Apple TV 4K - Short Review

[Andrewtst]

My Apple TV 4K Short Review.

I just get it 2 days ago and finally I can view all my iTunes Movies from all my 3 accounts - USA, UK and Malaysia.

Pros

• Interface - Extremely beautiful and easier to use, especially changing the subtitle and also audio of full dynamic range or reduce loud sounds. This reduce loud sounds is very useful especially for watching at night time. Nearly all apps is follow standard design (except Google product - YouTube).
• Performance - Superb smooth with fancy emboss effect. Also no performance issue playing heavy 3D games with accelorometer support remote control.
• Contents - A lots of title to purchase or rent from Movies iTunes with some 4K HDR title.
• Video Quality - The only support Dolby Vision type of HDR, auto switch of HDR & SDR content and also frame rate. Thanks for this device support of SDR in RGB High and HDR in Chroma 4.2.2, the output is absolutely stunning.
• Accounts - Support multiple accounts and easier to direct switching. Thanks to this I can anytime switch between USA, UK and Malaysia account. Able to purchase contents from USA or UK by purchase iTunes Gifts Cards from 3rd party source.
• Movies iTunes Quality - HD quality is closed to Blu-ray and 4K HDR quality is closed to 4K Blu-ray.

Cons

• Sound Support - No Dolby Atmos support. Some user mentioned cannot pass-through but after I read it seems due to legacy AV receiver issue. I don't own any and cannot comment much as I can't test it.
• Setting - Default setting by Apple is wrong and not output optimal result. For example Apple is set force everything output to HDR, this is wrong and shall change switch to HDR only when required.
• Siri Support - It is cool but too bad it only work in few country and not yet support Malaysia.
• Maximum Usage - You need iTunes USA account to enjoy more variety Movies especially some title in USA is 4K HDR but in Malaysia still only HD. Also TV Shows iTunes is not support in Malaysia yet. https://support.apple.com/en-my/HT204411
• Weight - It is consider very heavy for such small device and not for carry around.

Malaysia iTunes Account

US iTunes Account

UK iTunes Account

Main Interface

Main Interface at Netflix

TV - Watch Now

Movies Interface

iTunes Extra Interface

TV Series

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Hi Andrew! Thank you for your fab review and awesome photos!!!!! Thank you for taking the time to post How LUCKY having THREE iTunes accounts to different countries and having them working perfectly on the Apple TV!

I too LOVE the Apple TV. It is for 2018 the only box connected to my TV. I sold my Panasonic 4K UHD BluRay player as I only used it once! The ATV is perfect for my lifestyle - I use a MacBook and iPhone X for everything so the ATV is truly INCREDIBLE!

BTW I feel the the Apple TV is heavy because it is so beautifully made and uses incredibly excellent components!

I hope that you have lots of fun with it and please, post here more of your findings, opinion of it

 

[rolsskk]

Weight - It is consider very heavy for such small device and not for carry around.

Ummm...the AppleTV was never intended to be a portable device. It seems so strange that you would identify this as a con, rather than talk about how pointless it is to even have storage on the device, as you cannot even download any of the movies.

 

[Andrewtst]

Ummm...the AppleTV was never intended to be a portable device. It seems so strange that you would identify this as a con, rather than talk about how pointless it is to even have storage on the device, as you cannot even download any of the movies.

For me the storage is not pointless because it can be use for download big size games.

Off course added function of download movies is welcome.
[doublepost=1527666842][/doublepost]

Hi Andrew! Thank you for your fab review and awesome photos!!!!! Thank you for taking the time to post How LUCKY having THREE iTunes accounts to different countries and having them working perfectly on the Apple TV!

I too LOVE the Apple TV. It is for 2018 the only box connected to my TV. I sold my Panasonic 4K UHD BluRay player as I only used it once! The ATV is perfect for my lifestyle - I use a MacBook and iPhone X for everything so the ATV is truly INCREDIBLE!

