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Apple Testing 4K Capable Fifth-Generation Apple TV For Possible Release This Year
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I never said anything about Apps not being available. The experience over time deteriorates because the Tv manufacturer has no interest in you enjoying the smart Tv apps long term. They want you buying a new TV
That is a lot of FUD right there.
No seriously, what the F are you talking about. Internet bandwidth isn't there? 4K streaming requires a 20MB connection, at minimum. 20MB+ plans have been around for a long time. I've been paying for 50MB since 2011.
4K content isn't there? There are 4K Blurays and players, Netflix, and offerings from Google, Amazon, and Roku, all of whose set top boxes or sticks do 4K and have 4K content, unlike Apple TV.
You can even get cable somewhat in 4K by upscaling it with the TV. Even if 4K cable won't be around anytime soon, HDR cable is on its way with the HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) compression standard, developed specifically for broadcasting.
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Which actually gives the STB makers less incentive to allow updates. But let's face it, those apps are made by the app manufacturer. Every platform has a useful life.
My Samsung TV has had numerous updates. They are often a pain because they typically require me to sign in again, which is a major pain, but at least they are staying on top if it. The Samsung has its "brain" in a breakout box that should be upgradeable if you don't need to replace the display.
Anyway, the AppleTV is still very useful for me. I love it for Apple content and apps. The Apple Music app is the best music app I have used on a streaming box and the podcast app is awesome. I like the ability to access my iTunes library, Photos, and the Airplay feature is very convenient. Yeah, I like my Appletv. Still curious what part 4K will play.
I have other devices that can play 4K and the main benefit of these boxes over the TV's apps is they plug in to my receiver which gives me the ability to send their signal to my office (via a shared wall and HDMI) and a projector I hook up on occasion. The Samsung's apps only work on the Samsung TV.
Anyway, the AppleTV is still very useful for me. I love it for Apple content and apps. The Apple Music app is the best music app I have used on a streaming box and the podcast app is awesome. I like the ability to access my iTunes library, Photos, and the Airplay feature is very convenient. Yeah, I like my Appletv. Still curious what part 4K will play.
I have other devices that can play 4K and the main benefit of these boxes over the TV's apps is they plug in to my receiver which gives me the ability to send their signal to my office (via a shared wall and HDMI) and a projector I hook up on occasion. The Samsung's apps only work on the Samsung TV.
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Even if you don't own a 4K capable TV you can still benefit since 4K playback devices include h265 HEVC decoding support which uses nearly half the bandwidth of h264 AVC. Also, 4K content downscaled to 1080p looks better than 1080p content. The only reason Apple hasn't released a 4K capable ATV is because it's more profitable when its playback capabilities is equivalent to a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero. For about $40 you can get something like that the Odroid C2 or one of the many Android TV boxes that is capable of 4K 10bit HDR 60fps h265 AVC and some even have additional support for VP9.
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G145457216438
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G145457216438
Nope I'm not an idiot, I live here in reality.
Comcast the largest cable operator in the world- still doesn't offer most of its channels in 1080p let alone 4K. The 4K blu ray titles are few and far between, particularly since they don't sell well. Netflix has a small selection of 4K content.
The bottom line is, there's not enough content for it. It's still not main stream and likely will go the way of 3D. Consumers Just don't care enough.
Comcast the largest cable operator in the world- still doesn't offer most of its channels in 1080p let alone 4K. The 4K blu ray titles are few and far between, particularly since they don't sell well. Netflix has a small selection of 4K content.
The bottom line is, there's not enough content for it. It's still not main stream and likely will go the way of 3D. Consumers Just don't care enough.
Big difference with big screens in close viewing distance.
More and more, I'm seeing new houses with a smaller, dedicated tv viewing room, rather than have a giant black screen dominate the living space.
The closer you sit to a large screen, the more pixels you want/need.
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Lets put this into perspective. USB C doesn't have any products out either. When they remove usedul ports, its called looking to the future. But when it comes to higher resolution, you suddenly don't want the future. You're being a defender.
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LOL really man..
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Oh god forbid we want to make an informed decision about products we spend our hard earned cash on. Keep your head burried in the sand.
That would be great but I have a feeling it will not be the case this time. Hopefully a fee of a few dollars or you are buying the movie again.
There's a few issues with what you said but I'll stick to the most obvious one: I bought an Apple TV anyway. Do I feel like missing out on 4K? No. Because I wouldn't use it for 4K even if it was capable of it.
If it had 4K I wouldn't complain Apple had introduced a feature I didn't need.
I'm clearly not an Apple defender - I mention eairler in the thread that I can't recommend the product to friends.
The guy who claims there is no 4K content out is finding multiple issues with MY argument? Please.
I agree with your main point. Personally, I have less of an issue with USB-C because it fits with Apple's/Steve Jobs "courage" motto and the port is far more capable than the ports they removed.
The Appletv should have been 4K because they were including 4K video recording in their most important product and it made sense to allow people with 4K TVs to be able to watch them in their living rooms. That being said, I still bought the Appletv and I have other ways to play 4K. However, I agree that it is outside of Apple's argument that they want to be ahead of the curve.
Yes, really, that is what I think. Do you have different theory that could be useful instead of your useless condescending post?
My theory is not set in stone in mind, so if you have a better one that make sense it could convince me.
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I agree with you about this. People defending the switch to all USBc ports on the Mac while defending the lack of 4k on the ATV4 is a little contradictory.
