Apple Releases 5.1 Update for 2nd and 3rd Generation Apple TV

[joseph2166]

"Reorder icons on the second page"

That's it?!!

The update we've all been waiting for?

I hope something else is coming, and soon. App Store is a must for Apple TV to be competitive with Google TV, Roku and Boxee.

Ever hear of iOS 1.1.3? Reordering the home screen was introduced. Six months later we had the App Store.

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I'm in the UK I understand about changing the DnS settings I agree but what's the benefit to eBay/US gift cards? Better rate of exchange? thanks

Better selection of stuff content and US (earlier) release dates. Access to new features (movies in the cloud for example) earlier than the UK. Its pretty useful - especially now with AppleTV account switching.

 

[HMI]

To control what? How would it possibly operate every single audio device that could be used for audio from the Apple TV?

Easy! It doesn't need to! They could easily increase or decrease the volume of the output signal if they wanted to. They just choose not to.

Apple assumes everyone is a rich homeowner with a fancy Sharp or Samsung flat screen and a Denon Receiver. Young people who can't afford to own a home (but can eventually buy a $99 hockey puck) are stuck in apartments with hand-me-down TVs and cheap speakers, and they can't blast their neighbors with full 7.1 glory.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to add volume control to the Apple TV, but Apple thinks "another" remote would confuse people. They don't consider that this is my only remote, and that I'm using it with an old VGA CRT and headphones, so that I can respect my roommates and neighbors. I'd rather use the remote to adjust volume than fiddle around with the crappy radio shack volume dial adapter I have now.

If someone does have a fancy new receiver, they would just ignore that function anyway, because they're probably using a different remote. It may not be a need for them, but it is for me. I'm really tired of pressing headphones into my ears to hear quiet dialogue, then pulling them out of my ears for loud action.

At very least they could add a dynamic range threshold with a volume peak limiter, so loud sounds won't kill my ears and dialogue scenes are increased to the lower levels of the preset dynamic range. This is something that would still be useful to rich people and would save my ears from bleeding.

Not all of their customers are rich and have the newest electronics. When those customers with less money can afford something new, they would still want to choose Apple (even when their "TV" product doesn't even have a volume control.)

 

[RoarinRow]

Did the update and it went to restart and just have a blinking light upfront. Hard reset with remote and the same. Unplugged and back in and the same.

Any thoughts?

I had the same thing happened to me. Just blinking lights and no video. I tried to restore via iTunes (2x) and that didn't work.

However, I was able to get passed the no video and I get to the Welcome to Apple TV message where I get to select the language for my device. It doesn't matter whether I choose English or other, I keep getting kicked back to the Welcome screen to select the language.

Not sure what to do now....

Edit - forgot to add this issue is happening to my 2nd gen Apple TV. My 3rd gen Apple TV upgraded fine.

 

[dawindmg08]

Come on apple, still needs HBOGO and a handful of other streaming services.

Until HBOGO cuts their own cord, their service is still only available to those who have a cable subscription.

THAT being said, those of us who do have cable and HBO could really use HBOGO on the AppleTV. Right now, my Xbox has more robust video streaming options which is ridiculous.

 

[kcamfork]

Chapter Buttons Don't Work

I just updated and now the chapter buttons just cause the video to crash and it returns to the movie/episode selection. Anyone else having this issue?

 

[coyoteboy]

?

could someone tell me if Apple TV can now send the sound from any rented movies or trailers to an Airport Express.

My Apple TV can only airplay the audio from the music (iTunes Match) to my airport express. It ONLY works with the music, not a movie.

Did someone try ? Could you share your experience ? thx

 

[HMI]

could someone tell me if Apple TV can now send the sound from any rented movies or trailers to an Airport Express.

My Apple TV can only airplay the audio from the music (iTunes Match) to my airport express. It ONLY works with the music, not a movie.

Did someone try ? Could you share your experience ? thx

In the settings, it says "Apple TV can also play MUSIC wirelessly to other AirPlay speakers. Go to www.apple.com/airplay for more information."

I'm guessing it's only music, and not movies or TV shows.
I don't have iTunes Match, but did try some TV previews and couldn't get any audio to work.


Here is what the site says:

AirPlay-enabled speakers. Music’s in the house.

