Live TV on Apple TV

[mpainesyd]

I don't expect that the updated Apple TV will be able to play live (digital free-to-air) TV! It would not be good for subscription services.

I have been using EyeTV on a Mac for many years. I was hoping that Airplay would allow me to stream it to an Apple Tv but no luck - sound sync is hopeless and video is choppy. Elagato seems to have been deaf to my request to add Airplay to EyeTV.

I have tried using Airplay via an iPad running ios EyeTV - again picture and sound are hopeless.

For several years I have been changing the input of my projector from Apple Tv to the Imac (using VGA!) to view live TV on the big screen.

Is there another solution to streaming live TV to the Apple Tv? There is another Elgato wifi device that streams to ios devices but, apparently not Apple Tv.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I've been looking at the following two solutions. They look perfect, but for the lack of Apple TV app.

Tablo
-- Sells 2-tuner and 4-tuner DVRs, which you connect an external USB hard drive to for recording. The device itself connects to your network, and you can stream live or recorded content using apps or a web browser.
-- $5/month optional subscription, but pretty necessary. $150 for lifetime subscription.
-- Tablo has said in a forum post (can't find it now) that they would love to be on AppleTV, but for undisclosed reasons Apple didn't pick them to be on the AppleTV. Thus, I am confident they would release an AppleTV app as soon as it is practically possible.

Simple.TV
-- Sells 1-tuner and 2-tuner DVRs, which you connect an external USB hard drive to for recording. The device itself connects to your network, and you can stream live or recorded content using apps or a web browser.
-- $60/year optional subscription, but pretty necessary. Unsure about lifetime option anymore, there used to be one.
-- Unsure whether they have commented on AppleTV support going forward.

Hopefully, if/when there is an Apple TV app store, both of these companies will be releasing an Apple TV app that will allow watching live or recorded OTA TV.

 

[Richdmoore]

I've been looking at the following two solutions. They look perfect, but for the lack of Apple TV app.

Simple.TV
-- Sells 1-tuner and 2-tuner DVRs, which you connect an external USB hard drive to for recording. The device itself connects to your network, and you can stream live or recorded content using apps or a web browser.
-- $60/year optional subscription, but pretty necessary. Unsure about lifetime option anymore, there used to be one.
-- Unsure whether they have commented on AppleTV support going forward.

Hopefully, if/when there is an Apple TV app store, both of these companies will be releasing an Apple TV app that will allow watching live or recorded OTA TV.

I own a lifetime simple tv 1. There are problems such as the ability to schedule sports overruns that have not been fixed for years. I would not buy one again.

 

[jdag]

I have a Tablo 4 tuner and am pretty happy with it. It is not flawless by any means, but does get the job done for the very minimal use I have for it. In fact, the only "box" connected to any of my TVs is the AppleTV (with 1 exception, I also have a FireTV Stick on my main TV). The Tablo is out of sight with my other networking equipment.

To watch live TV or recordings on the big screen, I can:

1) Use an iPhone or computer, then AirPlay to any of the 3 sets. I always use the iPhone for this, and it works very well, with only an occasional connection drop (I'd say maybe 1x out of 10x I use it). I don't have any sync problems at all.

2) Use the FireTV Stick, which does have a native Tablo app. (Side note: there is also a native app for Roku.) The FireTV Stick method should in theory be the most usable. In fact, it is pretty lousy in my opinion. The interface is brutally slow, and the picture quality and buffering are issues from time-to-time. I have been tempted to try a Roku 3 and/or a FireTV box, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

The iPhone/AirPlay method KILLS the FireTV Stick method because of UI speed, picture quality, and performance. I get very very reliable performance, with the only "negative" that I have to use my iPhone as opposed to just grabbing my remote.

I am anxious to see a native AppleTV app and hopefully it will be a reality soon. Assuming it is stable, then it likely would make the Tablo a significantly more usable product for the masses.

 

[mattopotamus]

I use Tivo OTA. It was $50 and at the time I bought it (directly through Tivo) they offered life time service for $350. It looks like you can only do the month to month service now ($15). I would still pay for the month to month service. I know this does not help the OPs original question, but it is related to getting OTA broadcast. I use the Tivo and ATV for a few apps.

It seems like the two device method is still the best. It would be awesome if the new ATV had the ability to pull in OTA channels.

 

[imaccooper]

I currently have a Tablo 2 tuner model. I AirPlay from my iPad and it works great. I've had no problems with connection or drops, although I will certainly admit that it can happen in many cases. I am hoping that they will have an app in the upcoming App Store, but we will have to wait and see what happens. I haven't tried other solutions to getting OTA channels, but I would have a hard time believing that anything could be easier or smoother than a Tablo on a good network.

One suggestion I have for better performance is to hardwire your tablo to your router (and hardwire your Apple TV if possible) to avoid having the stream coming over your wireless network multiple times.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I really really hope there is a good Tablo app for the ATV4 when they open up an app store for it.