YouTuber Otto Climan has turned a GameBoy Color into an Apple TV remote. Yup, you read that correctly. This incredibly cool project was posted about a month ago and shared earlier today by Gizmodo. It’s a really slick hack that takes advantage of the GameBoy Color’s IR sensor and button array.
Climan’s custom GameBoy isn’t just an Apple TV remote, it’s also a supercharged modern custom handheld. This GameBoy has a new bright backlit display rather than the original old school dark one I’d play games on with a book light.
The custom GameBoy also has a beautiful white case with the classic six-color Apple logo and accents that are reminiscent of ancient Macs. Coupled with that bright new display, its hardware is in an entirely new class even if it looks just like an original GameBoy Color. It’s a completely different direction than our Apple TV remote concept that we published a few weeks ago. But frankly, this is way cooler.
In order to turn the GameBoy Color into an Apple TV remote, Climan had to create a custom cartridge that can run different pieces of software. If you don’t already know, games/apps on products like a GameBoy are called ROMs. Climan developed his own ROM that integrates with the IR sensor so it can be recognized by an Apple TV. It also includes software that maps the d-pad and ancillary buttons to Apple TV’s user interface.
Apple kept support for IR remotes in the most recent versions of Apple TV even though the Siri Remote uses Bluetooth for connectivity. I highly suggest checking out Climan’s video below. It’s a fantastic DIY project. What do you think about this custom Apple TV remote?
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