Apple Said to be Phasing Out Third-Generation Apple TV

[jettredmont]

You may already know this, but whenever someone brings up Plex I feel compelled to point out that you could use Plex on the older hardware by using the Plex app on your iPad/iPhone and then using AirPlay. When you do that, the network stream gets picked up entirely by the Apple TV, and you get great PQ and no CPU usage or wasted network hops on your iPhone.

So the only extra thing you're really getting with Plex on a 4th gen is a UI to scroll around with using your remote. For some people that may still be a big deal.

Agree. I do this all the time for our ripped DVDs and Blurays since the old iTunes "home sharing" feature has atrophied to uselessness in the past couple of years. Works great.

Still, I'd like to see that Plex-based content searchable (which I think is still not the case in the ATV4) and accessible in the "main" AppleTV interface. Just not enough to replace a perfectly working ATV3 with one. Still, when that ATV3 starts having issues (it is 3.5 years old, so might happen one of these years...) I won't shed a tear while upgrading to the ATV4.

 

[Stella]

Well - thats what I meant:. 4k appletv will be released when there is4k iTunes content.

It makes no business sense to add 4K versions for TV of up to EVERYTHING in the iTunes store before there is a 4KTV on which to play any of it. Hardware always must lead. Nobody can make $1 on software that runs on hardware that is not yet released to the public.

The best you can hope for is a simultaneous release of some 4K versions of stuff to watch when Apple rolls out a 4KTV. And note: if you look through the iTunes store, there is still plenty of stuff without a 1080p version, though Apple went ahead and rolled out a 1080p TV way back in 2012. And if you look harder, you can find some stuff without a 720p version even though Apple rolled out a 720p capability in the very first TV way back in 2007.

Again, hardware must lead and software "catches up" to what the hardware can do. Apple could easily launch a 4KTV without anything in the store available at 4K. It would play existing 1080p, 720p and SD versions to their very max... just as the "3" plays 720p and SD content to their max. However, once there are more and more 4KTVs in the wild, there is ever-greater temptation for Studios to test 4K content to see if they can make a buck with it. As is, no Studio can make a buck with 4K content for TV in the iTunes store today because there is no buyers already with 4KTVs.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

OK but that post usually means that the a 4KTV must wait until there is 4K content in the iTunes store... or the latter must precede the former. And that is what makes no sense. Apple can only really control the hardware and the hardware must lead the way. Push 4K-capable TVs into millions of homes and let all that potential revenue seduce Studios into making some (4K) product available to max those TVs playback capabilities. That doesn't work the other way.

As to availability of 4K content, pretty much every movie & show ever shot on film can be rendered to 4K. There is a TON of content available to become 4K as soon as there is a mainstream popular outlet for it... where money can be made by delivering it in 4K. Since there are 4K cameras in iPhones, lots of home movies are shot in 4K. Podcasts can be shot in 4K. Pictures can be rendered in 4K. Etc. All such sources of content have no simple (Apple) outlet (yet). Make one and the "software" follows. Don't make one and there's no point for the software to even try to follow.

 

[wingmanmac]

Fasing out, and cripple it by removing working features, like youtube (aTV2)..? I hope not, but apple propably want me to buy a new one with appstore, so they can get some more doe. I like my aTV3, and hate siri, hope it will work for years longer.

 

[Juicy Box]

About the iTunes/4K arguments that people are making, I said the same thing around the launch time of the ATV4, because that is what happened with the ATV3 and iTunes getting 1080p.

Now, I feel a little bit differently.

Before, ATV1,2, and 3 were very dependent on the iTunes content. Other than Netflix, the ATV2 at launch did not have any reason to use 1080p.

But now, there is potentially millions of apps that could take advantage of having 4K on the ATV4. Not to mention the 4K videos that are being shot with iOS devices.

So basically, I no longer think the ATV4, or 5, is dependent on 4K content on iTunes for there to be 4K capability on the device itself.

 

[ebonix]

As a long time Apple TV user it is better these days to just hook up a PC and bypass all the set top box and console limitation foolishness.

 

[theelysium]

The 3rd Gen is used in EDU. I deploy about 50 - 100 ATVs a month. This Summer alone I did about 300. We don't want the 4th Gen due to cost of the unit, replacement cost of the remote and the simple fact that we cannot manage tvOS in our MDM. Meaning the irresponsible staff will run amuck with the App Store and app purchasing. It is a huge fault of Apple's to NOT have made tvOS controllable via an MDM.

Another issues is out of the box setup! Gen 3 is setup out of the box, but Gen 4 you have to tinker around with installing apps and such. IF I cannot onboard the units they are dead to me. I don't have time to manually add apps to Gen 4... can we say again.. MDM compatibility needed!!! Hellow!!!!

Oh, and all EDU really uses is Airplay, which is the same on both units.

 

[Macyourdayy]

Another Paperweight for my desk.

As paperweights go, it's not that expensive, but I generally find it more useful and often, more attractive. You still have paper?

 

[Amazing Iceman]

As paperweights go, it's not that expensive, but I generally find it more useful and often, more attractive. You still have paper?

Hahahah! Only some bills I receive by mail. Other than that, my interactions with pen and paper have been reduced to a minimum.
I may still be able to use my old AppleTVs with AirPlay, even if all the other apps stop working.

 

[theelysium]

Paper weight? Umm ok, Maybe you just need training on how to use Airplay in the classroom.