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Yeah, it's a bit disappointing to me, as well, but then maybe I'm a marginalised case user.

Like the other person replied, a lot of TVs have their own optical out, but I my favourite use of the TV was to airplay music from iTunes on my computer to my home theatre sound system from 2003 which had multiple optical in ports but no HDMI inputs. Basically I had it set up so that I could not have my TV turned on (i.e. not waste electricity) and still have music play.

TL;DR — A lot of my sh*t is outdated and probably needs replaced.


I am in a similar boat. My Receiver is a little newer, it HDMI, but only only pass-through for video switching. I have to run an optical cord. I might have to run the new Apple TV directly to my TV, then audio back to the receiver.
 
When all the trackpad remote rumours started, I was envisioning a cut-down Apple Watch or at least an S- series processor driving it.
This became progressively less likely, and now we know what the intestines are, I'm actually disappointed.
 
A nice feature (or an App that will do this at least) would be a way to 'tag' a program you like so that you see when a new episode is available. I like the idea of having content available on demand, but I'm not a binge watcher. I can get used to not thinking of the device as a DVR the way my WMC and TiVo were... but I want to know when a new episode of Game of Thrones has become available, for example.

If you buy a season pass on the iTunes store, or if you subscribe to a show on Hulu, you will get an email when new episodes are available. As an example I have a season pass for Doctor Who. Sunday morning I had an email saying that the latest episode for that subscription was available.

For shows we watch on Hulu we get a daily email of new episodes available. Back when we first setup Hulu that was the default, however that may have changed. I'm sure other services have a similar feature.

Netflix lights up a whole season at a time, but I often get an iOS push notification when a new season of something I've watched is available.
 
No 4K support. Disappointed.
#wait4gen2

"We've made Apple TV retina even MORE amazing as it supports now 4K...You'll be able to see more crisp detail than ever before /end Tim Cook voice over"....the Apple workshippers goes wild.

Is there any 4k streaming content that is any "good", that is not very highly compressed? I haven't found any (I have a new 4k TV). Maybe there will be some decent content by the time gen2 comes out- for a $150 device I'd rather have it now and just upgrade to version 2, and sell or repurpose version 1. Not like it's a $700 iPhone.
 
Not knowing much about the whole regionalisation of TV, how much of a disadvantage do people in Europe have regarding access to services and shows compared to our American cousins?

Well... here in Holland the only really usefull ones are Youtube, Netflix and Airplay. I hope broadcasters will port their streaming apps from iOS from tvOS, but no big hopes. On Android TV they don't exist as well. The apps work on Android TV, but they are clearly designed for touch control.
 
Is there any 4k streaming content that is any "good", that is not very highly compressed? I haven't found any (I have a new 4k TV). Maybe there will be some decent content by the time gen2 comes out- for a $150 device I'd rather have it now and just upgrade to version 2, and sell or repurpose version 1. Not like it's a $700 iPhone.

Fully agree. Watch looking at some 4K Youtube content (H.264) and not impressed at all. AFAIK Netflix has some shows in 4K.
 
Wish everyone would quit complaining about optical out! Two words, people: HDMI. If your TV doesn't have it, you're apparently watching Jeopardy reruns on a black-and-white Zenith tube set ca. 1973. :) HDMI is not new tech.

I have a TV with HDMI in but only analog sound out. Yes, it's 7 years old (but it works) and yes, I'm hoping to replace it soon but this means I probably won't purchase a new Apple TV until I get a new TV, which might not be for a year or so. My 3rd gen Apple TV outputs right into my receiver (also no HDMI - it's too old) via optical.

It's not an issue for a lot of people but there are quite a few of us who have older equipment (but not that old) that could have benefitted from an optical out. It's not a big deal, it's just an inconvenience for some. I'm glad Apple got rid of it because it simplifies connections (for most people).
 
Wish everyone would quit complaining about optical out! Two words, people: HDMI. If your TV doesn't have it, you're apparently watching Jeopardy reruns on a black-and-white Zenith tube set ca. 1973. :) HDMI is not new tech.

Wrong!!! Take my case. I have a TV with HDMI. I have a receiver that is from 2004 that has optical but not HDMI. I could buy a cheap receiver that does HDMI audio and be done with it but the quality of the receiver I have from an audio perspective will require a receiver that is about $1500. Do I really want to change that just because the AppleTV needs it! I will stick with my Apple TV 3 for now. This is for my secondary system. My main system has an HDMI receiver that is $2999 and is ready for an AppleTV4. But I don't know if I am going to get one since I already have an Amazon Fire TV and Sony BD 6200 Bluray player connected to it.
 
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I am in a similar boat. My Receiver is a little newer, it HDMI, but only only pass-through for video switching. I have to run an optical cord. I might have to run the new Apple TV directly to my TV, then audio back to the receiver.

HDMI to optical converters are $20-30 ($5 buck if you buy in bulk (500!) on alibaba).
It is all digital, so it's not like you need something expensive to do the job.
 
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Wrong!!! Take my case. I have a TV with HDMI. I have a receiver that is from 2004 that has optical but not HDMI. I could buy a cheap receiver that does HDMI audio and be done with it but the quality of the receiver I have from an audio perspective will require a receiver that is about $1500. Do I really want to change that just because the AppleTV needs it! I will stick with my Apple TV 3 for now. This is for my secondary system. My main system has an HDMI receiver that is $2999 and is ready for an AppleTV4. But I don't know if I am going to get one since I already have an Amazon Fire TV and Sony BD 6200 Bluray player connected to it.

