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Anyone else uninterested in a 4K Apple TV at this point?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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Yes, Sony's 900E implementation of Android TV is horrible. AirPlay is essential for me too, and the ability to stream in 4K is going to be amazing, especially at work where the extra resolution is going to make presentations and training much more effective. The Sony remote is also clumsy, and times I really wish it had a touch interface like the Apple TV.
Ha. That made me laugh out loud. The guy's hilarious no matter what message board he's on -- seems like only his limited experience and opinion matters. The Sony 900E apps are a mess. None of them work the same way, they're sluggish, invoking even the volume adjustment, much less picture adjustments grinds he set to a halt. And don't get me started on trying to navigate those apps with the clumsy Sony remote through those horrible Android TV OS interfaces. I can't wait to get my 4K Apple TV and stop using my Sony 900E built-in apps, and use the Android TV OS as little as possible. I'm going to love this TV so much more as a result.
Yeah, same, I've never seen a smart TV UI that I prefered (and none that outperformed a current gen standalone box or stick). Plus, in my experience, the TV development is _slow_ and/or non-existent (I actually had a smart TV, with a faulty Netflix app, never got fixed ...)
The other thing is consistency across the household. If I want a Sony set in one room, an LG in another, and to continue to use our [still pretty terrific] Pioneer plasma in another, with 3 ATV4s, they ALL work the same, have the same apps, same authentication (and with tvOS 11, even the same app layout).
Plus a perk for us: we can grab an ATV, toss it in a bag, and travel with all our TV services ready to go
The Sony 900E is no exception. It's a mess. YouTube just updated their app and it's even worse and less consistent than before. At least I know with Apple, that all of the apps will work consistently, and uniformly. In the Hulu app there's no way to confirm HDR in the set, as the minute you invoke picture settings, the app kicks out of the streaming content and into the launch menu. So you can't even adjust the picture settings with the content you're trying to adjust!! Netflix uses the display button, Amazon doesn't. And on and on. Love the fact the Apple TV can just be packed and travel without any other elaborate setup, or dongles which the iOS devices require.
That's another reason to use an external box. My Sony 900E will likely last me 10 years, it's that good. But during that time, I suspect there will be app and device improvements that neither the inputs on the TV will accommodate, nor will the processor in the set. The 900E is already horribly underpowered, and Android TV OS poorly implemented that the set can be frustrating to use. Moving the heavy lifting to an external box is not only a good idea now, but is going to make this TV far more useful 5-10 years down the line as well.
And you're right, I had an LG before I returned it for the 900E. WebOS was the most enjoyable Smart TV OS I've ever used. It's too bad more developers don't support it. That said, the edgelit display was horrible, and proved unwatchable. The 900E was $1,000 more, but worth every penny -- except for that horrible Android TV OS. I cannot wait to get my Apple TV 4K.
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I'm pretty sure HDMI/ARC will do DTS and Dolby Digital. I agree it won't do the new HD formats, but I have not seen a lot of streaming content that supports those formats.
DTS and DD both fall under lossy 5.1. I forgot to mention, some TVs won't even support anything but stereo over ARC.
True... but many like my LG support 5.1. None of the popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu support lossless yet anyway, so my point remains, optical or ARC work just fine for most applications.
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I thought we were discussing using a smart TV for streaming. What does ripped content have to do with it? I feel like I'm missing something.
I'm not interested because I don't have a 4K TV. If I had one I'd get one. At this point I don't have any intentions to upgrade any of my TVs anytime soon, unless the bed room TV croaks it because it's about 7 years old. If it goes I'd replace it with a 4K TV and then I'd get the Apple TV 4K.
They do support dd+ 7.1 and atmos.
Streaming can mean both online and local and people use it interchangeable.
If you're using your smart tv to play local content, as many people do, you'll really be missing out on the audio.
I took the advice of the wise folks on this forum and ordered a 4th gen refurb for my bedroom. It is noticeably cheaper than the new 5th gen.
I am interested in the new AppleTV. While I do have a Samsung TV and the apps work fine, I like the Appletv for Apple content, apps, and AirPlay 2 which my Samsung doesn’t support.
That's another good point. Hello multi-room audio, without having to lock yourself into an under-performing, over-priced, and proprietary Sonos setup.
eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) coming with HDMI 2.1 next year will apparently support lossless (high-bit-rate) audio.
Allegedly this will "make possible a new breed of audio-only receivers" (https://www.soundandvision.com/content/taking-hdmi-next-level).
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Maybe, but I think it is unlikely Apple will do this unless one TV operating system gains market share the way Android or Windows have on phones and desktops, but either way think they should be making their own TV sets, so their customers don't have to make this choice.
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BTW, how do like the 900E? Seriously considering the 65" model (65X900E) as our next set. Originally I was looking at the 850E, since I couldn't get a good comparison (in person, they looked the same with the terrible display setups/lighting), but at least in more controlled review environments, it sounds like the 900E is notably better (probably justifying the ~$500 difference).
