Apple TV 4K Reviews: Expensive But With Cheaper 4K Movies, Some Limitations Like 1080p YouTube

[sdwaltz]

When Apple TV 4 was released, Tim Cook described it as "the future of TV". At first I thought it was pure hubris - but I bought one because I wanted a better Netflix/Hulu experience than what came with my smart TV. It was fine, but just seemed like a normal Apple TV to me.

Then a couple months ago I cut service from my cable provider, tripled my internet speed, and started a DirecTV NOW subscription...words cannot describe how much easier it is to just open whichever app I want without having to switch inputs or anything. Trivial to be sure, but it adds an incredible amount of fluidity.

THIS is what Tim meant when he said Apple TV was "the future of TV"...just turn on your Apple TV and everything you need is there. No switching inputs or anything like that. Once streaming services reach maturity, think about how much easier this will be on, say, old people who don't know much about technology.

 

[npmacuser5]

I'm happy that Apple's put out a new generation apple TV with a nice processor, and now 4k and HDR.

But what happened to the idea that Apples usually comes late to the game, but when they do, they come with a machine that soundly trumps the competition?
A serious Apple TV is very late to the game, and now that it's arguably here, it certainly doesn't look like it's head and shoulders above competing devices, many of which cost a fraction of what the apple TV does.

Why would apple not have wanted to get into nearly every living room? They did it with mp3 players, touch screen based smart phones, etc...

Maybe, because "The Living Room" is dying. Small screens are rapidly taking over media consumption. In today's world, hard to get the whole family around the living room TV. Sports and movie night the last hold outs and even they are fading fast. I might be considered old school, and I find myself watching more media on my iPad, with the big screen collecting more dust each day. Not saying "The Living Room" going away, rapid change in how we consume media moving to small screens.

 

[840quadra]

So basically when the price advantage for content goes away...and we all know that is going to happen very quickly...then there will be no reason to buy the Apple TV.

All depends on who’s walled garden you live in.

ATV is still a good device if you are mostly using Apple. It acts as a HomeKit hub, it can be used as a remote speaker for airplay, you can screen share to it from an iOS device or a Mac. You can access all of your purchased iTunes content, etc.

If you live in multiple platforms, then, it isn’t as big of a deal.

 

[cawgijoe]

Seems nuts that it doesn't switch modes, but just shoehorns all content into whatever mode you set, just to avoid some flicker before starting to play content.

Also that it prioritizes framerate over Dolby Vision, just to keep the UI smooth.

If it could interlace framerates (60 for the UI, 30 for the video) that would help, as would mode switching (play non-HDR in non-HDR, instead of trying to stretch it and ruining the video)

Katzmaier from Cnet has asked Apple about this and the possibility of adding a "Native" mode to give people the option of not having all content upconverted that way. They did say they would look into it. Stay tuned.

 

[Plutonius]

It's only a matter of time before the competitors reduce their rental/buy cost of 4K movies to the same as Apple.

 

[iteklog]

Apple TV is 50$ more expensive than other solutions... While cheapest 4k tv is $2k or more.

mmmm in the states you can get a pretty good 4k HRD tv like the sony x900e for $1300~

 

[coolfactor]

About this...

...Apple's HDR video processing is hit or miss. It was great when I watched HD content from iTunes, but it fell down in other apps. I watched The Dark Knight in HD on HBO Go with our video team, and the Apple TV 4K HDR processing blew out all the contrast in the image, sharpened everything to hell, and turned the film grain into noise.

How much of that can be pegged on the AppleTV, and how much on HBO Go's broadcast media?

 

[Rigby]

Say what??

My OLED TV supports both HDR & Dolby Vision, but I don’t want Apple TV to convert SDR content to HRD automatically, as SDR content is not meant to be experienced this way!
Surely ATV 4K should detect if content is HDR, and display it accordingly – and leave SDR alone, unless I specifically want to view it in ”artificial” HDR.

This should be an option in the ATV’s settings. If not, Apple needs feedback on this. Content should be displayed as the content creator intended!

Yes. If true, this is a bad idea. Proper HDR mastering requires supervision by a colorist. I hope at the very least there is some way to disable this.

 

[macduke]

I've really been going back and forth on whether to upgrade to 4K. To be able to experience 4K more fully, you need a pretty big TV unless you sit really close to your TV. HDR has benefits for any size TV. But I think I've figured out what I want to do. I've seen these newer OLED 4K TVs that are so thin you can attach them to the wall with magnets. They kinda look like someone put a black sheet of glass on the wall. They're so freaking cool. I want one of those. Furthermore, Apple is now updating their Apple TV about every two years. So I'll upgrade in two years when the next Apple TV comes out and pair that with one of those nice, completely flat OLED displays in the 72-84" range, depending on price and features.

 

[KRG]

Any word on how/whether this is compatible with a smaller TV (and SD video)?

This would be my first Apple TV and, though we use HDMI for our current Roku stick, we opt for SD purchases/rentals/streaming to save on bandwidth and money (and can't tell the difference on our 32").

Seems silly to have to ask, but given Apple's behavior in the past it's best to be prudent: is there even an option to purchase/rent SD content on this thing?

I don't know if this has already been addressed because I didn't read the entire thread...but for what purpose would you want a $180 UltraHD 4k streaming box if you watch stuff in SD, not even HD, and can't tell the difference?

 

[spazzcat]

The far bigger issue is that the "new" Apple tv DOES NOT SUPPORT YOUTUBE 4K - not much more needs to be said.

I don't even have the youtube installed my appletv. I watch HBO, Netflix and soon Amazon and few things on History and A&E. Guessing all these will have 4K apps in the future.

