Siri’s Initial Eight-Country Limitation on New Apple TV Due to Pronunciation Training

[JRobinsonJr]

No, the Siri server does not need to reach into my database at all, the two can be kept wholly seperate. I say "modern family" into the Siri remote, my voice is sent to a server and processed, and the server returns "Modern Family, tv show category, itunes id, etc etc." back to my AppleTV. Then the AppleTV can query my HomeSharing database (without reaching externally or sending anything externally) to see if there are any tv shows called "modern family" or any tv shows that match the same itunes id stored in my HomeSharing server. Thus, the Siri server never knows, nor need to know, what is in my database. No need to invade any privacy, at all.

The 2-step process is actually quite a great idea. Well said! To that I would add the following possibilities:

1. To bring the TV further into the heart of the media room it needs a way to aggregate iTunes and non-iTunes purchased media. One possibility - and there are pros/cons on this - would be to integrate with Ultraviolet. Yeah... I know. But it could immediately make the "upgrade my local media to UV licenses" a possibility. Now instead of ripping all my media I could spend $1-$3 to acquire a digital right. End of problem.

2. In addition to serving media, a local iTunes instance SHOULD - in my opinion - be available to CACHE cloud data. For example, I have a medium sized library of music and frequently play the same 3-4 playlists. It would be great if the TV could notice that I've played this several times and instead of streaming it from the internet every time use the iTunes Home Share to cache it. Next time I play it would be 100% local. This could also be used for movies (IF movie is local THEN play from local ELSE stream), TV shows, podcasts, and even photos. With ISP's applying data caps it doesn't make sense to keep transferring the same data. Save that for new stuff!

3. One thing that would better facilitate all of this is to stop having multiple places to look for iTunes media. Right now we have "My Data", a "Home Share" and potentially multiple instances of "Shared Data". All of this should appear in a single interface.

Just my 2-cents. Some of this is slightly off topic, but once you start discussing merging local and cloud libraries it becomes important to recognize all of the possibilities.

 

[AbSoluTc]

No, the Siri server does not need to reach into my database at all, the two can be kept wholly seperate. I say "modern family" into the Siri remote, my voice is sent to a server and processed, and the server returns "Modern Family, tv show category, itunes id, etc etc." back to my AppleTV. Then the AppleTV can query my HomeSharing database (without reaching externally or sending anything externally) to see if there are any tv shows called "modern family" or any tv shows that match the same itunes id stored in my HomeSharing server. Thus, the Siri server never knows, nor need to know, what is in my database. No need to invade any privacy, at all.

That's the thing, the Apple TV isn't querying anything locally. It's server side. In order for it to do that, it needs the API in that app to talk back. So either Apple needs to build it into home sharing or it's not going to happen. Either way, the database will need to be scanned.

 

[KiwiAdventure]

What is this article on about? and why was it even written?

Apples TV remote works 100% with Siri in New Zealand and none of my friends and family have had any problems with Siri.

 

[oneMadRssn]

That's the thing, the Apple TV isn't querying anything locally. It's server side. In order for it to do that, it needs the API in that app to talk back. So either Apple needs to build it into home sharing or it's not going to happen. Either way, the database will need to be scanned.

How do you know it's not querying anything locally? If it is designed like you suggest, where all the lookups are done server-side, that is a very poor design that won't scale at all.

Tim Cook already said that they will open up the Siri API to developers, and allow other content providers to add their results to the Siri screen. So we know that is coming. Currently, there are only 5 or so providers on that screen. Imagine adding all the streaming providers. Do you really think the Siri server is going to query several dozen or even a hundred streaming providers every time someone does a search and just feed the results back to the ATV? What if you only have 2 of those provider apps installed? That would be hugely inefficient. No, the Siri server just converts your voice to data, and passes that data back, that's it. The querying is done by the ATV itself. This way, if Joe's Streaming Emporium App wants to tap into that Siri results screen, they can do so easily.

I admit that I haven't used a packet sniffer with the new ATV while using Siri. I have done this with Siri on iPhone though. On iPhone, the Siri server only passes back the text of what you said, and the iPhone itself queries wikipedia, your contacts, your email, your calendar, etc, and any apps that support the API locally. Basically, the Siri server is an online voice-to-text engine, and that's it. The rest of the magic is local. We have every reason to think the ATV is structured the same way.