Hear everywhere at once.
Say you have one set of speakers in your bedroom, one in the office, and one in the living room. For the ultimate sonic panorama, you can stream your TUNES to more than one room simultaneously, so you’ll never lose the beat, no matter where you are in the house. Just choose Multiple Speakers from the AirPlay menu in iTunes. AirPlay works over Wi-Fi, so you can stream MUSIC directly from your home network.

See all the details.
AirPlay does more than just stream your music to external speakers. It streams information about your music, too. Song titles, artists, album names, elapsed and remaining time, and album artwork all appear on AirPlay-enabled speakers with graphical displays. And AirPlay technology is built into speakers, receivers, and stereo systems from manufacturers like Denon, Marantz, B&W, JBL, and iHome. Simply connect to your home network, and you’ll be streaming TUNES throughout your room — or entire house — instantly."


Interestingly, this page is very similar to http://www.apple.com/appletv/airplay/ , but does not mention the text above. They both say "play content from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch," but neither of them mention playing any content from an Apple TV to wireless speakers.

 

[coyoteboy]

In the settings, it says "Apple TV can also play MUSIC wirelessly to other AirPlay speakers. Go to www.apple.com/airplay for more information."

I'm guessing it's only music, and not movies or TV shows.

I don't have iTunes Match, but did try some TV previews and couldn't get any audio to work. I could keep trying later, but don't expect much.

I really don't understand as you can stream any audio source (movie, music, app) from an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch to an Airpot Express through Airplay.

 

[davidoloan]

Podcasts section is much improved.

Favourites is one click away now instead of 4 or 5.

The screen still goes black for about 4 seconds after pressing it which is confusing; looks like the TV turned off, but the Favorites then load up in about 1/10th the old time without the spin wheel.

 

[scoobydoo99]

All your videos? Obviously, you don't watch Game of Thrones, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds... Ahh, the shows you're missing out..

yep. I watch all of those on my ATV2.

 

[HMI]

Idk

I really don't understand as you can stream any audio source (movie, music, app) from an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch to an Airpot Express through Airplay.

Maybe they want more people to sign up for iTunes Match?

I found out you can NOT "route" music from iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch through the AppleTV to an airport express, so (presumably) it needs to be music generated on the AppleTV to be able to AirPlay to an airport express (i.e. iTunes Match). I'm not sure this would work with a connected "Computer" iTunes Library. I haven't tried this yet, but it may actually be limited to iTunes Match only.

 

[farleysmaster]

right, for airplay you need atv and another device. what's the point if they could easily offer bbc iplayer on the atv? i don't want to stream it from my phone/ipad i want native app like netflix. i hope it makes more sense to you now.

Yeah, I don't think he was getting it. I'm considering saving up for a mac mini instead of an apple tv, because it would do everything I want, and I wouldn't need to use handbrake either. I'm sure iPlayer will come to the apple tv, I was just hoping it would be soon...

 

[wx4olf]

Right now, my Xbox has more robust video streaming options which is ridiculous.

Yeah, I like to watch college football via the xbox espn3 app. Wish the apple tv would get it. I would use the xbox more for video but it runs a little louder and produces more heat than the apple tv which has become our go to video device.

 

[farleysmaster]

Lots of people want lots of different built in channels/apps on the atv, the rights holders for content don't want this as it hurts their revenue stream. In the Mean time, extra functionality will slowly continue to come on line. Don't blame apple for the greedy/Luddite nature of big media companies.

What? The BBC iPlayer app is on practically every other tv-connectable device. As a public service broadcaster they have an obligation not to tie themselves down to one device (hence the iPlayer was available on os x and linux long before ITV on demand, and 4OD). the BBC are not a big media company and rights has nothing to do with it.

 

[faroZ06]

Sarcastic? It's how I watch practically all video now.

It's a lot better than boxes from Verizon or AT&T and TiVo. It just needs one thing to make it complete: coax input for recording/watching TV shows, just public antenna TV would be fine.

 

[Patamon]

I just skimmed this thread and may have missed this but I just wanna say that Plex owns and for you guys not using it, you're missing out. I've been running it on a 2.0 C2D Mac Mini for about 4 years and it's stable, easy to use, plays everything I throw at it.

Mac Mini hooked up to 3 1.0 TB external FW Drives
Pioneer plasma
Onyko 7.1 receiver

(also streams to iDevices, accessible via internet.)

http://plexapp.com

Initial setup takes a little while (although much easier than it used to be) but totally worth it.

