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Anyone else uninterested in a 4K Apple TV at this point?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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About three-quarters of all large screen televisions – those more than 50 inches – that were sold last year in the U.S. (and worldwide) were 4K - so don't really think we are a small group. I love my TV and am looking forward to 4k footage.
Only issue being is that although 4K TVs are selling, just how many are actually HDR/Dolby Vision compatible.
My TV is under 2 years old which I've had just over a year and that's old tech now which according to Apple possibly won't work with the 4K ATV and have said you'd need to set the ATV to 1080p and let the TV upscale to 4K which doesn't seem much of an incentive to upgrade from the ATV4 as it's doing that already.
The other half isn't too keen on buying a new tv so soon after buying this one either.
Predicted sales are interesting. Take out the US and Europe and they are still predicted to be big sellers. I read the odd report that claims the UHD sets are outselling HD panels, a comparison to when HD became the norm replacing CRT etc.
Basic 4k panels vs ones with Dolby bolt ons, that will be interesting.
Basic 4k panels vs ones with Dolby bolt ons, that will be interesting.
@Mac 128
Awesome, thanks for all the details!
Yeah, ours TVs are just "passive" displays, no use of the tuner, or smart functionality. All our programming is done through ATVs, including local OTA via an HDHomeRun, with the exception of the occasional Amazon Prime video on a couple of them (Firestick in one room, PS4 in the other ... ugh ...) - glad to know that will be on ATV soon
We're way more about cable TV shows and movies (a lot of "genre" content that's more black level intensive if that makes sense), a bit of gaming here and there, daytime/sports are very secondary.
I think our viewing angle is fine, I'd actually be interested in the optimal angles and do a little measurement in our main TV area. I'm thinking we're mostly within about 30º
I wish I could get a stripper model, display only, one HDMI, no tuner/smart - pay for what we use
Awesome, thanks for all the details!
Yeah, ours TVs are just "passive" displays, no use of the tuner, or smart functionality. All our programming is done through ATVs, including local OTA via an HDHomeRun, with the exception of the occasional Amazon Prime video on a couple of them (Firestick in one room, PS4 in the other ... ugh ...) - glad to know that will be on ATV soon
We're way more about cable TV shows and movies (a lot of "genre" content that's more black level intensive if that makes sense), a bit of gaming here and there, daytime/sports are very secondary.
I think our viewing angle is fine, I'd actually be interested in the optimal angles and do a little measurement in our main TV area. I'm thinking we're mostly within about 30º
I wish I could get a stripper model, display only, one HDMI, no tuner/smart - pay for what we use
All use cases are different and certainly there are some that support an Apple TV 4K. But to the argument of Apple and Roku selling billions of these standalone streaming devices in the near future, those days are over. As people upgrade from their original 1080p panels circa 2008 to a new 4K panel with apps, the market will be sliced by 80% or more.
For the average person, a smart TV is simply something "that gives me Netflix" and that's all they care about. Speed, elegance, voice command....these things mean nothing to Mr. & Mrs. Average Viewer who just want to get to YouTube and Netflix and Prime. Today's smart TV's do a great job of this.
They're not Apple, but in the end it doesn't take much to go left and right and click to get to the next episode of House Of Cards.
@Mac 128
Awesome, thanks for all the details!
Yeah, ours TVs are just "passive" displays, no use of the tuner, or smart functionality. All our programming is done through ATVs, including local OTA via an HDHomeRun, with the exception of the occasional Amazon Prime video on a couple of them (Firestick in one room, PS4 in the other ... ugh ...) - glad to know that will be on ATV soon
We're way more about cable TV shows and movies (a lot of "genre" content that's more black level intensive if that makes sense), a bit of gaming here and there, daytime/sports are very secondary.
I think our viewing angle is fine, I'd actually be interested in the optimal angles and do a little measurement in our main TV area. I'm thinking we're mostly within about 30º
I wish I could get a stripper model, display only, one HDMI, no tuner/smart - pay for what we use
Yup, I wish I could get a basic panel as well. Anybody who seriously streams content is not going to want to use the crap built-in smart apps, especially the Android TV OS apps. They're a mess. Only older non-tech savvy people are likely to put up with them, that is until their children buy them a proper streaming box. ;-) The Apple TV of course offers a substantially better experience than any smart TV out there, and will likely continue to offer it for some time to come. If nothing else, it compensates for the laggy, sluggish experience of using smart apps while trying to navigate the TV controls. I know waiting several seconds for the volume indicator to appear on the set when I press the remote button is extremely frustrating.
The viewing angle on the 900E begins to deteriorate around 25% off-axis, but I have found that not to be too problematic with this picture. If you don't know what you're missing, you wouldn't know you're getting a less than optimal experience. That's just the nature of a FALD tv. Also, the furor off-axis you are, the more noticable the light bleed, and local dimming at work. The good news is that even this is not going to be noticable while watching regular content.
