"Second screen" apps allow mobile devices to communicate with "smart" TVs. The open-source Connect SDK promises to work across multiple mobile OSes and TV OSes. But what are the actual uses?

1. P. Douglas Reeder reeder_29@yahoo.com
“Second Screen” Apps
Using the Connect SDK
Columbus JavaScript User Group
September 17, 2014

2. Motivation
❖ “Smart TVs” much less interactive than computers
❖ One set of preferences per app (typically)
❖ Search is laborious
❖ No e-mail/tweet from friend that knows you
❖ “Smart TV” interfaces are clumsy at best
❖ Most people in front of a TV have a mobile device nearby

3. What It’s Not
❖ Screen mirroring (ala AirPlay Mirroring or Chromecast tab mirroring)
❖ Additional Display
❖ Local Media Streaming (ala Play on Roku or AirPlay streaming)

4. Development & Testing
❖ Half a dozen native libraries required
❖ Setup takes a day, not an hour, unless you’re very familiar with Android or
iOS development
❖ Testing: buy hardware for any platform you really care about. (Chromecast
$35) The only emulator available is for webOS, and that appears to be buggy.

5. Compatibility - Mobile OSes
❖ iOS, Android, or Cordova (Phone Gap) for both.
❖ No announced plan for Windows Phone nor web app (Firefox OS,
ChromeOS)

6. Compatibility:
TV OSes
8 platforms:
LG webOS
Chromecast
Apple TV
Roku
Fire TV
LG Smart TV ’13
LG Smart TV ’12
DIAL
23 features:
Apps
Media
System Controls
TV Controls

7. Compatibility - TV OSes
Broad support for
❖ Launching app with known ID
❖ Throw video from URL, Pause, Stop
❖ Throw YouTube video (& possibly Hulu, NetFlix)
❖ Throw audio from URL
❖ Throw photo from URL
❖ Throw URL (web app) to browser?

8. Demonstration

9. Use Cases
❖ Game using mobile as tilt controller, e.g. Wii game (TV-centric)
❖ Progress through sequence of videos on tablet, optionally displaying on TV
e.g. Reading Bear (mobile-centric)
❖ Run web server on phone, display photos on TV, e.g. Zap Photoshare
(mobile-centric)
❖ Multiplayer real-time strategy, displaying player-private info on mobile (joint)
❖ Collaborative editing, e.g. Subethaedit, Etherpad (joint)

10. UX Gotchas
❖ Must be on same Wi-Fi network: Ok for home, work, close friends. Poor for
Meetup, meeting at client’s.
❖ FireTV & DIAL TVs can only “Launch My app” & beam YouTube - easy to
exclude from list, but leaves user frustrated.
❖ Mobile apps must be downloaded from app stores
❖ Some games are much easier if you can always glance at the map

11. Conclusions
❖ This might be the tipping point where users expect devices to work together
(like VCRs and TVs did)
❖ Or maybe it won’t catch on, and companies will re-impose their walled
gardens
http://connectsdk.com