Better VCRs you saw the video while fast forwarding. Plus of course like Harpervision mentioned, TiVo’s do this well (and are digital, obviously though)
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Has Apple just abandoned AppleTV?
- Thread starter Wolfpup
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Better VCRs you saw the video while fast forwarding. Plus of course like Harpervision mentioned, TiVo’s do this well (and are digital, obviously though)
My experience with TiVO (especially commercial skip) wasn't that great, no better than any other digital scan. It tended to skip past the part I wanted to often it just isn't fluid like a VCR. It's easy to overshoot or undershoot. Part of it is the lack of a smooth frame rate during skip operations. A lot of digital scanning skips past parts and it is like a slideshow.
Any solution to the keyboard thing? Lately my ATV has arbritrarily decided to switch from the 'grid style keyboard' to a wide-screen single-line keyboard. It takes forever to type on the latter. For awhile, it was switching back and forth and now it's stuck on the long single line version I hate.
Preferred version:
What I have now (no, not an update to the OS caused it, it's been this way off and on and now stays the same, but I'm still on tvOS 14:
Doesn't matter if I'm logging in or searching. Even Netflix uses ^^^, only with a black background.
Also, another annoyance. I thought Netflix offered a way to stop movies/tv shows from autoplaying while browsing the list. I still have that issue and nothing in settings turns it off. I already updated the app.
Any solution to the keyboard thing? Lately my ATV has arbritrarily decided to switch from the 'grid style keyboard' to a wide-screen single-line keyboard. It takes forever to type on the latter. For awhile, it was switching back and forth and now it's stuck on the long single line version I hate.
Preferred version:
What I have now (no, not an update to the OS caused it, it's been this way off and on and now stays the same, but I'm still on tvOS 14:
Doesn't matter if I'm logging in or searching. Even Netflix uses ^^^, only with a black background.
Also, another annoyance. I thought Netflix offered a way to stop movies/tv shows from autoplaying while browsing the list. I still have that issue and nothing in settings turns it off. I already updated the app.
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen the keyboard appear as a grid in all the years I’ve owned an ATV.
I use my iPhone for the keyboard function on ATV. It prompts automatically when the keyboard function is required.
With regards to Netflix, you need to change that in your Netflix accounts Playback Settings via a web browser.
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The netflix setting is on iOS. I thought such an option also existed for tvOS? All I get is account and logout.
Heck, I don't even get a quality setting.
I turned off that annoying keyboard popup on iOS. It kept lighting my iPhone even when I interacted with the ATV remote itself, draining battery and being distracting. I use ATV like any other service, with a remote. Usually the Spectrum remote for reasons I posted above, but sometimes the ATV remote. I have little need for marring my iPhone screen with needless fingerprints typing.
I always had the grid style keyboard unless I logged into something. Long after I updated to tvOS 14, the wider keyboard was off/on, wasn't related to aspect ratio, just picked a time and came up or defaulted to the familiar grid-style. Lately it's been the wider one all the time and I hate it. It's so slow to type searches with. I think maybe Apple did a server-side UI change ala Google but unsure. I block those things from Google via VPNs, router blocks and disabling or removing permissions from Play Services. Not sure what Apple service is used if they do something similar nor how to block them. I hate unnecessary UI changes and disabled auto-update for exactly that reason, so the ability to change UI on a whim without an update pisses me off.
Heck, I don't even get a quality setting.
I turned off that annoying keyboard popup on iOS. It kept lighting my iPhone even when I interacted with the ATV remote itself, draining battery and being distracting. I use ATV like any other service, with a remote. Usually the Spectrum remote for reasons I posted above, but sometimes the ATV remote. I have little need for marring my iPhone screen with needless fingerprints typing.
