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Apple TV 4 and iPad Pro Pre-Orders Begin at Select Authorized Resellers in Europe

ke-iron said:
Not a lot of 4K content and that may be for a while. Also I've read in articles you only really benefit from 4K if you are viewing a tv 60" or bigger and if you're sitting no farther than 6' away from the screen. Otherwise it looks just like 1080p content.
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There is plenty of 4K content, and there will be more. I already watch 4K Netflix, and more content is showing up all the time.

I have 42" and 65" 4K TVs in my house, and there is absolutely a difference. With 4K I feel more comfortable sitting closer to a larger screen, which is important in my small-ish apartment. 1080P certainly isn't bad, but the world is moving on to 4K. Adding HDMI 2.0 and 4K Netflix would not have been hard for Apple to do.
 
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mchoffa said:
I never understood that with the old iPhones, but that's not entirely accurate. I mean, Tesla just pushed out a free over the air update to the Model S to enable the cars to drive themselves. I'd say an over the air update to enable 4K wouldn't cost us anything.
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When has Apple ever added additional hardware features after releasing a product without charging for it?

Why would they do it rather than sell people a new device and make more money?
 
JDHiro said:
There is plenty of 4K content, and there will be more. I already watch 4K Netflix, and more content is showing up all the time.
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Not really. Netflix has the largest library and even that isn't a whole lot of content, on top of paying extra to watch it. Apple themselves doesn't have 4k content and that's the reason they don't care about it at this point. Until iTunes starts offering it, Apple won't bother including the ability on the Apple TV.
 
gaximus said:
I've got a 4K 70" and sit about 10 ft away and can tell a huge difference in 4K vs 1080P, And my eyes are getting worse.
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I really doubt it's a huge difference especially if the content is streamed and highly compressed. I've seen 4K tv's in the stores running uncompressed 4K content to it and from a little distance away it didn't look much better than my 1080 elite lcd tv. The fact is most people cannot tell the difference in quality at the distance they sit from their tv's.

However if they are upgrading from a tv that wasn't really good to begin with in terms of image processing, colors, contrasts etc, then yea you'll notice a huge difference, since most if not all 4K tv's have a higher standard of quality. Even more of a difference if the 4K tv is oled.

I don't have a crappy 1080 tv so upgrading to an led 4K tv in my case will be a minimal improvement in picture quality and isn't immediately noticeable. However if I upgrade to one of the oled 4K tv's from lg of same 60" size or bigger I'm sure I would notice a difference especially since oled make the images pop more.
 
840quadra said:
Why is that? You just mentioned an out, a paid upgrade.

BT was installed in the 2nd generation iPod touch, but disabled when it first shipped. A later ($9.95 paid) software update enabled it. They legally could enable silent hardware and pay the licensing (MP4 technology) on the users behalf, or, provide a software update that people can pay for.

But, that was a different apple.
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Why enable a cheap software upgrade when they can charge far more to sell you new hardware that's better suited to deal with 4K video a year from now?
 
Elkjøp here in Norway have the ATV 4 listed for 216$ US delivered, and apparently no information stating that it is not available for immediate dispatch.
 
engineerben said:
Hadn't thought of it that way. I guess I was assuming that the retailers in question had some authorization from Apple to begin pre-orders. But yeah, they're probably just adding names to a list...
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I order my Apple stuff before it's released. Just tell the guys at Apple, "I'll take a fully loaded MBP if you renew it at this keynote and I'll take a new Apple TV if it's released." If they end up announcing those items they get me on the list right when it's announced so I receive it on release day without all the fighting on the web store for preorder. It's a great system.
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Why enable a cheap software upgrade when they can charge far more to sell you new hardware that's better suited to deal with 4K video a year from now?
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Why disable Bluetooth then later charge ~$10 to enable it. Why did the 2008 MBP start off with having a 6GB cap, and later updated to support 8GB, Why did the 5th generation iPod first not support search and alphabetical scrolling, then later have it added as a software update? There are many, many more examples of these types of updates..

You could easily apply your question to those situations, and come to the same conclusion I did.

I have no idea why Apple makes the decisions it does, yet, they do sometimes throw a bone to us, their customers.
 
bluespark said:
I'm a corporate lawyer and would love to learn about this law that prevents companies from providing free updates -- please share!
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Apple previously claimed SarBox prevented them from releasing software updates that included features not advertized at the time of sale.
 
JDHiro said:
I'm a long-time TV user, but lack of 4K support is a total deal breaker to me upgrading. The app store is neat, but video content is the absolute bread and butter of this device and they didn't get it right. I can't fathom what Apple was thinking. 1080P TVs over 50" are already becoming scarce in stores.
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Sorry, but I have been laughing at the 4K whiners since the ATV4 introduction. Its a syndrome where people want to act as if they have/can afford the best even if they dont really know what they are talking about.

The lack of 4k is a non-issue at this point in time because:

1.) lack of TRUE 4K content
2.) lack of TRUE 4k hardware (with the necessary HDCP 2.2 through the WHOLE hardware chain)
3.) Most 4K TVs are not TRUE 4K but up-converted (did your "4k" TV from Best Buy have lots of "4K" stickers on it?) and they likely will not play true 4K in the future:

With the introduction of 4K UHDTV, a brand new, even more robust version of HDCP was developed, 2.2. And for UHDTVs to display a true 4K image, every link in the digital chain must be HDCP 2.2 compliant. And, unfortunately, there is no upgrading a non-2.2 device.

This means many early adopters have purchased TVs boasting 4K resolution but that aren’t HDCP 2.2 compliant. These are all the CHEAP 4K TVs with lots of "4K" stickers on them! If other devices in the video distribution chain—such as an A/V receiver—aren’t HDCP 2.2, they will be unable to enjoy true 4K.


