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Apple TV Is Now Almost 20 Years Old

It’s still a hobby, they need to come out with the unit with ATSC 3.0 tuner with DVR as many are cutting the cords and subscriptions and the big launch next year of better OTA quality, hopefully they abandoned this DRM push that only works with Google devices and stay with the current OTA model. 🤔
 
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In 20 years the device has certainly improved, but it could have been a must-have if Apple took it seriously. So much potential and so little attention to this device
 
Tim Jobs the 2nd said:
The original 2007 model was essentially a modified Mac. It featured an Intel processor and a literal spinning hard drive to store movies and music locally. In contrast, the newest ATV 4K (3rd Gen) uses the A15 Bionic chip. This is the same powerful silicon found in modern iPhones.

The focus has shifted entirely from local storage to cloud streaming. While the first generation maxed out at 720p resolution, the current version delivers 4K visuals with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.

Beyond just the specs, the way we use these devices has changed. The original remote was a simple white plastic stick with a few buttons. The new remote is made of aluminum and has a dedicated voice search button. You can now use your ATV 4K to control your smart lights, play arcade-quality games, or even take FaceTime calls using your iPhone as a camera.

So your statement that it basically has not changed from the 1st gen to current generation is once again, provably false.
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LMAO you count 720p to 4k as something Apple did to improve it? Every. Single. Build in smart TV can do what ATV does and better. None of things you listed matter one bit to end consumer. It’s just a device to click an app to watch video, which already being replaced by built in smart tv app. No one cares for ATV anymore except the die hard sheeples.
 
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pugxiwawa said:
LMAO you count 720p to 4k as something Apple did to improve it? Every. Single. Build in smart TV can do what ATV does and better. None of things you listed matter one bit to end consumer. It’s just a device to click an app to watch video, which already being replaced by built in smart tv app. No one cares for ATV anymore except the die hard sheeples.
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Many smart TV's can do what the Apple TV does, it's true. Those TV's eventually get old and slow or lose support. At least you can maintain your functionality by replacing the boxes.

Also, Smart TV's are riddled with ads.

If someone is happy with their Smart TV, great, they can keep using it! Some of them can get Apple TV (the service). But there's plenty of reasons to want a hardware box. And hey, dumb TV's still exist!
 
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pugxiwawa said:
LMAO you count 720p to 4k as something Apple did to improve it? Every. Single. Build in smart TV can do what ATV does and better. None of things you listed matter one bit to end consumer. It’s just a device to click an app to watch video, which already being replaced by built in smart tv app. No one cares for ATV anymore except the die hard sheeples.
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What the Apple TV does is
- Stream video with a smooth interface
- Color Calibrating your images independently of what your tv set thinks color calibration means
- provide a system that is basically more privacy conscious than any smart tv

point to one smart tv whose interface is actually smooth and privacy-conscious, I'll wait...
 
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I remember ripping my entire collection of DVDs for the purpose of playing them through the original Apple TV. That was in 2008 when 1080p was still being finalized. No matter because all of my Handbrake stuff was 480p or 720p/1080i being output to a 30" tube SDTV. Now in 2026 I can't remember the last time I watched one of those rips. Youtube and the streaming services won in the end.
 
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aperfectcircle said:
So today marks 19 years since it was introduced yet the headline boldly proclaims its “almost 20 years”. That’s a bit of a stretch, come on MR. Obviously I have a different definition of almost in this context.
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This was my thought, if the headline is “almost 20 years” I’d assume you meant this week, or this month, not it’s turned 19. In terms of it almost being 20 years today is no more significant than yesterday or the day before. Very bizarre headline choice.
 
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This my 2nd Apple purchase after the iPods.. loved how it organised all my media so I then got my fist iMac a year later…

I wish they still did the sync media feature.
 
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Man, I still have one of those original ones, but the HD died a long time ago. I remember it felt so futuristic at the time to add a movie to iTunes, wait for it to sync to the ATV, and then watch it on your TV. Took awhile to sync though lol.
 
Contact_Feanor said:
What the Apple TV does is
- Stream video with a smooth interface
- Color Calibrating your images independently of what your tv set thinks color calibration means
- provide a system that is basically more privacy conscious than any smart tv

point to one smart tv whose interface is actually smooth and privacy-conscious, I'll wait...
Click to expand...
LOL smooth interface??? Literally just turn on any smart tv and a list of icons show up to be selected. What else is needed??? Privacy? Wow it knows I click Netflix 3 times a day, big deal.
 
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pugxiwawa said:
LOL smooth interface??? Literally just turn on any smart tv and a list of icons show up to be selected. What else is needed??? Privacy? Wow it knows I click Netflix 3 times a day, big deal.
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I have a very recent top model LG, opening that Netflix on the smart tv interface is slow, browsing the Netflix app even more so, skipping frames etc. Some people just value niceness. The actual tv panel is great, the AppleTV costs a fraction of the tv-set, the combination is way nicer to use than just the tv set.
 
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The glaring omission on current AppleTVs as „homehubs”:

Just let external drives be plugged in to the AppleTV and used as a TimeMachine backup and SMB network storage, a la the discontinued AirPort Extremes / Time Capsules.

On the same topic, just put Time Machine on iPhones and iPads, all the components are already there, they just need to be enabled to work automatically and have a clear and easy interface in Settings.

Neither will happen, and only because Apple wants to sell iCloud storage subscriptions. :-(
 
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pugxiwawa said:
LOL smooth interface??? Literally just turn on any smart tv and a list of icons show up to be selected. What else is needed??? Privacy? Wow it knows I click Netflix 3 times a day, big deal.
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Yes, smooth. Load a 60gig 4K DolbyVision extravaganza on a smart tv and painfullly watch 2 hrs of jerky video because many smart tv's use woefully underpowered processors.
 
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HuskerNKS said:
I use my network storage and play those movies and shows through Infuse. Works great.
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And to do so you’re using another box as the NAS.

The AppleTV already has all the hardware (bar a standard issue external drive) to be the NAS.

That’s unnecessary duplication of hardware, in that case.
 
Happy_John said:
And to do so you’re using another box as the NAS.

The AppleTV already has all the hardware (bar a standard issue external drive) to be the NAS.

That’s unnecessary duplication of hardware, in that case.
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Completely understand. Not unnecessary in my case. I have a network rack and NAS anyway. No need to plug in hard drives to my multiple Apple TVs and duplicate those to all 4. I have a central system that all apps and boxes can connect to.
 
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