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CBS Sports and USA NOW Channels Now Available on Apple TV [Update: And More]

keifer.street said:
I don't care if they add a bajillion more of these Apps/Channels if they all require a cable subscription. Doesn't anyone get it?

We don't care about access these through Apple TV via a cable subscription.

We want: a) to access through Apple TV with no cable subscription & b) to be able to pick and choose the channels ala carte in a new, industry disrupting business model

I think we'll get a with Apple's new rumored streaming service, but the cable executives wouldn't relent to apple on point b. So we're going to be stuck with bundles forever, apparently.

But...but... it's a smaller bundle that's cheaper? So what - it's still a bundle - this is an evolution rather than a revolution to the way we watch TV. I was promised that Apple would revolutionize the industry, not slap on a new coat of paint to an existing model.
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Speak for yourself. I do care to access cable through Apple TV. First, I get it through Wifi with a dependable but small piece of hardware that I can control with my phone or watch (which means controlling it with Siri soon enough). Second, the money I pay is directed mores specifically at channels I watch. But I'm still going to pay. I'm not living in a fantasy land where I pay less money to the content providers in general but get better and on demand service of whatever I want.
 
I know these content providers are using Apple's basic, closed SDK for Apple TV—but the design is still so uninspired and just doesn't sit well with me. I hope these designs are revamped with the next, hopefully public iteration coming at WWDC. Next we need a cable-free option where we can either buy individual channels (preferred) or small packages of channels that we're interested in. I've been without cable since 2010 and only miss a few channels. But considering what I've seen many channels I used to love have become with over the top, scripted "reality" TV, they're going to have to offer some rather compelling content to get me to buy in.
 
Lousy additions. As someone that cut cable, I couldn't care less about this garbage. After I removed all the useless channels from my Apple TV via the settings option, I now have 6 apps left. Problem is the hardware is so dreadful compared to the competition that I don't even want to use it anymore. Hopefully something new is coming very soon.
 
gramtrax said:
Netflix is great, but while Apple is (maybe) revamping Apple TV, let's hope they can convince Netflix that asking users EVERY SINGLE TIME "who is watching" (no we *don't* have kids this time, either, thank you very much), and randomly scattering their list of shows in no discernible rhyme or reason is NOT the best user experience possible.
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I prefer this. I don't have kids either. But I hate when I have friends over and they watch a bunch of crappy shows and it screws up my recommendation algorithm. And then Netflix starts recommending shows I'd never want to watch. Personally I feel like it took them too long to roll this feature out. It used to be only available on the web version.
 
Cuban Missles said:
Yes it is.
Yes it is.
Yes it is.

Why the hell put content on ATV that requires cable subscription. If I have the content on my cable box, I dont need the ATV for this. Either give me content that does not require cable subscription, or dont give it to me. it is utterly useless and a waste of time.
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Not for me and others who share cable logins and don't have boxes.
 
Waste of time "for YOU" maybe, but that is YOUR use case and NOT everyone's. While a large majority of users may feel the same way as you, many others don't. Me personally, I "enjoy" the apps that are there whether they are cable-subscription required or not. I DO have a cable subscription yes, but further i DO enjoy the channel apps there.

It's easier for me to use iTV and click an icon for a station I like rather than hunting on the cable box. I can also access other apps on the iTV as I'm sure u are aware that are NOT on my TV (for example YouTube).

So just because Apple is not pleasing YOU with what they are doing does NOT make it wrong; just çnunappealing for YOU. Apple has "no interest" in pleasing YOU (hell they have no interest in pleasing ME either), they please the MASSES and their investors and their bottom line. What they DO has a reason.

Sometimes we don't see it but I assure u it is there somewhere lol.
 
Mahler12x said:
The Apple TV has so much crap on the home screen now it's almost as crappy and cluttered as my Xfinity box. I don't get how this improves things.
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You can easily hide channels you don't want in the preferences.

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Thunderhawks said:
Agreed, the UI is a mess. The remote control is a mess. Please make it even smaller:-(

Just bought my 85 year old parents the atv3 in Germany and set it up.
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I always advise people to temporarily plugin a USB keyboard when doing the initial setup. Simplifies the entering of the all those passwords, etc. If you don't have a USB keyboard, the Apple Remote app also gives you interface.

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JPIS said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacDevil7334


I have to agree with previous posters here in that I do like my Apple TV and will definitely purchase the new & hopefully highly improved model after the WWDC in early June, IF there's a HUGE improvement in the channel arrangement & the ability to hide all the channels I will never view.