I always had the grid style keyboard unless I logged into something. Long after I updated to tvOS 14, the wider keyboard was off/on, wasn't related to aspect ratio, just picked a time and came up or defaulted to the familiar grid-style. Lately it's been the wider one all the time and I hate it. It's so slow to type searches with. I think maybe Apple did a server-side UI change ala Google but unsure. I block those things from Google via VPNs, router blocks and disabling or removing permissions from Play Services. Not sure what Apple service is used if they do something similar nor how to block them. I hate unnecessary UI changes and disabled auto-update for exactly that reason, so the ability to change UI on a whim without an update pisses me off.
I think it depends on the app.
If it is a third-party app, they might use a grid style. Apple has been using a single-line style with apps built into the OS.
I personally hate the single-line style keyboard, and wish Apple would go back to the grid.
For alternatives, you can usually use your iPhone (if you have one) as a keyboard for your ATV. It makes things a little easier when typing passwords and such.
I think using the keyboard via the iPhone is another example of a solution to a problem that was created by Apple's UI that was built around the Siri Remote.
If the UI had a simple grid style keyboard, it would be much easier and faster to type in passwords without the need to get another device to get the job done.
The Netflix iOS settings are only limited to mobile specific settings.
As I mentioned before, the main full list of playback settings are accessed via logging into Netflix via a web browser.
Ok so I did that, I guess the next time I fire up Netflix we'll see. I still don't get a quality setting but they all play decently anyway.
The grid keyboard worked for every app, including iTunes until recently. Now every app, third party or built in has that annoying wide keyboard, with only the background either being solid black or translucent white (please oh PLEASE, Apple, get off the iOS 7 fix already!!!)
I might start buying content on Amazon if they keep pulling this crap. They already have issues with certain movies and tv shows not existing to even buy, such as High Spirits. That movie was rent only. It's a childhood favorite, so I had to use Amazon to buy it. iTunes must not like money.
The grid keyboard worked for every app, including iTunes until recently. Now every app, third party or built in has that annoying wide keyboard, with only the background either being solid black or translucent white (please oh PLEASE, Apple, get off the iOS 7 fix already!!!)
I might start buying content on Amazon if they keep pulling this crap. They already have issues with certain movies and tv shows not existing to even buy, such as High Spirits. That movie was rent only. It's a childhood favorite, so I had to use Amazon to buy it. iTunes must not like money.
You don’t get a quality setting, the quality is all dependant on the Plan you’re subscribed to:
Basic = SD
Standard = HD
Premium = UHD/4K
What’s sold in the iTunes store is down to the studio’s, if the studio don’t put it up for sale then iTunes cannot sell it.
FYI High Spirits is available to buy in the UK store under MGM so definitely not an isolated iTunes issue.
It's also available to buy digitally through Amazon. I'm just surprised since it's not exactly a forgotten movie. They got that old Christian series Davey and Goliath but not High Spirits except as rent only? Somehow I expected better from Apple.
You’re blaming for something they have no control over. They don’t own the rights to this content. They can’t sell something they don’t have permission to sell.
If you have a need, buy the device that meets that need. If you buy an Apple TV now, it's not going to suddenly become a paperweight when the next model comes out. And with the snails pace at which home theater standards move along, it will remain perfectly functional for years to come.
I got the Apple TV 4k back in March because we wanted something that could painlessly mirror our iOS devices, provide more streaming channel options than our 4k Blu-ray player, and stream my iCloud Music Library (used a DLNA media server for years through our Mac, but that was not reliable and the interface on our Playstation sucked). I did that even though rumors were flying around that Apple would announce a new ATV at WWDC, because we had a functionality need and shopped for the device that would best meet that need.
From many years as a home theater hobbyist, I saw this same upgraditis mindset from other enthusiasts. Always afraid to pull the trigger on a device upgrade because they're afraid that something else will come out and render that purchase obsolete. The thing about home theater (and IMO Apple TV's main function is as an A/V device) is that a feature will rarely be so compelling that it will make everything that came before pointless. Even though home theater receivers for example typically follow an annual update cycle, the features added are largely incremental and superfluous.
