Does it still make sense to get an ATV?

[Wando64]

I am waiting for delivery of a new 4K Samsung TV and I am thinking if I should upgrade my ATV HD to a newer 4K model.
Does it still make sense to get an ATV when most, if not all, of the streaming services, including Apple TV+ and Airplay 2, are already available on the Samsung TV?

 

[mikes79]

I would yes, the apple tv will be faster, have better app support and deliver feature updates for much longer then any smart tv os

 

[Audit13]

Since your TV is new, I recommend using the TV with the built-in apps to determine their stability and suitability.

If the apps are lacking in features you want, then get an AppleTV. By the time you want or need an AppleTV, there may be a new model available for purchase.

 

[BotchQue]

I had planned on using the GoogleTV OS built into my year-old Bravia, and it worked okay but for one thing. It always booted up, and stayed in, GoogleTV's "Home" screen. My 'net provider EweTubeTV, with its wonderful "unlimited DVR", had its own "Home" screen but I was only able to navigate to it once, after three, four weeks of futzing (there's probably a boneheaded-simple way to do it, but I could never find it).
The AppleTV 4K was on sale, so I took a chance. The GoogleTV Home screen first comes up, but as soon as the AppleTV fires up via eARC, it takes over and everything works fine.

I agree with @Audit13, play with your new Samsung stand-alone for a month or two and see how you get along; the AppleTV interface is snappier and less ad-bloated than GoogleTV, you'll have to make that decision yourself (and fortunately the Black Friday sales will be hitting right about then!)

 

[StumpyBloke]

If you have a lot of iTunes purchases, especially 4K, then the only way to get the best quality is through Apple TV as it supports higher bitrates than any apps built into the TV. You’ll also get access to your music and photos of course.

 

[Paddle1]

The Apple TV interface and apps are a bit nicer to use than the built in ones. I have the latest Apple TV 4K and just got a Samsung TV as well. I find ATV 4K also upscales non-4K content better.

 

[Wando64]

If you have a lot of iTunes purchases, especially 4K, then the only way to get the best quality is through Apple TV as it supports higher bitrates than any apps built into the TV. You’ll also get access to your music and photos of course.

The Apple TV interface and apps are a bit nicer to use than the built in ones. I have the latest Apple TV 4K and just got a Samsung TV as well. I find ATV 4K also upscales non-4K content better.

I still have the ATV HD, so access to music and photos, and to some other niche rarely used ATV apps, is still available through that.
The only reason I would upgrade to the 4K model would be for the streaming and upscaling.
I think I will try the TV apps first and see how I like them (or not, as the case might be).

I love my ATV, but I am annoyed by the lack of full support by the BBC here in the UK, specifically the absence of subtitles.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Yeah iPlayer is a complete bust on ATV and don’t think it will ever improve. It’s the only app I actually use the TVs built in one for it’s so bad.

 

[MBAir2010]

I vote for YES but only if one streams media from a TVhost.
the device device is faster and to the point without the extra clicks to watch something.

As for me since i stopped streaming Peacock, HBO etc this year the  TV sits in a box.
Since i only use mountain lion OSX which doe snot feature icloud, the TV wont sync with my 3 macs.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I don’t connect my TV to internet. Too much data sharing and couldn’t agree to terms of conditions. I just use Apple TV, and I have cheap fire stick for anything Apple TV doesn’t work.

 

[throAU]

I am waiting for delivery of a new 4K Samsung TV and I am thinking if I should upgrade my ATV HD to a newer 4K model.
Does it still make sense to get an ATV when most, if not all, of the streaming services, including Apple TV+ and Airplay 2, are already available on the Samsung TV?

Yes, the less that samsung/google software knows about what i'm doing the better.

Any "smart" TV i just use as a dumb display.

 

[JeffPerrin]

Privacy issues aside, smart TVs are pretty underpowered so they can choke and sputter on 4K content, especially when skipping & scanning. I have not found AirPlay 2 support very stable, either. And hey - I didn't even know TVs could "crash" until I got a Google-powered Bravia! 😅 (Great TV otherwise - I just turn off as many "smart" features as possible)

I never heard of anyone who regret moving to an Apple TV 4K for their streaming box.

