100% agree - the apple tv will be the perfect single hub for different manufactures products. the alternative is to have every company create their own hub which is the current fragmented system. apple tv is almost 100% reliable (the only time i've ever had a glitch is when iTunes is down or i haven't rebooted in months) - its significantly more reliable than my cable companies DVR - Apple not updating it (not counting all the channels they added) i'm my opinion is a good sign that they are doing a complete re-write of the system. I'm very excited to see where this goes.
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Siri Control of HomeKit Devices While On the Go Requires Apple TV as Hub
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100% agree - the apple tv will be the perfect single hub for different manufactures products. the alternative is to have every company create their own hub which is the current fragmented system. apple tv is almost 100% reliable (the only time i've ever had a glitch is when iTunes is down or i haven't rebooted in months) - its significantly more reliable than my cable companies DVR - Apple not updating it (not counting all the channels they added) i'm my opinion is a good sign that they are doing a complete re-write of the system. I'm very excited to see where this goes.
I agree. They will never compete with the hardcore game consoles. I'm not a "gamer" and neither are my friends. When company comes over I dust off the Wii and we have a blast. That is where Apple TV can fit in nicely.
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I use my ATV every day and couldn't be happier. I have a Roku collecting dust somewhere. I have tried countless HTPC experiments and alway conclude the ATV is my best option. So while it is 3 years old it is still a fantastic piece of gear for the living room. Newer doesn't alway equate to better.
A night on the town with my wife is probably $100. I'd repurchase an ATV in a flash if any of my 3 fail.
I'll be the first to completely agree that you shouldn't pay the full price of a 3 years old product : I bought mine this summer, but used, so I saved about 40%.
Although when you look at it, AppleTV's has evolved nicely in 2014 and doing good competition :
- We got a new interface with iOS 8
- We got HomeKit
- We got P2P screen sharing with the Mac, iPhone and iPad
- We got a BUNCH of new channels
- We got the iTunes Festival
- We got a brand new YouTube app
- And, if you like Apple a lot, we got live Apple Events broadcasted on your TV (with a Chinese voice as a bonus)
That being said, it's more than time for Apple to release a completely revamped AppleTV that can replace or substitute my cable HD recorder, along with an App Store, Siri-integrated commands and whatnot. At least they're not completely missing the show.
We unplugged the Ethernet ever since we switched to 50mbps internet. HD movies download in < 10 minutes.
It would be great if Apple would stop adding new software features to their devices for long enough to fix the bugs in what's already there so things work better. I love my 3rd generation Apple TV and use it often but I've found I have to restart it, sometimes by physically pulling the power cord and plugging it back in, about every 4 or 5 times I use it either because an app becomes unresponsive or the entire device does after a period of inactivity.
The continuity features of iOS are much the same. It's great to be able to take phone calls from my iPad, the 50% of the time it actually successfully hands off a call. Placing calls seems to be no problem but I have to reset both devices frequently to be able to accept them on the iPad without getting an error (or simply not having the call attempt to come through at all).
I get it, software will have bugs, but fix what's there before you roll out even more new buggy features that you won't spend the proper amount of time fixing before you move on to something else. I'm not going to bother with things like Apple Pay and HomeKit. Not when it comes to functions as important as being able to pay for things I need to buy at the store and controlling things in your home you need to work flawlessly like your lights, heat, etc.
The continuity features of iOS are much the same. It's great to be able to take phone calls from my iPad, the 50% of the time it actually successfully hands off a call. Placing calls seems to be no problem but I have to reset both devices frequently to be able to accept them on the iPad without getting an error (or simply not having the call attempt to come through at all).
I get it, software will have bugs, but fix what's there before you roll out even more new buggy features that you won't spend the proper amount of time fixing before you move on to something else. I'm not going to bother with things like Apple Pay and HomeKit. Not when it comes to functions as important as being able to pay for things I need to buy at the store and controlling things in your home you need to work flawlessly like your lights, heat, etc.
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Just because YOU have decent WiFi doesn't mean everyone else does. My WiFi is CRAP, I use an extender with an ETHERNET port and I don't forsee a time when that's going to change.
I'm on Xfinity Blast and get 90 - 125, yet it's still rare that I can watch an HD Movie through iTunes without it giving me error messages saying it'll take "3 hours for content to play." I buy digital media for the device that it won't play 75% of the time. What a crock of S. I've stopped buying films from iTunes. Meanwhile, it handles my Netflix, HBO Go, etc. Perfectly fine. The issue is clearly on Apple's end how it "buffers" or "prepares" video streams.
Or, you could just use the Swedish Chef translator:
https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/jbc/home/chef.html
People who are complaining about this, stop and think about it...
