Is YouTube deliberately crippling their app on Atv

[rikscha]

I’m about to delete YouTube from my atv as the amount of frustration it causes is reaching its limits.
They deliberately go against Apple’s design guidelines (why can’t I change the audio source within the app?)
and the overall navigating experience hasn’t been designed with the atv in mind. It just feels alien on my atv.

I’m using a HomePod stereo setup and sure enough YouTube is not working with airplay homepods. You have to go out of
The app and switch around inputs to make this work and next time you go back, you have to do the same thing again.
Navigating around often results in missing the menu or button you want to hit or in accidentally fast forwarding the content when you just try to get more information about the video you are watching.
The app hangs itself up occasionally or will just play sound even after leaving the app.
It’s a joke in my opinion and simply airplaying YouTube from your phone is the better experience.

Keen to hear other experiences.

 

[JBaby]

I wouldn’t say it’s on purpose exactly but they haven’t done anything to improve it in years. I have to reconnect to HomePods whenever tv goes to sleep.

 

[Ritsuka]

You can long-press the home button, tvOS will slide in a menu on the right that will let you select the audio output.

 

[mtneer]

I don’t care who “wins” but can Google and Apple finally settle their appendage measurement contest and allow 4K YouTube on the Apple TV?

 

[rikscha]

You can long-press the home button, tvOS will slide in a menu on the right that will let you select the audio output.

This makes things slightly easier but although homepods is chosen as the source, you have to click your secondary audio source and then switch things around. Only then will YouTube force sound through the homepods. It is otherwise by default always going through my tv speakers

 

[JBaby]

This makes things slightly easier but although homepods is chosen as the source, you have to click your secondary audio source and then switch things around. Only then will YouTube force sound through the homepods. It is otherwise by default always going through my tv speakers

Mine only defaults to the tv because I have my tv speakers turned off.

 

[rikscha]

I wouldn’t say it’s on purpose exactly but they haven’t done anything to improve it in years. I have to reconnect to HomePods whenever tv goes to sleep.

they basically ported their app from whatever preferred streaming device they have to the atv without adjusting the user experience. Netflix is the same actually. It’s funny how netflix used to be mich more useful on the old atvs where Apple basically dictated the design to them.
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Mine only defaults to the tv because I have my tv speakers turned off.

i don’t think i can switch off the tv speakers entirely. I’m wondering why no one makes TVs without a speaker. Whoever spends 2k+ on a tv certainly won’t use the integrated speakers

 

[Moolani]

As of mid-April, my bluetooth keyboard no longer works in Youtube on my Apple TV 4K (it works for all other screens and apps). I can still use a bluetooth keyboard in Youtube on an older generation Apple TV. Based on a quick Google search, this seems to be common with the 4K Apple TVs.

 

[AshleyHredone]

I find the YouTube streaming quality far worse via the ATV than the LG OLED built in app.

 

[HDFan]

Horrible interface. You try to scrub and you end up moving to the suggested video line. Add to your library function is hidden under more. Getting there is quite difficult with the Apple Remove. Lost count of the number of times I have tried to add a title to my library, but end up on the home page with the video which I was watching no longer there. I have to go into history to finish it.

 

[Ghost31]

I find the YouTube streaming quality far worse via the ATV than the LG OLED built in app.

Thats a definite biggie for me. And its not even just the 4K vs 1080p issue. Of coarse 4K looks good on YouTube. But even the standard 1080p content looks way better on my smart tv than my Apple TV. A big wtf on that one. Apple tv is the most expensive streaming box on the market, yet an amazon fire stick that got $40 has better streaming quality. One of the great mysteries of the universe.

And as big as that is, what about the fact i can use youtube on my smart TV and it’s actually the updated version that looks way nicer? It does more and has more functionality. And when i airplay YouTube videos from my phone to my smart tv, i can que up the videos to play back to back in a list. Whereas on the Apple TV its just one at a time. Somehow i think when apple updates the Apple TV, its gonna be the most lackluster update ever. None of what we actually want

 

[russell_314]

This reminds me of the time Google refused to update their maps app so Apple made their own. It was a wake up call to Google and they got with the program.

 

[ipponrg]

Thats a definite biggie for me. And its not even just the 4K vs 1080p issue. Of coarse 4K looks good on YouTube. But even the standard 1080p content looks way better on my smart tv than my Apple TV. A big wtf on that one. Apple tv is the most expensive streaming box on the market, yet an amazon fire stick that got $40 has better streaming quality. One of the great mysteries of the universe.

