Apple Announces New Apple TV With Siri, App Store, New User Interface and Remote

[Misaki]

Why wouldn't they put the A9 in it? That's just dumb. They probably won't be updating it frequently so they should have went with the newest possible chip.

Try more like "too much demand for A9 in the iPhone"

Like when you cull a few SKU's of the previous iPhone model, you can repurpose the chip supply chain. That said, it's likely that foundries can only produce X amount of Y product on Z process, and being able to use the previous chip/process when it's cheap for a cheap device works out better. I fully expect the first iFixit teardown to reveal the new AppleTV to just be an iPhone 6 PCB with no radio board, like an iPod.

 

[firewood]

Why is it so tall compared to the old apple TV?

Its basically the iPhone 6 board, minus the battery/screen/sim and with addition of a few ports. Its like twice the height of the old apple tv?!

One guess is that they put a bigger heatsink on the A8 so they can drive the GPU and memory bus harder (higher clock rate, etc.)

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Can I get free OTA channels ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC on this?

Very unlikely. There's rumors of an Apple cableTV-like service made up of about 25 channels for about $30-$40 per month and that Apple wants local channels to be a part of that package... BUT that was expected to be revealed with new TV hardware and it wasn't.

No over-the-air tuner to which one could connect an antenna.

So, the only way (maybe) would be to use Elgato and similar devices hooked to your Mac to record shows, convert them and insert them in iTunes. That wouldn't be live but you could play them soon after live.

I think the important issue here is that you cannot view 4K content within the Apple ecosystem on a large screen but you can generate the content with the new iPhone 6s. So, that leaves a big gap since the place you really need 4K content is on big screens. Thus, you have to leave the Apple ecosystem to view content you created in the Apple ecosystem. This suggests poor planning and execution by the Apple TV team.

Or, shrewd profit-planning by the bean counters looking forward to selling the new TV5 in (probably) 12-18 months.

So, no 4k.... why update the hardware just to update the interface? HDMI 1.4? Why did they even bother?
That's a serious question- what is the point of this update?

The primary goal is to make record profits every quarter and they'll sell lots of these at- presumably- handsome profit margins. Don't confuse what we consumers want with what shareholders want. Those 2 don't align that often.

Amid the vitriolic rhetoric, innocent question: what physical connector do [most] 4K displays use? any chance Apple could enable hidden 4K support thru software when iTunes Store is ready?

HDMI connector. While it's possible that a firmware update could make this able to play 4K (the A8 can play 4K), this is Apple we're talking about. It would seem much more likely they'd rather sell us a 4K TV5 in another year or three.

Just checked the Apple site and there is a whole section about being able to stream your own content. It doesn't say how (Home Sharing vs. Airplay) but I am offically less concerned than I was earlier about being able to watch my own content as I have been able to on all previous AppleTV's. http://www.apple.com/tv/music-and-photos/ Phew!

Not so sure about that. You're looking at the section about music. Click the entertainment section to see a UI of the nav menu for video. Compare the two. The music nav shows "My Music" which is very likely where iTunes music is stored. The entertainment nav doesn't have a "My Video" or "My Movies" tab.

Similarly, the copy talks about playing your HOME movies which may or may not include ripped movies (or that may require retagging all ripped movies from "movie" to "home movie").

This particular one is a bit scary for us long-term TV owners who have gone to the trouble of ripping our movie libraries. It would be a shame to see that particular feature go. We'll have to wait for "hands on" reviewers to give us the good or bad news about this one.

 

[meegwell]

I dont know why. Just checking math.

 

[JoeShades]

Very unlikely. There's rumors of an Apple cableTV-like service made up of about 25 channels for about $30-$40 per month and that Apple wants local channels to be a part of that package... BUT that was expected to be revealed with new TV hardware and it wasn't.

No over-the-air tuner to which one could connect an antenna.

So, the only way (maybe) would be to use Elgato and similar devices hooked to your Mac to record shows, convert them and insert them in iTunes. That wouldn't be live but you could play them soon after live.



Or, shrewd profit-planning by the bean counters looking forward to selling the new TV5 in (probably) 12-18 months.



The primary goal is to make record profits every quarter and they'll sell lots of these at- presumably- handsome profit margins. Don't confuse what we consumers want with what shareholders want. Those 2 don't align that often.



HDMI connector. While it's possible that a firmware update could make this able to play 4K (the A8 can play 4K), this is Apple we're talking about. It would seem much more likely they'd rather sell us a 4K TV5 in another year or three.