The current Apple TV 4k supports all the current content standards, which is the only real measure for obsolescence when it comes to home theater. It supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, as well as Dolby Atmos. The A10X is more than capable of handling those functions. And even with the existing hardware implementation, some refinements can be done via software or firmware updates.
The only standard that might be consequential that's missing on the Apple TV 4k is HDMI 2.1. But, as with all prior HDMI transitions, it won't happen all at once and parts of it will be messy. Even hardware currently labeled as HDMI 2.1 won't necessarily support every potential feature, and the first generation hardware has had numerous issues (e.g., the first batch of HDMI 2.1 home theater receivers cannot pass the maximum bandwidth specified in the specs, and the HDMI chipset used by Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, Nvidia, and Xbox Series X has a passthrough bug that still has no available fix).
If Apple updates ATV 4k, the HDMI 2.1 implementation would be one my first questions. As with all things home theater, HDMI 2.1 is far from essential right now. The supported content is virtually nonexistent, and the hardware selection remains paltry. But, if Apple intends to implement the higher frame rates and/or higher resolutions supported by HDMI 2.1, then how reliable will their solution be, given how problematic a lot of the first gen hardware has been? If you're looking at reasons for holding back the release of a new Apple TV model, this would be one of them. But, again that presumes that you must be an early adopter once the initial trickle of content that supports what HDMI 2.1 has to offer begins. Otherwise, it will take years before the upgraded formats supported by HDMI 2.1 become commonplace and the de facto standard.
Unless your main motivation is Apple Arcade and hardware intensive apps (which aren't that common for ATV to begin with) or you absolutely have to support the newest formats (regardless of how widely used they are), the current ATV 4k will likely perform its main function for many years to come. Only when the content standards transition to incompatible formats will the device truly become obsolete. And even there, it won't happen all at once.
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Why do people keep repeating this wrong statement? HLG is a major miss, as it's being used for broadcast 4K in the UK and US, if not elsewhere. Especially given the ATV4k's frequent use as a cable box replacement, it needs to be fixed.
HDMI 2.1 is not just for gaming. I want this in the ATV for the Quick Media Switching feature which will eliminate the blank screens everytime we play content. Anyway it is true that this is buggy right now and early adopters will have to deal with it.
More rumors today...
"Given the spate of rumors, one theory is that Apple is working on multiple Apple TV set-top boxes, which could explain the discrepancy in chip rumors. Whatever Apple's plans are, a new Apple TV next year feels like a safe bet – Apple hasn't updated the current Apple TV 4K since September 2017."
www.macrumors.com
"Given the spate of rumors, one theory is that Apple is working on multiple Apple TV set-top boxes, which could explain the discrepancy in chip rumors. Whatever Apple's plans are, a new Apple TV next year feels like a safe bet – Apple hasn't updated the current Apple TV 4K since September 2017."
Nikkei: Apple Working on New Apple TV for Release Next Year
Multiple rumors have indicated that Apple is working on a refreshed version of the Apple TV, and a report today by Nikkei Asia Review adds to...
www.macrumors.com
There have probably been many prototypes with different chips over the last few years. If released in 2019 I think an A12 would have been the chip they went with. In 2020 the A12X makes more sense (now the iPad Pro uses the A12Z, they need somewhere to put all the binned chips that have a faulty GPU core aka the A12X). As we go into 2021, the iPad Pro will likely move to an A14X/M1 so the supply of A12X/Z chips will dry up and the use of an A14 becomes more likely)
OK, by this time you're just trolling right?
No. I wasn't arguing that a VCR was better especially resolution-wise. But digital scanning is far worse an experience than the precision of analog video scanning, since you don't have the slideshow problem and end up overscanning past where you wanted to (such as skipping an ad, or parts of a show/movie that's not important, or so on)
The faster rate you digital scan makes overshooting/undershooting far more likely, especially one you reach 8x or 16x. the frame rate is even worse.
The faster rate you digital scan makes overshooting/undershooting far more likely, especially one you reach 8x or 16x. the frame rate is even worse.