New Apple TV With A12 Chip and 'One More Thing' Teased Ahead of Next Week's Apple Event

[jmpage2]

With regard to DD Atmos
versus BD Atmos....

The bitrates for streaming have recently increased thankfully. I have a modest, Big Box Store type home theater setup. Not audiophile, but also not terrible. Full Atmos 11.2 system. Nice Polk bookshelf’s and two 12” 600w subs. I did not find the difference in audio between Atmos on disc versus Atmos on streaming wildly different. In fact what was more damning was losing Dolby Visions superior image over BDs HDR10. Even on streaming (ATV) DV looks superb. Per scene color balancing makes a huge difference. Color, vibrancy, range of image IS something I find quite noticeable.

I have quite a few 4K BDs that are mastered in Dolby Vision and with the tone mapping on the 77C9 the HDR ones look pretty good too.

Yes discs are 'old skool' but with the disc I always get what I expect for audio and video. With streaming I still get a softer picture with less detail and less color saturation than I get with a disc. Additionally if the bit-rate being delivered for the stream is not rock solid there will still be occasional dips in picture quality evidenced by posterization, pixelation or even a change in resolution in rare cases.

4K on disc offers absolutely the best "theater quality" experience possible in the home. Streaming though is more convenient.

 

[EugW]

I have quite a few 4K BDs that are mastered in Dolby Vision and with the tone mapping on the 77C9 the HDR ones look pretty good too.

Yes discs are 'old skool' but with the disc I always get what I expect for audio and video. With streaming I still get a softer picture with less detail and less color saturation than I get with a disc. Additionally if the bit-rate being delivered for the stream is not rock solid there will still be occasional dips in picture quality evidenced by posterization, pixelation or even a change in resolution in rare cases.

4K on disc offers absolutely the best "theater quality" experience possible in the home. Streaming though is more convenient.

One thing that bugs me about streaming titles on iTunes is that the menus for the extras and setup are often horrible quality for short periods of time. It seems they emphasize buffering for the actual streaming video content so lower quality streaming is usually quite short, but for the clips that they highlight in the menus, sometimes they are a pixelated mess. (I have Gigabit internet.)

 

[TVreporter]

“And one more thing...”

And out walks a Steve Jobs clone made from his DNA... Apple announces its new genetics line! Upgrade to Pro for eyeballs and fingers!

 

[Beerstalker]

Fire TV stick 4K, got it for $25 bucks on amazon prime day. The apple tv 4k is $180. Sure pay a premium if you want to stay in the Apple ecosystem. I'd rather see them release an Apple TV stick for a fraction of that price to compete.

I've said this before in other threads, I'm fairly certain with Apple releasing Airplay 2 and the Apple TV app to TV manufacturers to build into TVs I think there is very little chance of there ever being an Apple TV Stick. Why would they bother when that is pretty much the only 2 things an Apple TV Stick would be used for?

 

[Williesleg]

Please please please please please let the "one more thing" be Tim Apple quits to spend time with his family, and they bring back Scott Forstall. They really need something new.

 

[SRLMJ23]

I’m aware, thanks. It’s the fact that Apple changed a hardware Home button to default into the AppleTV app that indicates their intention of importance of where “home” should be.

I agree, and absolutely hated it...so once I found out the Home Button could be changed to actually take me to the Home Screen instead of the AppleTV App...it was done.

At first I was afraid they permanently made the Home Button take you to the AppleTV App. Thank God they did not do that!

 

[Dodfaefife]

Hopefully NOT with THAT remote!

Arrgh! Agreed! Whoever designed that thing should've been thrown down a flight of stairs.

 

[airplaneb777]

Hopefully NOT with THAT remote!

I was hoping I wasn’t the only who thinks this remote blows.

 

[upandown]

I have quite a few 4K BDs that are mastered in Dolby Vision and with the tone mapping on the 77C9 the HDR ones look pretty good too.

Yes discs are 'old skool' but with the disc I always get what I expect for audio and video. With streaming I still get a softer picture with less detail and less color saturation than I get with a disc. Additionally if the bit-rate being delivered for the stream is not rock solid there will still be occasional dips in picture quality evidenced by posterization, pixelation or even a change in resolution in rare cases.

4K on disc offers absolutely the best "theater quality" experience possible in the home. Streaming though is more convenient.

Definitely no contest! The disc media is king and looks quite a bit better than any stream. Congrats on the 77inch. I have the 65 C9. It’s one hell of a tv

 

[lec0rsaire]

Tim shouldn't try to pull off "One more thing" again. Unless it is something we really don't know about. Last time he did it I think was the iPhone X and it was sort of sad and pathetic. Everybody knew.

Unfortunately we have a bunch of leakers getting info from the supply chain nearly a year ahead. Social media also wasn’t what it is now during the Jobs era. Twitter was just an infant. It’s not Tim’s fault.

 

[dampfnudel]

If Apple TV is going to be a success, it needs to be more than a streaming box. Perhaps Apple Arcade can push the Apple TV as a gaming machine, but I'm not sure it can make a dent in the Switch/PS4/XB1 market.

