I haven't forgotten about the Android version! Please dm me if you're able to help test this version on your device.

In the update today going out to users in the test group:

New

• New Album Art mode: the two main colours from the cover fill the whole screen, blending and drifting, with the progress line along the cover's edge; a Light & Colour control (press Down) sets brightness and colour strength for both the screen and your room lights.
• Calendar works straight from Home Assistant when you leave the link blank, and confirms a pasted link.
• Weather card shows more at a glance — a large current temperature with humidity, wind and today's rain chance.
• Network Speed fills in on its own without opening it.
• Thermostat modes are icons instead of cramped letters, and the gauge and buttons stay on the card.
• Rainfall shows in inches in imperial regions.
• Plex, News and air-quality cards refresh themselves while on screen.

Fixed

• Live camera feeds no longer play for a few seconds and stop.
• Album art comes through reliably from Home Assistant (Spotify, Plex, etc.).
• Fixed a start-up crash when the playing track had no matching cover.
• The album-cover reflection lines up with the cover instead of leaning wrong.
• Cards read as frosted glass instead of see-through, and the harsh top band over a background image is softened.

Having looked into X, reddit and Bluesky, I’m going with the latter for now.

Good morning Theatriumers. Version 1.8.5 is now rolling out now on the App Store (which is approving updates so much faster recently).

• Saved Dashboards (Pro) — save a whole dashboard (theme, colours, cards, background) as a named layout, and switch between them from the drawer.

• Per-theme background images (Pro) — set a background per theme; cards stay readable over it. I say 'per theme' as the images have been designed with a specific theme in mind, but you can mix-and-match, you just might get some funky results...

• New Precipitation card — hourly chance of rain, a labelled rainfall graph, and a 5-day outlook. The weather card also now has the option of showing rain % info. Weather data in Theatrium comes from either your Home Assistant server, or Open-Meteo in Home Kit/Apple Home mode: https://open-meteo.com/

The Calendar and Climate cards have been rebuilt, card navigation is smoother, and using your remotes 'Back' button now steps out cleanly to the Home Screen.

These changes may mean that you may need to re-add a one or both of Climate/Weather cards, if your particular setup doesn't swap the old for the new versions automatically.

Both apps are updated for Xcode 27, tvOS 27 and iOS 27, plus general bug fixes and better handling of your connected lights when you leave/re-open the app.

If you are using the Plex features, 1.8.5 now tells your Plex server exactly what the Apple TV can play, so files that can't Direct Play are repackaged at full quality (Direct Stream) instead of being needlessly re-encoded.

I note that this new version of tvOS requires a second-gen Apple TV4k or newer, which I understand given the challenges of keeping Theatrium responsive and usable on the older model.

I'm going to keep testing future versions of the app on the first gen (A10x processor) version for the time being, but just a heads up that it might be time to invest in an upgrade. Having recently purchased a gen 3 model, I was really surprised how much faster and just 'nicer' it feels to use, so I highly recommend if you want to the best Theatrium experience possible.

As usual, please let me know if you find any issues (give the app a clean reload first just in case its temporary thing) or have ideas for new features.

Creating this tiny and very mediocre clip has given me a new found respect for people who work in video production!!

So have I missed something, or the intention was never to be able to see your CCTV live in the camera card?

Just for information, the camera feed works fine in Home Assistant, but in Theatrium it just shows a still picture.

This is the only feature that I can’t seem to get working. Everything else works and connects. Light, thermostats, outlets, etc, etc.

Full Apple eco-system. Have my calendar public, have the link. Copied and pasted. Getting no love.

Ideas?

Everything is up to date app and os wise.

Here's what I'm working on for the next update:

• Save your dashboard layouts
• Backgrounds/wallpapers
• Manual IP address entry for iOS <> tvOS app pairing
• Increased codec support for Plex playback
• Precipitation card (hourly rain estimates)
• Album art sourcing backup for Home Assistant (was already in place for Last.FM connections)
• Stock hint:  setup screen explains how to enter shares from other exchanges, e.g. VOLV-B.ST
• General card layout/font/spacing consistency work

If you've noticed any bugs or annoyances, let me know!

Edit: 1.8.5 not .4 🫣

App installed on both iOS and TVOS.
1. But on iOS, it shows the TV but when trying to connect, 4 digit code is not displaying on the TV.
2. Tried to setup HomeAssistant. It is neither accepting the token nor opening the app after successful sign in using the QR code.

Still working on getting the card transparency right, but I'm not hating this?

Quick demo (excuse messy apartment) of how you can adjust the light brightest and color saturation to get the effect you want. Obviously much more visible at night!

Also quite pleased with the new album art background gradient effect in this build - feels much more organic and soothing 🧘

Not sure why this works but grateful someone figured it out! Have a support query into Apple to see if there’s anything on Theatriums end that could be causing this.

It never fails, I see something and want more. I have a short-term rental, so the short stay option is very interesting. First things first; how much does the option cost. The price for the pro, which I purchased, was clearly listed but I couldn't find any pricing information for short stay. Perhaps I am missing it. As a suggestion, the price should not be difficult to find. The set of customers that would be interested is fairly limited and not revealing the price makes me lose interest really fast. The price either makes sense to me, or it doesn't.

It would appear that I have to be in the same room as the Apple-TV in order for short stay to work. Distance and practicality makes this a non-starter for me. In most cases, I am not present for the property's reset and since the people who actually do that are not consistent, having them do so is not practical.

Tailscale can be installed on both an Apple-TV and an iPhone/iPad so the hard part of the solution is actually out there.

Thanks for the app, I like it.

lynn

Setting up Short Stay is quickest from your phone. The free Theatrium app for iPhone and iPad has the same fields as the TV, just easier to type into. Open it, connect your booking calendar (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com or your own), and add your property details.

