XBMC on an iPad, is this a good option?

Hello,

I am very interested in using XBMC on an iPad, as I have heard that many people have had great success doing what I would like with XBMC on their Apple TV. The catch is, my Apple TV is the ATV3 model.

My main usage would be for on demand (or catch up TV services), not really streaming from my own server (mainly because that said server is an Arm based NAS and I don't think there is an XBMC server for it)

Would the iPad XBMC be able to do the following this.

1) Airplay at full screen over to my ATV3 (non jailbroken)
2) Do I need to have a separate XBMC server on a computer? (I would hope not, since I don't want to leave that on when I use the iPad)
3) Work with the following On Demand services (I know these can be installed onto the Apple TV XBMC server so is this automatically the case for the iPad one?)
UK Television
BBC iPlayer
ITV
4oD
5 on Demand
NZ Television
TVNZ On demand
TV3
IrishTelevision
RTE
TV3
Australian TV
ABC iView
SBS On Demand
7, 9 and 10

I have VPN's for all of these (one of the advantages I think of using the iPad as it is very easy to switch VPN's)
So, if Airplay works to an unjailbroken ATV3, is it possible to add these services to the iPad's XBMC?

If anyone is using XBMC on an iPad and can answer even one or two of my questions, I would be appreciative.
Naturally, I don't expect too many people to have experience say with NZ television and UK, but if you only know about one that's a good start.

My other option is with XBMC on my ATV3 when the jailbreak comes out, but I don't know how easy it is to change VPN's on a jailbroken ATV. On an iPad this is a breeze.

1) As far as i know, no. You can only send Airplay content to XBMC but not use it as a source. If/when ATV3 gets jailbroken and XBMC working you can send Airplay content from other iOS apps to ATV3, but not from XBMC.
2) There's no XBMC client and XBMC server, just XBMC. Just install XBMC on your ipad and you're done. You can stream from your NAS as well without installing anything on it.
3) Yes, assuming you can successfully pass the georestrictions.

Tovia, thanks. But it does seem odd that XBMC on the iPad does not have an Airplay out feature. Almost all Video apps on the iPad before Jailbreak do (just at various levels)

Why would XBMC not Airplay it's video content to an Apple TV? It seems counter productive.

(2012-05-29 18:53)ovbg Wrote:  Tovia, thanks. But it does seem odd that XBMC on the iPad does not have an Airplay out feature. Almost all Video apps on the iPad before Jailbreak do (just at various levels)

Why would XBMC not Airplay it's video content to an Apple TV? It seems counter productive.

Because XBMC was originally for use on xbox and now HTPC's. It was then ported to IOS. why would a media center need to stream media away from itself? that doesn't make sense.

Actually, we're looking into having XBMC on the iPad 2/3 support native AirPlay Mirroring out, as it should be possible thanks to Memphiz's changes that allow us to use video out cables. None of the iOS devs have an iPad 2/3 at the moment, so we're using users for some testing. Check out this thread for more info: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=132509

(2012-05-29 21:04)Ned Scott Wrote:  None of the iOS devs have an iPad 2/3 at the moment, so we're using users for some testing.

... he said, not at all nodding to the donation link found here.

http://xbmc.org/contribute/donate/

@Ned Scott, thanks for your update. I appreciate your input :O)

(2012-05-29 20:07)lrusak Wrote:  why would a media center need to stream media away from itself? that doesn't make sense.

Are you serious? Ok, fair enough, here is a great reason then;

Let's say you have an iPad with XBMC on it which can play catchup TV from various services around the world. Say, like I have suggested in my first post.

Now, let's say you want to watch said Television, on, well, a television.

Playing XBMC on an iPad is great. For instance, if I am on a train, or in a room without a TV. But if I am in a living room with a giant widescreen TV that is made for, well, TV, then watching TV on said TV is a positive thing. This is where Airplay is used. I simply stream the video across to the main TV. It works perfectly, and if you have used an On-Demand service from say the BBC iPlayer or 4OD which are both simply amazing on the iPad, you will see the iPad is the best way to navigate the services, whilst the large TV is the best way to watch the services. Combine them together and you have a killer Home Entertainment center.

I would do this directly from my ATV but for two reasons
1) ATV3 is not jail broken yet, so no XBMC
2) ATV3 (jailbroken) does not have an easy VPN system like an iPad, so it is not so easy to switch countries.

Naturally, if you can think of a better way to do all this, I am all ears. Seriously, I would appreciate your input as I have not yet found it.

Hi Can i ask what VPN solution you are using on your Apple TV as i am in NZ with vodafone as my isp and they do not forward users with static IP through their transparent proxy. Ideally i wanted to set up my router as the main external interface so i could watch from different locations etc but i have tried a few and they dont work even on the macbook due to this restriction. Thanks in advance

Well I use a service called Unblock-US with my AppleTV. Works flawlessly, and a little Googling will find you a similar service for UK TV etc.. look at http://www.unblock-us.com/active?email=g...=0&react=0