And as big as that is, what about the fact i can use youtube on my smart TV and it’s actually the updated version that looks way nicer? It does more and has more functionality. And when i airplay YouTube videos from my phone to my smart tv, i can que up the videos to play back to back in a list. Whereas on the Apple TV its just one at a time. Somehow i think when apple updates the Apple TV, its gonna be the most lackluster update ever. None of what we actually want

Apple doesn’t let you use your own player and forces developers to follow Apple UX which may not be the best for certain types of apps. Another possible reason is simply not a lot of people are using the Apple TV and maybe they don’t care.

You all should know that expensive in Apple terminology doesn’t mean better.

 

[russell_314]

an amazon fire stick that got $40 has better streaming quality. One of the great mysteries of the universe.

It's not really a big mystery. No more so than how smart TVs seem cheaper than they should be. Your paying with your data. Everything you do is being sent back to Amazon. That data is compiled and sold to advertisers. Many smart TVs allow you to turn this "feature" off but I don't think you can on Amazon devices.

 

[Ghost31]

It's not really a big mystery. No more so than how smart TVs seem cheaper than they should be. Your paying with your data. Everything you do is being sent back to Amazon. That data is compiled and sold to advertisers. Many smart TVs allow you to turn this "feature" off but I don't think you can on Amazon devices.

this is widely known, but if it ends up being being a better experience all around anyway for the consumer then I don’t really see a problem. There’s a great book by Marc Goodman called future crimes that goes on to explain after much research, us putting tape over our laptops camera lens and other small things like this are pure security theater. If someone wants to be malicious with your data, they can use it by publicly traded means. Social media, credit cards, even coupons from stores sent to your house and redeemed with a shopper’s card all expose your data. Only way to be totally safe is to live off the grid in the jungle in a faraday cage

 

[russell_314]

this is widely known, but if it ends up being being a better experience all around anyway for the consumer then I don’t really see a problem. There’s a great book by Marc Goodman called future crimes that goes on to explain after much research, us putting tape over our laptops camera lens and other small things like this are pure security theater. If someone wants to be malicious with your data, they can use it by publicly traded means. Social media, credit cards, even coupons from stores sent to your house and redeemed with a shopper’s card all expose your data. Only way to be totally safe is to live off the grid in the jungle in a faraday cage

Since you said the cost difference was a mystery I figured you didn't know. Most non tech people I know don't have a clue that their TV or streaming device does this. Trading your data for services or money savings is a reasonable choice. While I agree that it might be technically true your "the only way to be totally safe is to live off the grid" comment seems to imply that since they'll probably get your data if they want anyway so you might as well give it to them. There are middle grounds to everything. I don't have a reinforced steel door on my house so sure someone could break it down but I'm not going to leave it unlocked or open. I don't have a credit monitoring service but I don't throw paperwork with personal information out in the trash. People have to decide what's acceptable for them. For you having your TV data sent to Amazon might be acceptable and that's fine but it might not be for someone else. I don't put tape on my cameras but there are people with a whole lot more tech knowledge than me who do. They know the risks and made a choice based on that and their knowledge. I know the risk but if someone wants to hack into my camera to see me getting out of the shower naked, I'm not going to be responsible for the physiological damage that is caused 😂

 

[Ghost31]

Since you said the cost difference was a mystery I figured you didn't know. Most non tech people I know don't have a clue that their TV or streaming device does this. Trading your data for services or money savings is a reasonable choice. While I agree that it might be technically true your "the only way to be totally safe is to live off the grid" comment seems to imply that since they'll probably get your data if they want anyway so you might as well give it to them. There are middle grounds to everything. I don't have a reinforced steel door on my house so sure someone could break it down but I'm not going to leave it unlocked or open. I don't have a credit monitoring service but I don't throw paperwork with personal information out in the trash. People have to decide what's acceptable for them. For you having your TV data sent to Amazon might be acceptable and that's fine but it might not be for someone else. I don't put tape on my cameras but there are people with a whole lot more tech knowledge than me who do. They know the risks and made a choice based on that and their knowledge. I know the risk but if someone wants to hack into my camera to see me getting out of the shower naked, I'm not going to be responsible for the physiological damage that is caused 😂

It just comes down to the person making the best decision for themselves. I wouldn’t really criticize someone for wanting to be safe and try to limit the data they share, but at the same time, people have developed a false sense of security. People assume because you use apple products, somehow you are way safer when its a yes and no situation. Yes its difficult for law enforcement to get to your phone when its locked (hardware) but As we saw from the Edward Snowden leaks, apple was part of the prizm program and actively working with the government to share our data. Whether it be metadata or iCloud, if you have an iPhone or ipad and use iCloud backup, your information is up for grabs. Not to mention there have been numerous articles that apple has known about exploits and left them there, compromising security on a few occasions. The meta data alone can tell people alot about you.

