Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
One of the things I like about the apple tv, is I don't feel like iTunes content is thrown in your face (maybe in search, but not on your home screen). When I use my fire stick, the entire screen is mostly advertising prime content... and my parents have an android smart tv that just looks hideous- I can't find any settings to remove all the ads at the top and multiple rows of suggested apps I have to scroll through before getting to the apps actually installed. Roku is a little better, but the UI makes me feel like i'm using something from the 90's. I guess it all comes down to personal preference and what exactly you're using these devices for.
 
A few weeks ago it was mentioned the next AppleTV would be 4k. Oddly a day later it was rumored that the original theatrical versions of Star Wars were found and being readied for a 4K release. Coincidence?

Also, you can pre-order Iron Man in 4k UHD in Germany now. I'm wondering if Disney is waiting for something else, like ATV5, before announcing 4K HDR support? Mrs. Jobs is on the board, right?

Limited-time exclusives on Disney 4K HDR would be a nice feature.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sleepydinosaur
Nice, I know the Apple TV gets a lot of hate around here but I really like the ones I have.

Completely agree. I'm not sure why the Apple TV receives so much hate, but my fiancée and I love our two ATV 4's we have in the living room and bedroom. Especially since we're cord cutters, they are our main source of consuming video content.
 
Last edited:
That's not how I read the question but regardless, both interpretations are based on what the content provider has available. No, HBO is not compressing 4K to 1080. Not the TV shows anyway, the concerts are probably shot in 4K and down converted in post for 1080 broadcast but it isn't compressed at the NOC or VOD servers. Netflix & Hulu don't either - they require multiple versions of shows to be delivered so the 4K version will stream if you choose (and pay for) the 4K version.
I would hope no one would make the assumption that having a 4K TV means the content is all 4K. That would be silly.
 
I'm not sure why the Apple TV receives so much hate

I am not sure about hate, but you can check out the earlier posts to see what issues people are having with their ATV4s or to see what people feel is missing from them.

There are things I like about my ATV4, but it seems like an unfinished product to me. Also the lack of decent games was a pretty big disappointment.
 
Nice, I know the Apple TV gets a lot of hate around here but I really like the ones I have.

So do I, however I now also have a "Kodi box" from China which also works really well and it cost about 1/5th of the cost of the AppleTV.

The Apple TV is not 5 times better, it may be twice as good as far as software consistency and polish go, howler I can do a LOT more on the Kodi box that Apple blocks me for doing on the AppleTV.

The next box I buy won't be from Apple.
 
My experience with set-top boxes like Apple TV are: Roku, Apple TV and Samsung SmartTV. I've seen, read about and demoed some of the others, but I have used the above regularly in my home.

Apple TV is my favorite remote, voice control, and interface.

When I bought the 4th gen, I was excited about the prospect of gaming on it. While there has been some cool games added, there really isn't anything there that makes any kind of statement about the device as a gaming machine. There's no "killer app" for Apple TV. You get most of the popular channels/services and some great mobile/indie games. So it does the job and it does it fairly well comparatively.

I don't own a 4K TV yet and don't expect to for a while, but I do want 4K and HDR to be supported by Apple TVs going forward so that when I do upgrade, my new Apple TV will support it.

The speed of the 4th gen is still pretty great with its A8 variant. Of course any update to the SoC is going to introduce good opportunities and improve the responsiveness of the interface.

The remote does a surprising amount for how few inputs it has. It may not be as good as a gaming controller as Apple wanted it to be, but for navigating apps it gets the job done well. Many people don't realize there are multiple buttons in general touch area of the remote which adds some neat features when apps use them.

I would like to see tvOS add the ability to use multiple apps at the same time. Or, at the very least, use PIP, like people can do with video on iPad (where video can play while user does other things). I would like to be able to watch something on YouTube while I browse for either a new YouTube video or browse Netflix for a TV show or movie to watch. It sucks not being able to look for the next thing to watch until you're done with the current video.