 

[TroyBoy30]

Apple TV is 50$ more expensive than other solutions... While cheapest 4k tv is $2k or more.

hu? i paid less than 2k for my lg 4k oled set

 

[Bigsk8r]

And the lack of two HDMI's outputs make it very hard to incorporate the apple TV into an existing sound system if that sound system doesn't support the highest HDMI 2.0

Don't mistakenly believe that one of the cheaper aftermarket HDMI splitters will help you. Unless you get to the higher priced ones ($150 or so), the typical splitter downgrade BOTH HDMI outputs to the lowest common denominator. Meaning that if you connect to a hdmi 1.4 audio receiver- it will them not send 4K over the other Hdmi out...

I had not thought of this point when I ordered mine, but my theater receiver is so old that only the amp and DSP still work properly, so I am running my current ATV straight to a 50" 1080P plasma and using the optical out to get the sound to the receiver.

Looks like a 65" 4k display isn't the only thing I need to keep an eye out for on Black Friday / Cyber Monday...

 

[x-evil-x]

Just go watch your discs, dude.

Mine are all in the garage collecting dust and retailers are reducing space. The end is coming.

I already converted my 500 disc collection years ago. I don’t buy discs anymore. I’m saying the majority of people stream and don’t care about super perfect content because of convenience.
The end is coming but quality won’t change that fast.
How long do you think it will take for streams to actually be in 100% quality of a disc. Video and sound wise.

 

[Jbusick7944]

I've been an Apple fan my whole life, but these stories the last few days about stupid Air Power Mat, this ATV and the continual quest to squeeze the most possible money out of us is getting a little fatiguing.

 

[scott911]

I've really been going back and forth on whether to upgrade to 4K. To be able to experience 4K more fully, you need a pretty big TV unless you sit really close to your TV. HDR has benefits for any size TV. But I think I've figured out what I want to do. I've seen these newer OLED 4K TVs that are so thin you can attach them to the wall with magnets. They kinda look like someone put a black sheet of glass on the wall. They're so freaking cool. I want one of those. Furthermore, Apple is now updating their Apple TV about every two years. So I'll upgrade in two years when the next Apple TV comes out and pair that with one of those nice, completely flat OLED displays in the 72-84" range, depending on price and features.

sounds like a plan!

 

[iReality85]

Yes. If true, this is a bad idea. Proper HDR mastering requires supervision by a colorist. I hope at the very least there is some way to disable this.

I agree. I assumed there would be settings to manually enable/disable HDR and 4K scaling for video across the ATV 4K. Especially with HDR, the content is either HDR, or it's not. Applying HDR to content that is coded to be SDR is going to result in overblown colors and saturation. Not at all what I expected and I'm very surprised Apple went this route.

 

[ghsDUDE]

Does it upscale everything to 4K?

I’d prefer 1080p content played at 1080p...and for 4K content to play in 4K.

Is there a way to set this up so it automatically switches between the two? If not this may be a deal breaker...

 

[nperei]

If you have a 4K TV, then you probably have YouTube, Amazon, VUDU etc via the TV apps. Why would you want to stream through another device when you can stream right to the TV app? I'm missing something. I'm excited about the ATV4K. Not for the price of course, but having many movies I purchased updated to 4K for free! Thought I was going to have to double and triple dip for some 4K material. But for some unknown reason, Apple was generous in giving a free upgrade. I thought surely they would charge some fee for that. And for me, with just a sound bar, Atmos and the like is not of interest right now.

Well for one thing that most of Smart TV apps built-in are really slow navigation and not simple user friendly for most of people who don't understand how to use it.

 

[DNichter]

I have been happy using my Apple TV 4 exclusively since cutting the cord earlier this year. No issues and everything works really well. Playstation Vue is a nice service and I have never had a problem with it. Looking forward to 4K streaming also. TV / Home Theater is tough, it does not surprise me that it's taking this long for anyone to really have the perfect TV box. There are so many formats, audio options, codecs, and standards that it makes it almost impossible to support it all. Hoping one day we get there.

 

[jujufreeze]

4k for $199. Can Apple ever price something with competition in mind? Favor market penetration over profit margins, even briefly? Roku, Amazon, Google, or HTPCs are offering alternatives damn near half the price with identical functionality. Sure the Apple tv remote is nice and apps are a bit more polished, but unless they really like Siri most non-Apple diehards will opt for cheaper alternatives

 

[Bigsk8r]

I've only searched a couple threads on this, so please pardon the question if the answer is out there...

Does anyone know what happens if your library updates to 4K, but you haven't bought the 4K display yet? Will it simply down convert to 1080p or 720p?

Important question for when mine arrives as I'll be waiting for Black Friday / Cyber Monday to complete the 4K transition on the rest of the hardware...

 

[CaneCollegeboy]

My main question is does it let you play 4k movies from the vudu app?

 

[Gorms]

Apple doesn't support YouTube's VP9 video format, which means YouTube on the Apple TV 4K doesn't support 4K HDR playback. Apple doesn't have any timeline as to when or if that might happen; it's a problem that affects Safari on the Mac and iOS devices as well.

Oh, I have the timeline for that one: never. Apple won't ever support VP9. Forever ever? Forever ever.

 

[spazzcat]

4k for $199. Can Apple ever price something with competition in mind? Favor market penetration over profit margins? Roku, Amazon and Google are offering alternatives damn near half the price with identical functionality. Sure the Apple tv remote is nice and apps are a bit more polished, but in this case most non-Apple diehards will opt for cheaper alternatives

They don't care about the competition.