Apple TV Software Update Adds Photo Stream, NHL Games, Wall Street Journal

[Space Moose]

The NHL Gamecenter is absolutely dreadful on the AppleTV.

I just tried it out, and it's unwatchable. MLB.tv was mediocre at best, but jittery when there was any significant motion (which in baseball wasn't that often).

For hockey, with its non-stop motion over the whole screen, it's just terrible. Significant macro-blocking (overall fidelity looks worse than standard def) but it's the jitters throughout the feed that make it unwatchable.

It's just garbage. I've got a good net connection and both MLB.tv and NHL Gamecenter look great on my MBP, but on the AppleTV they're both crippled.

 

[NumberNine]

They added my favorite sport. I like Apple even more now.

If they would only fix the home sharing drop out issues.

 

[bigjnyc]

NFL seems to be impossible, uh. I think it is better than Basketball, Baseball, and Hockey combined.
Good update though.

I think NFL has an exclusive contract with direct TV.... they recently partnered up with sony PS3 to provide the content but even that is with Direct TV as a partner and not on their own. So unless Apple partners up with Direct TV we wont see it any time soon.

 

[Idgit]

Yes, you need to subscribe to GameCenter Live. I did so through the GameCenter Live web site, and not through the app, as the direct purchase gives you the option to pay $20 monthly instead of $160 in one payment. Once you've purchased your subscription, you go to the settings of the app and entire your log-in information, and the live game feeds then show up. Keep in mind that it is still subject to regional and national TV related black-outs.

How's the video quality? I hope it's much better than the video quality of the iOS GameCenter Live app which is really chunky and pixellated.

 

[newagemac]

Guys, the WSJ Live channel on the Apple TV is really cool! This is the future of TV in Apple's eyes apparently.

The channel is free and ad supported with a very short commercial at the beginning. And it streams live tv. Plus it has archives of news and commentary from today and earlier that you can pick and choose from.

So now we have live and archived MLB, NHL, NBA for sports , and live and archived WSJ for news. Live news and sports have always been the biggest reason people stay with cable. I can see where Apple is going with this. Once they add the NFL and more news, watch out!

 

[eddieairplanes]

Any idea if the mirroring would work with HBO Go?

 

[rickdollar]

Update fails every time I try to install it.

Me too.
I've tried it twice now.
Now trying a Restore.
We'll see.

..........................

Update: The Restore option worked.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

When are we getting apps? I want to get rid of my Roku...give me HuluPlus!

And Pandora. I guess it competes with the iTunes Music Store in a way, but it also causes people to buy songs from the iTunes Music Store.

 

[TIO]

How's the video quality? I hope it's much better than the video quality of the iOS GameCenter Live app which is really chunky and pixellated.

I have been watching games on the iOS app (iPad 2 streaming to Apple TV) since the season started, and I've had no issues with video quality. I watched the entire Wings/Avs game Saturday and didn't have a single issue. I'll install the Apple TV app at lunch and see how it performs.

 

[SBlue1]

we want NFL!!! we want NFL!!! we want NFL!!!

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Great, now give me the option to NOT show the items I never use (like the sports stuff) in the list of menu items. It's stupid to have to have it there if I never use it.

I agree here too. I have a first-gen Apple TV and all the menus with "Top Movies" and "Top TV shows" are shameless advertising. I paid close to $300 for that thing and still have to put up with ads?

 

[hbunting]

When are we getting apps? I want to get rid of my Roku...give me HuluPlus!

Awesome that they have hockey now...maybe the NFL will get their act together...

Finally some more streaming stuff. Maybe we can eventually get more news sources like live streaming cnn, msnbc, bbc news, al jazeera, etc. Hulu Plus would be nice. Free or not, I'd pay a few bucks a month to get live streaming news on my tv. How about some live channels like comedy central? Let me watch colbert or jon stewart without catv subscription. (I know those two are in the store, but why watch yesterdays episode today? why not today's episode today?).

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Hockey?

Did I wonder onto Crackberry?

 

[JRoDDz]

How does the photo streaming work? Is there a place to put in your iCloud id? I use a separate appleid for purchases, and another one for iCloud. The purchases one was always in the ATV.

 

[davidwarren]

The Apple TV is running on iOS5 now. The software version is 4.4 but that's something entirely different from the OS version. What people dont understand is the ATV software is just an app that runs on top of iOS5. So just like any other app in ios5, it has it's own software version as well.

If you click the select button while on the Settings > About page on the ATV, it will report the OS as 5.0

I know. But why bother with atv 4.4/iOS 5.0, just make it 5.0.

 

[Che Castro]

Is there a jailbreak for the apple tv iOS 5 ?

 

[zedsdead]

Still no damn folders for TV Shows or Movies. It's so annoying, especially for shows with 20 seasons like the Simpsons.

I am most excited about Mirroring. Can't wait to be able to use that.

 

[gramirez2012]

Succeeded 3rd time for me.

Same here, third time's a charm.

 

[AlligatorBloodz]

I live in Chicago, will Blackhawks games be blacked out for me if I subscribed?

 

[GenesisST]

The Apple TV is running on iOS5 now. The software version is 4.4 but that's something entirely different from the OS version. What people dont understand is the ATV software is just an app that runs on top of iOS5. So just like any other app in ios5, it has it's own software version as well.

If you click the select button while on the Settings > About page on the ATV, it will report the OS as 5.0

Just like OS X 10.7.2 is actually Darwin 11.2.0

 

[NachoGrande]

hmmm I can't upgrade based on my Beta 6 and I can't find the manual update in the IOS Dev center

 

[shurcooL]

Possible to include multiple account Photo Streams?

For example, if a family has a two different Apple IDs between them, you'd have to choose whose photos you wanna see, right?

 

[charlituna]

I agree. I can't believe there still isn't a Hulu+ app for AppleTV. It's a huge service, and I guarantee you that a lot more people watch Hulu+ than watch the NHL, or care about stock info from the Journal.
.

That could be a contract issue. The Google TV ran into similar issues when they put hulu on that device without having a proper contract. Hulu had to block access so they wouldn't get in trouble with the networks. Networks are loathe to do allow anything that might affect their precious ratings so they may not be allowing a deal to put Hulu on the Apple TV at the moment.

Not that Apple is probably too upset since Hulu would also eat into the season pass business

 

[KC2]

While it's not NHL hockey, you do have the Gwinnett Gladiators nearby. They're a perennial contender in the ECHL... might want to give them a look-see.

You sure know your hockey. The guys at the rink I play at always talk about how tickets are fairly cheap (compared to NHL tickets anyway) and the action is plentiful. Didn't realize the Gladiators were pretty decent. I'll definitely have to head out there for a game or two this season. Thanks!

 

[mike-sr29]

How about TWIT.tv live streaming. I'm tired of using AirPlay.