Apple TV 4.0 software missing features/bugs

[jaw04005]

So, it was inevitable that Apple would drop features from the Apple TV 3.0 software in the new 4.0 software because of the move to iOS. But some of the missing features (like nested folders) are important.

Here’s my list of missing features/bugs:

1. Nested folders within Movies and TV Shows are now gone. TV Show seasons are presented as separate listings that are not distinguished from other shows. Movies cannot be organized into collections (such as the “Star Wars” or “Batman”).
2. iTunes Extras and LPs don’t work.
3. AirTunes Speakers are gone.
4. Favorites within Radio are gone.
5. 480p, 1080i and 1080p output (only does 720p now) is gone.
6. Video playlists don’t continue after first video when using the Apple IR Remote.
7. Audio track descriptions (Commentary, Stereo, etc) don’t show up in the audio pop-up menu within a video.
8. Seasons are sorted incorrectly.
9. Playlists and Smart Playlists are sorted differently from iTunes.
10. Year metadata is missing from Movies.
11. No watched, partially watch or unwatched indicators for Netflix content.
12. No HD label for Netflix content.
13. No Netflix streaming quality bar or indicator.
14. Instant Queue is not the first menu selection within Netflix.
15. Unwatched/watched indicator bugs within certain menu selections. For example, viewed Podcasts aren't always marked as watched.
16. Remote.app doesn't wake Apple TV from sleep.

Any veteran Apple TV owners noticed other missing features?

 

[grapes911]

- 480p, 1080i and 1080p output (only does 720p now)

The new ATV does 720p and 480p. I'm pretty sure the old was the same.

 

[jaw04005]

The new ATV does 720p and 480p. I'm pretty sure the old was the same.

Output is not the same as playback. The old Apple TV upscaled content to 1080p similar to an upscaling DVD player.

 

[Apple Expert]

Would love them to add iTunes Extras. Why offer this feature and not be able to use it on the big screen?

 

[jaw04005]

Would love them to add iTunes Extras. Why offer this feature and not be able to use it on the big screen?

It’s missing from iOS that’s why. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can’t playback iTunes Extras and LPs.

I’m sure a lot of this is coming eventually.

 

[philipk]

- Nested folders within Movies and TV Shows are now gone. TV Show seasons are presented as separate listings that are not distinguished from other shows. Movies cannot be organized into collections (such as the “Star Wars” or “Batman”).

That is my only real complaint with the new ATV.

However, I have only been playing with it for the last two hours.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

That is my only real complaint with the new ATV.

However, I have only been playing with it for the last two hours.

My way to fix this is to just set up playlists for movies, that way I can I've all six star wars movies sorted from the rest, my marvel films sorted and my pixar movies all sorted as well. Works pretty well. Tv shows sort themselves pretty well as long as the tagging is done properly.

 

[NightStorm]

AppleTV v2 seems to be ignoring audio track descriptions. If you pulled up the audio track selection menu for a video that had multiple tracks on 3.0, you would see something like:

Stereo (English)
Surround (English)
Commentary (English)


Now with 4.0, all you see is

English
English
English

I'll be submitting this to apple.com/feedback shortly; I would suggest everyone else do the same as they find issues.

 

[Toddgabweg]

It’s missing from iOS that’s why. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can’t playback iTunes Extras and LPs.

I’m sure a lot of this is coming eventually.

I bought Iron Man II in HD expecting to watch the extra features on the big screen... new to Apple TV (arrived today)... very nice... so small... easy setup... could see my itunes content very quickly... no need to stream to the xbox 360 anymore... nicer than my roku hd box that my kids use on their tv...

I hope itunes will offer a similar service to amazon for video (I like the idea of streaming movies that I purchased without downloading them or having to have my imac on)...

I am pleased so far....

 

[blybug]

My way to fix this is to just set up playlists for movies, that way I can I've all six star wars movies sorted from the rest, my marvel films sorted and my pixar movies all sorted as well. Works pretty well. Tv shows sort themselves pretty well as long as the tagging is done properly.

Would like one higher top level menu that just lists the names of the TV shows, upon clicking a show the Seasons would appear. I've got a couple dozen TV shows with several Seasons each. Now they all show up in one big list, each show repeated as many times as it has Seasons. It's like the not-updated-in-forever Front Row on Macs. Also it fails to alphabetize by the usual  convention of ignoring "The" and "A". They had it right on the original TV.

Would also be nice if whichever Computer/Library you have presently chosen received Top Level Menu treatment for its content (ie My Movies under Movies, etc). Relegating all the user's own content to the "Computer" Submenu certainly fits with the new "renting and streaming" model...I get it. But I don't like it.

These two changes in the interface also contribute to the new TV being less kid & wife friendly than the old one. Step backwards for taking over the living room, .

 

[blybug]

Also not too thrilled about Home Sharing being the conduit for Computer sharing on the TV and use of the Remote app. Home Sharing appears to be an all-or-nothing sort of feature across all these devices now.

I may want to have Home Sharing on so my wife, my son, and I can all copy music back and forth easily. But it doesn't necessarily mean I want my younger kids to be able to access my whole iTunes Library on the TV or one of them to start controlling my iTunes with the Remote App.

Home Sharing needs some toggles for each device, to set exactly what content you are sharing or allowing to be controlled with each other device under the same Home Sharing setup.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Would like one higher top level menu that just lists the names of the TV shows, upon clicking a show the Seasons would appear. I've got a couple dozen TV shows with several Seasons each. Now they all show up in one big list, each show repeated as many times as it has Seasons. It's like the not-updated-in-forever Front Row on Macs. Also it fails to alphabetize by the usual  convention of ignoring "The" and "A". They had it right on the original TV.

