Apple Releases Third Beta of tvOS 9.1 to Developers

[prowlmedia]

So something will be updated in 9.1

I've been using pled on mine and it's been a great experience.

Two weeks in I've decided to keep it, though not fond of the new remote, in the dark I cannot tell which is the touch pad and which is then back cause the buttons are in the middle, the old remote was a much better design.

Agree - hope plex will be integrated to siri soon. Apparently it's possible.

Agree on the remote. Just not good enough. I find the rotation / pad with the Siri button - it's indented not flat like the rest so siri to the left and you are good.

Basically they have screwed up a few things.

1. Should be able to control from your watch via siri. Or you phone for that matter.
2. Games HAVE to be supported by the remote. This is stupid.
3. Siri should be always on on the remote. Or again via the iPhone 6s.

 

[Roller]

The ATV4 feels un-Apple-like in some ways, from the horrible horizontal virtual keyboard to the small remote that hard to use than it should be. But it has a lot of promise, as well. It's a lot more responsive than my old ATV and with a few changes, voice search could be great.

 

[mbc2237]

Sometimes when watching Walking Dead episodes, the audio will cut out for a few seconds while the video keeps playing. What's odd is that the entire video is already buffered, so this has to be some sort of bug. Might even be just Walking Dead, because I have yet to have this problem with other shows. It's just really annoying because I'll miss what someone said and will have to tell Siri to "go back 10 seconds", and then I'll hear what they said.

Is walking dead on Netflix? If so, then it might be Netflix. I have had the same issues the last few days across different devices.

 

[Altis]

Is there a way to get rid of the white background all the time?

It's enough to burn my eyes out at night. I don't get Apple's new obsession with hurting me eyes. The all-white with thin light-grey text in the (alarm) Clock app on the iPhone is so thoughtless.

 

[dugbug]

How smart is this remote? It has IR, and some sort of computer in it, for voice capture.

Therefore, is it technically possible that one day they'll make this little thing a true universal remote? Like, could i go into settings and pick my stereo and my tv, and then have the damn little thing turn everything on for me?

I know it's not possible now. Just wondering if it was technically possible, so i can put it on my wish list.

it does that now. apple tv uses the hdmi-cec protocols to command stuff on and off.... it will even switch your tv input to the apple tv if you touch the remote.

It turns on my tv, my receiver, and controls volume and tv input also over cec (bluetooth no less). It WILL do IR volume to tv too.

My receiver is hooked up through the hdmi arc input from my tv. make sure for your tv you turn on their 'viera link' or whatever they named hdmi-cec. Each one hides it as their little name branded thing.

 

[steve123]

Is there a way to get rid of the white background all the time?

It's enough to burn my eyes out at night. I don't get Apple's new obsession with hurting me eyes. The all-white with thin light-grey text in the (alarm) Clock app on the iPhone is so thoughtless.

Yeah, this is the worst change to the UI they have made. I do not like the white background at all.

 

[LarryMagoo]

There is nothing basic about using a bluetooth keyboard on your lap in the living room.

That said, it would be marginally less annoying for the occasional login entry.

Well I have a Mini Mac in my Home Theater just for streaming music and I keep a BT keyboard on the Coffee Table along with my Magic Mouse to turn my 75" monitor into iTunes. I would be happy to buy another Apple BT keyboard just for the ATV4....if the damn thing pared like every other Apple TV....like others have said...how do they release an Apple TV without features that were on legacy versions and even charge more????

 

[Nunyabinez]

Does anyone here realize that you can train a universal remote to do all of the Siri Remote functions except for the track pad? The aTV learns them so you don't even have to search for codes.

Edit: Just to clarify, you use the up/down/left/right buttons to navigate menus.

 

[Juicy Box]

I totally agree, the remote is poorly designed. I wished the ATV4 had consistent results using an IR remote. The ATV3 seems like the superior product at the moment.

