It would be nice to have a field where we could type in channel numbers, kind of like the Slingbox web player, so that we can change channels. If we have a Bluetooth keyboard add-on to our ATV remote, it would be nice and easy to change channels via their numbers.
Unfortunately tvOS’s APIs make this very hard to implement.
Could you make it into a search field, where the number would bring up the channel for you to select? Kind of like typing in the name of a show or channel?
The search interface is incredibly hard to work with. It also requires a new full-screen view with the on-screen keyboard. Very heavy weight, and sort of destroys the point of using number keys as that’s supposed to be a quick way to get to a channel.
You’d be better off putting channels you frequently watch into your favorites. You can even reorder your favorites to put channels you want quick access to first.
I gotcha, yeah I agree that it wouldn’t be the quick way that is wanted. Thanks for the reply!
I noticed that you can change channels from the guide on the iphone which is an awesome feature. Is it possible to be able to type in the channel there and send the command to the apple tv from the iphone? I really love that feature, where you can change channels on the iphone, by the way! That was a great idea and comes in very handy!
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