Especially with the iPhone being able to provide the 4K content.
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I agree with you. It does seem like a different Apple than when iTunes switched to 1080p.
I was just saying that there is a precedent case of Apple making it free to upgrade. Maybe it will happen again.
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Not a theory per-say, but... it is clearly a glitch. Proper dollars were not appointed to said segment for testing (margins?) thus a glitch occurs where users are signed out of their accounts for no reason. When you want to watch your shows in an app you have to sign in again... and again.. and again. This doesn't happen on other set top boxes and will (hopefully) be patched in an update.
Edited to take my response out of quotes.
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Steve would have never allowed this to happen. This becomes evident when you break things down to what they really are..
USB-C on MacBook Pro
- All ports USB-C ---> All current peripherals rendered useless without an adapter
- Apple's own products do not use USB-C out of the box.
- Steve would go all in, like the optical disk, OR, in the case of FireWire vs USB, still include the USB component.
Lack of 4K on Apple TV
- Own products do 4K.
- No 4K TV? No problem! Still works with 1080P TVs, no adapter required like with USB-C.
- Just future proofed so that you don't have to buy an Apple TV 5 when you want to upgrade your 4K TV.
The original Apple TV was $300 but boy did I not regret a penny spent there. Steve may have called it a hobby but I absolutely loved the product: NOTHING half baked about it. This generations Apple TV? Junk.
Go back and look at his video on "courage".
Here are his quotes related to this issue:
"Apple is a company that doesn’t have the most resources of everybody in the world, and the way we’ve succeeded is by choosing what horses to ride really carefully – technically. We try to look for these technical vectors that have a future, and that are headed up, and, you know, different pieces of technology kind of go in cycles. They have their springs and summers, and autumns, and then they, you know, go to the graveyard of technology. And, so we try to pick the things that are in their springs."
"Some people are gonna not like that. They’re going to call us names. It’s not going to be in certain companies’ vested interest that we do that, but we’re gonna take the heat ’cause we want to make the best products in the world for customers. We’re gonna instead focus our energy on these technologies, which we think are in their ascendancy, and we think they’re gonna be the right technologies for customers, and, you know what, they’re paying us to make those choices"
USB-C is in its Spring and 4k is in its Spring. 1080p and USB-A are in their Autumn on these platforms. Replacing an optical disc player required much more than a new cable or adapter. It required you to buy a CD player to attach to your computer if you wanted to rip a disc. Apple didn't include one in the box, either. For my needs, that was much more of a pain and the only upside was that the new MBPs were slightly thinner. The USB-C, on the other hand, added a faster, more flexible port.
You could have had 4k without shunning 1080p. A 1080p TV could still use a 4k Apple TV. There really isn't an excuse for not implementing 4k with the 4th generation Apple TV besides margins.
As far as USB-C being more flexible, I will have to disagree with you. I'll take a mag safe over USB-C any day. It doesn't do the job better in that situation. If USB-A is in their "autumn" season, then why does my brand new iPhone and brand new iPad pro both ship with them? Lets be realistic here, could have fit a port or two on the laptop. If anything, I'm thankful for these moves as they made me swallow the fact that Steve isn't around anymore.
A "glitch" might be a good reason for having to re-authenticate as often as you do on the ATV4, but this "glitch" also happens on the ATV3 and the ATV2.
So, either the glitch has been around for years with no intentions on correcting it even after the switch to tvOS, or it is something deliberate. Most likely from the cable companies.
Also, if it was not deliberate, then what would be the reason that the big cable companies refuse to go with single sign on?
I see the two related, and I don't see how it is "clearly" a glitch.
Besides, on the hobo/appletv support page it says that:
help.hbogo.com said:
Then it suggests re-downloading the app to see if that helps.....
I agree with the point about the 4K TV. It is not the norm to go with older tech. Of course it would be backward compatible like all 4K boxes. They won't put a 4K TV in the box, either. You would have to provide that yourself.
It is still more flexible. This isn't about your preference. Try charging that MagSafe MBP with a battery charger you bought for your phone. Try plugging it into the other side of the MBP and you can't. Try hooking the MagSafe up to a 5k display for power and a signal, you can't. Try plugging an SSD drive into a MagSafe port, you can't. The MagSafe was around because they did not have a port with this much flexibility back then. Using a port for just power would have been a waste of space when you could put a port there that does it all. Personally, I prefer the USB-C for power, but they didn't change it to make me happy. They changed it for the flexibility you don't get with MagSafe.
The phone and iPad don't have a USB port either. They have a lightning to USB cable that has a USB for plugging into power. The MBP came out after both of these devices, so it will be interesting to see what Apple does with the next i-device. However, they would never move on if they had to continually support devices that are already on the market. My iPad 2nd gen uses FireWire and they have not had that on a computer for a while, either.
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Is that right. Well I guess I'll have to get used to the fact that my Nvidia Shield which is ten times better than the Apple tv is a Joke.
I have the Shield and it is a nice machine. The Plex Server, 4k HDR, etc.. all make it great for my needs. I prefer the flexibility of the app interface on the AppleTV, though. Also, I like the Apple apps that are only on the AppleTV , especially Apple Music vs the Google Music app, but other than that, they both fill a role around my house.
The new Echo Plex skill plus the Nvidia Shield is pretty cool, too. Personally, I use the AppleTV more, but I am happy to have both of them.
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