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Apple TV |OT|

jts

...hate me...
Alright so while I got a 3rd gen Apple TV for cheap I have also ordered a 4th gen. I'll hand the 3rd gen to my dad.

What's everybody's recommended apps?
When you want to watch your own content, Infuse is the best, IMO.

edit: unless you already have a Plex server running, as per the post above.
 

kuppy

Member
The Reuters TV app is a good news video app. Gives you the option to present the latest news in a 10, 15 or 30 minutes videos, you can swipe up to see the segments and skip ahead. Also has a featured videos category and let's you choose between the US and international edition. It's pretty well designed.

I actually don't use a lot of apps.
 

Ninja Dom

Member
I took delivery of my Apple TV 4th gen today and set it all up.

One thing I've noticed. I put it into Sleep mode and carry on watching regular television. I then glance over at the Apple TV and notice that the Apple TV is back on again. It's happened twice.

I wonder how I'm managing to turn it back on. I have a couple of iOS devices with the Remote app and Watch with the Remote app. I wonder if it's that.
 

Pepiope

Member
I took delivery of my Apple TV 4th gen today and set it all up.

One thing I've noticed. I put it into Sleep mode and carry on watching regular television. I then glance over at the Apple TV and notice that the Apple TV is back on again. It's happened twice.

I wonder how I'm managing to turn it back on. I have a couple of iOS devices with the Remote app and Watch with the Remote app. I wonder if it's that.
The slightest touch of the apple remote will turn it on. I've done it more than a few times without realizing.
 

Balb

Member
Looking at getting an Apple TV 4. How snappy is the interface? I've given up on using my Xbox One as a media player because of how laggy the menus are, so I'm hoping the ATV will be a solid replacement.
 
Looking at getting an Apple TV 4. How snappy is the interface? I've given up on using my Xbox One as a media player because of how laggy the menus are, so I'm hoping the ATV will be a solid replacement.

Interface is pretty fast, I don't think I've seen complaints about the speed of the thing. Apple TV 4 is probably my favorite STB especially now with the initial remote issues sorted out.
 

jts

...hate me...
About my only complaint would be I find when mine restarts it doesn't accept input for a few seconds (5-10). Not sure why exactly.
I think that's just the remote turning on and pairing. I find better results if I try to press the volume first and only then using navigation.
 

MrMephistoX

Member
Looking at getting an Apple TV 4. How snappy is the interface? I've given up on using my Xbox One as a media player because of how laggy the menus are, so I'm hoping the ATV will be a solid replacement.

No complaints you'll love it unless you're used to Android or Fire ecosystems and not Apple. I also have an old Mac mini set up as a media server and it's great not having to pop into a separate app and being able to click into movies from the bookmark area.
 
I've been actually looking into that myself. My dad is constantly complaining about the cost of cable, so I've been looking at the Sling TV app. My parents mostly watch Spanish language channels, so if it shows football (Latin American and European) then he'll be happy.
 

sock

Member
Is there a quick way to switch an MFi controller between Apple TV and iPad?

It depends on how you define 'quick'.

The controller will auto connect to the most recently used device when you turn the controller on. If you want to switch your controller to another - but previously paired - device, you can tap/click the name of your controller in Bluetooth settings of the device you want to use and the controller will swap right over.
 

Balb

Member
Interface is pretty fast, I don't think I've seen complaints about the speed of the thing. Apple TV 4 is probably my favorite STB especially now with the initial remote issues sorted out.

No complaints you'll love it unless you're used to Android or Fire ecosystems and not Apple. I also have an old Mac mini set up as a media server and it's great not having to pop into a separate app and being able to click into movies from the bookmark area.

Thanks, looks like I'll be getting an Apple TV then.

One other thing: Is there ANY reason to go with the 64gb version?
 
Yeah, I completely wasted my money going with 64gb. Really haven't bought one game. :( I thought Apple would get into gaming with this device and they've failed miserably.

