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Not exactly true. Most AV receivers have HDMI inputs. Certain my reviewer of 4 years has 4 of them.

Receivers, especially those post-1999 or so which have toslink inputs for surround sound, tend to be something that lasts a long time and doesn't need to be upgraded for a decade or more.

I'm still rocking a Denon receiver from 2001. I see absolutely NO reason to upgrade it since it sounds awesome and still supports DD5.1 and DTS just fine. If my TV didn't pass-through 5.1 audio through toslink (many sets don't, see an old thread about that below), I'd be forced to buy extra hardware or a new receiver to use the new Apple TV in my setup.

I'm lucky this isn't necessary, but many people aren't. There's a lot of older but still very capable receivers out there that shouldn't need ugprading due to this.

Old thread on digital passthrough: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...6-kdl-40v4100-hdmi-audio-dts-passthrough.html
 
.. Is HDMI passthrough.
We should be able to ditch out cable / sky boxes once and for all and like the Xbox one pass through our live TV signal and have Siri search and present an apple centric EPG.
Then all my TV would need is the ATV.

Wasted opportunity.

Indeed.

H.265 support. Smaller file sizes AND better quality

Second this.

TV streaming package is all that is missing. HDMI 2.0, 4K is all fluff that is not needed right now.

And BTW for those 4k fans.... The A8 chip can handle it at 50mbps. Apple or one of the devs can give this to you.

All the lack of 4K means is planned obsolescence.

The other thing they haven't clarified is cross app search for any and all programming. It seems they will only allow this for what can only be described as "coordinated apps" that are hard installed vs. independently developed apps in the store. I.E... You can cross search with iTunes, Hulu and Netflix, but maybe not with Vudu or Flixter.
 
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Wireless audio, ie. bluetooth earbuds, earphone jack on remote to plug in wired earbuds. Don't tell me they didn't include these features! These are no-brainers!

This.

My wife has cochlear implants and she can stream bluetooth audio from our Dish TV DVR (Hopper) directly to her processors.

But not having a receiver with bluethooth audio output, she can't do the same when we watch movies on ATV.
 
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What's missing for me is nothing ATV related; rather, I need the Airport Express to move up to 802.11ac. Then the wireless system will all be up to date.

This version of ATV will be very helpful for my arthritic mother-in-law, who loves her digital library but has worn out the current ATV remote (we're on the second remote). The new glassed and especially the bluetooth connectivity will work great for her (she forgets to point the remote at the ATV to make it work).

Like I said, nothing ATV related...
 
The one thing missing is a big screen!

But seriously, it looks like Apple has started to take the Apple TV seriously by getting some big content providers and finally, the App Store. Im eagerly looking forward to seeing what developers can make of it.
 
The only thing that really surprised me was that they didn't change the design. I've never heard of that before. Jonny Ive and his team are some of the best designers and they take a 4 year old box and just make it fatter. First Apple product to become thicker & fatter! I'm getting the impression that because it's a cheapish product, that Apple didn't want to spend much money on it. Very greedy. I find it very bizarre.

And heavier! Thank goodness. The ATV3 is so light that the force of the HDMI cable drags it off the TV table. I'm glad the new one is bigger and heavier.

But, instead of complaining about its looks, you ought to consider its functionality. Several opportunities missed, as the posters on this thread attest.
 
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We don't know for sure yet but there's a chance. Prior models have pretty much been locked at 30fps but Apple's own specs for this model says it can play 1080p 60fps. Since they are going to continue to sell the old model too, store content will have to continue to be 30fps. BUT, since they have playback hardware that can play 60fps, there should be at least a chance that they decided to go with variable frame rate playback and thus maybe 24fps too. I wish it showed in the specs but we'll probably only know when someone gets to test one and really get the many answers currently unknown.

Personally, I'm quite happy with the 60fps upgrade as I've shot lots of 1080p at 60fps for many years now. It will be great to get to "dust off" those digital files and put them in play (and trash the 30fps copies). But I'm also hopeful of native 24fps playback.

You know, I'm glad that you brought that up. I've noticed over the last year that everybody is jumping on the superficial, glossy-looking specs bandwagon that leaves off the detailed specs that, I guess, might frighten "ordinary people". But, "ordinary people" don't read the specs anyway, so, who cares? I've been amazed by the amount of information that is no longer available on spec sheets, even for quite sophisticated professional-only products of various kinds. I guess we need a protest movement. Or at least a Twitter-based shaming campaign.
 
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what is missing?

well, years ago Steves Jobs said he cracked the TV. we all assume that ATV will be revolution. instead, we got an ATV with an app store which Apple could have done it years ago.

ATV 4 is no where near revolution. They could have put the app store on ATV 2 long ago.