Do you allow cookies when you go to websites? Do you have the same password for multiple sites? Now a big one for cross referencing, do you use the same email address when signing up logging into websites like this? I bet you do. Chances are, even someone like me can get an uncomfortable amount of information on the dark net about you because there are systems that develope “ID profiles”. If they can link you by multiple methods, they see everything you do.

I’m rambling: i think i just wanted an excuse to type on the magic keyboard! My point is: mitigation is fine. Apple does less with your data, but its not totally safe anyway as there is tons of cross contamination in your life. And we cant equate places like amazon or google to a scammer thats going to misappropriate our data in ways that can be super harmful for us and get us killed. It’s hard not to cringe when i see coworkers put tape over their laptop’s camera while their iphone has 4 cameras and dual microphones. Like are you even thinking about the big picture here? The same people that buy an Apple TV vs a fire stick to “be safe” are the same people that dont check their credit report

 

[Ungibbed]

Ever since using the native YouTube app on my tv, I haven’t used the AppleTV app at all.

 

[russell_314]

It just comes down to the person making the best decision for themselves. I wouldn’t really criticize someone for wanting to be safe and try to limit the data they share, but at the same time, people have developed a false sense of security. People assume because you use apple products, somehow you are way safer when its a yes and no situation. Yes its difficult for law enforcement to get to your phone when its locked (hardware) but As we saw from the Edward Snowden leaks, apple was part of the prizm program and actively working with the government to share our data. Whether it be metadata or iCloud, if you have an iPhone or ipad and use iCloud backup, your information is up for grabs. Not to mention there have been numerous articles that apple has known about exploits and left them there, compromising security on a few occasions. The meta data alone can tell people alot about you.

Do you allow cookies when you go to websites? Do you have the same password for multiple sites? Now a big one for cross referencing, do you use the same email address when signing up logging into websites like this? I bet you do. Chances are, even someone like me can get an uncomfortable amount of information on the dark net about you because there are systems that develope “ID profiles”. If they can link you by multiple methods, they see everything you do.

I’m rambling: i think i just wanted an excuse to type on the magic keyboard! My point is: mitigation is fine. Apple does less with your data, but its not totally safe anyway as there is tons of cross contamination in your life. And we cant equate places like amazon or google to a scammer thats going to misappropriate our data in ways that can be super harmful for us and get us killed. It’s hard not to cringe when i see coworkers put tape over their laptop’s camera while their iphone has 4 cameras and dual microphones. Like are you even thinking about the big picture here? The same people that buy an Apple TV vs a fire stick to “be safe” are the same people that dont check their credit report

Maybe rambling but interesting to read. Dammit I want a Magic keyboard. Currently typing on a terrible Anker lookalike Bluetooth keyboard.

 

[rikscha]

Horrible interface. You try to scrub and you end up moving to the suggested video line. Add to your library function is hidden under more. Getting there is quite difficult with the Apple Remove. Lost count of the number of times I have tried to add a title to my library, but end up on the home page with the video which I was watching no longer there. I have to go into history to finish it.

ditto

 

[Edd70]

It doesn’t bother me much, and I watch a ton of YouTube. If I’m adding a video to playlists or anything trickier, I’ll just do it on the iPad app. I get that it’s clunky, but it’s also free.

 

[Starfia]

I suppose it's a certain kind of "deliberately." But they do want people to use the app, stay engaged and play the ads, presumably.

 

[Chung123]

I find the YouTube streaming quality far worse via the ATV than the LG OLED built in app.

I found YouTube streaming at 720p for some reason. It had defaulted/switched to 720p, and then I had to navigate to the HD next to CC icon to toggle it back. I hate the YouTube app interface.

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

You can long-press the home button, tvOS will slide in a menu on the right that will let you select the audio output.

you can do that, but are you able to control volume from the apple tv remote while playing youtube?

 

[rikscha]

This makes things slightly easier but although homepods is chosen as the source, you have to click your secondary audio source and then switch things around. Only then will YouTube force sound through the homepods. It is otherwise by default always going through my tv speakers

this is very much hit and miss and results in sometimes having no sound at all, forcing me to quit the app and restart it.
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It doesn’t bother me much, and I watch a ton of YouTube. If I’m adding a video to playlists or anything trickier, I’ll just do it on the iPad app. I get that it’s clunky, but it’s also free.

It’s not free per se. You are ‘paying’ for the content by watching ads. Regardless, you can expect a well working app from a tech giant. Full stop. I get your point if it was a smaller player but google knows how to develop software.