I push the white button.
I push the down button.
I push the select button.
And the next episode of Master Of None 4K begins playing.
Both regular people and tech savvy people just want to get to Netflix. Even Apple TV (I'm a huge fan since Day 1) can't get me to a show this quickly. To get to YouTube or Prime, just a few more clicks. No input switching, sleep-awakening, or volume adjustments necessary.
If Apple weren't holding my music library and home movies hostage I wouldn't need ATV at all let alone the 4K version. I think I speak for a few million diehard ATV fans who've recently upgraded their TVs when I say this.
If I was to do that then my curtains wouldn't close, my lights wouldn't dim, my AVR wouldn't be switched on and put to the correct input etc...
I push the white button.
I push the down button.
I push the select button.
And the next episode of Master Of None 4K begins playing.
Both regular people and tech savvy people just want to get to Netflix. Even Apple TV (I'm a huge fan since Day 1) can't get me to a show this quickly. To get to YouTube or Prime, just a few more clicks. No input switching, sleep-awakening, or volume adjustments necessary.
If Apple weren't holding my music library and home movies hostage I wouldn't need ATV at all let alone the 4K version. I think I speak for a few million diehard ATV fans who've recently upgraded their TVs when I say this.
My point being; I simply select Netflix on my Logitech Harmony remote and a whole raft of things happen as well. Way beyond what an integrated system/app can do...and including my OLED to the correct input and settings
If I was to do that then my curtains wouldn't close, my lights wouldn't dim, my AVR wouldn't be switched on and put to the correct input etc...
My point being; I simply select Netflix on my Logitech Harmony remote and a whole raft of things happen as well. Way beyond what an integrated system/app can do...and including my OLED to the correct input and settings
If you have more than just a TV, a Harmony is the way to go. My friends thought I was nuts for paying $300 for a remote, but that's the price of convenience I guess. I don't care for the feel of the Sony TV remote either. The Harmony feels like I'm holding something Apple designed.
I push the white button.
I push the down button.
I push the select button.
And the next episode of Master Of None 4K begins playing.
Both regular people and tech savvy people just want to get to Netflix. Even Apple TV (I'm a huge fan since Day 1) can't get me to a show this quickly. To get to YouTube or Prime, just a few more clicks. No input switching, sleep-awakening, or volume adjustments necessary.
If Apple weren't holding my music library and home movies hostage I wouldn't need ATV at all let alone the 4K version. I think I speak for a few million diehard ATV fans who've recently upgraded their TVs when I say this.
On my AppleTV I just say 'Open Netflix' via the Siri remote or even say the name of the film or program I want to watch then select the Netflix icon to go directly to that film or latest episode of a series that your on.
Or even say 'Play (insert film name) on Netflix' then select the play button and it plays straight away and this all from the main home screen.
Couldn't be simpler IMO.
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Agreed. Using the built-in apps on the Sony 900E is a horrible experience, slow and laggy, made even worse by using poorly implemented and buggy Android TV Apps, none of which conform to uniform operation, much less the kind of integration that is what Apple specializes in. Apple TV can search all compliant apps and offer a show guide, something Android TV isn't likely to ever be able to do considering the fractured implementation across all manufacturers. Add to that I don't have to register with Google and give away my privacy and open myself up to hackers. But you can't tell some Blow Hard people that, if it conflicts with their limited world view. And that's why the US is the country it is today.
I prefer using the apps on my samsung ks8000 vs apple tv. The netflix app on the samsung is much better. Plus, it has amazon. I am still interested in the new apple tv because I can choose which apps to put on it, there are more apps, and because of airplay.
wow, how can you say the netflix app is better on the samsung tv then on apple tv?
never heard that before.
I have the same Sony television and can't wait to get my Apple TV 4K on Friday. The built in Android TV is pretty bad. Netflix works fine but that is about it. Google Play movies don't play in HDR. Some 4K movies are available to buy at $29.99 and not available to rent. Amazon Prime 4K video taxes the tv so bad it stutters when you try to adjust the picture. 4K HDR movie rentals are $8-10. The same rentals on Apple TV for $6. Apple just streamlines the whole 4K HDR experience for a lower price.
I would think you'd also want to use the Apple TV because of the ads on the Samsung apps, which can't be disabled. That said, on our Samsung TVs at work, you can add and delete apps on the Home Screen, so I'm nit sure what you mean you can choose which apps to put on it. Any app ported to Tizen can be downloaded from the Tizen store.
Ugh yeah, what were Sony thinking with that remote =/
My old Panasonic had a beautiful backlit aluminium clicker that was so nice my Harmony actually got relegated to it's box for a few years, when the Sony came along, the Harmony came straight back out again, as soon as Logitech release an updated hub with better tvOS integration I'll upgrade my oldish One+.
