Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Works well so far. Have been saving a lot of money ditching cable boxes and using the Roku apps. Will be using the Apple TV app going forward. Nice to have lockscreen controls on iPhone so don’t have to use remote or unlock phone to change channel. Only thing I see missing compared to Roku app is can’t seem to find list of recent channels watched… have to return to guide to change the channel it seems.
 
Why would anyone who has their TV service choose to log into an app on Apple TV, when they can just watch the same channel live on the same TV, or just DVR their favorite shows for later viewing?

I swear, this world...

Because I don't want to pay for additional boxes. I use Tivos, but the idea is the same. I have a number of TVs throughout the house. Now I can just buy more AppleTVs and not pay for extra Tivos or the ridiculous "extra outlet" fee.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xjt
I open the app, select Live TV, Pick am my channel, select Live or Watch Now, the wheel spins like 5 seconds, and the error pops up stating to “Try Again”. No matter what channel I pick, std, HD, local or national channel.

Definitely can't replicate that. Maybe try restarting your AppleTV?

The only repeatable crash I can trigger is switching preferences from FAVS ALL to FAVS HD and then quickly scrolling the live TV guide. That seems to crash it. If I load it again, those settings are in play and all seems fine again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tmmacops
Saves about $10 a month. We had cable box on each TV so switching to Roku app while waiting for Apple TV app has saved us about $40 a month.
But still paying Xfinity ~$150/mo for "basic cable?"
Oops, missed the 4 TVs = $40 savings - which is definitely more significant.
 
Every channel I select I get:

Playback issue
TVAPP-00249
We’re sorry, something unexpected just happened. Please try again.
Same here. I think it’s a provisioning issue. I read about it just now on some Xfinity forums. Their support is no help it seems. Some have had success rebooting the router and Wi-Fi, and then retrying. I get some channels but any local live stuff like sports talk radio is a no go.
 
Interesting. From a technical standpoint, why is this the case?
The video looks different on cable box because the box applies a filter to everything you watch on it. I first noticed when got new X1 box back in 2017… did some research and saw someone mention the filter on Reddit or DSL Reports forum. The filter applied to video on the cable box smooths out the image in some cases but can also cause artifacts. Also the cable box 4K upscaler is not as good as the Apple TV.
 
The video looks different on cable box because the box applies a filter to everything you watch on it. I first noticed when got new X1 box back in 2017… did some research and saw someone mention the filter on Reddit or DSL Reports forum. The filter applied to video on the cable box smooths out the image in some cases but can also cause artifacts. Also the cable box 4K upscaler is not as good as the Apple TV.
Ah thanks. Good to know.
 
This is very good timing for me as Comcast just announced that they are dropping support for their streaming app on 2017 Samsung TVs, which is how I was accessing their service on my bedroom TV. Saves me from a big headache!
 
  • Like
Reactions: lazyrighteye
But still paying Xfinity ~$150/mo for "basic cable?"
Oops, missed the 4 TVs = $40 savings - which is definitely more significant.
Have never paid that much… get almost all the channels including premiums like HBO, Showtime, Stars, etc and cost less than $150… you just have to be patient and know how to negotiate or get promotions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lazyrighteye
Why would anyone who has their TV service choose to log into an app on Apple TV, when they can just watch the same channel live on the same TV, or just DVR their favorite shows for later viewing?

I swear, this world...
As I mentioned in another post, my use case would be when traveling with the ATV and still being able to access live tv/dvr of all my channels (although we mostly keep the cable box for my wife these days, I could live without).
I happily kicked Xfinity to the curb a few years back.
But I'm confused by why an Xfinity subscriber would also want this app. Better UI?
In addition to the above, I live in an old house, so the bedroom tv has xfinity wireless box. The signal isn’t the greatest. (After testing, of course) now I can (hopefully) get rid of the extra box fee and run everything through the old ATV in the room (which gets a better signal).
 
  • Like
Reactions: xjt
I just installed it in both my Apple TV 4K+ and it works. But you only get Stereo mix, not DD. I get DD 5.1 with my Xfinity 4K DVR boxes as in my two setups I'm running 7.2.4 ATMOS speakers setup. But if you don't have a surround speaker system then the Xfinity Stream app would work just fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xjt
Have never paid that much… get almost all the channels including premiums like HBO, Showtime, Stars, etc and cost less than $150… you just have to be patient and know how to negotiate or get promotions.
I was with them 15 years and it was just such an awful experience. Amongst other things, they would constantly over-charge me and take months to right their error. I stayed as long as I did as it was the fastest internet I could get at the time. As soon as 1G fiber landed in my neighborhood, I was all too happy to end that toxic relationships.

That said, I did miss out on the Stanley Cup broadcast which was a little painful.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xjt
just in time as I am kicking Comcast out of the house for good this week. Tmobile home internet has been in testing for our home 3 months now. Has it's shortcomings with it's limited modem settings, but overall solid performance; darn near 700 mbps down/ 100 up. Next up, discounted YouTube tv through tmobile. See ya xfinity
Just out if curiosity, can the midem be bridged ( might require a call to costumer service (shudder )) if ur can you are free to use whst every router behind it, or does your btovidervhave some scumbag tos that forbids this?
 
In the US, is there still no way to subscribe to individual channels without a massive cable package?

If you mean within a cable provider like this, then generally no. U.S. Cable is usually a big bundle of channels for one price... with several additional bundle (tiers) for additional fees.

But by "no way", Americans also now have al-a-carte where we can get little bundles of channels from individual apps, such as only the HBO channels, etc. Our major networks offer their channel's programming in their own apps and those are generally available for "single channel" watching.

The big deal about this is the ability to dump the leased cable box and its cost while still getting most of the benefits of leasing that box. For some households with multiple TVs, that could get up into $30-$50 or more per month in box rentals.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: lazyrighteye
We use Hulu+Live TV now. How does this compare? (We have comcast for internet only). Assuming I would cancel Hulu+Live TV and then add a TV package to my Comcast bill?
 
I don't have access to high speed internet but the rumors say Comcast/Xfinity is suppose to install service sometime, maybe as early as next year. I'll definitely keep this in mind since it looks promising.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.