Maybe this isn't the thing he was referring to? I think the Apple TV 4 is a very nice refresh, I'll be purchasing the 64GB version as soon as it's available, but I don't think it's a revolutionary step forward. If it takes off, it could be very important, but it's a great improvement on what others are already doing, not something completely new. Maybe Jobs was referring to something else?
 
what is missing?

well, years ago Steves Jobs said he cracked the TV. we all assume that ATV will be revolution. instead, we got an ATV with an app store which Apple could have done it years ago.

ATV 4 is no where near revolution. They could have put the app store on ATV 2 long ago.

Exactly. There is zero here in the way of innovation....ZERO.

With that said, I will still get one for the better interface ;)
 
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I have never used any Apple TV but can the new one play .mkv movies that i download? Or do i need to play them via VLC app or something? If i can't play any of my movies i cant see any use for a Apple TV
 
I have never used any Apple TV but can the new one play .mkv movies that i download? Or do i need to play them via VLC app or something? If i can't play any of my movies i cant see any use for a Apple TV
Apple will probably never support mkv, because this one is, well, the pirating standard.
Apple, on the other hand, has full line of Hollywood studios standing behind their back (they don't produce the Store content themselves).
BTW Assuming your MKV-s are just ordinary BluRay rips, they only need the change of envelope (file container), not the content (stream). Okay, audio needs conversion, because DTS audio is still not supported.
 
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http://www.amazon.com/Panlong-Converter-Extractor-Splitter-De-embedder/dp/B00ISQ8VB8

The above, or get the Airport Express. Frankly, I don't think the ATV was ever meant to be a audio-only product.

My ATV is next to my projector. I use an optical audio to link to my hifi, which is at the other side of the room (near the screen). That is too far for HDMI (even if the ATV had a second HDMI output) . So the lack of optical out is a deal breaker for me.
Airport Express with Airtunes to connect to hifi would be a step back a decade.
The current ATV works great as a way to play music from an iMac to hifi without needing the projector or TV switched on. I find the dropping of optical out on the new ATV bizarre.
 
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What's missing for me is nothing ATV related; rather, I need the Airport Express to move up to 802.11ac. Then the wireless system will all be up to date.
+1

I have never used any Apple TV but can the new one play .mkv movies that i download? Or do i need to play them via VLC app or something? If i can't play any of my movies i cant see any use for a Apple TV

I'm hoping VLC gets their app up and running because I want to stream as lossless as I can make copies of Star Wars, and other favorites from my BDs, because having to put a disc in with all of this tech in our house seems ****ing idiotic!
 
Optical & 4K.
iPhone can record it. iMac can edit it. Shouldn't AppleTV view it?

I have the AppleTV 2 which only outputs 720p. But it plays 1080p content I have no problem.

I expect the AppleTV 4 will play the iPhone 4K recordings fine, just at normal HD TV resolution.

specs for this model says it can play 1080p 60fps. Since they are going to continue to sell the old model too, store content will have to continue to be 30fps.

Well.. store content will have to continue to offer 30fps, but no reason they couldn't also have 60fps content (The Hobbit in 48fps would be good!). Same way my AppleTV 2 rents and downloads the 720p version of movies instead of 1080p.

(edit: what'd be really nice is if the AppleTV 4 automatically used h265 for any and all.)
 
It's missing component output because my TV from 1995 only has that.
It's missing 10base2 because my home network is on coax


etc.


It's a purpose built device targeted at a specific market.
 
It's missing component output because my TV from 1995 only has that.
It's missing 10base2 because my home network is on coax

Perfect analogy to the missing audio output. :rolleyes:

It's a purpose built device targeted at a specific market.

What is that specific market? I already have an ATV3 and it does a great job of streaming Lawrence of Arabia in 1080p from Netflix over DSL/Ethernet.

OBTW, I took the trek to Costco today to stock up on a months worth of canned goods. A wall of 70"+ UHD TVs greeted me at the door. Apparently Costco isn't mainstream enough?
 
I thought that when Apple hired Tom Holman of Thx fame they would have gained some traction in Home Theater . Wrong. HD picture but still no sign of HD sound ( Dolby True /Atmos/dts Master/X ) AC3 is still ' good enough ' apparently . Its not as if they cant afford the royalties. While Siri and the App Store 'could' be seen as advancements to atv 4 their lack of interest in the state of the art AV is an area that lets all their products down IMO.

~M~
 
10/100BASE-T Ethernet port ? Really where is 1000Base-T

This is horse crap. Why include old 10/100 Ethernet? Where is Gig Ethernet?
Is it that hard to include it for those that want the best connection and have wired their homes for it?
 
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