My old Panasonic had a beautiful backlit aluminium clicker that was so nice my Harmony actually got relegated to it's box for a few years, when the Sony came along, the Harmony came straight back out again, as soon as Logitech release an updated hub with better tvOS integration I'll upgrade my oldish One+.
I own an Apple TV. Actually I own 2 of the current version. Since its launch I've purchased 6 of them. I know what it does.
While I appreciate the tiny things that make a bit of a difference, the apps built-into my TV are good enough. I don't see a compelling reason to get a 4K ATV. With such little 4K content out there (even less HDR) on those rare occasions I want to show a friend a drone video or a snake to make him say "ooh" I can do that through YouTube built in to my Sony thank you very much.
Bottom line is I can be happy with my existing ATV's as all the good content is 1080p anyway. I'm not advocating dumping Apple TV entirely. I'm merely saying the new model is unimportant.
I was surprised to see that Apple will allow you to update existing HD purchases to 4k and/or HDR but there seems to be a catch: you can only stream 4k, you can't download it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207949
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"You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version."
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"You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version."
Odd. But it looks like Apple is immediately offering over 100 4K HDR movies!! And they'll be adding new 4K HDR movies every week.
Who says there's no content worth buying an Apple TV 4K for?
And of course most if not all of Netflix and Amazon's original series are in 4K HDR, and more and more new programming intended for those outlets will likely be produced in that format as well.
As for streaming 4K only, I'd just as soon leave it in the cloud anyway. It's not really like I have a mobile device where it would make sense to download and play it. As it is, I force all of my content to 720p when I load it onto a phone or iPad to save space and speed operation of the device.
I was surprised to find that the ATV 4K was so easy to set up, and the Sony remote works perfectly with it right out of the box. So the issue of a single remote is moot for anyone who sees that as a problem.
The 4K HDR picture is absolutely amazing on all my iTunes movies that were upgraded for free. Blows the 1080p versions of them out of the water, especially on this brand new Sony 900E. theres no doubt how much 4K HDR adds to the viewing experience.
That said, this thing is likely going to get returned if Apple doesn't offer a software update to enable automatic format switching, or at least make manual switching easier, before the end of my return period. The ATV 4K does not offer a native signal output. Instead it either forces all content to be upscaled to 4K 60HZ and artificial HDR processing if not already encoded. This is totally unacceptable. The only way around this is to manually dig down into the Settings menu and change the settings for the source you're streaming, assuming that is, you know the source formatting.
I'm not sure who Apple is building the ATV for, but it appears to be some future consumer who may be buying a new 4K TV this Christmas (if for no other reason than they don't make many 1080p TVs anymore). And likely the same bunch of customers who never change the default "soap opera effect" settings on their new flat screens, and prefer to watch letter box and pillar box programs in the wide stretch mode.
Anybody who cares about their picture is not going to be interested in a fake HDR effect applied to every program they watch, and they certainly aren't going to want to constantly switch between their sources.
The 4K HDR picture is absolutely amazing on all my iTunes movies that were upgraded for free. Blows the 1080p versions of them out of the water, especially on this brand new Sony 900E. theres no doubt how much 4K HDR adds to the viewing experience.
That said, this thing is likely going to get returned if Apple doesn't offer a software update to enable automatic format switching, or at least make manual switching easier, before the end of my return period. The ATV 4K does not offer a native signal output. Instead it either forces all content to be upscaled to 4K 60HZ and artificial HDR processing if not already encoded. This is totally unacceptable. The only way around this is to manually dig down into the Settings menu and change the settings for the source you're streaming, assuming that is, you know the source formatting.
I'm not sure who Apple is building the ATV for, but it appears to be some future consumer who may be buying a new 4K TV this Christmas (if for no other reason than they don't make many 1080p TVs anymore). And likely the same bunch of customers who never change the default "soap opera effect" settings on their new flat screens, and prefer to watch letter box and pillar box programs in the wide stretch mode.
Anybody who cares about their picture is not going to be interested in a fake HDR effect applied to every program they watch, and they certainly aren't going to want to constantly switch between their sources.
I was wondering if someone knows the answer to this question. I have never had the Apple TV before but am interested in buying the ATV 4k. The 32gb is available in my store now and for the 64gb its shows October 23rd, it's only $20 difference with size to get?
How do you keep track of movie prices/promotions on iTunes? Is there an app to do that or IFTTT?
How do you keep track of movie prices/promotions on iTunes? Is there an app to do that or IFTTT?
I use Cheap Charts which is rather excellent.
CheapCharts: Movie, TV and Music Deals by LollipApp GmbH
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cheapcharts-movie-tv-and-music-deals/id772046134?mt=8