 

[Max(IT)]

Since Siri is working just fine in italian, I can't understand why italian isn't yet supported on AppleTV

 

[cycomiko]

It IS identical. If you were to purchase an Apple TV in a country that doesn't currently support Siri, and chose American English, or one of the other supported languages, Siri works. It only doesn't currently work in the native language of the countries that have the "Apple Remote"

then using a term like "looks identical" would be the wrong descriptor.

 

[Kaibelf]

The thing is, the voice recognition shouldn't be server-side, let's start with that, shall we?

Glassed Silver:mac

I disagree. Apple would have to roll out constant updates to tweak Siri and that would cause unnecessary fragmentation in order to accommodate a very small segment of their user base that would easily be served by using Plex instead.

 

[Maslink]

does the remote 'look identical' or is it actually 'identical' but without the apple tv actually responding to the request? as why would i drop 400 dollars at the current exchange rate for something that looks the same but with no ability to use the functionality even if I use Australian english.

It *is* identical.

I bought it in NZ, but set it up with a US iTunes account and Siri works fine even with my Kiwi accent. I'm sure that Siri will be added in Aussie/NZ very soon.

 

[jsamuels]

Yup, this. Siri does not have access to your database, nor can it index it. It's server side. That would be invasion of privacy to allow that. Imagine if Apple could remotely link in to the information on your machine and index it. Yeah, no. I love Apple but it's good they don't do that. It would be a huge welcome sign for the likes of the NSA and other users who wish to exploit such a vast door of fun.



Let's see you encode a voice recognition database that can fluently understand 30+ languages.

It's not unprepared, it's a lot of work and they are rolling it out quite nicely.

I would disagree about the "nicely"part. I'm a native English speaker who currently lives in Italy. Even if I select English as my language, I cannot use Siri Remote given my region is Italy. That flexibility would seem easy to implement and make for a more positive launch. Just my POV.

 

[Glassed Silver]

I disagree. Apple would have to roll out constant updates to tweak Siri and that would cause unnecessary fragmentation in order to accommodate a very small segment of their user base that would easily be served by using Plex instead.

Uhm, that'd maybe be true if this was the only benefit of local voice recognition, however that is simply not the case.

The time it takes for Siri to send and process, and often eventually fail to get a server response is easily beaten by me simply doing the tasks at hand myself.
On top of that, especially when in the car it'd be nice to have Siri be a bit less reliant on an internet connection, have snappy responses and not stay half-concentrated on whether or not Siri is still sending a request, already replies or asks back or failed. That's why Siri in the car is practically useless right now, at least for me.

Also, we already have processing of local databases, it's called asking Siri to play music that isn't hosted in their cloud.
I don't need iTunes Match to ask Siri to play a tune for me. (when it works, because asking for English titles when your system - and hence Siri's voice recognition - is set to German is utterly hit and a lot more miss.)

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[Rocketman]

Apple. Compare their initial command to their ultimate selection to teach Siri faster. Deploy it now and worldwide to make it learn faster.

Install more servers!

 

[galrito]

does the remote 'look identical' or is it actually 'identical' but without the apple tv actually responding to the request? as why would i drop 400 dollars at the current exchange rate for something that looks the same but with no ability to use the functionality even if I use Australian english.

It's exactly the same hardware, only the marketing name is different. It was confirmed by Apple on the developer forums.

 

[macuserpl]

I don't know if you guys who are mostly from Siri-supported countries know that if you sign in with a Polish Apple ID (or any other from a country without Siri), you have no way to enable Siri in English. I changed language, changed region - nothing. It's the most stupid thing ever. On my iPhone I can use Siri in English without any restrictions with my PL Apple ID and I have absolutely no idea why coulnd't they simply keep it off by default but let people choose wheather or not they want to use it in English.

 

[reboot81]

Interpreting english and a second language isn't an easy task. But it's plain stupid that non-english users cant choose to speak to our ATV4's in english.
And as said earlier, theres only one remote, but Siri isnt activated in all regions.

 

[davydavy]

Despite Siri's availability on iOS in over fifteen different languages and over thirty countries, the voice assistant's support on the new Apple TV has remained limited to eight countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Spain, and Japan.

