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Sadly, the new Apple TV 4K only has 1 GB Ethernet. HDMI 2.1, 10 GB Ethernet and ... an A14 chip - that would be the ultimate streaming machine

Why on earth would need 10gbit ethernet on a streaming box? Even totally uncompressed 4K UHD Blu-Ray rips only just peak momentarily over 100Mbps and that's the largest possible file you could get your hands on.
 
I don't see the value of $150 here. This could be a cheap streaming dongle like chromecast over a dedicated device to stream iTunes. The most expensive Roku stick is like $70 and I think has more usability than this.
The Roku stick doesn’t even support Dolby Vision or Atmos. If you need a basic device, sure get a Roku stick. The ATV is clearly a premium device and is priced as such.
 
it offers support for 4K 60 fps HDR video output. Code recently found in tvOS 14.5 suggested the new Apple TV could support 4K 120Hz output, but that does not appear to be the case.
There is already some 4K DV 60 content which plays back on the current ATV 4K. Is this another "not really a new feature"? It would make more sense if the model did 120.

All it seems to do is add the profile used for 60fps Dolby Vision from an iPhone 12 Pro. Which is coming as part of tvOS 14.5?
 
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I know all these new devices go on sale tomorrow and I want the new tv. When do they usually go on sale? Midnight est?
 
The Roku stick doesn’t even support Dolby Vision or Atmos. If you need a basic device, sure get a Roku stick. The ATV is clearly a premium device and is priced as such.

If you see it from that perspective I can agree, but most people are happy just with the built in apps in their TVs. To me this is basically just a $150+ device to play media from iTunes library.
 
If you see it from that perspective I can agree, but most people are happy just with the built in apps in their TVs. To me this is basically just a $150+ device to play media from iTunes library.
If that’s all someone uses it for, then yes, perhaps they’re better suited to a cheaper or different device. For me, the ATV is the center of my entertainment system. For a good chunk of the target ATV market, the cost of the ATV amounts to little more than a rounding error compared to the expense of the rest of their setup.
 
What? This doesn't make any sense. "Source" devices like the AppleTV or a Blu Ray Player don't support ARC or eARC, it's a feature of the TV.
I to would like to hear more about this. Unless the ATV has multiple HDMI inputs/outputs I cant figure out what ARC or eARC would be doing on the apple TV. Any educated guesses out there?
 
Any hint if the new AppleTV supports spatial audio on the AirPods Max?

I have a pretty light use of my AppleTV 4, just watching occasional TV channels or movies and shows. I don't have a 4K TV yet but maybe I'll get one in the future. So... I'm kinda divided if it's worth it to buy one or just keep my old AppleTV 4 and just buy the new remote...

Any thoughts ?
other than your ATV4 will loose new software support at some point it doesn't sound like you have much of a reason to upgrade. Unless your using processing intensive apps or have a very high fidelity TV and sound system, the new processing power will be lost on you. I'd say get the remote if your not sure your going to buy a high end 4K tv in the next 24 months.
 
I'm a bit confused. Is an HDMI 2.1 port needed on the TV itself to take advantage of the HFR at 60 fps that's supported on the Apple TV? My TV has 120 Hz refresh rate but just HDMI 2.0.
TV refresh rate and source frame rate are two very different things. your TV will have a faster refresh rate to avoid ghosting and trails for certain digital content. It will also use the higher refresh rate to reduce flicker for those sensitive to 60Hz flicker. Lastly they use the higher refresh rate to support sports mode and other smoothing effects that attempt to fill in the gaps between source frames. These modes are great for sports and awful for everything else.

Now higher frame rate sources are something different. These require much higher bandwidth interconnects and more processing power for both the source and the TV.
 
Sadly, the new Apple TV 4K only has 1 GB Ethernet. HDMI 2.1, 10 GB Ethernet and ... an A14 chip - that would be the ultimate streaming machine
it DOES have HDMI 2.1.

A faster current state of the art chip would be nicer, but then the ATV would cost more than it already does, which is arguably already too much compared to the competition.

Why on earth do you need faster ethernet on your ATV? I'm genuinely interested in your use case.
 
it DOES have HDMI 2.1.

A faster current state of the art chip would be nicer, but then the ATV would cost more than it already does, which is arguably already too much compared to the competition.

Why on earth do you need faster ethernet on your ATV? I'm genuinely interested in your use case.
I use my current ATV 4k 64 GB to stream self created timelapse movies shot with a DSLR from my NAS (Network Attached Storage) in the cellar to my 4K TV in the living room. If you render these movies in Final Cut Pro X, the maximum output quality the 1 GB Ethernet can handle is a medium ProRes RAW movie file. Better quality leads to dropped frames and the movie does not play seamlessly.
I guess, a Mac Mini now available with 10 GB Ethernet could solve the problem, but I don't want to sit in the living room with a keyboard and a touch pad - looks too much like everyday work :(
Sure, the ATV is not cheap, but I would pay an even higher price for - let's call it an ATV Pro - if it only satisfies my needs. If anybody knows a better streaming device than the ATV (app store with Infuse, VLC, Elmedia ...), please let me know.
So yes, I saw, the new ATV has HDMI 2.1, but the real "power" would only be unleashed, if not only the output channel is fast, but also the input side (and the internal processing too). One could argue, it has WiFi 6, but a fast Ethernet connection is much more stable and reliable than WiFi under full load.
Apple has all the technologies needed for such a device, but it seems, they don't see a market for it. Perhaps, they are right. Bad luck for me ...
 
