ATV4 First impressions

[aced411]

I've owned every version of Apple TV (including the clunky 1st gen). Love the 4. I think my favorite things so far are:

• The new remote (totally did not expect to like it)
• The UI is fast
• The apple tv controls my TV without me setting anything up
• My TV remote (Sony) controls the Apple TV without me setting anything up
• 802.11AC wifi

There were definitely a few bugs so far. Netflix got really quiet for a bit, NBC wouldn't let me activate and Hulu lost my credentials once already. I saw some posts about home sharing movies buffering. I played two iTunes 1080p movies (about 15 mins each) and did not experience that issue. Hopefully it holds up. Anyway I'm definitely getting another. Super happy with the purchase.

BTW I don't know if you guys noticed but every TV app supports Comcast now (at least all the ones I downloaded).

 

[brand]

I've owned every version of Apple TV (including the clunky 1st gen).

You owned the TV 3 and TV 3 Rev A? Technically those were two different versions, same generation but different version.

 

[aced411]

You owned the TV 3 and TV 3 Rev A? Technically those were two different versions, same generation but different version.

Now that you mention it one of mine is Rev A. Pretty much the same device.

 

[jrcsh6]

Yea..
So I read the forum. The doom and gloom of the ATV4. I figured it couldn't be that bad. Probably just forum people being forum people. I've now had the thing a few days and have some specific thoughts.

-Worst thing so far. Triple tap menu button. Go ahead and try. It starts talking (voice over)and it's absolutely horrible. Especially when you don't know what's going on.

-4k. Yea there's not much 4k content and not many people have a 4k tv, YET. I'm guessing there will be a ton of UHD/4k tv's sold this christmas season. And from there out represent a healthy, growing percentage of the tv's sold. So why no 4K? Could it really cost that much more? Can you really not work it into the cost of a seriously expensive box? Which bridges over to cost, 150 & 200? I think that's about 50$ higher than it should be for something that is largely set up to get you to just spend more money with them! Even if no 4k content, the interface would look great!

-Why no multi touch on the remote? Why does it have to click? I think for click happy games like mr crab it ruins the experience. Tapping on glass like the iPhone is way WAY nicer. Not only does it feel weird, it's a loud click. Especially in a quiet room!

-Rubberband scrolling. The spring iOS devices have to them when scrolling. This should be fixable and I expect if the forum complaining represents everyone.

-Siri has to work everywhere to enter information, search fields, etc. This is a must really.

-Oh the app store. Mean the featured apps and the unknown. Come on Apple, you basically invented the thing! How do you screw that one up!?

-iOS remote. Really. More and more Apple ignores "the faithful". Take care of those who took care of you. Don't just drop off things people like having. Sorta like the you're holding it wrong jokes. Maybe it's not widely used but it is used and relied on.

-could you not streamline the tv apps sign in method? Typing in each of them one by one?!

I have no idea how this could have been a rushed release but I really feels like it was. Lots of little things that are just irritating.

That said.
It's nice, and has a lot of potential.

 

[aced411]

Yea..
-Why no multi touch on the remote? Why does it have to click? I think for click happy games like mr crab it ruins the experience. Tapping on glass like the iPhone is way WAY nicer. Not only does it feel weird, it's a loud click. Especially in a quiet room!

i gotta tell ya, if it had tap touch I would probably throw it out the window. The remote is already sensitive enough. I've accidentally fast forwarded shows a few times already. Definitely need a click to prevent accidental actions.

 

[nebo1ss]

Yea..
So I read the forum. The doom and gloom of the ATV4. I figured it couldn't be that bad. Probably just forum people being forum people. I've now had the thing a few days and have some specific thoughts.

-Worst thing so far. Triple tap menu button. Go ahead and try. It starts talking (voice over)and it's absolutely horrible. Especially when you don't know what's going on.

-4k. Yea there's not much 4k content and not many people have a 4k tv, YET. I'm guessing there will be a ton of UHD/4k tv's sold this christmas season. And from there out represent a healthy, growing percentage of the tv's sold. So why no 4K? Could it really cost that much more? Can you really not work it into the cost of a seriously expensive box? Which bridges over to cost, 150 & 200? I think that's about 50$ higher than it should be for something that is largely set up to get you to just spend more money with them! Even if no 4k content, the interface would look great!

-Why no multi touch on the remote? Why does it have to click? I think for click happy games like mr crab it ruins the experience. Tapping on glass like the iPhone is way WAY nicer. Not only does it feel weird, it's a loud click. Especially in a quiet room!

