In my opinion...The Peacock player is the worst!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HBO Max App Update for Apple TV Brings Back Native Video Player
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Longtime lurker, first time poster. I created a MacRumors account just to ask...how does this happen?!?!
I get HBO's desire to control their look, gather data, etc. But the actual usability of it...? They didn't have a single person actually test this app on an AppleTV?!?
I get HBO's desire to control their look, gather data, etc. But the actual usability of it...? They didn't have a single person actually test this app on an AppleTV?!?
I noticed that the only way to successful forward and rewind was to issue Siri commands like, "Hey Siri! Jump back ten seconds." Press left and right on Siri TV remote is working again.
HBO used BAMtech… then AT&T bought Warner. When Disney increased their investment in BAM to full ownership of the product, they lost their minds and quickly threw together their own technology to not pay a OTT competitor any royalties.
Ah, I didn’t know this was a reported issue. I was watching Rick & Monty the other night and tried to rewind a spot I missed and ended up getting so frustrated I just closed the app. This explains what happened. I felt like Jerry trying to accomplish a simple task.
"We just released an update to our Apple TV app, restoring the native tvOS video playback experience you know and love, with more improvements to come," HBO Max announced in a tweet. "Ensuring HBO Max viewers have a quality experience is our top priority and we missed the mark here. Thank you for your patience."
I don't like their response.
because ensuring customers have a quality experience is obviously not their top priority. Otherwise this obvious problem would not have happened in the first place. There was no reason for it to happen.
Also it's not like the HBO Max app was a quality experience in the first place before they broke it. It was merely serviceable. I mean I remember annoyances like navigating the UI and suddenly he trailer at the top of the menu that is out of sight would play at high volume. This behavior was standard issue.
I don't like their response.
because ensuring customers have a quality experience is obviously not their top priority. Otherwise this obvious problem would not have happened in the first place. There was no reason for it to happen.
Also it's not like the HBO Max app was a quality experience in the first place before they broke it. It was merely serviceable. I mean I remember annoyances like navigating the UI and suddenly he trailer at the top of the menu that is out of sight would play at high volume. This behavior was standard issue.
It feels like a power-battle between Apple and the streamers. Content is king, so Apple probably doesn't have the leverage actually to demand consistency, because they're at the streamers' mercy. That said, the YouTube and Peacock interfaces make me miserable, and the lack of TV-app integration from Netflix does, too.
And somehow, my Apple TV still hasn't updated the HBO Max app to the new-old version.
And somehow, my Apple TV still hasn't updated the HBO Max app to the new-old version.
One can hope. The worst video player out there has to be Udemy on iPad for me. Jeez it's frustrating!
I stopped watching HBO Max on my Apple TV because the app is so unstable. I will be watching a show, then the subtitles will stop working, and I know that's my cue - The app is about to crash.
Imagine not being able to get something as simple as video playback working in the year 2021...
Imagine not being able to get something as simple as video playback working in the year 2021...
Because cross platform code leads to hiring less specialists who demand a premium dollar for their skills. It's been the holy grail of software development for decades. Companies see a new cross platform tech every decade or so and think it will be the answer to their resourcing dreams. These solutions usually get 90% of it right but fall down on the last 10%. And, it's usually that 10% that really matters to customers.
What's the solution, then? My wife and I are constantly frustrated with apps that try to get creative and reinvent the wheel on ATV controls. HBO was a dumpster fire, but it's not the only one. Youtube is better than it was, but it's still awful. NFL GamePass? Don't get me started. I really wish Apple would either make developers be consistent with UI or... (and yes, I think this could help if Apple doesn't enforce UI consistency) create separate sections for app feedback. HBO and NFL, for example, are decent iOS apps but horrible ATV apps. Developers should be able to read feedback that distinguishes between the two, and consumers should be able to direct feedback to platform-specific versions of the same app.
Hey, is it just me but is 'The Conjuring' very dark....as in picture quality ? Noticed this before the update and after updating today. Anyone concur?
