FaceTime on AppleTV

[AZhappyjack]

What versions of AppleTV will get the FaceTime app? I have four in the home:

A2843 (3rd gen ATV4K), A1842 (1st gen ATV4K) and two A1625 (ATV HD)... only the 3rd gen ATV4K has the FaceTime app... I didn't expect the ATV HD to get it, but it really sucks that the 1st gen ATV4K doesn't either...

 

[fwmireault]

I can’t find a source directly from apple on system requirements for this feature specifically, but reading from other beta testers, it seems like the 1st gen apple tv 4k doesn’t support this feature

 

[AZhappyjack]

I can’t find a source directly from apple on system requirements for this feature specifically, but reading from other beta testers, it seems like the 1st gen apple tv 4k doesn’t support this feature

Yeah, I found an article on pocket-lint.com that said gen2 and later... not sure how reliable they are with news about Apple, but this one appears to be correct.

 

[370zulu]

I can confirm that the two MXGY2LL/A's (2nd gen 4K) I own got it. But, my MQD22LL/A (1st gen 4K) did not get it.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I can confirm that the two MXGY2LL/A's (2nd gen 4K) I own got it. But, my MQD22LL/A (1st gen 4K) did not get it.

3rd gen has it, first gen doesn’t. Don’t have a 2nd gen, but as you said, it does.

 

[AZhappyjack]

After testing this a couple of times, I'm of the mind that it's not really worth the effort... video is so-so, and audio is horrible for the other end of the call - you are talking across the room to your phone... the experience is sorely lacking the quality that I would have expected from Apple.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Haven't got to play with this yet but what if you have AirPods in for audio as people often do when up close to both camera and mic, even on desktop/laptop.

Yes, I realize that if that works, it works well for ONE person using this feature, not for a group. But still, something maybe better than nothing.

Seems like a better solution for AppleTV would be dedicated, (old) iSight-like camera at TV (maybe powered by TV USB) and wireless microphone on the coffee table? Maybe next year... or the year after that... or the year after that... or the...

 

[Kermit262]

After testing this a couple of times, I'm of the mind that it's not really worth the effort... video is so-so, and audio is horrible for the other end of the call - you are talking across the room to your phone... the experience is sorely lacking the quality that I would have expected from Apple.

That was the opposite of my experience. The video was sharp, the audio was excellent, and the tracking on the camera was most impressive.

 

[AZhappyjack]

That was the opposite of my experience. The video was sharp, the audio was excellent, and the tracking on the camera was most impressive.

Yes, the tracking with the camera was pretty cool... but over all, at least for me, it was not a good experience.

 

[Kermit262]

Yes, the tracking with the camera was pretty cool... but over all, at least for me, it was not a good experience.

We have a surround sound system - that may have made the difference in the audio.

 

[NewUsername]

Apple has a support document about this, minimum is 2nd generation Apple TV 4K: https://support.apple.com/guide/tv/atvb3cced7cd/tvos.

 

[AZhappyjack]

We have a surround sound system - that may have made the difference in the audio.

It's NOT the audio that we hear... it's the audio on the other end of the call... their complaint is "hollow" and "tinny"... well, speaking from across a relatively large room will do that.