3 month trial

[Gregg2]

I signed up, found one nature series that looked interesting and watched an episode. A few other things looked interesting, but were offered at a premium cost. Looks like it will be an "89 day" trial for me. I guess you have to be interested in the creative content for TV+ to make sense.

 

[Isamilis]

Apple sell & rent some of movies. Try look at the original ones, which are always free.

 

[ericwn]

Apple’s TV apps usually have a dedicated tab for their own, included, streaming content plus all the usual offerings from elsewhere that cost. Look for their own content, they have a bunch of things to explore although of course just a fraction of what others have to offer.

 

[russell_314]

I signed up, found one nature series that looked interesting and watched an episode. A few other things looked interesting, but were offered at a premium cost. Looks like it will be an "89 day" trial for me. I guess you have to be interested in the creative content for TV+ to make sense.

Apple TV+ subscription is just for the TV+ content. You can get anything and everything on Apple TV. I don't have a current subscription but I remember when I had one they did a poor job of separating what TV+ content and stuff from other sources.

It would be like having Netflix and searching for a movie but the results were content you could buy. I guess that's because of the small amount of content available and they didn't want that to stand out so badly. Amazon Prime is similar but you can make selection to only show results that are included with Prime.

They did a poor job with the whole naming scheme... You have Apple TV the device, Apple TV the app, and Apple TV+ the streaming service. That confuses anyone that's not deep into the Apple ecosystem.

 

[ftaok]

I signed up, found one nature series that looked interesting and watched an episode. A few other things looked interesting, but were offered at a premium cost. Looks like it will be an "89 day" trial for me. I guess you have to be interested in the creative content for TV+ to make sense.

To add onto @russell_314's comment, it really is a shame how the AppleTV app is structured. I use the AppleTV device, not a Firestick, so maybe it's worse on the Firestick. But it's pretty bad on apple hardware too.

The problem is that the AppleTV app is trying to be a one-stop location for all of your services. So within the app, you'll see shows that are one content providers that link in with the AppleTV app, regardless of whether you subscribe to that service. So let's say you do not subscribe to Disney+. When you are in the app, you'll see listings for all of the Disney shows, but when you select it, you'll be hit with a paywall. Very frustrating.

They should make it much more obvious which content you have access to and which ones would require additional fees.

When you subscribe to AppleTV+, you will have access to all of the TV+ content. Ted Lasso, For All Mankind, Tehran, etc.

 

[Eric Idle]

I signed up, found one nature series that looked interesting and watched an episode. A few other things looked interesting, but were offered at a premium cost. Looks like it will be an "89 day" trial for me. I guess you have to be interested in the creative content for TV+ to make sense.

Click on the Apple TV+ tab and explore to your heart's content. That's the free trial area. Apple does not own the content outside of that tab and so is not part of the trial.

 

[Gregg2]

Apple TV+ subscription is just for the TV+ content. You can get anything and everything on Apple TV.

Really! So I could watch my local TV stations, and any cable/satellite channel if my only TV provider is Apple TV+? If so, how???

 

[russell_314]

Really! So I could watch my local TV stations, and any cable/satellite channel if my only TV provider is Apple TV+? If so, how???

Good job you proved my point that Apple’s naming scheme is a mess. Thanks! 😌

 

[russell_314]

Really! So I could watch my local TV stations, and any cable/satellite channel if my only TV provider is Apple TV+? If so, how???

I guess I should’ve tried to explain this madness better but I had to run do something quick

This is an Apple TV. I’ll call it #1 for discussion. It’s a hardware device to connect to your TV much like a Roku or Chromecast.


This is the Apple TV app. It’s just a downloadable app for different platforms. This is a screenshot from the iPhone App Store but it’s still available on other platforms to include Roku I think. l’ll call it #2 for discussion


This is Apple TV+. A paid monthly or yearly I think subscription service where you can watch content. The photo is just the page for the subscription but that’s the only way I could represent it. The only name difference between the first two is the “+”. I’ll call that #3 for discussion



Do you see how maddening this naming scheme is. I was talking about #1 but you thought I meant #3. Even though #3 has the + no one notices that.

 

[ftaok]

Really! So I could watch my local TV stations, and any cable/satellite channel if my only TV provider is Apple TV+? If so, how???

The whole thing is convoluted as russel points out, but depending on who your cableTV provider is, you may be able to watch everything with an AppleTV box (#1) in russel’s example. You cableTV provider may have an AppleTV app that allows you to stream channels in your cable package. I have Xfinity and unfortunately they don’t play nice with Apple and do not have a stand alone AppleTV app (they do have the Xfinity Stream app for iOS though). So I have to download each individual channel that I care about and use my Xfinity log-in credentials to authorize.

Once I do that, I go into the TV app (#2) and I can select shows for channels that I have authorized and they work. For example, if I authorize the Science Channel, I can watch “How It’s Made” directly from the TV app. I can also watch it from the SciChannel app as well. The TV app also links to streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu. Netflix, however, is not integrated in the TV app and you’ll have to use the Netflix app separately.

This happens without the need to subscribe to AppleTV+ (#3). If I did subscribe, then I could watch shows like Ted Lasso, etc.

 

[Gregg2]

So, using your Apple TV and the Apple TV app, you could possibly watch all the channels in your cable/satellite package without renting a receiver from the cable/satellite company, right? If that's possible, I don't see why anyone would want to do that. The Apple TV doesn't have all the functionality of a DVR receiver.

So, I use my Apple TV to watch any MLB game I want, and I use it to mirror things from my Mac or iPhone. I'll be canceling the Apple TV+ before the free trial ends. There's just nothing there that interests me enough to pay 5 bucks a month for.

As for the naming, they could have gone with Apple iTV for something, either the device or the app. But, the i next to the T doesn't read very well. It's like MLB.tv and The MLB Network for baseball. The former is the app for streaming games, and t he latter the channel on cable or satellite.