In a new report by MacPrime [Google Translate], the importance of "film and television content" -- including altering the phonetic pronunciation of movie titles and actor names -- was given as the main reason behind this initially small Siri support on the new Apple TV.
Specifically, examples for film titles like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the actor Matthew McConaughey were given as the most different from the way Americans tend to say them. Since the new Apple TV is fueled by an extensive Siri voice search functionality, Apple feared that releasing the feature to a more global audience, who may run into problems and become frustrated, would dilute its overall appeal.

The project managers that MacPrime spoke to noted incoming support for more countries and languages, although the company has yet to give an exact date to the expanded regions that will gain Siri functionality on the Apple TV. Those areas that still received the fourth generation set-top box at launch, but are without Siri, were given a remote that looks identical to the Siri Remote but has been dubbed the "Apple TV Remote" due to its lack of full voice control capabilities.

Article Link: Siri's Initial Eight-Country Limitation on New Apple TV Due to Pronunciation Training

Interpreting english and a second language isn't an easy task. But it's plain stupid that non-english users cant choose to speak to our ATV4's in english.
And as said earlier, theres only one remote, but Siri isnt activated in all regions.

"The project managers that MacPrime spoke to noted incoming support for more countries and languages, although the company has yet to give an exact date to the expanded regions that will gain Siri functionality on the Apple TV"

So why doesn't Apple simply make a statement confirming that Siri functionality is being worked on for most places, and will be available soon?

 

[sirdir]

does the remote 'look identical' or is it actually 'identical' but without the apple tv actually responding to the request? as why would i drop 400 dollars at the current exchange rate for something that looks the same but with no ability to use the functionality even if I use Australian english.

It is identical.
But wait, does this mean I would have siri with a German Appstore account? But not with a Swiss (swiss-german) one? aaaargh...

 

[Ray-Bandy]

ITT: Nothing but complaints about the Apple TV, many of which have nothing to do with the topic of the thread.

It's a mystery to my mind as to why Ireland was excluded from the list. Considering it works fine in Northern Ireland, and the republic all speak English anyway, it doesn't really make sense to exclude them.

 

[Fzang]

You're absolutely correct. Apple should never have released this until every imperfection, every feature, every nuance was complete, even if it took until 2020 to accomplish this. Sheesh. You need to deal with a company that only released perfectly polished products. And there is a huge list of those companies for you.

Hey hey... easy with the sarcasm. Am I at fault for stating my opinion on the matter in a thread created for the sole purpose of discussing the article?

It's a fact that Apple hypes and sells its products only to conveniently let out that half of the features are only available within a 100 mile radius of Apple HQ or will roll out over a 20 year period.

 

[manu chao]

No, the Siri server does not need to reach into my database at all, the two can be kept wholly seperate. I say "modern family" into the Siri remote, my voice is sent to a server and processed, and the server returns "Modern Family, tv show category, itunes id, etc etc." back to my AppleTV. Then the AppleTV can query my HomeSharing database (without reaching externally or sending anything externally) to see if there are any tv shows called "modern family" or any tv shows that match the same itunes id stored in my HomeSharing server. Thus, the Siri server never knows, nor need to know, what is in my database. No need to invade any privacy, at all.

And how would your AppleTV or your local HomeSharing database know whether any movies in it fall into the category "modern family"? The least your local copy of iTunes would have to do is to query the central Siri database what categories and attributes apply to your locally stored movies (which means it has send the name of every movie to the server). Of course, Apple could then delete the history of those requests again from their servers but it has get a list of the names of the movies at some point.

(Though I think a privacy setting granting Siri and thus Apple access to the list of movies and other media in your iTunes library could be a reasonable solution.)

It's a mystery to my mind as to why Ireland was excluded from the list. Considering it works fine in Northern Ireland, and the republic all speak English anyway, it doesn't really make sense to exclude them.

The article mentions only 'Great Britain' not the United Kingdom, so technically it could have trouble with the Irish accent. Though I think you are implying that it actually works in Northern Ireland and that this article's use of the term 'Great Britain' is just in inaccuracy of MacRumors.

 

[BobsYourUncle.]