Not so sure about that. You're looking at the section about music. Click the entertainment section to see a UI of the nav menu for video. Compare the two. The music nav shows "My Music" which is very likely where iTunes music is stored. The entertainment nav doesn't have a "My Video" or "My Movies" tab.

Similarly, the copy talks about playing your HOME movies which may or may not include ripped movies (or that may require retagging all ripped movies from "movie" to "home movie").

This particular one is a bit scary for us long-term TV owners who have went to the trouble of ripping our movie libraries. It would be a shame to see that particular feature go. We'll have to wait for "hands on" reviewers to give us the good or bad news about this one.

There is a COMPUTER section just like on previous Apple Tvs

 

[arkmannj]

I will need this to, as tos link gone. But I switch around hdmi input AND a tos switcher to. I read one on Amazon is good, but some say you had to unplug it to get to get it to work, as in can't leave the switcher on? What do you use?

I hope the home sharing is there, if not, NO buy. I got Apple TV for home sharing first and foremost. If you look here : http://www.apple.com/tv/specs/ the tech specs mention home sharing, I hope it is stays.

Monoprice HDMI Switcher:
Mode: MD-415ARC
HDMI 3D-ARC-CEC supported
4 HDMI Inputs
1 Optical out.
1 HDMI out
* remote for switching inputs/modes

I have it hooked up in my office to:
* Input: Mac Mini Mid-2011 server,
* Input: Apple TV 3,
* Input: Chromecast,
* Input: extra HDMI cable for Laptop.
* Opt Out: Old 2.1 LG Receiver
* HDMI Out: Old Samsung 24" 1080p monitor

Only problem I have is with the mac mini, The Mini has a hard time recognizing the monitor unless another HDMI device detected it fine. turns out it is a known Mac Mini Issue for that model.

 

[nrose101]

why would someone wanna use their tv to play music is beyond me. plus with the roku you get a private channel like machtv and get all ppv events, HBO,DISCOVERY CH, A&E,ESPN,SKY SPORTS, ETC... and all NFL,NBA,NHL,MLB games in HD all for about 20.00a month. thanks but no thanks no apple tv for me

All of my tv's and appletvs are hooked up to home theaters. Why wouldn't I?

 

[JoeShades]

There is the Computer Icon

 

[anthorumor]

Can you mirror your Mac/iOS screen onto this tv? I guess you could if the old one can...

 

[/dev/toaster]

Glad to see they are picking from developer who already have an app in the store for developer kits. I already have one in there and getting ready to release my 2nd now that XCode 7 is GA

Yes, I want to work on an AppleTV interface for it!

 

[JoeShades]

Can you mirror your Mac/iOS screen onto this tv? I guess you could if the old one can...

Yes

 

[firewood]

Anyone know how the A8 GPU compares to historical dedicated gaming consoles, such as the PS1,2,3,... GameCube, etc.?

 

[Edd.Dantes]

Cool, does your Roku play iTunes music?

Spotify, Pandora, etc., are superior to iTunes music and have been around for tons of years longer than that Dre BS.

Sorry, to answer your question, Roku has been playing superior music for what, 7-8 years now?

Apple TV is a joke. The only time I use it is to mirror my Mac. Roku 3 gets 99% of my attention. Fire TV is nice and all but Roku seems more solid, in my experience. Amazon skinning things causes some issues. With that said, I would use my fire TV over Apple TV any day of the week. Voice search is flawless and hardware top-notch.

 

[zepfhyr]

Six buttons, indistinguishable except for the labels, in a square grid. Including separate buttons for Menu (except it's being called Home on stage) and Siri--because surely there aren't a half billion units of another Apple product out there to teach people how those two things can share one button...

This falls troublingly short of "a thousand no's for every yes".

The Home/Menu button can't double as a Siri button on the Apple TV because a long-press of the Menu button on the Apple TV already takes you back to the main menu. This way, that remains an option.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

I better not have to buy a new unit to get these features. I'm fine with the old remote. Don't care for Apple logging all my voice commands.

Scene: Living room. Man seated on couch.
Offscreen: [Wife calls out] "honey, I'm going to meet the girls, back in a few hours."
Husband (we'll call him 'Raz'): OK, Hon.

Husband waits to hear car start and drive off.