Shield is much more powerful overall for people that care about true quality video AND audio in their home theatre or media room setup

I have both of them of the latest versions btw
Yes, I'm also using Shield TV Pro 2019, it meets all my needs. But the system is not always smooth, that's the main reason I'm thinking about a more "powerful" box.
But still, "true quality video AND audio" as you said will always be the first consideration.
 
What Apple needs to do is give the user the option to enable audio passthrough. This could be done with a prompt to advise the user that other AppleTV features such Siri will be unavailable.
Really this is the best solution for now. Hope Apple could do sth to enable audio passthrough.
 
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If that’s all someone uses it for, then yes, perhaps they’re better suited to a cheaper or different device. For me, the ATV is the center of my entertainment system. For a good chunk of the target ATV market, the cost of the ATV amounts to little more than a rounding error compared to the expense of the rest of their setup.

Understandable, but I didn't imagine its an videophile device more like mainstream on par with the rest of the streamers. Honestly, if you are so serious about your tv viewings, arent you better off with Bluray?
 
Understandable, but I didn't imagine its an videophile device more like mainstream on par with the rest of the streamers. Honestly, if you are so serious about your tv viewings, arent you better off with Bluray?
You’re not watching current, up to date content on Blu-Ray. I’ve got a PS4 when the need arises, but most streaming content is of satisfactory quality.
 
I use my current ATV 4k 64 GB to stream self created timelapse movies shot with a DSLR from my NAS (Network Attached Storage) in the cellar to my 4K TV in the living room. If you render these movies in Final Cut Pro X, the maximum output quality the 1 GB Ethernet can handle is a medium ProRes RAW movie file. Better quality leads to dropped frames and the movie does not play seamlessly.
I guess, a Mac Mini now available with 10 GB Ethernet could solve the problem, but I don't want to sit in the living room with a keyboard and a touch pad - looks too much like everyday work :(
Sure, the ATV is not cheap, but I would pay an even higher price for - let's call it an ATV Pro - if it only satisfies my needs. If anybody knows a better streaming device than the ATV (app store with Infuse, VLC, Elmedia ...), please let me know.
So yes, I saw, the new ATV has HDMI 2.1, but the real "power" would only be unleashed, if not only the output channel is fast, but also the input side (and the internal processing too). One could argue, it has WiFi 6, but a fast Ethernet connection is much more stable and reliable than WiFi under full load.
Apple has all the technologies needed for such a device, but it seems, they don't see a market for it. Perhaps, they are right. Bad luck for me ...
I can almost guarantee that you’re hitting the limitations of what the ATV can decode and not network contention. Even Apple ProRes 4444 XQ is 500mbps at 1080p and 29.97 FPS. So even 4K would hit 2gbps at that. Prores Raw isn’t that high a bitrate. Check the bitrate on your files. I doubt you’re saturating a gigabit connection. Prores Raw is an acquisition format for editing, it’s not meant to be used for playback. And the ATV is certainly not being sold as a device to be used as a reference monitor for video editing. Render it out in x264 and stay within the limits of what the hardware can decode.
 
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Can’t see upgrading unless current 4K Apple TV’s somehow break. Nothing worthwhile.
 
Apple likely picked the A12 because it’s cheap and because it’s used in other products - namely the base iPad and Mini. The A13 will likely stop production when the iPhone 12S/13 is released in the fall and the regular 12 is relegated to to the lower cost option, thus discontinuing the 11. And the A14 is bleeding edge technology that is likely too expensive to manufacture for a $170-200 consumer electronic item. (I still wish they’d gone with the A14 though).
I agreed I think even A13 would have been better
 
I can almost guarantee that you’re hitting the limitations of what the ATV can decode and not network contention. Even Apple ProRes 4444 XQ is 500mbps at 1080p and 29.97 FPS. So even 4K would hit 2gbps at that. Prores Raw isn’t that high a bitrate. Check the bitrate on your files. I doubt you’re saturating a gigabit connection. Prores Raw is an acquisition format for editing, it’s not meant to be used for playback. And the ATV is certainly not being sold as a device to be used as a reference monitor for video editing. Render it out in x264 and stay within the limits of what the hardware can decode.
The 4k (4026 x 2169) Apple ProRes 422 Proxy coded movie has a bitrate of 146 MBit/s at 25 FPS, measured on the MBP. The same movie rendered as 4k MP4 (h.264) has a bitrate of 55 MBit/s at 25 FPS - roughly one third of the ProRes file. Call it imagination, but the Apple ProRes movie looks clearly better on the ATV than the h.264 movie. And especially for timelapse movies, the quality of the footage is essential ("milky way at night"). So I still wonder, what these movies will look like when rendered with a higher quality Apple ProRes codec. Unfortunately I did not find a way to display the bitrate in the VLC player on the ATV. VLC is the only player able to play the Apple ProRes movie smoothly.
But I ordered the new ATV with the A12 Bionic so I will see, if the ATV is the bottleneck as you mentioned or if it's the 1 GB ethernet / NAS combination (what I assume). I will update this post with the result.
 
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