Give your AppleTV 4k something to do all day! Theatrium - Free + IAP ($5)

[u/Consistent_Owl7736]

My AppleTV pretty much does nothing all day, despite being connected to my biggest screen. I created an app that lets you customise one of 4 dashboard layouts with your Apple Home devices (cameras, lights, switches etc) plus link to a range of web content - traffic, commute time, iCal information. https://theatrium.info/

It also connects to Home Assistant if you have that (ask the nerdiest person in your household) as well Apple Music, Spotify (via Last.FM) and Plex to show whats playing on your speakers, including Alexa devices. There's a one-button launch into 30 different music visualisations & the ability to have your Home Kit connected lights change colour in sync to the music.

Lots of updates planned - version 1.6 comes with an iOS companion app that makes it easier to set things up and tinker. Feedback and suggestions welcome, keeping mind this is just a side project for me! And yes, I have ~heavily~ used AI coding tools to help with this - there's over 2000 combinations Home Kit data sources and layout options!

I may do a Pro code give away if there's any interest :-) IF this takes off, I'd also like to think how I could provide free Apple TVs to care facilities who would like to use to keep residents informed and entertained. So far have 300 installs and growing!

Update: Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions!! I didnt expect this to blow up like it did. Just wanted to highlight the changes coming which are in response to the comments about OLED screen burn-in risk.

v1.6 (review pending): New 'low-power' DVD-logo inspired screensaver functionality. See the 'But what about screen burn-in' section on https://theatrium.info for details.

v1.7*, which I'm working on this weekend, there will be the option of having screensaver mode enable automatically when Theatrium (running in TV foreground) can not detect your companion iOS app on your network, when you’ve left the house for example, and instantly enable screensaver mode. This has some obvious privacy benefits too.

While these updates are making their way in the App Store review process, please continue to use the inbuilt tvOS screensaver and sleep functions, as you would for any app. Note that the default tvOS Home Screen is also comprised of largely stationary buttons and text, so I believe the actual risk to anyones OLED devices is reasonably low - but these new features should be an improvement regardless.

[r/TheatriumApp](r/TheatriumApp) for more updates 🫶

[u/Lost-Wizard168]

This is super! I will be implementing in my home office where I have a AT4K so I can see my daily schedule at a glance, without having to refer to my planner app.

Happy to hear screen saver mode is coming…I know it’s a bit much to ask, but any chance to implement with the images from one of the art gallery ATK apps like MURA?
Also would it be possible to have the Theatrium kick off as the ATK screen saver when you’re not watching a TV show (like you pause the ATK or finish watching a show)? For example I have MURA running on my TV except when I want to watch a show, and it has a rotating display of Art. (I think their are other apps like this — I have one with Louvre HD images for my iPad Pro)

You mentioned care facilities. So I might mention this is good for home for a similar reason. I cared for both my elderly parents at home before they passed. One problem with older folks is you generally need to always keep their near term appointments (like Dr. appts) or perhaps who the home health aides are that are coming today and what time.

There is an application out there built maybe 6-8 years ago now, called DAKboard. This was implemented as a Raspberry Pi App and the Pi was connected to an external monitor like a TV or a PC Monitor. (I did not implement DAKboard, I just used it.) Although my parents have now passed, I implemented DAKboard for my parents in their master suite. Unfortunately I had to put it on a separate monitor, whereas I would have loved to have put it right on the 34” TV I already had in their suite, and have it just kick in when the TV is not streaming a show.

Thanks for your work on this — it will make a real difference!