BTW I feel the the Apple TV is heavy because it is so beautifully made and uses incredibly excellent components!

I hope that you have lots of fun with it and please, post here more of your findings, opinion of it

I am very happy to own it. I also got Panasonic Ultra blu-ray player and I am very sure less use from now because I prefer digital copy. It is convenience and easier manage.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I can't tell if the first comment is a joke, sarcastic troll, or serious...

 

[turbineseaplane]

I'm a little surprised the Siri remote isn't talked about more..
It's my least favorite thing in life that I interact with, by a country mile..

I honestly wish they'd offer 2 official remotes - one that's more button focused (and ideally has a mute & power button) to go alongside the existing one would be so welcome.

Many of us are using Apple TV's as cable tv replacements now that there are so many great streaming options and the super minimalist and odd Siri remote is frustrating to use at times. It'd be so nice to have a more traditional remote that is much closer to the Roku remotes (which are sensational in feel and design).

Please nobody suggest a Harmony remote. I appreciate the thought, but I've had those and they are complete and total overkill for those of us just rocking a tv+sound+ATV setup.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

For me the storage is not pointless because it can be use for download big size games.

Off course added function of download movies is welcome.
[doublepost=1527666842][/doublepost]
I am very happy to own it. I also got Panasonic Ultra blu-ray player and I am very sure less use from now because I prefer digital copy. It is convenience and easier manage.

Fantastic. Enjoy! I've been loving the Apple TV for over 8 years now. Just brilliant in every respect!

 

[Andrewtst]

I'm a little surprised the Siri remote isn't talked about more..
It's my least favorite thing in life that I interact with, by a country mile..

I honestly wish they'd offer 2 official remotes - one that's more button focused (and ideally has a mute & power button) to go alongside the existing one would be so welcome.

Many of us are using Apple TV's as cable tv replacements now that there are so many great streaming options and the super minimalist and odd Siri remote is frustrating to use at times. It'd be so nice to have a more traditional remote that is much closer to the Roku remotes (which are sensational in feel and design).

Please nobody suggest a Harmony remote. I appreciate the thought, but I've had those and they are complete and total overkill for those of us just rocking a tv+sound+ATV setup.

When start using Apple remote I found it weird but once you get use to it, it is freaking awesome and the best I ever use.

I don't see the needs of traditional remote which too many button and need to look at it when use.

Simplified remote can use it blindly without look at it.

Mute button - if the time you need to mute it means you can't watch that time, just press pause.

Power button - this is not necessary as press and hold the tv button let you select sleep which totally turn off the Apple TV 4K together with your TV.

 

[turbineseaplane]

When start using Apple remote I found it weird but once you get use to it, it is freaking awesome and the best I ever use.

I don't see the needs of traditional remote which too many button and need to look at it when use.

Simplified remote can use it blindly without look at it.

Mute button - if the time you need to mute it means you can't watch that time, just press pause.

Power button - this is not necessary as press and hold the tv button let you select sleep which totally turn off the Apple TV 4K together with your TV.

You've never picked up your Apple TV remote upside down?

The mute button would be very useful actually, especially if you're using it as a cable TV replacement as many of us are (AD breaks - pausing doesn't help)

Finally I disagree about the power button as it is simpler to have a single button that does that and only that especially for new or less familiar users, which is something that appeals to me as I use these in vacation houses that are rentals.

I guess it just shows that we all have different needs. I've been using the Siri remote since the first week it came out with the 4th gen ATV and I hate it with a passion that is hard to describe.

I think it would be great if they opened up an MFi program for remotes so third-party makers could create some interesting alternatives

 

[Andrewtst]

You've never picked up your Apple TV remote upside down?

The mute button would be very useful actually, especially if you're using it as a cable TV replacement as many of us are (AD breaks - pausing doesn't help)

Finally I disagree about the power button as it is simpler to have a single button that does that and only that especially for new or less familiar users, which is something that appeals to me as I use these in vacation houses that are rentals.

Up side down during pickup. Frank speak never happen before, maybe because I always put in position in the correct way.

