Frustrated with Apple TV

[thecore762]

I've cancelled DirecTV and signed up for DirecTV Now, I went to best buy to pick up the new Apple TV 4K HDR, the setup was quick and easy, but its a pain in the ass to navigate through the channels on DirecTV Now, the touchpad is very sensitive and I find it too sensitive at times...it just doesn't respond as quick as I'd like. I've had Roku systems before, their remotes suck, but their interface and navigation it neat, with Apple TV its sluggish when selecting menus, it feels like there is like a second delay when you press anything.

I've had DirecTV Now on the iPad and it works flawless, maybe its because of the touch screen and the menu is super easy to navigate.

Anyone sharing the same feelings? I am thinking about just returning the Apple TV and maybe try a different device. I really like it otherwise for other content, just for streaming content like DirecTV is kinda sucks.

 

[StarShot]

The main thing I'll agree with you re ATV is the remote is just too sensitive. Same remote as with ATV4. I only bought the ATV 4K for the limited 4K content.

 

[cynics]

You can adjusted the sensitive more to your liking.

Settings > Remote > Touch Surface Tracking > ......Slow if its too fast for you, Fast if its too slow.

I use to share the same feelings as you though. However with time I got used to the Siri Remote and now I even like it. Maybe with enough time you'll get used to it and learn to like it? I think tvOS in its current form is a little laggy and that lag adds a disconnect from the remote making it feel laggy/slow/unresponsive. With the ATV4 in tvOS 10 the Siri remote felt much more responsive to me.

Also you can use another remote if you have something you prefer laying around.

And try to leverage Siri as much as you can. Once you get used to her/it you might find she can do some really useful stuff and reduce your reliance on the touch surface. For example a lot of shows have a 1 minute - 2 minute intro at the beginning so once I know the duration I'll just say "fast forward 1 minute 55 seconds". Without skipping a beat it does it and I dont need to scrub through waiting for the preview to buffer or going to far and rewinding or whatever.

 

[thecore762]

You can adjusted the sensitive more to your liking.

Settings > Remote > Touch Surface Tracking > ......Slow if its too fast for you, Fast if its too slow.

I use to share the same feelings as you though. However with time I got used to the Siri Remote and now I even like it. Maybe with enough time you'll get used to it and learn to like it? I think tvOS in its current form is a little laggy and that lag adds a disconnect from the remote making it feel laggy/slow/unresponsive. With the ATV4 in tvOS 10 the Siri remote felt much more responsive to me.

Also you can use another remote if you have something you prefer laying around.

And try to leverage Siri as much as you can. Once you get used to her/it you might find she can do some really useful stuff and reduce your reliance on the touch surface. For example a lot of shows have a 1 minute - 2 minute intro at the beginning so once I know the duration I'll just say "fast forward 1 minute 55 seconds". Without skipping a beat it does it and I dont need to scrub through waiting for the preview to buffer or going to far and rewinding or whatever.

The main issue I guess it might be with the directv now app since the guide is garbage and the search functionality is hard when In app. Gonna give a different service like psvue a try On the Apple TV and see if things improve. But the remote in my opinion is a huge letdown.

 

[techwarrior]

Anyone sharing the same feelings? I am thinking about just returning the Apple TV and maybe try a different device. I really like it otherwise for other content, just for streaming content like DirecTV is kinda sucks.

Kinda confused, your title states your beef is with ATV, but then the content is critical of DTVNow.

DTVNow interface is the subject of a lot of criticism on this forum, most agree it flat out sucks. But, once you get used to it, it is workable. AT&T has suggested a whole new experience is upcoming. I suspect this Guide will get an overhaul in the next major release.

So, if you really like the ATV for other content, why throw the baby out with the bathwater?

 

[webbuzz]

The main issue I guess it might be with the directv now app since the guide is garbage and the search functionality is hard when In app. Gonna give a different service like psvue a try On the Apple TV and see if things improve. But the remote in my opinion is a huge letdown.