They should have put out their own controller.
 

Balb

Member
Ended up getting the 32GB model and I love it so far. All it needs are Amazon Instant and Twitch apps, and it'll be perfect for me. Hope Apple and Amazon can work something out.

One thing though: For whatever reason I can't get the remote to turn on my TV, though I can get it to turn off my TV by putting it to rest. Has anyone had this issue?
 
Ended up getting the 32GB model and I love it so far. All it needs are Amazon Instant and Twitch apps, and it'll be perfect for me. Hope Apple and Amazon can work something out.

One thing though: For whatever reason I can't get the remote to turn on my TV, though I can get it to turn off my TV by putting it to rest. Has anyone had this issue?

I'm waiting for a VUDU/UltraViolet app and then it'll be perfect

I've found the CEC settings to be less than perfect. Sometimes it turns my TV on and off, sometimes it doesn't. I don't know whether my TV or AppleTV is to blame, but I have nothing else to test with
 
Since the dawn of iTunes, I've "bought" as much of whatever free content they've had available, song, TV episodes, movies, etc... While this has been great in helping me find interesting new content, it's cluttered up my 3rd gen Apple TV to the point that it's hard to find the stuff I've actually bought. Last time I made a mental note of it, I had 2,500+ TV episodes (mostly reality TV bullshit.)

I seriously hate how the Apple TV sorts TV shows and I'm wondering if the new Apple TV would be any better. For example, if I go in to TV, then Purchased, and then in to any of the genres (including either of the two "Comedy" genre listings,) the series are listed in the order they were added to my account (newest first.) Finding something I added a year ago is a pain in the ass. If I favorite a series and go in that way, I see all the episodes whether they're in my account or if I need to buy them (not so bad for me, but my kids always want the episodes we don't already own.) If I search for a series, not only to I have to remember that I own it and type it in, but again, I get all the episodes listed.

So I'm thinking that more sorting options or a nice advanced search would be perfect. Does the new Apply TV allow you to sort the Purchased section of TV alphabetically? Would Siri be able to process a search like "Show me the TV series I own more than 4 episodes of"? What about "Show me all of the episodes I own of the TV series I own more than 4 episodes of"?
 

Quasar

Member
Since the dawn of iTunes, I've "bought" as much of whatever free content they've had available, song, TV episodes, movies, etc... While this has been great in helping me find interesting new content, it's cluttered up my 3rd gen Apple TV to the point that it's hard to find the stuff I've actually bought. Last time I made a mental note of it, I had 2,500+ TV episodes (mostly reality TV bullshit.)

I seriously hate how the Apple TV sorts TV shows and I'm wondering if the new Apple TV would be any better. For example, if I go in to TV, then Purchased, and then in to any of the genres (including either of the two "Comedy" genre listings,) the series are listed in the order they were added to my account (newest first.) Finding something I added a year ago is a pain in the ass. If I favorite a series and go in that way, I see all the episodes whether they're in my account or if I need to buy them (not so bad for me, but my kids always want the episodes we don't already own.) If I search for a series, not only to I have to remember that I own it and type it in, but again, I get all the episodes listed.

So I'm thinking that more sorting options or a nice advanced search would be perfect. Does the new Apply TV allow you to sort the Purchased section of TV alphabetically? Would Siri be able to process a search like "Show me the TV series I own more than 4 episodes of"? What about "Show me all of the episodes I own of the TV series I own more than 4 episodes of"?

From what I can see the order is fixed alphabetical. Well except from the 'recently purchased' tab. At least for movies.
 

Quasar

Member
Well thats bloody annoying. Just noticed with the recent update that Apple took away one of the tabs from the purchased section of the store. It was a 'recently updated' or something that let me scrolldown through the updated apps and see their changelogs.
 

kuppy

Member
Ended up getting the 32GB model and I love it so far. All it needs are Amazon Instant and Twitch apps, and it'll be perfect for me. Hope Apple and Amazon can work something out.