Mute button - probably they can map certain key press and hold to function it.

Power button - sorry I find it extremely unnecessary.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Mute button - probably they can map certain key press and hold to function it

Yes - that would be nice

Agree to disagree about the power button

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

When start using Apple remote I found it weird but once you get use to it, it is freaking awesome and the best I ever use.

I don't see the needs of traditional remote which too many button and need to look at it when use.

Simplified remote can use it blindly without look at it.

Mute button - if the time you need to mute it means you can't watch that time, just press pause.

Power button - this is not necessary as press and hold the tv button let you select sleep which totally turn off the Apple TV 4K together with your TV.

Totally agree. Do remember the remote controls of cheap end DVD players in the old days??? 150+ tiny buttons just to watch a film!!! The most disgraceful pieces of design of all time.
Jonny got it spot on with the design of the ATV remote. I see cheap plastic things elsewhere and then I see the lovingly designed ATV remote with glass and aluminium - an intelligent, quality approach

For years, I had the BANG&OLUFSEN BEO4 remote which many many people regard as the ultimate in top design and usability - for me, the ATV 4K remote betters it - i don't need anything else and that's a nice feeling!

 

[Andrewtst]

Totally agree. Do remember the remote controls of cheap end DVD players in the old days??? 150+ tiny buttons just to watch a film!!! The most disgraceful pieces of design of all time.
Jonny got it spot on with the design of the ATV remote. I see cheap plastic things elsewhere and then I see the lovingly designed ATV remote with glass and aluminium - an intelligent, quality approach

For years, I had the BANG&OLUFSEN BEO4 remote which many many people regard as the ultimate in top design and usability - for me, the ATV 4K remote betters it - i don't need anything else and that's a nice feeling!

Yup. Even now the TV & Player remote control still too many buttons and most not using.

 

[aphexacid]

The Siri remote I hate with a passion.

I do like my ATV4K. It’s fast, has all the apps I need etc. If it had a USB port that let me watch my movie collection, it would be be perfect. Even with the terrible remote.

So my Roku Ultra has the edge.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The Siri remote I hate with a passion.

You and me both man - you and me both..

 

[x-evil-x]

also agree there is no need for a power button. you can change the turn off on it and the device doesnt use much power especially idle. Mute button maybe but more buttons and clutter isnt always better. I rarely mute things. I personally love the little remote but I use the remote app mostly and my harmony 890 ive had forever. I wouldnt change the remote that comes with it I think its unique and works good and fast for how I use things.
Not sure why the op commented on the weight of the little puck. Its not "heavy" common now. Not like youre picking up a gallon of milk if you want to carry this thing around and even that isnt "heavy". Non issue

 

[Audit13]

Love the review!

I don't have an Atmos/DTS-x system so DTS-HD or TrueHD would be fine for me.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Love the review!

I don't have an Atmos/DTS-x system so DTS-HD or TrueHD would be fine for me.

Me too! Imagine how incredible iTunes store for film would be with the BEST audio sound possible along with the glorious 4K Dolby Vision / HD.

 

[Coffee50]

Has anyone had any experiences traveling with the apple tv / using it at hotels?

 

[bluespark]

The lack of audio pass-through has nothing to do with a legacy AV receiver. The Apple TV simply does not pass through a proper (i.e., unmodified) digital audio signal. The processing presumably was done to allow the system sounds to become part of the audio track, but that's a poor tradeoff if you need a bit-perfect audio track for Atmos or for high-end audio, etc. Regardless of the default, there should be an option to pass through unmodified audio from the source file. Nearly every digital AV device other than the ATV can do that.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Power button - this is not necessary as press and hold the tv button let you select sleep which totally turn off the Apple TV 4K together with your TV.

Press and hold the tv button, swipe down to sleep, select. That's 3 moves.
Press power button. That's 1 move.

And this isn't an every-once-in-a-while thing, it's something I do every time I use my AppleTV. At the end, I need to turn off my TV. For an action that is done every time it is used, it should have a dedicated button.

