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Apple TV Universal Search Gains Watch ABC, Disney Channel and More

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Apple has today added four new universal search options to the fourth-generation Apple TV: Watch ABC, Disney XD, Disney Channel and Disney Jr. This allows users to easily find content like Modern Family and Star Wars Rebels after pressing the Siri button on the Siri Remote. The move brings the total number of sources in universal search to 14.

universalsearchappletv.png

At launch, universal search only worked with iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO (Now and Go) and Showtime (Regular and Anytime). Apple had promised to expand the feature and the number of sources included over time and has, thus far, delivered on that promise. Last month, Apple added FOX NOW, FX NOW and National Geographic as sources; in January, Apple added PBS and PBS Kids.

In the United States, universal search across all 14 services is available. In Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, universal search is only available across iTunes and Netflix. In other countries and regions, universal search is only available across iTunes Movies.

Apple plans to continue opening up its universal search API to additional partners and apps in the future.

Article Link: Apple TV Universal Search Gains Watch ABC, Disney Channel and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/22/apple-tv-universal-search-disney/
"Apple plans to continue opening up its universal search API to additional partners and apps in the future."

Plex guys, if you're reading this, please continue being awesome. I know you'd love to be one of those additional partners. Plex users would like you to be a partner too.
 
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Looks like they are working directly with one vendor at a time to test and make sure it works properly. PBS in January, Fox earlier this month, now ABC
 
I guess a little off-topic, but has anyone else noticed that since the recent software update enabling Siri control of Apple Music, that music results come up when you're looking for a show? Just last night I wanted to watch Bojack horseman, so I activated Siri, said "put on Bojack horseman," and suddenly the theme song comes up. When I asked "Put on last man on earth", a David Bowie song came on. Very annoying.
 
DTphonehome said:
I guess a little off-topic, but has anyone else noticed that since the recent software update enabling Siri control of Apple Music, that music results come up when you're looking for a show? Just last night I wanted to watch Bojack horseman, so I activated Siri, said "put on Bojack horseman," and suddenly the theme song comes up. When I asked "Put on last man on earth", a David Bowie song came on. Very annoying.
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I suspect you are doing it wrong.
 
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DTphonehome said:
I guess a little off-topic, but has anyone else noticed that since the recent software update enabling Siri control of Apple Music, that music results come up when you're looking for a show? Just last night I wanted to watch Bojack horseman, so I activated Siri, said "put on Bojack horseman," and suddenly the theme song comes up. When I asked "Put on last man on earth", a David Bowie song came on. Very annoying.
Click to expand...

That's to be expected, you have to be more precise I guess. Is there a way like spotlight to deactivate certain area of search?
 
I either don't understand this feature or I can't use it. On my ATV4 I search for a show or movie, even request for Netflix, and it brings it up to purchase or whatever on iTunes.
 
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In Canada, although I have all these apps (HBO, Hulu, Showtime, FOX, etc) I still only get Siri search hitting iTunes and Netflix. Too bad.

2010mini said:
How exactly do you expect that to work seeing as all these other apps are pulling info from the cloud? Plex pulls from a local library on your private network.
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I've been wondering that as well.
 
2010mini said:
How exactly do you expect that to work seeing as all these other apps are pulling info from the cloud? Plex pulls from a local library on your private network.
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Why do you assume that it all has to come from the Cloud? Actually, out of curiosity, does Siri have access to stuff in the "Computers" app?

Much like Spotlight on iOS got the ability to let apps be search for content inside them in iOS 9, I think Apple could enable this for a non-cloud based server.
 
2010mini said:
How exactly do you expect that to work seeing as all these other apps are pulling info from the cloud? Plex pulls from a local library on your private network.
Click to expand...

What difference does it make where the server is? Pulling from 108.175.32.0 (netflix) or 192.168.1.67 (your local plex server) is the same to tvOS.
 
Once again, an Apple product feels crippled in Canada.

Not only is Universal Search limited, we don't even have Siri, which is one of the two selling points of the Apple TV (the other one being the App Store).......
 
oneMadRssn said:
What difference does it make where the server is? Pulling from 108.175.32.0 (netflix) or 192.168.1.67 (your local plex server) is the same to tvOS.
Click to expand...

The difference is metadata. Specifically, the Apple tv's ability to index this metadata. Spotlight indexes data from files on a computer to make it searchable. Apple would need to somehow activate the same ability on the Apple TV.
 
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sully54 said:
The difference is metadata. Specifically, the Apple tv's ability to index this metadata. Spotlight indexes data from files on a computer to make it searchable. Apple would need to somehow activate the same ability on the Apple TV.
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Easy enough. They already did this on iOS 9. Should be the same thing.
 
Us 1 or 2 customers outside the US couldn't care less about all the US only services getting search. Fire up the API already and let apps opt in. It gets reviewed so junk implementations shouldn't be an issue.
 
2010mini said:
How exactly do you expect that to work seeing as all these other apps are pulling info from the cloud? Plex pulls from a local library on your private network.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why that's a problem. Do you think Siri is talking to ABC directly? or though an call/API in the app?
If it's the latter, then it seems like it could search though the Plex app.
 
Nicky G said:
Amazon needs to release a Prime Video app already, this is ridiculous. With Siri search. Freaking get on it, Bezos.
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Not going to happen. Amazon doesn't sell AppleTV on its site either - it's a direct competitor for its Amazon Fire TV.
 
oneMadRssn said:
What difference does it make where the server is? Pulling from 108.175.32.0 (netflix) or 192.168.1.67 (your local plex server) is the same to tvOS.
Click to expand...

Siri is cloud based. It pulls from the cloud and the device which it is on. The Apple TV does not store any data locally like there would be on other iOS devices.
 
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