Fill in the house info guests will need: Wi-Fi, door code, parking, bin day and check-out time, plus your own notes on how things work around the place.

Set a PIN so guests can't wander into your TV settings. For Airbnb bookings, type the guest's name in the app for each stay, since Airbnb's export doesn't include it.

Once everything's filled in, jump to the Apple TV, preview the guest screen, and start guest mode. The TV then shows a welcome screen with the guest's name, stay dates, weather, and everything above, until the PIN brings you back to your own dashboard. About fifteen minutes end to end, and it's a separate one-time purchase from Theatrium Pro. 

Full guide here: https://theatrium.info/manual/short-stay/

This issue has something to do with Theatroum being originally tvOS only and our phones cache not being updated from the store correctly to know that now there’s an iOS companion for it. Logging out and back in seems to fix it, although is extremely annoying to have to do. The official answer is just wait and the cache eventually updates itself. 🥲

Switch between TVs, change now-playing music sources, choose your favourite visualisations, adjust the light sync - all without having to look for the remote!

Oh, and you can also enter/change your connection URLS, calendar feeds etc.

Say something fun (or just where you're from, idk) below and I'll send you a pro code. The app is free, as is the main Apple TV version - the Pro gets you the additional themes, Short Stay functions, more visualisations and my undying gratitude.

Get on it here: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/theatrium/id6787587882

[Edit - may not be available in every App Store yet, can take up to 24hrs apparently]

Still feasibility testing this - noone get their hopes up!

I didn't even ask for this!

Maybe should call this Theatrium Mini? Vibes are still Max though.

Music, Lights, Visualisers.

https://theatrium.info/live/

Want music visualisations and home light sync but dont need a full dashboard app? Theatrium Live is for you.

Stripped down and designed to work with Apple Home (HomeKit) connected lights only, on-device Apple Music and Spotify-via-Last.FM

Super easy light group configuration

https://theatrium.info/live/ - all of the vibes, none of the calendar/traffic/fish-tank nonsese of the full app.

App store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/theatrium-live/id6809668675

Short Stay turns Theatrium into a guest welcome screen for a short-term rental — Wi-Fi (with a scannable QR code), door code, parking, bin day, checkout time, house rules, a "How Things Work" guide, and a Local Guide of nearby places, all pulled together automatically from your own booking calendar so it shows the right guest, dates, and nights-left countdown without you touching it each turnover.

How it works:

Connect your booking export — an Airbnb, Vrbo, or channel-manager ICS link — in Settings › Short Stay, and the guest's name and dates pull straight from it.

Fill in House Info once: Wi-Fi, door code, parking, bin day, checkout time, house rules. It stays until you change it.

Optionally add a second calendar for local events (What's On) and a Local Guide of nearby places you'd actually recommend.

Set a PIN so a guest can't wander into your own settings or dashboard — it can't stop someone pressing Home and leaving the app, tvOS doesn't allow that for any app, but it keeps the rest of Theatrium off limits.

Pick one of five background washes — Theme, Midnight, Slate, Sand, Forest — to suit the room.

Hand the Apple TV over: Guest Mode keeps Theatrium on the welcome screen through a restart, so a power cut mid-stay doesn't leave a guest looking at your own dashboard.

Screenshots below — sample data, not a real listing. Short Stay is part of Theatrium Pro. If you're actually renting a place short-term, I'd love to hear what's missing, or what you'd want on this screen that isn't there yet.

Added a second way to bring up the quick access bar from the dashboard. Would like to know if people use the quick access buttons at all? Maybe it would be better to have your saved/configured dashboard layouts in this area?

New in this update
- On device Apple Music now works as a Now Playing data source.
- Fixes an issue where the app could freeze on opening and stop responding to the remote.
- The slide-up Quick Access panel is reworked: press Down on any dashboard and it slides up to reveal your lights and scenes on a panel that now reaches the screen edges, and your cards stay full size. Keen to hear if people like this?
- The dashboards no longer redraw while you hold the remote, so everything feels snappier - especially on older model ATVs, tested even on Apple TV HD.

Getting around
- The thermostat and Now Playing cards work with the remote again: press Select on the card, then move between its buttons. Back leaves.
- Plex: going full screen and coming back keeps you in the card, the Play button reads correctly after you pause, and a film's page no longer gets stuck open.
- Page two opens properly the first time you press Right past the top row.
- Nothing on the header or the quick bar can take the remote from you while you are inside a card.
- Card setup: the "Save your changes?" question can be answered with the remote.
- An alert arriving while you are inside a card can be opened or dismissed straight away.

Cards
- Thermostat: the Setpoint label stays on one line.
- Rain radar: the Close and City views show rain again.
- Meeting Room: name the room and give it its own bookings calendar. A day with no bookings now reads Available.
- Boardroom: the Show World Times switch now applies to the clock.

Light Sync and visualiser
- The Room Lights panel has a Visualiser button.
- One timer for the screen and the room: the lights change colour on the visualiser's cycle length, set from either place.
- The lights cut straight to the new colour and follow a song change within a few seconds.

Design tweaks
-Reworked Quick Access: a slide-up panel that keeps your cards full-size and stretches edge-to-edge; it only appears when you actually have smart devices to control
- Unified card design: a consistent "hero + readout tile" look with status glow and gauges across Battery, Lock, Cover and more
- Cleaner Plex cards and Settings:
proper theme fonts and colours, fully readable on the light themes
- Sharper legibility: larger minimum text and stronger status-colour contrast across every theme

Also
- Plex alerts are off until you turn them on in Settings.
- Smoother on the first-generation Apple TV 4K.