Store will not play on your Google TV. Mirroring lets Apple owners mirror whatever is on their portable device straight to the TV set and can be achieved with the Apple TV set-top box.
The creators of the app mentions that they expect to add missing features in the future, but the fact that Apple have not endorsed the product could indicate that may not happen.
This app might also give users a motivation to purchase Google TV in the first place, as it has not been able to make an impact on the market. Besides, knowing Google, the company is most likely to revamp the platform as best as it can to make a comeback before Apple and Microsoft gain dominance over the living room.