Apple TV, Why should I buy one?

[Rigby]

No ATV3 doesn't have hand off.

Yes it does.

Goto youtube, hit the icon, point it to your ATV of choice, wait for the video to start playing and then close your laptop - see what happens!!! it drops the video as soon as the lid is closed.

I haven't tested Youtube on a computer (which browser did you use?), but that doesn't prove anything. There are many web sites that don't support Chromecasting either.

 

[Alrescha]

I think that sometimes Apple falls victim to the 'no good deed goes unpunished' curse.

Airplay is a great technology, and works well. But some apps do not support it natively. Apple provides "Airplay Display" which creates a virtual display on your Apple TV. Naturally, everyone tries to play video over it. And naturally, since it requires many many more steps than native Airplay, it is not always pretty. The result: Airplay gets an undeserved bad rep.

iOS and El Capitan/Safari support sending content to Apple TV over the original Airplay protocol and it works great.

A.

 

[AJB1971]

It really comes down to what content you want to consume and whether it’s supported on the Apple TV.

I bought an Apple TV 3 a few years ago and ended up selling it as I only used it for Netflix. The lack of support from TV companies, who had released apps on other platforms, was particularly disappointing.

Airplay never worked satisfactorily for me, but that might have been down to my network.

I’m in the UK so having free to air tv apps such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, 4oD and Demand 5 was a key consideration. From what I can see, only BBC iPlayer is currently available for the Apple TV 4.

I think the Apple TV 4 is a more compelling device for US consumers than it is for those in the UK and that’s all down to the support.

I ended up purchasing a Fire TV, despite not being a Prime subscriber, as it natively supports the apps I want and allows me to sideload other apps, such as BT Sport.

Whichever device you decide to go with, I would primarily base your decision on what apps and content are available.