HBO Max has updated its Apple TV app to fix problems with its video playback interface that came to the fore last week following its introduction of a custom video player.
The new update reinstates the native tvOS video player UI, which means users should no longer face the issues with fast-forwarding and rewinding video that the custom player was seemingly responsible for.
"We just released an update to our Apple TV app, restoring the native tvOS video playback experience you know and love, with more improvements to come," HBO Max announced in a tweet. "Ensuring HBO Max viewers have a quality experience is our top priority and we missed the mark here. Thank you for your patience."
As pointed out by The Verge, some users on the HBO Max subreddit are still reporting some other issues to do with subtitles and thumbnail previews after updating, but the general consensus is that reverting to the native video player interface has made the app a lot more responsive to Apple TV Siri Remote inputs.
Article Link: HBO Max App Update for Apple TV Brings Back Native Video Player
Is this movie very visually dark to you? Thats how it appears on my Samsung ....Even outside scenes....
It feels like we need a place to post some of the most egregious examples and shame them into making their apps better. Reviews are fine, but they generally don't command a lot of attention.
JustWatch is a great example of an *almost* perfect app, but for some awkward navigation issues.
Charter's Spectrum app is a flaming pile of garbage that makes me WANT to use the cable box.
Sling... sling... should I even start on Sling? I don't know what it looks like on other platforms but I suspect it is identical. That being said I have no idea on how regular users navigate the app - it has a clear lack of consistency, no way to distinguish placeholders vs on demand videos - and often damaged/corrupted video playback.
TBS - stopped watching videos on it because the app was so awful. I've done this with other streaming channels as well.
For their faults, Netflix, Prime, Hulu work pretty well, though auto-play videos (can be disabled) and bumper ad's are unwelcome. I avoid most of the mess of navigating these apps by using JustWatch, but that app doesn't support all the services I use via the TV (TCM, Hoopla, etc...).
JustWatch is a great example of an *almost* perfect app, but for some awkward navigation issues.
Charter's Spectrum app is a flaming pile of garbage that makes me WANT to use the cable box.
Sling... sling... should I even start on Sling? I don't know what it looks like on other platforms but I suspect it is identical. That being said I have no idea on how regular users navigate the app - it has a clear lack of consistency, no way to distinguish placeholders vs on demand videos - and often damaged/corrupted video playback.
TBS - stopped watching videos on it because the app was so awful. I've done this with other streaming channels as well.
For their faults, Netflix, Prime, Hulu work pretty well, though auto-play videos (can be disabled) and bumper ad's are unwelcome. I avoid most of the mess of navigating these apps by using JustWatch, but that app doesn't support all the services I use via the TV (TCM, Hoopla, etc...).
Shame? I think some of these mgmt. types are derived from the same gene pool as politicians. Shame? .....would require some sort of Universal re-set! Content/Streaming/Internet ISPs/Advertising.......in-breeding at its worst!
Other people already answered from a business sense why a company might choose to not use the native player. But also the native player is not all that capable. There are some formats it does not handle well.
I don't think that would be very good. The native player is not fully capable. For example, the Channels app has to use their own player because the native player cannot decode HDHomerun's formats or codecs. I think FireCore's Infuse app also uses their own custom player to have the breadth of support that they offer.
Using a third-party player is not a sin. It just happened that HBO's third-party player was utter dogcrap. But there can be good and useful third-party players.
I think everyone shares this opinion. It is THE single worst video player on Apple TV. Absolutely garbage.
Gosh... it must be difficult to be a streaming content developer in this day and age.
Not only do they need apps for iOS and Android... they also have to build and test apps for various streaming boxes (AppleTV, FireStick, Roku, Chromecast)... and every TV manufacturer's built-in players (Samsung, LG, Vizio, HiSense)
Not only do they need apps for iOS and Android... they also have to build and test apps for various streaming boxes (AppleTV, FireStick, Roku, Chromecast)... and every TV manufacturer's built-in players (Samsung, LG, Vizio, HiSense)
But they didn't fix it. It seems that HBO simply reverted to the previous version of the app, with the crashes and other problems.