I doubt it could ever make a significant dent. I feel like Apple has never really wanted to commit wholeheartedly to gaming beyond the causal, time killer stuff that can easily be marketed to a wider (older/female) market. Maybe that’s for the best.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Exactly what I wanted. An Apple TV 4K with a beefier SoC. Unfortunately I bought my OLED a year after the ATV4K’s launch and I tend to only buy electronics at launch, not when they’re half way on their way out so I was hoping for a refresh.

As for features I don’t see much they can add. HDR10+ is not happening since DV is a competing format and Apple is full on board with the DV/Atmos package. No DTS:X either but then again if only one audio option is offered, Dolby is always chosen for compatibility. Lots of stuff, especially cheaper stuff, doesn’t support DTS.

eARC will be the main attraction here for sound bar people or those who don’t use their receiver for switching. At least I would expect Apple using a 2.1 port on the 6th generation.

 

[EugW]

Exactly what I wanted. An Apple TV 4K with a beefier SoC. Unfortunately I bought my OLED a year after the ATV4K’s launch and I tend to only buy electronics at launch, not when they’re half way on their way out so I was hoping for a refresh.

As for features I don’t see much they can add. HDR10+ is not happening since DV is a competing format and Apple is full on board with the DV/Atmos package. No DTS:X either but then again if only one audio option is offered, Dolby is always chosen for compatibility. Lots of stuff, especially cheaper stuff, doesn’t support DTS.

eARC will be the main attraction here for sound bar people or those who don’t use their receiver for switching. At least I would expect Apple using a 2.1 port on the 6th generation.

Thing is, the A12 isn't really that much beefier. Perhaps mild upgrade.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Thing is, the A12 isn't really that much beefier. Perhaps mild upgrade.

It’s definitely better in nearly every area and there is yet hope we get the X variant. For me coming from the A8 ATV4 it will be a great upgrade.

 

[EugW]

It’s definitely better in nearly every area and there is yet hope we get the X variant. For me coming from the A8 ATV4 it will be a great upgrade.

Check out at the 3'48" second mark:

iPad Pro 10.5" with A10X is smoother with these games than the iPad Air 10.5" with A12.

Also, iMovie 4K exports are significantly faster on A10X as compared to A12.

 

[iSayuSay]

Check out at the 3'48" second mark:

iPad Pro 10.5" with A10X is smoother with these games than the iPad Air 10.5" with A12.

Also, iMovie 4K exports are significantly faster on A10X as compared to A12.

So true .. this is kinda disappointing. A12 isn’t significantly faster than A10X, but A12X is. If Apple wants to be serious in home gaming, than ATV should get no less than X series chip

Weird strategy if this ATV refresh pans out, though. A half-baked upgrade? LOL

 

[Robotech]

The AppleTV is really a fantastic product, however, it *really* needs to be cheaper. Much *much* cheaper. The 4K AppleTV should be no more than £99.

They are so damn hopeless with just about everything.
They can’t even provide a damn HDMI cable with it?
Just about every product has a catch 22 with it these days.
It must be such a pain to work in their stores selling this stuff to people.
“Oh, you also need to buy this with that so it works”...

 

[Abazigal]

So true .. this is kinda disappointing. A12 isn’t significantly faster than A10X, but A12X is. If Apple wants to be serious in home gaming, than ATV should get no less than X series chip

Weird strategy if this ATV refresh pans out, though. A half-baked upgrade? LOL

The issue isn’t with specs. Somewhere along the line, developers simply gave up trying to develop games for the Apple TV and Apple hasn’t been able to rekindle that interest since.

 

[gleepskip]

The issue isn’t with specs. Somewhere along the line, developers simply gave up trying to develop games for the Apple TV and Apple hasn’t been able to rekindle that interest since.

You know your gaming platform is a dismal failure if you can't retain Minecraft.

 

[Brien]

Good. Been holding off on upgrading to a 4K one. Next week’s gonna be expensive!

 

[JoeShades]

Some comments in this thread are proof people just like to complain. You can use any remote you want, so there is no need to use the Apple remote, therefore there is no need to complain yet people still do

 

[gleepskip]

Some comments in this thread are proof people just like to complain. You can use any remote you want, so there is no need to use the Apple remote, therefore there is no need to complain yet people still do

Sure you can use a different remote, but wouldn't it be best if Apple sold a proper remote to start with?

 

[JoeShades]

Sure you can use a different remote, but wouldn't it be best if Apple sold a proper remote to start with?

Sure but other than being a bit too small I don't see the issue with the remote, I guarantee no matter what kind of remote they sold the same amount of people would be here complaining

 

[ipedro]

I agree, and absolutely hated it...so once I found out the Home Button could be changed to actually take me to the Home Screen instead of the AppleTV App...it was done.

At first I was afraid they permanently made the Home Button take you to the AppleTV App. Thank God they did not do that!

I think it’s a hint at where they’re going with tvOS. The AppleTV is becoming the new home screen. A focus on content rather than a screen of apps. It’ll make more sense once most video content moves into Channels rather than their own apps. Then remaining apps would be games which will be in Arcade. Problem is, there’ll always be stubborn stragglers that want to keep their apps, like Netflix.

I’m curious to see what they announce for AppleTV hardware next week.

 

[Precursor]

I’ll buy one if it can play YouTube videos in 4K, if not I’ll pass