 

[nburwell]

It’s ultimately up to the OP, but we have two Smart TV’s in our house, and neither one of them is connected to the internet. Rather, I purchased ATV‘s to connect to them. Between my wife and I, we’re all in with the Apple ecosystem, so getting ATV was a no-brainer for us.

 

[ignatius345]

I am waiting for delivery of a new 4K Samsung TV and I am thinking if I should upgrade my ATV HD to a newer 4K model.
Does it still make sense to get an ATV when most, if not all, of the streaming services, including Apple TV+ and Airplay 2, are already available on the Samsung TV?

100%. I have a Samsung TV and the interface is pretty janky. Definitely nowhere near the quality of the Apple TV interface. Also the Apple TV fits right in with any other Apple devices you may own.

I'll throw in one other reason. If you have AirPods of any kind, they play really really well with the Apple TV -- and if you have AirPods Pro or Max you get Spatial Audio which simulates surround sound and is really nice for movies and TV. You could probably figure out a way to pair them via the Samsung's bluetooth, but I really doubt it would work as well.

I don’t connect my TV to internet. Too much data sharing and couldn’t agree to terms of conditions. I just use Apple TV, and I have cheap fire stick for anything Apple TV doesn’t work.

I bought one of those Samsung Frame TVs, so unfortunately I have to keep it connected to the internet to put art up on it. Otherwise I'd do exactly as you're doing.

 

[Boyd01]

I still have the ATV HD, so access to music and photos, and to some other niche rarely used ATV apps, is still available through that.

My old Sony Bravia TV died last year and I replaced with a big new Samsung 4k. I also still have my AppleTV HD and continue using it. I just don't get excited by the prospect of 4k content and don't spend all that much time watching this TV in the living room. Decided it just wasn't worth it to upgrade to the 4k AppleTV and will continue with the AppleTV HD until they stop supporting it (might be soon, since they dropped the ATV3 last year - it apparently still works but you can't login to icloud and can't access your content).

Had a quick look at the built-in Samsung smart TV app and wasn't impressed, have not used it at all, just not interested. I have around 1200 movies/TV shows that I've ripped myself on an Mini that I use as an iTunes server and access with the computers app on the Apple TV. AFAIK, this cannot be done with the Samsung built-in app.

The Samsung 4k TV does an impressive job of upscaling all my existing movies on the AppleTV HD, they look noticeably better than they did on the old Sony 1080p LCD. Good enough for me, but it really depends on your own preferences, how much time you watch TV and how far away you sit.

 

[wonderings]

If you're getting a new TV why not just try and use the apps that come built in and see how you like them? Worst case you add an Apple TV after.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

This is a very simple question with a very simple answer.

If the new TV has all of the apps you like to use and you are happy with how they work on the TV, no need buying a new AppleTV. Between the old one you have and the TV, you are covered in all things.

If there is ONE app that you love that is not available on the new TV and the existing AppleTV cannot quite run it well (the infamous and mysterious "long in tooth" effect), the case for a new AppleTV begins to grow. Two such apps? Stronger case. 3? Stronger still.

You can always ride the existing AppleTV until it conks or Apple conks it for you by vintaging... and buy at that time... unless you find that new TV has every app that you like to use on such devices.

 

[TechnoMonk]

100%. I have a Samsung TV and the interface is pretty janky. Definitely nowhere near the quality of the Apple TV interface. Also the Apple TV fits right in with any other Apple devices you may own.

I'll throw in one other reason. If you have AirPods of any kind, they play really really well with the Apple TV -- and if you have AirPods Pro or Max you get Spatial Audio which simulates surround sound and is really nice for movies and TV. You could probably figure out a way to pair them via the Samsung's bluetooth, but I really doubt it would work as well.


I bought one of those Samsung Frame TVs, so unfortunately I have to keep it connected to the internet to put art up on it. Otherwise I'd do exactly as you're doing.