You could use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Extrac...442935464&sr=8-1&keywords=hdmi+to+optical+out
 
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Thanks. As a follow-up; if that material is a thermal interface, why is it not touching the A8 package itself? Or is the residual adhesive on the board where a heat spreader would land?

From what looks like thermal grease in the teardown, it's likely touching the package. Depending on package material, it may be a poor heat path, plus the additional U interface could offer needed mechanical support as well.
 
What was the reason Apple omitted optical audio out?
It's kind of a dying standard. Just about any receiver you would have bought in the last 5 years supports HDMI. It would have been nice to just have a stereo audio out though for legacy equipment. But in either case for $5-$25 you can get an HDMI audio extractor
 
As with all new products from Apple wait for v2 because that's actually the (great) product they *really* wanted, but needed more time, to release (examples: iPad - iPad 2; iPhone 4 - iPhone 4s; iPhone 6 - iphone 6s; Apple TV - Apple TV 2; etc, etc.)
 
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As with all new products from Apple wait for v2 because that's actually the (great) product they *really* wanted, but needed more time, to release (examples: iPad - iPad 2; iPhone 4 - iPhone 4s; iPhone 6 - iphone 6s; Apple TV - Apple TV 2; etc, etc.)

Well, this Apple TV is technically the fourth generation. So we shall wait for the 5th generation to get a good product you say? What kind of logic does that follow? ;)
 



iFixit has posted a hardware teardown of the new fourth-generation Apple TV, providing a closer look at the set-top box's A8 chip, flash storage, redesigned power supply with a larger heat sink and other logic board components. The website also provided a teardown of the accompanying Siri Remote.

ATV4-Teardown.jpg

Under the hood, the new Apple TV features a dual-core, 64-bit Apple A8 chip with 2GB of SK Hynix LPDDR3 SDRAM, custom Apple memory controller, SK Hynix NAND flash storage, Universal Scientific Industrial Wi-Fi module and SMSC USB 2.0 to 10/100 Ethernet controller.

Apple TV 4 Components List
Apple A8 APL1011 SoC
SK Hynix H9CKNNNBKTBRWR-NTH 2 GB LPDDR3 SDRAM
Universal Scientific Industrial 339S00045 Wi-Fi module
SMSC LAN9730 USB 2.0 to 10/100 Ethernet controller
Apple 338S00057 custom memory controller
Texas Instruments PA61
Fairchild Semiconductor DF25AU 010D 030D
DP2700A1
SK Hynix H2JTEG8VD1BMR 32 GB NAND Flash
NXP 1112 0206 5271B4K
V301 F 57K C6XF G4

The new Apple TV also has a larger heat sink, which is likely a contributing factor to the set-top box's taller form factor. The redesigned power supply is rated at 12V at 0.917A, compared to the third-generation Apple TV's rating of 3.4V at 1.75A. The heat sink is situated above the heat-sensitive logic board.

ATV4-Teardown-31.jpg

The teardown of the Siri Remote reveals a ST Microelectronics low-power ARM Cortex-M3 MCU, Qualcomm CSR1010 Bluetooth radio, Texas Instruments low-power digital signal processor, the same Broadcom touch screen controller used in the iPhone 5s/5c and iPad Air, 410 mAh battery and a few other chips.

iFixit gave the new Apple TV a strong repairability score of 8 out of 10, with ten being the easiest to repair, because it has only a few major components, a replaceable power supply and standard Torx screws. It also found the Siri Remote has a wide gap, making it easy to pry apart for repairs.

Article Link: New Apple TV Teardown Provides Closer Look at A8 Chip, Larger Heat Sink and Siri Remote
It's a shame Apple did add 4K resolution!
 
Wish everyone would quit complaining about optical out! Two words, people: HDMI. If your TV doesn't have it, you're apparently watching Jeopardy reruns on a black-and-white Zenith tube set ca. 1973. :) HDMI is not new tech.

It's not about the TV not having HDMI, it's about older receivers not having HDMI and TV's that don't pass through the digital audio to an optical port. Yes, I can buy another box to pull the HDMI audio and change it to optical, but then that is yet another thing I need to get. Leaving Optical audio on the unit should have been easy for them, or even only include it on the more expensive model. I just don't want yet another box to convert stuff. I am going to wait for the 4K version anyhow and then do a bigger upgrade. For now, my 720p ATV2 works fine with my 720p TV.
 
Wish everyone would quit complaining about optical out! Two words, people: HDMI. If your TV doesn't have it, you're apparently watching Jeopardy reruns on a black-and-white Zenith tube set ca. 1973. :) HDMI is not new tech.
What if you want to AirPlay without the tv on, and your receiver only has optical in?
 
Why doesn't the AppleTV have an optical audio, a standard that has existed for over 30 years and has kind of been fading?
Why doesn't the AppleTV have an HDMI 2.0a port, a standard that has existed for over 5 months and hasn't really been adopted yet?

Why doesn't AppleTV have all the ports and standards ever made for audio, video, networking, and wireless from 1980 to 2020, regardless of popularity or easily available alternatives?

Also, why doesn't the AppleTV support my token-ring LAN?
 
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