AirPlay is wonderful, but it has glitches. Any improvements to AirPlay are welcome.

While many of the popular services are on Apple TV, some of the apps don't support the same TV Providers as their iPhone/iPad counterparts. For example: on iPhone/iPad the MTV app includes Comcast/Xfinity. However, the TV version does not. This is frustrating and a reason I often use AirPlay - by launching the iPhone/iPad version and casting to the Apple TV.

The new TV app is terrible and useless for my use case. Thankfully you can set it up so that the home button goes straight to the home screen instead of the TV app. The universal login doesn't support many providers and even if they did there would still be restrictions like with the MTv app for whatever reasons.

Glad there's new hardware coming, it more looking forward to the software updates; hopefully most, if not all, of the software updates are compatible on the 4th and 5th gen Apple TVs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ErikGrim
Also, you can pre-order Iron Man in 4k UHD in Germany now. I'm wondering if Disney is waiting for something else, like ATV5, before announcing 4K HDR support? Mrs. Jobs is on the board, right?

Limited-time exclusives on Disney 4K HDR would be a nice feature.
Disney don't own the rights to Iron Man in Germany, Concorde Video do. I wouldn't read anything into Iron Man's UHD release in Germany as Disney being anywhere near announcing UHD support.
 
My issue with Chromecast is that it requires the use of a smartphone - it's not optional at all. What if I don't want to use a smartphone at the moment? What if I want to relax and not even be able to glance at my unread work email count? What if I want my grandma to use it? What if my smartphone is charging upstairs? Chomecast is a neat compliment to a traditional cable box, but it's requirement of having a smartphone present makes it a nonstarter as a full-blown cable tv replacement.
These arguments. They're not valid. If you don't want to use a smartphone to cast, you can easily cast from a laptop/desktop/tablet to a TV. You don't need to use a phone. Not looking at your email? You could, I don't know, not look at your email. Chromecast doesn't require constant interaction with the phone. Grandma? You can cast what she wants to see and walk away. Charging? Cast from something else. Chromecast has always been a complimentary item. It was never intended to be a replacement for cable. It's a simple streaming device. Trying to make it something else leads to disappointment.


AndroidTV, whether it's built in or on Shield, is fine for the most part. However, the fact it has so many features is what makes it complex. I love that the tvOS settings menu, for example, is short and small. Also, I don't get the infatuation with being able to attach an external drive. How is that an appealing solution? I don't want to have to load files from my laptop onto an external drive, and then walk that over to the TV and plug it in. tvOS has many apps that can easily pull from a NAS or shared folder, and that is a much more elegant solution anyway.
I will never be able to understand this type of argument. Just because something has a ton of features doesn't mean you have to use them. Simply go where you want to go and do what you want to do. Nothing says you have to attach external drives or play games or anything. It's there for those who want it. Those who don't can just play a movie.

Computers are complex and have a crap ton of features. People have used them to design rockets, cars, and buildings. Create VR and AR devices. Program smartphones. They have also used the same complex computers to watch Youtube, to Facebook, and post on MR. The complexity didn't inhibit any of that casual stuff. Why would it be an issue on a Shield.
 
I love my current ATV. Hope the next version has way more features than just 4k. I still have 1080p set, so that is not a big deal for me right now.

One thing I would love is a way to free ATV from the Mac. Have my local media library in a drive that I can plug to ATV or some sort of OTA connection to a server. It is a pain in the but to turn on my Mac whenever I want to watch something out of my library.
 
  • Like
Reactions: idunn
Seems like that's the question being asked.
Holy crap! You might be right. :confused:o_O:oops: That's just... I can't even... Sweet Jeebus. I gotta be fair though. Everyone isn't tech savvy. But that's... nope. Nope. I'm just going to continue to say you're wrong (you're right) and refuse to believe (I believe it) anyone could think that way. You sir, are wrong. (No you're not). Wrong.
 
this one is to be 4k
Yeah, I really don't know what else they'd be updating without a total re-design, which it's way too early for. Pretty much guaranteed to be 4K. Would really be nice if it supports the various HDR protocols as well though (not sure if the streaming box needs to support that or only the tv). And what about H.265/HEVC?