 

[a0me]

Sarcastic? It's how I watch practically all video now.

I can see how the Apple TV is not for everybody but if you like to have a simple interface and don't want to plug your PC into your TV, then it's really a no brainer.
Now just give us back AirPlay support with the iPhone YouTube app please?

 

[Patamon]

I can see how the Apple TV is not for everybody but if you like to have a simple interface and don't want to plug your PC into your TV, then it's really a no brainer.
Now just give us back AirPlay support with the iPhone YouTube app please?

Mac Mini's have HDMI. How simple were you looking for?

(Plex also has many channels built in, YouTube, NetFlix, Hulu... etc.)

 

[enklined]

I just skimmed this thread and may have missed this but I just wanna say that Plex owns and for you guys not using it, you're missing out. I've been running it on a 2.0 C2D Mac Mini for about 4 years and it's stable, easy to use, plays everything I throw at it.

Mac Mini hooked up to 3 1.0 TB external FW Drives
Pioneer plasma
Onyko 7.1 receiver

(also streams to iDevices, accessible via internet.)

http://plexapp.com

Initial setup takes a little while (although much easier than it used to be) but totally worth it.

I run Plex and PMS on a Hackintosh in the living room, with a jailbroken ATV2 in the bedroom running Plex. The ATV streams HD content from the hackintosh in the living room. Its quite wonderful. I can pause something downstairs, head to bed, and resume where I left off. Even works int he same manner when watching content on my iPhone (from anywhere, mind you). Cable free for over a year and a half now.

 

[spiralstairs]

Does anyone have a photo or video of the new Cascade and Shrinking Tiles screen savers? Very curious.

 

[WilliamLondon]

All your videos? Obviously, you don't watch Game of Thrones, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds... Ahh, the shows you're missing out..

Not true, not true (missing out on any shows), especially when you jailbreak your ATV. I love mine, haven't missed cable (especially that huge monthly bill!) once since I cut the cord several years ago.

i want to reorder icons on the first row, dang it!!!

Reorder icons on the first row? I want to delete them - most of those on the first row are just trying to sell you ******. Mine is jailbroken and I only ever go into XBMC (used to be Plex, but now XBMC works a treat on my network) and Podcasts.

yep, no BBC iPlayer, no JB for ATV3 - it's quite useless here in the UK and I don't want to use AirPlay - what's the point of employing 2 devices for 1 task?

It's not useless here in the UK. Admittedly, I have a gen 2 ATV so mine is jailbroken, but Netflix has come to the UK, and there are other ways to watch videos, movies, television programmes. I just wish I could delete all those stupid MLB.tv and other icons that I will never ever run.

 

[synecdoche]

Does this mean that I can now somehow manage to connect my Apple TV to a VPN while getting wifi through my Airport Express?

That would be really cool.

Doesn't look like it. I just tried and it still sees me as being in the country in which I am actually located, rather than the one the VPN puts me in. Too bad; I was really hoping for this feature.

 

[HMI]

I'm in the same situation. Don't worry it's fine. I have both set up. Photostreams have a pref to set up on my iCloud and the rest (iTunes store/iTunes Match) are my other paying account.

Apple DOES need to let us consolidate these ID's but so far it's not interrupted what I want to do on any of my devices.

If you want to go through the trouble, you can speak with iTunes support to have your iTunes content transferred to a different Apple ID. This can then free up your iTunes email address to become an additional email on your iCloud account, or any other purpose.

If you speak with them, they can give you more details. I think something like this might be the closest thing you can get to consolidating your apple IDs.

Transfer content before changing IDs, much like deleting all the files in a folder before you can delete the folder. It's logic, just different logic. "Think Different."

 

[Jerezanito]

Please somebody let me know about this new update

Before update my apple tv 3 I like to know about this new update i use my aptv3 to play mp4 videos with different audios and subtitles can I update it or now thanks

 

[HMI]

Before update my apple tv 3 I like to know about this new update i use my aptv3 to play mp4 videos with different audios and subtitles can I update it or now thanks

I just AirPlayed a German film .mp4 with burned English subs to ATV3 with the new update. It worked well!

I don't have an .mp4 or .mov with multi-audio and multi-sub if that is what you are asking about, so I can't test support for that.