PLEASE, get this correct prior to release. :)
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There's that ability now.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT200126
 
bpeeps said:
I prefer this. I don't have kids either. But I hate when I have friends over and they watch a bunch of crappy shows and it screws up my recommendation algorithm. And then Netflix starts recommending shows I'd never want to watch. Personally I feel like it took them too long to roll this feature out. It used to be only available on the web version.
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Pretty easy to create Profiles to solve this problem. I have one for me and one for my wife and when my adult kids come to visit I have one for them to share. That way my personal settings are just for me. Really easy to set this up at netflix.com.
 
Loving all the complaints of people who want icons rearranged or hidden. Do you seriously not know you CAN rearrange and hide?

Also loving the people who essentially cancelled their cable and are now upset Apple isn't giving them those channels for free. That's not what the Apple TV is, people. I know you wish it was, but it isn't.

Maybe all of these choices will cause prices to fall a bit but if you want to watch programming you're going to have to pay someone for it, whether it be Apple in the future or a cable company now.
 
arbogast777 said:
Loving all the complaints of people who want icons rearranged or hidden. Do you seriously not know you CAN rearrange and hide?

Also loving the people who essentially cancelled their cable and are now upset Apple isn't giving them those channels for free. That's not what the Apple TV is, people. I know you wish it was, but it isn't.

Maybe all of these choices will cause prices to fall a bit but if you want to watch programming you're going to have to pay someone for it, whether it be Apple in the future or a cable company now.
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Its amazing some people still don't know how to hide channels
 
MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]
The Apple TV has gained two new channels today in CBS Sports and USA NOW, bringing on-demand sports, drama, comedy, sitcoms and more programming to the set-top box in the United States. The new channels should be appearing on the Apple TV for all users today as an over-the-air update, with CBS Sports offering free sports clips for all users and USA NOW requiring a cable subscription to access most content.
[/url]
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Yes the Apple TV gained two new channels that allow customers with a cable subscription the opportunity to view both channels. (Although to be fair the post didn't exactly state that CBS Sports required subscription, just USA Now).
 
It still sucks

bandalay said:
You can easily hide channels you don't want in the preferences.
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I always advise people to temporarily plugin a USB keyboard when doing the initial setup. Simplifies the entering of the all those passwords, etc. If you don't have a USB keyboard, the Apple Remote app also gives you interface.
----------

There's that ability now.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT200126
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I agree with commenters here about the increasing amount of noise on the home screen. Granted, you can hide those unused channels but I don't really care for doing that maintenance. So, I keep my most used channels (HBO and Netflix) on the top row and ignore the rest.

Now, onto the channels I do use.

For the love of mankind, Apple needs to fix that crappy navigation with deeply nested menus. If I'm buried deep in the Netflix sphere, why can't I just a press one button to exit (escape?) all the way to the home screen? ... (Back, plong, Back, plong, Back, ...) And conversely, if I'm on the home screen why can't I randomly jump to a "favourited" menu location (eg. Netflix->Recently Watched->"Sympathy For Mr Vengeance")

So much squandered potential.
 
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driphone said:
Keep adding...one more step closer to cutting cable :)
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For most of the channels you still need to be a cable subscriber. I find most of these channels that I as a cord cutter can't watch not very interesting anyway. HBO NOW was definitely the most welcome addition during the last 3 years or so. I hope Showtime will follow :)
 
hugo7 said:
I agree with commenters here about the increasing amount of noise on the home screen. Granted, you can hide those unused channels but I don't really care for doing that maintenance.
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My god...

hugo7 said:
For the love of mankind, Apple needs to fix that crappy navigation with deeply nested menus. If I'm buried deep in the Netflix sphere, why can't I just a press one button to exit (escape?) all the way to the home screen? ... (Back, plong, Back, plong, Back, ...)
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You CAN. Do a long hold on the menu button...
 
Are these a hint of the slim package Apple will offer

So what is the chance that these newly added channels will be the channels in apples new offering and will simply remove the need for cable. Can't say I'd want to pay for any of them, except for HBO.
 
I wish arte was available on AppleTV in the UK (will have to carry on watching it on satellite TV), but it is good to see a free to air channel making its way onto the platform. And arte is a good entry, as it is not some commercial channel offering mindless rubbish.
 
True but...

arbogast777 said:
My god...

You CAN. Do a long hold on the menu button...
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I'll concede, I didn't know about *that* the long hold option (I'm familiar with the one for subtitles).

But what about navigating in the other direction, for jumping to a deeply nested menu?

And those long hold options are neither intuitive nor sensible, given the huge amount screen estate available for displaying virtual controls.
 
hugo7 said:
But what about navigating in the other direction, for jumping to a deeply nested menu?
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Nobody has yet made a remote control system that can read your mind to zap you directly to whatever buried menu item you happen to want. I'd be a little terrified if they had.
 
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