I use my AirPods Max with ATV. Works great.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I am quite happy with my Apple TV devices... I have one connected to each television in the house (x 4). I like the ability to connect a BT headset for night time movie/TV watching, and prefer to not have to deal with the smart TVs spying and privacy stuff.

 

[JamesMay82]

I’ve had a 4K LG since 2020 and must admit I use all those built apps over Apple TV mainly because I’ve lost Apple TV remote and I find the phone app not the best but mainly as well I find the wife and kids find the tv easier to use. They always seem to forget to switch to hdmi plus I think when you turn the tv on the built in apps are right in front of you.

Try them for a month though and see how you get on.. might as well wait for a Black Friday deal while it’s close

 

[venom600]

While the Apple TV is faster than any built in apps (most TVs are woefully undepowered) the real reason to use it is ads. Every other TV OS is looking to push ads to you at every chance they get. Walmart even bought Vizio just to push ads to consumers more easily.

There are also privacy concerns if you don't check the boxes when you set the TV up to opt out it phones home and monitors everything you watch so that information can be sold to advertisers and who knows else. It sounds dystopian but it's true. AppleTV is known to be the least offensive with ads and as far as we can tell doesn't invade your privacy. That's enough reason for me.

I had planned on using the GoogleTV OS built into my year-old Bravia, and it worked okay but for one thing. It always booted up, and stayed in, GoogleTV's "Home" screen. My 'net provider EweTubeTV, with its wonderful "unlimited DVR", had its own "Home" screen but I was only able to navigate to it once, after three, four weeks of futzing (there's probably a boneheaded-simple way to do it, but I could never find it).
The AppleTV 4K was on sale, so I took a chance. The GoogleTV Home screen first comes up, but as soon as the AppleTV fires up via eARC, it takes over and everything works fine.

I agree with @Audit13, play with your new Samsung stand-alone for a month or two and see how you get along; the AppleTV interface is snappier and less ad-bloated than GoogleTV, you'll have to make that decision yourself (and fortunately the Black Friday sales will be hitting right about then!)

I also have a recent Bravia. Two things. One, if you have YoutubeTV and GoogleTV and both use the same login information GoogleTV will automatically parse and create a "LiveTV" tab that has a guide specifically for Youtube TV accessible straight from the homepage.

Second, you can set the TV to automatically turn on with the last used input still selected. It's in the options. If you do that you never have to use the Google TV interface.

 

[TracerAnalog]

I am waiting for delivery of a new 4K Samsung TV and I am thinking if I should upgrade my ATV HD to a newer 4K model.
Does it still make sense to get an ATV when most, if not all, of the streaming services, including Apple TV+ and Airplay 2, are already available on the Samsung TV?

ATV is of higher quality than most Smart TV apps… Dolby, bitrate, colour depth etc.
Also: on ATV you can install apps that are most likely not in your Smart TV App Store. If that is of any value to you is… up to you 🤗

 

[JeffPerrin]

I will add that if you have kids away in college, or perhaps distant family you like to connect with - FaceTime on Apple TV 4K is easily worth the price of admission, IMO. 👍

 

[AZhappyjack]

I will add that if you have kids away in college, or perhaps distant family you like to connect with - FaceTime on Apple TV 4K is easily worth the price of admission, IMO. 👍

In my experience, FaceTime on an ATV is a messy hack, at best...

 

[kiranmk2]

I still have the ATV HD, so access to music and photos, and to some other niche rarely used ATV apps, is still available through that.
The only reason I would upgrade to the 4K model would be for the streaming and upscaling.
I think I will try the TV apps first and see how I like them (or not, as the case might be).

I love my ATV, but I am annoyed by the lack of full support by the BBC here in the UK, specifically the absence of subtitles.

I got a new LG 4k OLED in 2021 and used the built-in apps for a few months (mainly for the iPlayer UHD compatibility). I then went back to my Apple TV HD and was amazed how fast the UI was compared to the 5 year newer TV. I went ahead and bought a 2nd hand/refurb 2021 Apple TV 4k and now the only time I use the built-in apps for when there is an iPlayer UHD program (normally limited to major sporting events) - it's amazing how bad HD iPlayer and live HD broadcast looks after watching the UHD feed.