Recently bought the AppleTV4, and while I'm happy with many things, the glaring omission of other synergies can only be intentional. The remote APP, doesn't have the same functionality with the v4 that it did with the previous iterations of the AppleTV. The addition of Siri, is still limited and gimmicky for the time being. I'd venture a guess that most people who use the AppleTV also use the iPhone. Thus, why, in all their wisdom, have they not 1., given the remote App the ability to control the AppleTV completely (including Siri) and 2. not given the iPhone the ability to act as a universal remote to control the rest of the components in the typical home theater? (AV receiver, DVD player, the TV, Soundbars, etc.) How many of us ARE STILL constantly reaching for one remote or another in order to watch a TV show? Right now you have to use one remote to turn on the TV and switch the input source to the one the AppleTV is hooked to, then the Apple remote to control the AppleTV further.It seems to me the simple inclusion of an IR blaster into the iPhone and making the Remote App a universal remote app would be a huge selling point. Yet they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the obvious. What am I missing - other than Apple's bean counters don't see investing resources into that software to be a huge potential profit center?
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Apple continues to drop an obvious ball
- Thread starter RevPoindexter
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I think Tim Cook promised a complete re-write of the remote app for iOS.
As for remote - you could as well use your TV remote and take advantage of the HDMI-CEC to control other HDMI-connected devices. aTV 4 lets control itself perfectly with my TV remote (doesn't mean I actually do this
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IR- or network-based remote protocols would be too manufacturer-specific for Apple to implement, I think. Soon all Funai, Telefunken etc owners would complain their set can not be operated.
As for remote - you could as well use your TV remote and take advantage of the HDMI-CEC to control other HDMI-connected devices. aTV 4 lets control itself perfectly with my TV remote (doesn't mean I actually do this
)IR- or network-based remote protocols would be too manufacturer-specific for Apple to implement, I think. Soon all Funai, Telefunken etc owners would complain their set can not be operated.
No, not only "intentional
Rome wasn't built in a day. Added functionality will come. Many new features will be in the next update - which will be out very soon.'
It seems like you're missing a lot. All I have to do is hit a button on my ATV4 remote, and my TV, receiver, and ATV all fire up, switch to the appropriate inputs, and it's good to go.
There are systems out there that allow you to use a phone as a universal remote. They're a pain to use (I have tried). Unlocking, starting the app, not being able to feel the controls without looking at the screeen ... you're much better off just getting a dedicated universal remote (e.g. from the Logitech Harmony series).
That's exactly how mine is set up. Only time I need another remote is watching live tv on the Comcast box, something that doesn't happen often anymore.
I use my bluetooth head phones with my ATV4 all the time. What you are asking for is already there
While your critique of missing features is totally valid, I think there are answers to them. The siri remote is still only available in the US and other select countries. For this reason including siri as an app-level feature would be harder to roll out within selective markets. As apple has said before, this is something they are slowly rolling out to all markets-- so look for it eventually.
As for the control of home theatre peripherals, this is something that is now available, but in my experience still has some bugs. I haven't been able to pair the remote to my Samsung soundbar, and have confirmed other people have had issues with the same thing. Again, I believe this is something apple is planning on fixing in future updates.
For more information visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205225
As for the control of home theatre peripherals, this is something that is now available, but in my experience still has some bugs. I haven't been able to pair the remote to my Samsung soundbar, and have confirmed other people have had issues with the same thing. Again, I believe this is something apple is planning on fixing in future updates.
For more information visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205225
Maybe your TV does not support CEC. If I manually switch my TV to a different input, then the Apple TV input, and press the display button on the Apple remote, the Apple TV input is switched back. The only things I can't do with the Apple remote related to my TV, is adjust the format TV (dot-by-dot). 99% of the time I don't even need the TV remote. A nice bonus is that I could just use the TV remote to control everything on the Apple TV but I actually prefer the Apple TV size and simplisty. I really like the Apple TV 4 and has helped me become a happy cord cutter.
I think you can forget about Apple adding IR support to the iPhone. That ship sailed a few years ago and it's obviously never going to return. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell there haven't been any third-party solutions that work that well either (I mean to allow using the iPhone as a universal IR remote).
Basically, if you want to control all (or most) of your devices with a Siri remote then you need everything to support HDMI-CEC and I think that will remain Apple's only "solution" to this problem. I mean, why wouldn't you want to spend several thousand dollars to upgrade all of your AV equipment so that you can use the Siri remote?
Bottom line, if you want control of all of your devices with a single remote then the only solution is to get a third-party universal remote (and at least be thankful that Apple didn't remove IR support from the ATV4).
As for voice control via the iPhone, I think MaxMo gave a reasonable explanation on that deficiency.
Basically, if you want to control all (or most) of your devices with a Siri remote then you need everything to support HDMI-CEC and I think that will remain Apple's only "solution" to this problem. I mean, why wouldn't you want to spend several thousand dollars to upgrade all of your AV equipment so that you can use the Siri remote?
Bottom line, if you want control of all of your devices with a single remote then the only solution is to get a third-party universal remote (and at least be thankful that Apple didn't remove IR support from the ATV4).
As for voice control via the iPhone, I think MaxMo gave a reasonable explanation on that deficiency.
Replace all of my perfectly functional 5 year old or less AV components or it's unreasonable to suggest there might be something lacking. I've gone through so many universal remotes over the years it's not even funny. A couple of them were quite expensive like the Sony Commander. But they all wear out or fall short in one way or another.
Apple was once the company that foresaw a need and solved it quite elegantly. Now, unfortunately, Tim Cook and the bean counters seem less and less interested in maintaining and growing a loyal customer base and more in the quarterly results. Stepping over long term dollars to pick up short term dimes.
When Apple is marketing something purported to be the central "entertainment hub", it might be a good idea to make sure it talks to other things well. As far as Siri goes, I understand that will take time. It still doesn't work as promised on the iPhone 4 years after its introduction. Call me a dreamer.
I'm not THAT unreasonable. It's not like I'm asking to run Visicalc or MacDraw on my El Capitan Mac.
Apple was once the company that foresaw a need and solved it quite elegantly. Now, unfortunately, Tim Cook and the bean counters seem less and less interested in maintaining and growing a loyal customer base and more in the quarterly results. Stepping over long term dollars to pick up short term dimes.
When Apple is marketing something purported to be the central "entertainment hub", it might be a good idea to make sure it talks to other things well. As far as Siri goes, I understand that will take time. It still doesn't work as promised on the iPhone 4 years after its introduction. Call me a dreamer.
I'm not THAT unreasonable. It's not like I'm asking to run Visicalc or MacDraw on my El Capitan Mac.
Seeing as it's pointless to try and have a discussion:
All of my stuff is in the same 5 year age range and it works like a charm.
Not sure what TV you are using but my Pioneer plasma TV from 2009 (over 6 years old now) works great with the Apple TV where the Apple TV remote can turn on the TV, switch the input to the correct input and even control the volume. It works through the industry standard HDMI-CEC interface. Does your TV not support CEC over HDMI?
I just did some quick research - CEC came to the market with HDMI 1.2, which was released on December 14, 2005, a decade ago. So in theory, everything newer should be able to do CEC.