To cry about the ATV4 not having this marketing gimmick called 4k is hilarious. Yes, 4K will be as real in the future as 1080p is today, but not now and not before ATV4 or 5....suckas!
 
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I want this released so I can buy the remote on it's own. I only want the remote, not the Apple TV as well. It will be the 4th different Apple remote I'll own
 
JDHiro said:
There is plenty of 4K content, and there will be more. I already watch 4K Netflix, and more content is showing up all the time.

I have 42" and 65" 4K TVs in my house, and there is absolutely a difference. With 4K I feel more comfortable sitting closer to a larger screen, which is important in my small-ish apartment. 1080P certainly isn't bad, but the world is moving on to 4K. Adding HDMI 2.0 and 4K Netflix would not have been hard for Apple to do.
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I will be more specific. There is not a lot of streaming 4K content, not Netflix or any other streaming service. You can buy one of those 4K media servers that's already loaded with tons of content but I'm not talking about that.

There are a lot of technologies in the tv to give you an overall better viewing experience. However I'm not talking about overall viewing experience, I am talking about image quality on streamed 4K content. It is not much better than what's already out on HD.

I'm not saying that it isn't better. I'm saying that it isn't much better and depending on what your previous tv size, brand and quality you might not notice a difference at all sitting from a distance away which is normal viewing distance on a tv that size. I'll give an example like I did in a prior post. My 60" elite lcd tv looks just as good as any 4K tv the same size that is also lcd. However a good 4K tv from lg the same size or bigger that uses oled technology does look better and that is because oled images pop more.
 
So far this year I have bought the latest iPad Air2 (2 of them), the Apple watch (2 SS), and the iPhone 6s. I am excited to purchase the ATV4 (2 of them) and the magic trackpad. But Tim, for the love of God, you have taken enough from me. No more! (unless you have a better time machine, but that's it damn it).
 
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davidwarren said:
Apple previously claimed SarBox prevented them from releasing software updates that included features not advertized at the time of sale.
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I don't know the details of their claim, but Sarbanes Oxley doesn't say anything of the sort. My guess (assuming you are accurately recounting Apple's claim) is that Apple was referring to a particular accounting treatment they were using under Sarbanes Oxley with respect to a particular product, and that they felt that retroactively activating a new hardware feature somehow was inconsistent with that accounting treatment. But that does mean that there is a law against releasing software that activates new features, and such a law would make no sense.
 
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ke-iron said:
I really doubt it's a huge difference especially if the content is streamed and highly compressed. I've seen 4K tv's in the stores running uncompressed 4K content to it and from a little distance away it didn't look much better than my 1080 elite lcd tv. The fact is most people cannot tell the difference in quality at the distance they sit from their tv's.

However if they are upgrading from a tv that wasn't really good to begin with in terms of image processing, colors, contrasts etc, then yea you'll notice a huge difference, since most if not all 4K tv's have a higher standard of quality. Even more of a difference if the 4K tv is oled.

I don't have a crappy 1080 tv so upgrading to an led 4K tv in my case will be a minimal improvement in picture quality and isn't immediately noticeable. However if I upgrade to one of the oled 4K tv's from lg of same 60" size or bigger I'm sure I would notice a difference especially since oled make the images pop more.
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I can notice the difference between the type of stream on the same tv. With out checking the status, I can tell if I'm getting 720, 1080, or 4k.
 
I'd really like to know a few things about people's viewing habits. With all the complaining and people swear they notice huge differences in image quality.

1. What is the distance you sit from tv?
2. What is the size, brand, make and model, lcd or oled?
3. What is the size, brand, make and model of previous tv? Lcd or oled?
4. What resolution and source of the content you consume on it?

I've even tested my friends on this. Took them to Best Buy stood about 12 feet away from the tv's and watch the demos displayed on them. When I asked them what kind of tv this one is or that one they couldn't tell me because they mostly looked the same with minimal difference. The only ones that really stood out is oled models. They aren't raving to rush and buy a new tv anymore since the distance they sit from their tv is far in a normal sized living room probably 8 to 10 feet.

I'm not trying to say 4K isn't good or anything like that. I'm just saying that people are craving it and the picture quality improvement over 1080p (in most sized) tv's people buy is minimal. And if you had a cheap insignia tv before and upgraded to an lg 4K tv of course you'll notice a difference in every aspect but that's besides the point.

The point is if you already had a top of the line 1080p tv and upgrade to a 4K tv the difference will be minimal unless it's oled or the tv is substantially bigger.

A huge difference was from SD to HD.
 
bpeeps said:
Finally the Euros get something before the US (albeit 3rd party). Just glad we don't have to listen to you b**** about an American company serving Americans first.
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Don't worry. It's a scam. You won't be getting it first. You can continue to be angry about this.
 
gaximus said:
I can notice the difference between the type of stream on the same tv. With out checking the status, I can tell if I'm getting 720, 1080, or 4k.
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On a big tv like a 60" for example, you can tell the difference from 720 and 1080 easily and you don't even have to be that close to the tv. From 1080 and 4K not so easy unless you're sitting close to the tv.
 
If 4K is so unimportant, why has Apple released a 6S iPhone that can record 4K content and you can play it back on your new 21" iMac, but you can't stream it to your Apple TV?? That makes absolutely no sense to me.

Roku put out the upgrade that Apple TV should have put out. It has both 4K streaming and HDMI/optical audio connections. This Apple TV will probably be substituted next year with these features. Tim just needed to pick up some additional coin in the meantime.
 
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