Hopefully this update will fix the many things plaguing this device.

I couldn't disagree with you more. The atv4 is sooooooo.... much better than the three. Faster, nicer interface. The remote is great and easy to use. What inconsistencies are you referring to.

And as far as the "many things plaguing this device", what are those? I have no issues with mine. Perhaps you got a defective device or you aren't using it properly. You might want to make an appt with the apple to help you out.

There are many things wrong with it. Look at the posts here to see some of the issues. I think it is great that you are having a good time with yours, but I know my issues are not isolated.

If you want details of some of the issues, I copied this below from another thread.

I can name a few things for you:

Bugs, such as the audio bug.
Near unusable UI for Netflix.
No universal search for stuff stored on the computer.
Universal search works maybe 75% of the time. Try looking up: "standup comics", "standup comedy", "Noah Wyle".
Voice-over turns ons way too easily.
Lack of good apps in the app store.
The remote button placement is not user friendly, especially for games.
IR remote functions are messed up and inconsistent between apps. Example, to pause a video, sometimes the select button works, and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Juicy Box]

Want to trade?

Not at the moment. I own enough ATV3s. Counting the one I bought for my parents to use I have 4 ATV3s, 1 ATV2, and 1 original. And now 1 ATV4.

I personally think that the UI, ease of use, and overall experience is so much better with the ATV3. Hopefully this update will fix some of the issues with the 4.

 

[Juicy Box]

Does anyone here realize that you can train a universal remote to do all of the Siri Remote functions except for the track pad? The aTV learns them so you don't even have to search for codes.

Edit: Just to clarify, you use the up/down/left/right buttons to navigate menus.

You can, but it does not function correctly. I think I posted about this earlier on this thread, although it may have been another one.

Example, if you are trying to pause a movie in one of the video apps, on the ATV3, you would just press the select button. On the ATV4, the select button does not always pause/un-pause video.

 

[ActionableMango]

I personally think that the UI, ease of use, and overall experience is so much better with the ATV3. Hopefully this update will fix some of the issues with the 4.

I haven't had the chance to get an ATV4 yet, but right off the bat from the screen shots I can tell that I don't like the white background. I usually run dark in the home theater, and from experience I know white backgrounds are blinding.

Is the background color configurable?

 

[Nunyabinez]

You can, but it does not function correctly. I think I posted about this earlier on this thread, although it may have been another one.

Example, if you are trying to pause a movie in one of the video apps, on the ATV3, you would just press the select button. On the ATV4, the select button does not always pause/un-pause video.

On my remote I have dedicated play/pause/etc. buttons, so it works as expected. I guess it depends on what remote you have.

 

[class77]

Yep, I get that Apple was trying to differentiate between the OS on the 3 and the 4, but the 3's darker background was easier on the eyes and much preferable to me

 

[Juicy Box]

On my remote I have dedicated play/pause/etc. buttons, so it works as expected. I guess it depends on what remote you have.

On the ATV3, these buttons were unnecessary for normal use.

That said, on the ATV4, I programmed the play/pause/rewind/FF and other secondary buttons to see if that helped.

Sadly it still does not. These buttons are not consistent with different apps.

Example: I was just watching Gotham on Hulu. To rewind, I used the programmed rewind button. To play it again, you think you could press play. But that doesn't work. You have to press the pause button to pause the rewinding, then press play to resume the video.

And this wouldn't be such an issue, but it is different for each app.

This might be fixed soon, but as of right now, it feels sloppy.

 

[Juicy Box]

I haven't had the chance to get an ATV4 yet, but right off the bat from the screen shots I can tell that I don't like the white background. I usually run dark in the home theater, and from experience I know white backgrounds are blinding.

Is the background color configurable?

This seems to be a problem for a lot of people. While I would not say it is the new ATV4's worst problem, it does seem like a bad move.