You need some kind of "server" to implement this sort of thing. Apple had a few options:
1) A PC or Mac -- Not a good option because many have a laptop and that laptop won't always be on the network or even at home.
2) An Airport or Time Capsule -- Not a good option because not everyone has an Airport, and you might piss off users if they have to change their WiFi router to use HomeKit.
3) Allow any of the homekit devices to be "servers" -- This might work but would increase the cost of the devices and would add more points of entry where security could be compromised.
The Apple TV is the best options, really. They're inexpensive, pretty much anyone can find them useful besides as the hub, and they use almost no power and are maintenance free.
You need some kind of "server" to implement this sort of thing. Apple had a few options:
1) A PC or Mac -- Not a good option because many have a laptop and that laptop won't always be on the network or even at home.
2) An Airport or Time Capsule -- Not a good option because not everyone has an Airport, and you might piss off users if they have to change their WiFi router to use HomeKit.
3) Allow any of the homekit devices to be "servers" -- This might work but would increase the cost of the devices and would add more points of entry where security could be compromised.
The Apple TV is the best options, really. They're inexpensive, pretty much anyone can find them useful besides as the hub, and they use almost no power and are maintenance free.
I'm not even going to attempt to dispute the current generation console statement, but I do think they could make it a device that could connect to a few controllers and make for some fun party games or ports of old favorites. I don't play many games, but occasionally my friend comes over and we play survival on COD MW3. I would venture to bet it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities to port that to iOS when A9x or A10 come around.
Everybody having diffrent hubs, it's true but for the most part you can mix and match. Unless the company does something like lowes with iris, and not follow the standered. I have an Almond +, and use wink, smart things, GE, and other Z-wave, or zigbee devices.
To bad having an Apple TV doesn't negate the whole home kit special chip stuff. Due to that I guess Apple can't look forward to my money cause I'm not buying new devices because Apple can't play nice.
To bad having an Apple TV doesn't negate the whole home kit special chip stuff. Due to that I guess Apple can't look forward to my money cause I'm not buying new devices because Apple can't play nice.
I can't imagine they would make people, who have spent $100s on the Phillips Hue bulbs, buy new bulbs. Or am I wrong?
I was leaning towards buying the BR30 ones, but I may hold off for a bit until this is confirmed.
I know many people would just want the AppleTV with updated hardware, same price, and an open app store. This is a completely valid request.
Personally, I hope they substantially update to the hardware to the level of the Wii U. I'd pay extra for that. Let's get a proper controller API and 3rd parties making some nice ones. I'm sure an Apple would would look great and cramp your hands (if the mice are any indication of their looks vs ergonomics tradeoff).
I think the AppleTV is a bigger deal than the
watch in 2015. I just don't see the watch taking off in the same way. No one's been able to show me a compelling reason outside of the fitness tracker. With the AppleTV, the field is open. They could just do a version of the current one with updated specs and software; they could do one with a router built in, since the network settings are the main pain-point with stuff like Airplay and Remote App; maybe the AppleTV will provide an interface as HomeKit becomes a proper house controller the face for your home becomes your TV.
Personally, I hope they substantially update to the hardware to the level of the Wii U. I'd pay extra for that. Let's get a proper controller API and 3rd parties making some nice ones. I'm sure an Apple would would look great and cramp your hands (if the mice are any indication of their looks vs ergonomics tradeoff).
I think the AppleTV is a bigger deal than the
watch in 2015. I just don't see the watch taking off in the same way. No one's been able to show me a compelling reason outside of the fitness tracker. With the AppleTV, the field is open. They could just do a version of the current one with updated specs and software; they could do one with a router built in, since the network settings are the main pain-point with stuff like Airplay and Remote App; maybe the AppleTV will provide an interface as HomeKit becomes a proper house controller the face for your home becomes your TV.
How does it deal with NAT transversal? Are we going to hear later that you also need an Airport router? Of course, any router with NAT-PMP, IGD, or UPnP would work.
I'll chew.
In all fairness, the Apple TV doesn't need the steady refresh cycle consistent with other devices.
Still, after 3 years and competing products, a reduced footprint and redesign might be nice. Support for 4K would definitely be welcomed. Siri anyone?
It's already sufficient for this purpose. I'm also guessing that this will be a driving force for further development of the ATV. Win win.
Source?
What did you expect? The need of a MacPro? Something has to be Internet connected and allways on... ATV is the cheapest and least power consuming device Apple has.
Absolutely agree and I think this is a great development. I just hope that apple will also move the iTunes hub functionality back to the Apple TV. (Add a bit of storage or the capability to connect to a hd) It's quite annoying to have to switch on my Mac when I want to watch a saved movie.