A new DirecTV NOW app is supposedly coming in the next few months, which includes a new interface.

 

[thecore762]

Kinda confused, your title states your beef is with ATV, but then the content is critical of DTVNow.

DTVNow interface is the subject of a lot of criticism on this forum, most agree it flat out sucks. But, once you get used to it, it is workable. AT&T has suggested a whole new experience is upcoming. I suspect this Guide will get an overhaul in the next major release.

So, if you really like the ATV for other content, why throw the baby out with the bathwater?

Main beef is the remote touchpad, going to change the sensitivity so hopefully that improves the experience.

Hopefully the new update comes soon to improve navigation.

I have until Jan 15th so plenty of time for Best Buy return policy. I want this to work since we have 5 Apple devices and this would make 6.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Buy universal remote (or dig up any old remote you might already have and put it in an unused mode: AUX? CD? DVD? VCR?). Use TV's "learn remote" feature. Problem mostly solved.

New problems: if you like the Siri interface, obviously you need the Apple remote. If you use the remote for other things (like a gaming controller), you'll need to keep it handy too.

Otherwise, learning an existing "good" remote makes it work mostly as we've been accustomed for years and years. I'm not sure Apple attempting to reinvent the remote (too) is a great idea. Apple generally thinks too minimalist which can work for some things... but does NOT work for all things IMO.

 

[ersan191]

I'm not a big fan of the ATV Remote either, I use a standard remote like has been suggested here. It's a bit of a shock coming from Roku I'll admit (I think the ATV interface is quite a bit worse, especially for a lot of apps), but I think all of the iCloud/Apple ecosystem features outweigh the UI's downfalls.

When I first tried ATV a few years back I was mostly irritated with the remote not being able to turn on and off the TV, as most TV's didn't have HDMI-CEC back then and I still don't use the Apple remote even though all my TV's have it now. Apple TV has very good IR support fortunately.

 

[JoeShades]

It's a bit of a shock coming from Roku I'll admit (I think the ATV interface is quite a bit worse, especially for a lot of apps)

This must be a joke, The Roku has the worst UI ever, also if you have many apps then put them in folders, try doing that with Roku

 

[thecore762]

The more I am using the Apple TV the more I’m liking it and learning it, the 4K content looks great, just wish Apple would improve the remote control, especially the touch pad. Just feels sluggish.

So far cord cutting gonna save me about $80 a month. Directv Now hopefully it’s going to have a big update soon.

I tried the PS Vue trial but I miss the feature swiping channels to change, sometimes I like going up and down and Vue doesn’t offer that. Vue has excellent PQ and a good Cloud DVR but it lacks Viacom channels and it’s much more expensive than Directv Now since I have the $25 off monthly since I have the unlimited plus.

Has anyone tried Sling on Apple TV? If so how is the experience?

 

[ersan191]

This must be a joke, The Roku has the worst UI ever, also if you have many apps then put them in folders, try doing that with Roku

Not talking about the home screen, I'm talking about the apps - for example Plex on Roku is leagues better than ATV - you forego Spotify and official Twitch apps, Amazon Prime Video, the YouTube app is better on Roku (and you can cast to it on a non-mac/ios), there's an Xfinity/Spectrum app for Roku, the Hulu app looks loads better on Roku, and those are just off the top of my head - the home screen that I see for 3 seconds before launching an app isn't all that important to me (and in fact on Roku I never saw it because Harmony can launch apps remotely, something you can't do on ATV)

The Roku and its apps are also better suited for up/down/left/right navigation rather than the touchpad, which is kind of the point. The touchpad just isn't good.

I'm invested in Apple TV now, for better or worse, but there are plenty of things I miss about Roku
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The more I am using the Apple TV the more I’m liking it and learning it, the 4K content looks great, just wish Apple would improve the remote control, especially the touch pad. Just feels sluggish.

So far cord cutting gonna save me about $80 a month. Directv Now hopefully it’s going to have a big update soon.