The good news is that many apps use black background over Apple's white for the home screen. So it doesn't really impact the experience that much.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, the loss of a box around the movies or tv shows while browsing netflix and hulu. Sometimes, it is hard to tell what I am about to select.

 

[2010mini]

There are many things wrong with it. Look at the posts here to see some of the issues. I think it is great that you are having a good time with yours, but I know my issues are not isolated.

If you want details of some of the issues, I copied this below from another thread.

Some of the issues you listed have nothing to do with Apple

Netflix UI.... That's how Netflix wanted it
Pause/play not the same across apps... Again that's how the app developer implemented it
Universal search for personal library.... If you mean for content you ripped and tagged, keep dreaming....Apple not Amazon, nor Google will support that. They will not piss off content owners to supporting essentially what is considered illegal (bypassing DRM)
Horrible apps??? That's Apple's fault????

There are a lot of things Apple needs to get right such as using Siri to enter texts. Better App Store recommendations etc

 

[pjarvi]

Still missing Remote.app support?

Deprecated, they now utilize the future known as "Remote.tap" whereby you pick up the remote and tap on it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Some of the issues you listed have nothing to do with Apple

Netflix UI.... That's how Netflix wanted it
Pause/play not the same across apps... Again that's how the app developer implemented it
Universal search for personal library.... If you mean for content you ripped and tagged, keep dreaming....Apple not Amazon, nor Google will support that. They will not piss off content owners to supporting essentially what is considered illegal (bypassing DRM)
Horrible apps??? That's Apple's fault????

There are a lot of things Apple needs to get right such as using Siri to enter texts. Better App Store recommendations etc

I didn't necessarily say that every problem I listed was Apple's fault. The poster asked me about what problems were on the ATV4, and I responded..... See:

What inconsistencies are you referring to.

And as far as the "many things plaguing this device", what are those?

But, for your comment, it is Apple's product. If they have the best TV box in the world, but the UI sucks for all their apps, then it is Apple's problem.

Horrible apps??? That's Apple's fault????

It may not be Apple's fault, but it is their problem. If the apps suck, why get the product? For the wonderful home screen?

The product seems unfinished. I just hope that 9.1 fixes some of the issues, especially the audio bug.

I am not alone in the disappointment in the ATV4 so far. Check out the many other threads and posts about the issues.

 

[Juicy Box]

Netflix UI.... That's how Netflix wanted it
Pause/play not the same across apps... Again that's how the app developer implemented it

Oh yeah, about this. Apple could do something about this. They require that developers must make their apps support the siri remote, I am sure they can have some suggestions for video playback buttons.

They are all the same on ATV3, why not 4?

 

[erporsche]

Returned my APTV 4, no Remote app, cannot use the watch to control music -enough for me. This is from person who has 6 apple devices

Shame on APPLE

 

[2010mini]

Oh yeah, about this. Apple could do something about this. They require that developers must make their apps support the siri remote, I am sure they can have some suggestions for video playback buttons.

They are all the same on ATV3, why not 4?

Because The ATV 3 didn't have apps.

 

[Juicy Box]

Because The ATV 3 didn't have apps.

So the ATV4 gets and app store, that means there can't be standards?

I think there will be a fix on this issue eventually.

 

[2010mini]

So the ATV4 gets and app store, that means there can't be standards?

I think there will be a fix on this issue eventually.

Look at the apps on other iOS devices. Are they all the same? No.

 

[Juicy Box]

Returned my APTV 4, no Remote app, cannot use the watch to control music -enough for me. This is from person who has 6 apple devices

Shame on APPLE

I feel your pain.

People might think that I am Apple bashing, but I am not. I am an Apple fan, and have been since the 90s, but I will tell people when I think Apple has done something wrong. It seems like lately, it is happening more and more.

I have purchased a few dozen of Apple products over the years, but I have only returned one before. The first intel Mac mini. It was also plagued with problems.

I will probably not return my ATV4, because I think a lot of the problems will be fixed. Well, hopefully.