Would also be nice if whichever Computer/Library you have presently chosen received Top Level Menu treatment for its content (ie My Movies under Movies, etc). Relegating all the user's own content to the "Computer" Submenu certainly fits with the new "renting and streaming" model...I get it. But I don't like it.

These two changes in the interface also contribute to the new TV being less kid & wife friendly than the old one. Step backwards for taking over the living room, .

Yeah I guess for lots of tv shows a top level sort would work better. I only have a few seasons of a couple shows so it doesn't bother me that much. But then again I do also have playlists set up for tv shows to do the sorting for me.

I agree with you that movies and tv shows from a computer should show up inter the movies and tv shows menus of the apple tv. Maybe they'll change the UI back to that.

 

[pdpfilms]

Here’s my list of missing features:

...

- AirTunes Speakers

...

Any veteran Apple TV owners noticed other missing features?

Wait. Does this mean no integration into the "multiple Speakers" pane of iTunes 10, or the remote app? Not sure what you mean by that.

 

[zedsdead]

Movie Folders

TV Show Folders (every season is listed separately now)

The lack of both of these is VERY annoying.

The remote app also does not handle these features, and displays TV Show episodes out of order.

 

[blybug]

Wait. Does this mean no integration into the "multiple Speakers" pane of iTunes 10, or the remote app? Not sure what you mean by that.

The Remote app allows you to choose an iTunes Library, and also to output the playing content to multiple speakers including the TV.

Bottom right corner of iTunes 10 also has a speaker selection menu where you can play the same content simultaneously to multiple sets of speakers, including the TV.

My iTunes and my Remote app list 3 sets of speakers: Computer, TV, and the set connected to the Airport Express in the kitchen. All 3 can be chosen together and play the same song with barely a noticeable lag as I walk room to room.

 

[rotarypower101]

I seem to no longer get an episode/movie synopsis by pushing the up button...not a huge loss, but it seems a feature removed AFAICT?

Also really hate that my media has once again taken a back seat to the money train....
Please recorrect this egregious selfish error once again in future updates Apple.

I dont like going back to the simplistic frontrow personal media selection that have once again been reintroduced to marginalize my personal media!

I am sure I will find others, but got a half hour on the newest little electrical joy, but off to other activitys for a while.

Keep them coming, love to hear what others found to be a static staple of their usage that apple has now deemed superfluous....uhg!

 

[jaw04005]

Wait. Does this mean no integration into the "multiple Speakers" pane of iTunes 10, or the remote app? Not sure what you mean by that.

You used to be able to stream Apple TV content (didn't matter if it was synced to the device or streamed from a Mac or PC) to an AirPort Express device via a pop-up menu on the Apple TV.

That's no longer the case. That is what I was referring to. It has nothing to do with the Remote.app or iTunes 10.

I seem to no longer get an episode/movie synopsis by pushing the up button...not a huge loss, but it seems a feature removed AFAICT?

The description pop-up for movies, podcasts and TV shows still works for me.

 

[rotarypower101]

You used to be able to stream Apple TV content (didn't matter if it was synced to the device or streamed from a Mac or PC) to an AirPort Express device via a pop-up menu on the Apple TV.

That's no longer the case. That is what I was referring to. It has nothing to do with the Remote.app or iTunes 10.



The description pop-up for movies, podcasts and TV shows still works for me.

I only tested TV Shows, have not even tried a movie yet.good to hear thanks for the correction

 

[philipk]

I found another bug on my system.

After watching a TV episode that I ripped. It now marks the show as unwatched instead of watched.

I have that problem with both of my ATV's synced to the same computer.

Has anyone else found that difference?

 

[rritterson]

Smart playlists re-sort alphabetically by song name instead of in the original order they are on the Mac. I went through the same $%&&%*($# issue on the iPhone for quite a while. It's extremely obnoxious.

 

[MCRunning]

Nvm figured it out

 

[NewtypeCJ]

Two irksome things about the new aTV that I noticed last night:

If you've got TV shows in your Netflix Instant Watch queue, it doesn't show which episodes you've watched already - a feature available on Netflix for the Xbox 360 and on my Samsung blu-ray player.

I connected up my iTunes library and watched the season finale of Louie - I had a season pass and just hadn't watched the last episode. Finished watching it and let the credits roll and get all the way back to the episode summary screen and it isn't marked as watched.

 

[Chundles]

Also not too thrilled about Home Sharing being the conduit for Computer sharing on the TV and use of the Remote app. Home Sharing appears to be an all-or-nothing sort of feature across all these devices now.

I may want to have Home Sharing on so my wife, my son, and I can all copy music back and forth easily. But it doesn't necessarily mean I want my younger kids to be able to access my whole iTunes Library on the TV or one of them to start controlling my iTunes with the Remote App.

Home Sharing needs some toggles for each device, to set exactly what content you are sharing or allowing to be controlled with each other device under the same Home Sharing setup.

Definitely.

Used to be able to have someone come over, they type in a 4 number code and stream. i don't want to give them my iTunes account and password. Bring back the old pairing.

 

[newagemac]

Definitely.

Used to be able to have someone come over, they type in a 4 number code and stream. i don't want to give them my iTunes account and password. Bring back the old pairing.

That's what Airplay is for. Except now they won't even have to type in a 4 number code.

 

[musicpenguy]

Yea with AirPlay you just need to be on the same network ! - No pairing necessary !