I tried the PS Vue trial but I miss the feature swiping channels to change, sometimes I like going up and down and Vue doesn’t offer that. Vue has excellent PQ and a good Cloud DVR but it lacks Viacom channels and it’s much more expensive than Directv Now since I have the $25 off monthly since I have the unlimited plus.

Has anyone tried Sling on Apple TV? If so how is the experience?

I use Sling on Apple TV regularly, it's alright - nothing to write home about, probably the worst interface of all the IPTV providers (you can't have a channel playing while browsing through other content or another channel for example) - I think DirecTV Now has the best interface, but that's probably because I'm a big fan of the traditional grid view for browsing channels, which once again the Apple TV app does not have on Sling TV for some reason but the Roku app does.

Here's a good video comparing the big three:

 

[Ideanj]

I'm not saying this is the best solution but this remote cover has helped a lot with 1) making sure i dont pick up the remote upside down and 2) not accidentally tapping the sides of the touchpad when handling the remote. Plus it has a handy magnet to stick to the side of your TV when not in use. It's worth checking out in my opinion. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B5RF470/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[i hate phones]

It takes some getting used to, however if you think its not functioning properly, try unplugging the apple tv for 10 seconds and then turning it back on. My remote got really frustrating to use at one point, I would have to press buttons multiple times or it wouldn't respond consistently to swipes and doing this fixed my issues.

 

[bruinsrme]

Kinda confused, your title states your beef is with ATV, but then the content is critical of DTVNow.

DTVNow interface is the subject of a lot of criticism on this forum, most agree it flat out sucks. But, once you get used to it, it is workable. AT&T has suggested a whole new experience is upcoming. I suspect this Guide will get an overhaul in the next major release.

So, if you really like the ATV for other content, why throw the baby out with the bathwater?

It could be better but I like it alphabetical.

I have 11 channels set to favorite. I would say at lease 90% of my viewing pleasure is on 1 of the 11.

 

[winstars]

I'm not saying this is the best solution but this remote cover has helped a lot with 1) making sure i dont pick up the remote upside down and 2) not accidentally tapping the sides of the touchpad when handling the remote. Plus it has a handy magnet to stick to the side of your TV when not in use. It's worth checking out in my opinion. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B5RF470/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought the original ATV4 the first week it was released. I then bought on Amazon I believe the very first case (cover) on the market.

Fiddly remote issues were then 95% resolved.


I have bought probably another 8 or so cases (covers) for friends and family since then. Everyone was very grateful for the gift. No biggie, they are only $7-$10 each...

Actually, the ATV should COME WITH A CASE...

 

[Cordorb]

"Actually, the ATV should COME WITH A CASE..." Single Malt ?

I just use the Remote App in the iPhone and you can use remote in Apple watch as well.

Plex server on Mac or PC works great or nPlayer,infuse or VLC to my Backup NAS

Using my 1080 monitor and not a TV so temp using the AirPods for sound - Do have a HDMI sound break-out box

 

[alexcue]

That's what I was about to suggest! Try the app on the iPhone or iPad. Heck in a pinch I've even used the Apple Watch app. Some things are easier with it IMO

 

[NUTNDUN]

I have pretty much been using the ATV app on my phone 99% of the time. I don't really have any issues with the remote but I may look in to a case.

 

[thecore762]

Used the app and it’s much better, why couldn’t they make the touch pad as good as the app? Makes a big difference and it’s more responsive.

 

[cynics]

The main issue I guess it might be with the directv now app since the guide is garbage and the search functionality is hard when In app. Gonna give a different service like psvue a try On the Apple TV and see if things improve. But the remote in my opinion is a huge letdown.

I feel your pain. I had a laundry list of reasons I didn't like the Siri remote, especially after I dropped and broke my first one (its made out of friggin glass!).

However I've also become bias. I use the Siri Remote for HomeKit functionality to turn lights on and off, set scenes, lock doors, even set the temperature of my thermostat. So for me its more than just a TV remote.