With a new ATV supporting 4K and HDR, I will probably finally be prompted to lay down the cash for that 65" OLED set to replace my 10 year old Kuro plasma (which still looks really good but is only 720p).
 
One thing I would love is a way to free ATV from the Mac. Have my local media library in a drive that I can plug to ATV or some sort of OTA connection to a server. It is a pain in the but to turn on my Mac whenever I want to watch something out of my library.

This would be nice.

Another thing that kind of sucks about local storage via iTunes, is that to view movies, even ones you made from your own DVDs requires an internet connection. It doesn't need to be on the internet all the time, but the ATV will occasionally try to contact the iTunes Server, and if it can't it will ask you to sign into iTunes, which you can't if you have no internet.

I found this out during a storm that knocked out all of our power and internet. The power came back out a short time later, but the internet was out for a day. A work around is AirPlaying from the Mac to the ATV, but I felt silly not being about to play my own home movies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: idunn and aeronatis
It's funny to see all the hate for the Siri remote on here. I actually like the remote overall, although I wish they had made it easier to tell which way you're holding it without looking at it.
Apple charges whopping $79 to replace broken/missing Siri Remote. That's about 50% of Apple TV.

While current Apple TV iPhone app is not without issue, if exclusion of Siri Remote means much cheaper Apple TV, I am all for it.

As for Siri Remote itself, my main issues are:
  • As you mentioned, cannot easily tell which side is top and which is bottom.
  • No "Find My Remote" capability.
  • Fragile glass trackpad.
  • Odd button layout and icons.
  • Poorly designed for games.
 
Use the Plex app and any of the many Plex server solutions, including the external drive that includes Plex server in its firmware ...

So because Apple gimps their products, I need a computer running non-stop just to use the Apple TV? That's ridiculous. Might as well get a Chromecast for 40 bucks and call it a day if Plex is your answer.

Better yet, I could just get a Mi Box for $70 with a functioning USB port and have Plex run on it as a server with a connected external and get 4k output as well.

AppleTV is a terrible choice for a streaming device.
[doublepost=1489697024][/doublepost]
You continue to willfully misunderstand the entire point of the USB-C port - they never had any intent to directly attach external storage to the Apple TV. They needed a port for developers to use to upload beta software, and USB-C was convenient. They never advertised it as being available for any other purpose. If they had chosen an RJ-11 port instead, would you bitterly complain that you couldn't plug your corded home phone into the port? Dislike the Apple TV if you want, but at least do so for reasons that make some shred of sense.

That is incredibly apologist if I've ever seen it. So you're content that they put in a USB-C port but purposely restricted it from being used to connect other devices to it?

Why? Explain yourself.
 
What is exactly wrong with my 4th Gen AppleTV's hardware that cannot stream 4K? Is it underpowered? Some kind of chip that cannot drive this super huge video resolution? Why not just a software update for streaming 4K from Netflix, Youtube, Hulu and other services?

The GPU (more precisely the display controller) simply does not have the capability to create a 4K signal --- that was not part of the design specs. The iPhone 7+ has 1080p resolution.
Of more relevance to the future, it seems more likely that the next AppleTV will use the A10X. The current iPad Pro 12" is 2732 x 2048 (larger than 1440p resolution of 2560 x 1440, but less than 4K = 3840 x 2160). It's not clear if the A9X (in the current iPad Pro 12") has a display controller that could handle 4K, but it seems certain that the A10X will. Obviously the rest of "decent 4K support", like performant games, will also demand a beefed up GPU.