Touché!What you mean just like being able to record in 4K on your brand new iPhone 6s/6sPlus but unable to play it back in 4K on your brand new AppleTV 4, yeah that was most certainly odd
I.... I can hardly believe you're being serious!
"Smart" TV's are a joke. The typical consumer sees this as well, that's whey they still buy Rokus, Fire sticks, Chromecasts, and Apple TVs like mad.
Smart TV apps are generally garbage, and the ATV has an ecosystem of hundreds or maybe thousands of apps that all generally perform well.
Maybe it works for you, and that's great. But most people recognize that they are garbage and opt for the streaming box.
No Siri, no voice controls at all, no AirPlay, no Plex, no ESPN app, no games, none of the other plethora apps out there... it's not even close.
You forget your HDTV history. The entire world, right down to the lowest income areas, finally moved on and transitioned from tube TV's to flat panels right around 2011 or 2012, that's when there were hardly any tube TV's left in circulation and we all had our LCD's. Well, that's only 5 or 6 years ago, most people don't own any smart HDTV's at all, and most people aren't even in the mindset to upgrade as their 5-10 year old HDTV's work just fine. The only fun thing that happened since they got their HDTV's was streaming services and 90% of those HDTV's couldn't get to them.
That's the audience for Apple TV, Roku, Fire Stick, and all the other streamers. They're for the millions of people who never had a Smart TV or had one that's so old it doesn't work. A few years ago you needed a standalone streamer. But that's not the case now. All most all of today's TV's all have very decent and very serviceable onboard apps, a month ago I bought a cheap Sharp 45" TV with built-in Roku, it cost less than $180. My new Sony 900E has a crappy OS but it has all the apps I need and they're a button-press away, I don't need a 4K ATV because my Sony does 4K and has Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime, and all the rest.
All that Apple TV offers vs. a Smart TV is a more elegant operating system. If that matters to you, that's cool, go buy one. One man's opinion, I don't see the benefit. I'll stick with my 1080p Apple TV strictly for my iTunes song library and my home movies. When I want to check out Netflix, I'm hitting the "Netflix" button on my Sony remote control. It's just easier.
I agree with most of what you are saying. I have a Sony Smart 4K HDR TV but it is only 43 inches (which is suitable) and would like to buy the 55 inch Smart HDR Tv in the near future. I too enjoy the ability to watch 4K movies on the Sony TV with their apps. I guess I talked myself into getting the new ATV 4K 64 Gb since I already have bought so many movies on iTunes...and they have promised to give us the 4K version for free for those movies if and when available (Plus Apple has worked it out with some of the studios to allow us to buy them at the same price as the HD movies).... That makes it worth it to me....but otherwise I would not have done so since Smart TVs do have fairly decent apps (though not as many as ATV). That is my two cents worth. Heh.
You can never be sure about the TV manufacturers keeping support for apps they came with. LG no longer has YouTube support for some older TV's.
https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/lg-tv-youtube-app-no-longer-supported-after-june-1/
https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/lg-tv-youtube-app-no-longer-supported-after-june-1/
Smart TV's have come a long way but there is no comparison to the performance and apps on Apple TV. Streaming services will boost Apple TV. Since becoming a Directv Now sub, I use Apple TV for all my TV viewing and its been an awesome experience. Not so much with the clunky Web OS Smart TV apps. Sure Smart TV's can perform essential functions but they offer a horrible experience, have limited upgradeability over the life of the set.
It's an amazing TV. Worth every penny I spent. I didn't want to spend over $1K, so that's saying a lot. It rivals OLED in many respects, but without the price tag and some of the other issues that plague the less expensive OLEDs, and even some of the high end ones. My 65" is flawless. The FALD is much better than the 850s edge lit display. If you watch a lot of TV and movies, especially letterbox, in darkened rooms, you're going to want the 900E. If you mostly watch sports, in bright rooms, then it likely doesn't matter. The 850 will be just fine. The 900E has a narrower viewing range, so if you have a wide seating area, the 850 may have a slight edge over better picture. But I haven't found the 900E to be very disappointing in any respect except one.
The Android TV OS is terrible. The interface is sluggish, and pokey. The smart apps are a mess. Streaming anything while trying to adjust the picture, or volume, causes the TV to stutter. It also has random shutdowns and startups. But this is likely going to be true for the 850 as well.
The worst part is having to give my information to google, and accept some very broad privacy permissions. You have to sign into Google Play store, and can only download a very limited selection of Android apps ported poorly to Android TV OS. There's not even a very decent web browser available. Searching anything is a nightmare, much less across apps. That's another reason I can't wait to get my Apple TV 4K. Anyone using the built-in apps is just being foolish. There have been two firmware updates since I got the TV in March, and there's still many things they haven't addressed. Plus it's reset some of my picture settings. And I've performed a factory reset twice since I've owned it to fix various issues. But again, you'll likely have these problems with the 850 as well. The main thing is to move as many smart functions off the set as possible onto an external box like an Apple TV, and the picture will blow you away and lower your frustration level to a minimum.
I wonder what games they could come up with that would harness the power of the a10x in the atv ?
Could we see stuff like call of duty ??
Could we see stuff like call of duty ??