As we rethink the TV as a computing surface for apps, it's really helpful to have some ideas on what we're talking about. Below are a series of hypothetical examples of what is possible today and of course what will be even bigger as these new dual screen run-times proliferate.
Buying a house
Imagine that you're looking into buying a house. You open your tablet app from a reputable property website and perform a search using criteria that you care about and begin adding potential fits to a list of houses you'd like to explore. When you select a specific house, the app detects you're connected to an Apple TV and launches a second screen on the TV that provides rich and large visual displays about the house ― HD quality photos and contextual information about the house. Here, the power of dual screen is the fact that you can sit in the living room and explore a house together without crouching over a computer or tablet on someone's lap, and the house can be presented with HD quality media and contextual information.
Buying a car
Imagine launching the BMW app on your tablet and deciding to both learn about car models and configure a car. Like buying a house, this is often a 'social' decision between partners. On the TV, the app renders a high quality rendition of the car. As you explore the car's features from your tablet, associated media, (photos, video and contextual meta-data), render onto the large TV in front of you. As you configure your car using your tablet, it updates a visual build of the car on the large screen -not sure what a specific feature of the car provides, it provides an inline HD video onto the big screen.
Kids' edutainment
Looking to introduce your 3-year old to key cognitive development concepts? Launch a learning app where the child interacts with the tablet application and sees visual information, animation and other content on the TV screen. Their touches on the tablet instantly produce rich and relevant content on the TV screen. Learning to count? Feed cookies over AirPlay to the Cookie Monster on the TV who eats and counts with you. Learning about concepts like near and far? Tap the table to make a character move closer and away from you. Build a character on the tablet and watch the character emerge on the TV screen.
Sales reporting
As a sales manager, you walk into your team conference room with a TV monitor mounted on the wall. You kick open your Salesforce.com tablet app on your tablet and begin filtering and bringing up specific reports on your tablet, and with the touch of a button you push unique visual reports onto the shared surface of the conference room TV. Here, the sales manager wants control of the searches and filters they have access to and only wants to render the charts and reports that are needed for the whole team to see.
Board games
Imagine playing Monopoly with your family in the living room with one or two or maybe even three touch devices present such as phones, iPod Touches, iPads ― each player has their inventory of properties and money visible on their device. The app passes control to each user as they play. On the TV screen is the Monopoly "board" with a dynamic visual that updates the movement of players, the building up of properties, etc. as users play.
The classroom
A teacher walks into a classroom with an Apple TV connected to a HDMI capable projector that projects onto a wall or screen. From their tablet, they pull up an application that is designed to help teach chemistry and the periodic table. They can control what element to display up on the screen, which on the TV display provides rich information, video explanations, etc. The app is designed to provide 'public quiz' functionality where the TV display shows a question, presumably related to material just reviewed or from homework, students raise their hand to answer and then the answer and explanation is displayed.
Doctor's office
You are meeting with your doctor to go over test results from an MRI scan. The doctor uses his or her tablet to bring up your results, picks visuals to throw onto the TV monitor in the room, then uses his or her finger to highlight key areas and talk to you about what they're seeing.
Retail electronics shop
You're at a Dixons and interested in buying a new high quality digital camera. A sales specialist approaches you with tablet in hand and asks you a few questions about what you're interested in while tapping those choices into their tablet app. The app brings up on a nearby TV display a set of options of cameras ― based on further probing, the sales person can drill into a specific camera choices which brings up a rich visual with a video overview of the specific camera that you're interested in.
Consuming news
A major revolution has just broken out in a remote country. The Guardian has captured incredible audio, photos and video of the events. You and your friends sit down in front of the TV to learn more. You open the Guardian tablet app and bring up a special digital edition about the revolution. From the tablet, you flip through and render onto the TV rich HD quality photographs, listen to first hand audio accounts (accompanied by photos) and watch footage from the events. The app renders a huge visual timeline of the events that led up to the revolution. It's an immersive media experience that can be easily shared by friends and family in the living room.
Consuming video
Last but not least, of course, Dual Screen Apps will be essential to any app that is about consuming video ― whether a news or magazine app, a vertical website or of course a catch-up TV app from a TV network or show that you care about. You open the app on your table to explore what to watch, and when you're ready to watch the show instantly pops onto your TV in gorgeous HD quality, and the tablet app becomes your remote control and presents relevant contextual information about the video, episode or what have you.
More to come in part three. Originally written for Mashable by Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire.
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