All of which suggests to me that the next AppleTV will be based on the A10X, not the A11.
The only question, then, is when it ships. Much around the same time as the new iPads (so likely within a month)? Or delayed until a release at WWDC (why? to have something new to announce as a new HW target with substantially boosted 3rd party developer capabilities?) or delayed until September (can't work without functionality that ships in the 2017 iOS/TVOS/watchOS package?)

Certainly (to go off on a tangential rant) the quality of the TV app on iOS is ASTONISHINGLY bad --- the sort of thing I'd expect from some 3rd party no-name developer.
If the current Apple TV shares its never-ending stream of bugs (NONE fixed yet in either iOS 10.1 or 10.2...), from unbelievably poor performance to random crashes to constant memory leaks to ignoring taps to painful and stupid UI, then I could well believe that, even if the HW is ready to go at the time of the iPad release, they may have to delay it till September and the new iOS/TVOS release to pick up a version of TV.app written by people who know WTF they are doing.
 
So do I, however I now also have a "Kodi box" from China which also works really well and it cost about 1/5th of the cost of the AppleTV.

The Apple TV is not 5 times better, it may be twice as good as far as software consistency and polish go, howler I can do a LOT more on the Kodi box that Apple blocks me for doing on the AppleTV.

The next box I buy won't be from Apple.

I put Kodi on a Raspberry Pi and it was neat. I didn't find it any better than what my Apple TVs do though and it requires tinkering over time. It seems most people that want a Kodi over any of the commercial boxes (Amazon Fire, Android TV [yes I know Kodi is available as an app on Android], Roku, etc...) are really after it for the ease of streamed piracy via apps like Exodus. I'm not interested in that so I prefer the simplicity of Apple TV. And to me, a factor of five just really doesn't matter when the upper end is only $150. Other people's situations are likely different but I'll take the canned solution I can trust.
 
The thing that always makes me return is the ease-of-use. A total technophobe can pickup the AppleTV remote and have it figured out pretty quick. That is not the case with any others. Chromecast requires the use of a smartphone, AndroidTV is a bit too complex and cumbersome. FireTV comes close, but isn't quite as polished and smooth as tvOS. At the end of the day, I'll choose the easier to use option every time.
That may have been true a few years ago, but I completely disagree with this statement today. My in-laws are technophobes and bought a Chromcast box and have had no trouble getting it up and running. These are people that cannot setup their own email accounts in an email client and use the hunt and peck method for typing. Their Chromebox was $80 and an AppleTV starts at $250 here in NZ. I mean it's great if you're wealthy and live in Silicon Valley, New York etc, but AndriodTV and Chromcast as much more accessible for most people.

A lot of new TV's come with AndroidTV and therefore they have no need to buy an Apple TV. My new Sony came with it and no one in my family has any problems using it. It has Amazon and Netflix built in and apps are simple and easy to install. The voice search works great and YouTbue videos look amazing, better than on my computer. The only reason I'd consider an Apple TV is to stream content from my computer or device, but I'm not going to bother, I'm moving over to the OS that is open and on way more devices.
 
Have you tried any of the other options out there? I thought I loved mine until I saw my friends jail broken fire stick.

I try a lot of things but I continue to use Apple devices as my main stays in most categories for a variety of reasons. I've had Android TV, I've built a Kodi box, DLNA on routers/NAS, when I was young(er) I played with both MythTV and Windows Media Center, and software solutions like Plex, among others. I haven't had a fire stick but I've disliked the Amazon devices I have owned, they're too locked into Amazon's ecosystem (yes, I see the irony being an Apple fan but with them it's in a "you're a product we want to market" sort of way) which is understandable for what they are and I suppose would be mitigated by jailbreaking (I generally avoid jailbreaking though as I wouldn't rely on it then day to day and wouldn't allow it onto my main network for security reasons).

In any case, I've looked around but I'm still very happy with Apple TV. It is not perfect but it meets my needs very well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kyleh22
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.