Your family tree, on your Apple TV
Founder disclosure up front: this is my app. Mods, if this crosses the self promo line, feel free to delete.
I've been a software engineer for over 30 years, and a while back it struck me that my family tree lived on my laptop, which is the one screen nobody in my house ever gathers around. So I built Bright Branches, a native tvOS app (Swift and SwiftUI, no web wrapper) that puts your family tree on the television.
The fastest way in is FamilySearch. A QR code comes up on the TV, you sign in on your phone (nobody should ever type a password with a Siri Remote), and your tree shows up on the screen, pulled live from your account, six generations deep. Nothing to upload, nothing to sync. If your family keeps its tree somewhere else, GEDCOM files work too, and FamilySearch accounts are free to create if you've never touched genealogy before.
It's built around the remote. No on-screen menus or buttons to hunt through. You just move, and the tree glides along with you, keeping whoever you're looking at in the center of the screen. There are five different tree designs, you can set your own family photos as the backdrop, and there are animated screensavers, so it earns its spot on the TV even when nobody's actively exploring.
To be upfront about what it is: a viewing app. The research and editing happen in FamilySearch or wherever your tree lives. This is the part where the people on the couch actually get to see it.
It's free to start, no card required. Search "Bright Branches" on the App Store, and there's an iPad companion app as well.
Happy to answer any questions. And if you give it a try, I'd love to hear how it goes with your tree.
If you want a look first: brightbranches.com
If you want a demo account to try it out hit my inbox.