Siri is now working in NZ using NZ location, language, store etc. They must have switched it on a few hours ago.

 

[manu chao]

Do you really think the Siri server is going to query several dozen or even a hundred streaming providers every time someone does a search and just feed the results back to the ATV?

Their servers will regularly scan the streaming providers servers and cache a copy of that in a local (to the Siri server) database. Or if you are right, the Apple TV will cache that database.

 

[oneMadRssn]

And how would your AppleTV or your local HomeSharing database know whether any movies in it fall into the category "modern family"? The least your local copy of iTunes would have to do is to query the central Siri database what categories and attributes apply to your locally stored movies (which means it has send the name of every movie to the server). Of course, Apple could then delete the history of those requests again from their servers but it has get a list of the names of the movies at some point.

(Though I think a privacy setting granting Siri and thus Apple access to the list of movies and other media in your iTunes library could be a reasonable solution.)

It would know because I have set the correct itunes id for that show in the metadata (or rather, iflicks has set it).

Or it would know because all the correct metadata is already in there from when i downloaded the file from itunes (but now don't want to stream it from itunes to not use my capped data)

 

[Rock Singer]

Despite Siri's availability on iOS in over fifteen different languages and over thirty countries, the voice assistant's support on the new Apple TV has remained limited to eight countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Spain, and Japan.

In a new report by MacPrime [Google Translate], the importance of "film and television content" -- including altering the phonetic pronunciation of movie titles and actor names -- was given as the main reason behind this initially small Siri support on the new Apple TV.
Specifically, examples for film titles like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the actor Matthew McConaughey were given as the most different from the way Americans tend to say them. Since the new Apple TV is fueled by an extensive Siri voice search functionality, Apple feared that releasing the feature to a more global audience, who may run into problems and become frustrated, would dilute its overall appeal.

The project managers that MacPrime spoke to noted incoming support for more countries and languages, although the company has yet to give an exact date to the expanded regions that will gain Siri functionality on the Apple TV. Those areas that still received the fourth generation set-top box at launch, but are without Siri, were given a remote that looks identical to the Siri Remote but has been dubbed the "Apple TV Remote" due to its lack of full voice control capabilities.

Article Link: Siri's Initial Eight-Country Limitation on New Apple TV Due to Pronunciation Training

It's not working in Japan even in my main language of English all the publications are advertising Siri as part of the functions of the new Apple TV in English and Japanese I called Apple and they told me that they would return my call as soon as they have an answer but I'm still waiting.

To be fair to Apple, English is supported, which is the most important language in the world.

#EnglishMatters

Not in Japan it isn't

 

[manu chao]

It would know because I have set the correct itunes id for that show in the metadata (or rather, iflicks has set it).

That would assume that the metadata provided by iFlicks is sufficient for Siri to do its thing. Which it might or might not, we don't really know the range of metadata that Siri can use to recommend/offer us movies.

 

[demodave]

Despite Siri's availability on iOS in over fifteen different languages and over thirty countries, the voice assistant's support on the new Apple TV has remained limited to eight countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, United States, Germany, France, Spain, and Japan.

In a new report by MacPrime [Google Translate], the importance of "film and television content" -- including altering the phonetic pronunciation of movie titles and actor names -- was given as the main reason behind this initially small Siri support on the new Apple TV.

.... Since the new Apple TV is fueled by an extensive Siri voice search functionality, Apple feared that releasing the feature to a more global audience, who may run into problems and become frustrated, would dilute its overall appeal.

Article Link: Siri's Initial Eight-Country Limitation on New Apple TV Due to Pronunciation Training

I agree with the first respondent on "makes sense", but I'll add and elaborate. I find it unsurprising that MacPrime are a Swiss company (or at least are designated with country code .ch). Siri may well speak German (Hochdeutsch), but not speak Schwiizertüütsch, Österreichisches Deutsch, Schwäbisch, Bairisch, or any number of other Almannic dialects. I speak Hochdeutsch, and it does not help me much with a farmer anywhere in Swabia or Bavaria. Doesn't help me much with a serious fisherman in the North, either.

So I wonder if Siri will have a problem with a serious Texas Drawl or with Ebonics. (I live in Dallas. I think I'm entitled to the former, and the latter is not intended with any malice, either.)