If Apple just came out with a new AppleTV then sure... However the current model itself is ~3 years old and even MacRumors buying guide has it listed as "Don't Buy". Seems like bad timing.
So its 3 years old, it is plenty powerfull enough
If Apple just came out with a new AppleTV then sure... However the current model itself is ~3 years old and even MacRumors buying guide has it listed as "Don't Buy". Seems like bad timing.
Why on earth would you use AirPlay over streaming directly to the device? My flipping iPad 2 was still good enough for Netflix when i sold it in 2018....
Because navigating your iOS device via touch interface is way faster, more updated and more personal to you than using a 6 input remote control while having to stare up at a screen separate from that remote. Have you tried entering your login credentials on that thing?
I don't remember if my ATV is 3rd or 4th generation. Is there a way I can tell (besides waiting to see if HBO stops working?) Did the third generation come with the funky remote?
Sounds fishy. It’s just a video streaming app.
There are at least two technical issues that could be driving HBO.
Remember the ATV 3rd gen has an A5, 4th gen has an A8. SO
- the actual apps for the 2nd and 3rd gen have to be 32-bit ARM code. That's one tool chain that HBO has to maintain. And sure, you could say they can just freeze the app and never bother updating it, but that can become a hassle if they want things on their backend (eg how the app communicates with the customer database).
- the A5 is limited to h.264 playback at 1080p. The internet appears confused on whether the A8 does or does not have h.265 hardware, but it's generally agreed that even just using the CPU alone, the A8 can decode h.265 streams up to 20Mbps. (Obviously that uses more power than dedicated HW, but for the aTV that's not a big deal.)
So if HBO wants to move to a backend that delivers h.265 and nothing lower, they will have to drop ATV 2nd and 3rd gen.
I don't follow non-Apple media streamers very closely, but it seems like this sort of thing has happened before with HBO or Netflix dropping other older devices. We could get some insight into whether h.265 is driving the issue by seeing if they are dropping any other streamers this time with the main common thread being an inability to support h.265.
So its 3 years old, it is plenty powerfull enough
I didn't even realize my Apple TV3 had HBO or HBO GO so not an issue for me. I received an update recently so I'm just happy Apple still gives it some attention.
There’s nothing from a hardware standpoint that warrants this given that the ATV3 is plenty powerful enough. Moreover, the HBO apps stink on every platform, quite frankly. HBO NOW subscription is going to be cancelled in our home.
Because navigating your iOS device via touch interface is way faster, more updated and more personal to you than using a 6 input remote control while having to stare up at a screen separate from that remote. Have you tried entering your login credentials on that thing?
Well, for the most part i am watching the show and in my experience streaming quality is lower/has more stutter when i Airplay.
And obviously password i do via keychain and the keyboard pops up automatically on my iPhone and iPad when i am clicking on anything that requires text to be entered.
There literally is something from a hardware standpoint, decoding h.265 which only the 4th gen and higher can do.
HBO removed support for the PS3 and Xbox 360 last year. IIRC, the PS3 supported the AVC codecs through software emulation rather than a hardware SoC. It could also simply come down to rights fees and/or platform security.
AVC is h.264. Dropping it is reasonable if the whole issue is HBO pivoting to h.265 (ie HEVC).HBO removed support for the PS3 and Xbox 360 last year. IIRC, the PS3 supported the AVC codecs through software emulation rather than a hardware SoC. It could also simply come down to rights fees and/or platform security.
Wow... I can’t believe, I gave up on it but I‘m still using it on an old plasma. Definitely giving it a try later!
Companies ALWAYS preface bad news with this canned, worthless “in order to provide the best experience” statement. It’s worthless because anyone could say that before any bad news. The company hopes that the customer assumes that it’s because of some technical reason, but we know there’s probably simply another part to that preface that doesn’t sound good: in order to provide the best experience while first maintaining or increasing profits,...”"in order to provide the best streaming experience"
Keep in mind that ATV in general is somewhat of a niche device. Video content providers are not going to care about ATV3.This is a bit ridiculous. People are reporting. Youtube isn't working any longer either after the latest OS update. This sounds like lazy developers that don't want to optimize for the hardware. The ATV3 is plenty powerful enough.
Similar to the iPhone being a niche device?Keep in mind that ATV in general is somewhat of a niche device. Video content providers are not going to care about ATV3.
There’s nothing from a hardware standpoint that warrants this given that the ATV3 is plenty powerful enough. Moreover, the HBO apps stink on every platform, quite frankly. HBO NOW subscription is going to be cancelled in our home.
Why would I want a home server connected to each of my TVs? Isn’t one in the house good enough?- Jon Prosser (very good leak record) says the new aTV is ready to go, everything settled. It's just a marketing decision as to when it gets announced. Apple's plans may even have been something like early April, with that derailed by covid. So if you CAN delay purchase for a month or two...
- to say that the aTV 4K is "powerful enough" is to believe that the aTV should do nothing but stream video. That's a very blinkered view of the world. The aTV should be a general purpose home server! It should have lots of storage, it should be processing the video (with face recognition) from all your security cameras. It should allow you to play AR games in the living room with friends half way round the world. It should be a security engine for your internet connection. etc etc etc
aTV should be not just a way to watch movies, it should be the way your Apple Personal Compute Cluster displays Ambient Video and Shared Living Space content. (Those should be three buzzwords that Apple takes seriously and that we all know, not three phrases that look like I just made them up.)
Think big!!! Just because the current aTV team seem to have zero ambition, there's always hope that one day the top layer of management all get fired and replaced with people who give the aTV the love and care it deserves.