Not entirely accurate, but close enough… i will give you that i want ATV to access and be able to manage and organize my digital media files. Which happens to be the original design and purpose of the iTV (Apple TV’s intended name). I will also give you that Apple TV and other similar streaming services have made “
personal media collections largely a thing of the past for the masses for better and worse.”, but not for the reasons you seem to imply or think. Apple and the other streaming services want to discourage personal ownership of media files, their inherited greed is not consumer or user friendly, and what they are really trying to do is find a way to get the consumer to ”pay for use” through subscription services and not personally own anything. Apple has already made its intentions known that it plans to have people lease their iPhones on a renewable subscription service… so even their hardware is becoming subject to this type of anti-consumer model. They are already doing it vigorously with discouraging the “self repair and upgrade“ abilities on their hardware and its going to come back to bite them. Even where the courts are starting to rule against that knd of anti-consumer behavior, they are trying to get out front of it by creating and having in place these repair kits for their iDevices… if you want to have a good laugh, learn about what those are and how they are designed to discourage the consumer from replacing their own cracked glass screens or batteries… Do you think soldering the upgradeable computer components & parts on the new M1 line of Macs are a performance enhancing feature? Thats Apple‘s propaganda, but is BS. Its because they want to continue to gouge people for upgrades at point of purchase, and prevent easy extension of product life.
And its interesting that you disclose that you first started using Apple TV 12 years ago… did you happen to notice the sudden change from the “Front Row” interface and navigation, along with its integration to iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, etc… and it being (as i said all along) a home theater media and related component managing device?
See:>
https://www.macworld.com/article/22...t-row-the-apple-tv-precursor-on-your-mac.html <
AND
See:>
https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the_future_of_apple_tv_and_front_row <
Yes, back then it was exactly what i have been saying they need to get back to, to revitalize its image and perceived purpose in the Apple ecosystem… its either that, or people will continue to reject it in this already saturated market of greedy subscription type entertainment media services. Apple was always the innovator - the original Apple TV was innovative, scalable, and creative… Even if Steve Jobs thought of it as Apple’s hobby project. Todays Apple TV is just like, as you said it,…. “
I could just as easily have Spotify or Amazon Music for example.“
They all do the same thing and are fighting to have control of what media content they can control and monetize. i.e. Sports; - such as the NFL, NHL, NBA, etc… Music, i.e. such as the libraries of publishing labels; etc… Gaming, and so on…. None of which the end consumer will ever own the rights to… If they have their way.
Apple - Give us back our iTunes & Front Row! Give us back our right and ability to manage and own our digital assets and upgrade and repair them as we see fit!.
. You still have to pick up your PS5 controller. So no button presses are saved. (I get the feeling you don't realize today's consoles switch inputs, turn on the tv and the console with one button press. 