Husband: Hey, Siri! Play yesterday's new porn purchase made on iPhone.
Siri: which porn item would you like me to play, Raz?
Husband: I only made one purchase. Play that.
Siri: There were two porn purchases made yesterday on iPhone from your account. One was "Naughty Nurses of the Night," and the other was "Gay Cowboys at the OK Corral."
Husband: $&@##%*!!! [mutters to himself] ha, I bet she thought I'd never know!
Husband: Siri, play "Naughty Nurses of the Night."

Scene: later that evening. Wife returns home. Tiptoes upstarts peek on husband, who is sleeping. Comes back downstairs and plops onto couch.
Wife: Hey, Siri. Play yesterday's new porn purchase made on iPhone...
*****
End of Scene

 

[darknite]

Agree to 4K and local media search, though an app might remedy the search thing to some extent. No 4K is a deal breaker for sure - what were they thinking?

Seriously? The final, official 4k standards still have not been agreed on, and the new 4k TVs do a great job of upscaling a 1080p signal.
Lets not even talk about the plethora of 4k content that doesn't exist just yet, or the fact that most people outside of heavy population centers don't have the bandwidth to stream reliably.

If PLEX come out with an app for the new TV around or before the new year, I'm all in.

 

[Edd.Dantes]

why would someone wanna use their tv to play music is beyond me. plus with the roku you get a private channel like machtv and get all ppv events, HBO,DISCOVERY CH, A&E,ESPN,SKY SPORTS, ETC... and all NFL,NBA,NHL,MLB games in HD all for about 20.00a month. thanks but no thanks no apple tv for me

In all fairness, some people have home theaters with insane sound systems... I have a sound bar, so music through it isn't great for me but, for some, it's great!

 

[arkmannj]

Anyone know how the A8 GPU compares to historical dedicated gaming consoles, such as the PS1,2,3,... GameCube, etc.?

not sure but Apple kept mentioning A9 as "desktop class" and "console class" so I was pretty surprised when they got to AppleTV and had an A8. is still good, I just thought with them using those phrases several times that it might be leading up to something more.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I almost barfed during the 'Gilt' section of the event. It was so yucky it could only be from the minds of American soccer moms...

 

[AppleMooseMan]

Anyone disappointed Siri is restricted to 8 countries? Pretty big feature too. Shameful they concealed that important piece of information when announcing it.

 

[JoeShades]

Spotify, Pandora, etc., are superior to iTunes music and have been around for tons of years longer than that Dre BS.

Sorry, to answer your question, Roku has been playing superior music for what, 7-8 years now?

Apple TV is a joke. The only time I use it is to mirror my Mac. Roku 3 gets 99% of my attention. Fire TV is nice and all but Roku seems more solid, in my experience. Amazon skinning things causes some issues. With that said, I would use my fire TV over Apple TV any day of the week. Voice search is flawless and hardware top-notch.

Great then why are you here and not on the Roku forums discussion how great it is there?

 

[ArmCortexA8]

Let's look at this logically. Firstly the most shocking info on this new Apple TV is that is is actually bigger by 2, and has not shrunk - what's going on here? Was this a technical oversight or purely for aesthetic reasons? The remote has gone backwards from machined aluminium to plastic - not really acceptable for this day and age especially when it's more expensive. Plus it's still based on a phone operating system, just re-branded. It cannot be future-proofed as it does not support 4K, which means at least another 3 years before a newer model. I thought we were going forwards in technology?

 

[Keirasplace]

not sure but Apple kept mentioning A9 as "desktop class" and "console class" so I was pretty surprised when they got to AppleTV and had an A8. is still good, I just thought with them using those phrases several times that it might be leading up to something more.

This A8 is plugged in with better cooling, so no trottling and probably a higher clock. The performance will be pretty decent...

 

[ICEMAN-sven]

I will probably skip this. The specs are to low.

 

[CFreymarc]

Now that Apple is first to the plate for a wide open SDK for televisions, all of these cabal style agreements between large volume electronic manufacturers and big title studios become moot.

If you think that the Sarnoff model of television distribution has been compromised so far, you have yet to see anything when this comes out. Apple has just created a platform that'll make the old network crony executives cringe in fear when a few titles get out that drop their network viewership even more. Eventually, Comcast and other cable companies will give less bandwidth to legacy networks and more for these growing studio hamlets.

Footnote, IMO, this release is the final Coup-de grâce for Palm. Why? What was left of Palm was picked up by LG for their smart television line. The product has been exhibited at CES for the last three years. The marketing and sales have not been the best. There were plans for an "app store" for developers to write titles for their smart television but talks at the booth and elsewhere have been resistant for a wide open SDK.