I could just leave the tv on, let it go to screensaver, then let it timeout and go off on it's own. But that is insanely wasteful. I like the screen saver quite a lot (I have it set to show my last vacation photos) and I leave it on screensaver sometimes just as ambience, so I have it on that for a while before auto-sleeping. It would be on for an hour if I just left it - a lot of wasted energy and not green.

Bottom line - a dedicated power button is needed.
[doublepost=1527874598][/doublepost]

also agree there is no need for a power button. you can change the turn off on it and the device doesnt use much power especially idle.

A 65" TV uses quite a lot of power actually when it is on. Especially if it is an LED tv with HDR on.

 

[priitv8]

Interestingly, I find myself using the TV remote to control aTV and not the other way around.
Actually I use it to control all HDMI CEC devices. That’s how CEC was designed.
Powering off the TV powers off all A/V devices except for aTV. That one I’ve set to time out after 30 minutes of inactivity.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Interestingly, I find myself using the TV remote to control aTV and not the other way around.
Actually I use it to control all HDMI CEC devices. That’s how CEC was designed.
Powering off the TV powers off all A/V devices except for aTV. That one I’ve set to time out after 30 minutes of inactivity.

The reason I don't do that is that my TV remote has like 3x the amount of buttons that are actually needed (some that work, some that don't, some that do different things than you'd expect on ATV interface), including ones like "Channel up/down" that end up switching the input and screwing it all up completely.

As I'm TV + ATV only, it seems most sensible to use the ATV remote (not TV) in my case.
I just wish we could get some other official remote alternatives or something that's close to official from Logitech or the like and has some different design takes than Apple's version.
[doublepost=1527879513][/doublepost]The other reason I don't understand why we don't have a mute button or some affordance to accomplish that, is that when the ATV 4th gen was released, it was widely speculated that Apple was getting into the streaming Live TV market.

When watching any of the live tv streaming, a mute function is SUPER nice to have during AD breaks.
The concept of "pause it" doesn't apply to live streaming media. Muting is very very nice in those cases.

Even if we never get a mute button - I sure would like some software enabled way to specify a button hold/combo of some kind to do it.

You know what would make the most sense and even has an icon that would work?
Long hold the Siri/Voice button to send the mute/un-mute command

 

[x-evil-x]

Press and hold the tv button, swipe down to sleep, select. That's 3 moves.
Press power button. That's 1 move.

And this isn't an every-once-in-a-while thing, it's something I do every time I use my AppleTV. At the end, I need to turn off my TV. For an action that is done every time it is used, it should have a dedicated button.

I could just leave the tv on, let it go to screensaver, then let it timeout and go off on it's own. But that is insanely wasteful. I like the screen saver quite a lot (I have it set to show my last vacation photos) and I leave it on screensaver sometimes just as ambience, so I have it on that for a while before auto-sleeping. It would be on for an hour if I just left it - a lot of wasted energy and not green.

Bottom line - a dedicated power button is needed.
[doublepost=1527874598][/doublepost]

A 65" TV uses quite a lot of power actually when it is on. Especially if it is an LED tv with HDR on.

I didn’t say a tv. I said an appletv. It turns off after an hour or so I have it set. I never leave my tv on or set timers for it.
I use my appletv to airplay sleep noises over my surround sound anyway so I never really turn it off.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I didn’t say a tv. I said an appletv. It turns off after an hour or so I have it set. I never leave my tv on or set timers for it.
I use my appletv to airplay sleep noises over my surround sound anyway so I never really turn it off.

What good is an AppleTV without a TV, for most people? Obviously there are corner cases and exceptions. I think it's safe to assume if the AppleTV is on, the TV is on; and if the AppleTV is off, the TV is off. In my setup, HDMI CEC ensures it. When the AppleTV is put to sleep, the TV turns off. Thus, being able to turn off the AppleTV with a single button press would be a pretty good feature.