-Rubberband scrolling. The spring iOS devices have to them when scrolling. This should be fixable and I expect if the forum complaining represents everyone.

-Siri has to work everywhere to enter information, search fields, etc. This is a must really.

-Oh the app store. Mean the featured apps and the unknown. Come on Apple, you basically invented the thing! How do you screw that one up!?

-iOS remote. Really. More and more Apple ignores "the faithful". Take care of those who took care of you. Don't just drop off things people like having. Sorta like the you're holding it wrong jokes. Maybe it's not widely used but it is used and relied on.

-could you not streamline the tv apps sign in method? Typing in each of them one by one?!

I have no idea how this could have been a rushed release but I really feels like it was. Lots of little things that are just irritating.

That said.
It's nice, and has a lot of potential.

Unlike you I only owned the Apple TV 3 and gave it away to a family member a year or more ago. I was really looking forward to the new Apple TV when the rumours started and the idea of the App store really appealed to me because I was confident that Plex would be made available and that was one of my must have things.

However, I was disappointed that Apple did not future proof the device by including 4K support. I also never imagined for a moment that they would drop the optical out and that is one of the reasons for holding out. Some might say upgrade your AVR to one that supports HDMI and that might seem like a reasonable thing to say. However, anyone that follows the market will know that it is only in the last three months that AVR equipment supporting HDMI 2 and HDCP 2.2 has started to come on the market and it is very limited at the moment. This is an expensive upgrade with products costing 10 to 20 times the cost of the Apple TV and one that needs careful consideration. I have no interest in adding some cheap converter from HDMI to Optical.

I know there are many on here that says there is no 4K material out there. But in addition to investing in a Samsung 55 inch 4K TV and the availability of material that is on netflix, Utube and Amazon I have a lot of 4K material that i shot myself.

I am hoping that we will see a refresh next year with support for the things missed on this one and I will review the situation again at that time. Meanwhile I got a Roku 4 which will suffice until then.

 

[msommy]

I too had a similar experience in which the device is great, but there seems to be some bugs to work out. I just got mine last night, was super excited to set it up, immediately added the apps I needed/wanted and after a quick Starbucks run I came back to test it out. The first few moments actually had me down a bit. I opened Breakneck to see how the remote works in gaming, and the app froze at 91% while loading. I got out of the app, got back in and it was fine. Thought it was a fluke. But then I opened Rayman Adventures, and once I got through the tutorial part, and got to the actual first level of the game, it too would not load, and I was left with a black screen. Grant it, this is not a device issue, but a developer issue, but trying to enjoy it right off the bat proved difficult at times. And as mentioned, the new ATV controls the television itself. Not sure if I like this feature or not, it caught me off guard. I twice turned on my Tv without wanting to. First during installation(my Tv was off at the time), and then when I went to bed and turned the Tv off, I pressed the remote on the ATV and it turned my Tv back on. Ugh. Small world problems. ; )

Overall, I really enjoy the ATV 4 over my ATV 3. I feel that there is so much more to it, and I can't wait to use it more and figure things out like Apple music. I wanted to view and album and instead it played the album and I did not want to do that. So I have some things to research but excited to see all that it is capable of.

 

[jtrue28]

I purchased this solely for its ability to stream WatchESPN/SEC Network. If my PS3 could do that, I would not have purchased this.

I have the Airport router that has AC wireless, so the AC wireless on the AT4 was a huge plus. I rewatched a game last night via SECNetwork+ on the AT4....fantastic! Picture was flawless running it at 720p. There were zero hiccups and the picture quality couldn't have been any better.

So far I am very pleased with this device. This is our first AT. I plan to keep it.

I also run this through a HDMI splitter and AverMedia capture device. HDCP was removed, allowing recording of the game.

 

[jrcsh6]

i gotta tell ya, if it had tap touch I would probably throw it out the window. The remote is already sensitive enough. I've accidentally fast forwarded shows a few times already. Definitely need a click to prevent accidental actions.

Maybe have it app specific then? I know what you mean though. There is a time and place for both ways.

 

[jimcostello]

I just received my ATV and feel it is basically useless. I have three Apple computers, two Apple phones, an iPad and an Apple watch and love them all, but don't like the tv. With my slow AT&T internet access, the ATV takes forever to download anything. Apple seems to think that everyone can get a super fast internet connection. My Amazon fire stick works fine.
The remote is too sensitive for me even on the slow setting. Typing is a chore; going past a letter and then having to backup or go up or down.