One thing though: For whatever reason I can't get the remote to turn on my TV, though I can get it to turn off my TV by putting it to rest. Has anyone had this issue?
StreamCenter, Game Theater and AnyStream do Twitch just fine. You can't log in though. I prefer using StreamCenter over the TV or PS4 Twitch app.

HDMI CEC works perfectly fine for me.

Edit: Looking at the App Store, there is also Twitchy TV, which lacks quality and chat options though. Also forgot that Game Theater has pop up ads which sort of elimiates it.
 
From what I can see the order is fixed alphabetical. Well except from the 'recently purchased' tab. At least for movies.
On the 3rd gen, the genre categories are alpha under movies, but reverse chronological under TV. What's weird is that there's even a setting for the sort order, but it doesn't appear to do anything.
 

Quasar

Member
On the 3rd gen, the genre categories are alpha under movies, but reverse chronological under TV. What's weird is that there's even a setting for the sort order, but it doesn't appear to do anything.

Well with my atv4 shows are just listed alphabetically from what I can see, but I only have 4 shows so I might not be getting tne full interface. I dont even get tabs for genres or anything. Just a plain list.
 
Two silly questions:

1: Has there been any rumors/roadmap on future updates on the physical hardware?

2: Can I Airplay via bluetooth? I'm rarely on the same network as my Apple TV, so this is a bigger one for me.
 

Quasar

Member
Two silly questions:

1: Has there been any rumors/roadmap on future updates on the physical hardware?

2: Can I Airplay via bluetooth? I'm rarely on the same network as my Apple TV, so this is a bigger one for me.

1. Not that I'm aware. Which is unfortunate. I'd really like it on the same schedule as the other ios devices.
2. I don't think so. I wouldnt think there'd be enough bandwidth anyway unless all you want is music.
 

Zaph

Member
Two silly questions:

1: Has there been any rumors/roadmap on future updates on the physical hardware?

2: Can I Airplay via bluetooth? I'm rarely on the same network as my Apple TV, so this is a bigger one for me.
Not sure on hardware updates, but you can form ad hoc networks with an ATV:

Use peer-to-peer AirPlay

With peer-to-peer AirPlay, your iOS device and Apple TV don't have to be on the same Wi-Fi network. To use peer-to-peer AirPlay, you need one of these devices with iOS 8 or later:
iPhone 5 or later
iPad mini or iPad (4th generation) or later
iPod touch (5th generation) or later
You can stream content to your Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later).
Make sure that both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. If you want to stream iTunes Store content, you also need an Internet connection.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204289
 
Not sure on hardware updates, but you can form ad hoc networks with an ATV:


https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204289

Out of curiosity, have you tried the peer to peer adhoc route? I'm wondering if the quality/performance suffers or not.

As for the hardware, as a long time Apple user, I'm stuck in the mindset of "buy day 1 or wait for revision; never buy mid cycle if you can help it" so I'm just waiting for the next revision.
 

kuppy

Member
Surely there has to be a 4K Apple TV revision in the works. Besides that no idea, new chip.
Maybe put a mute button on the remote and also a source button to even it out. The additional row of buttons might actually already do the trick of letting you more easily identify the right way of holding the remote. If those remotes weren't so expensive then I think changes like that would already get me to consider buying the newer remote. I try to use the Apple TV remote as much as possible, I like it.
Since the thing has a lightning port and we might end up seeing lightning port headphones, maybe that's something only a newer remote could support, don't know the tech behind it. But then again Bluetooth headphones support is already there, so why bother. Which is probably the general sentiment towards a better remote design. Speaking of which, I wonder if the Magic Mouse charging situation will get addressed in the next hardware cycle.
 

Zaph

Member
Out of curiosity, have you tried the peer to peer adhoc route? I'm wondering if the quality/performance suffers or not.

As for the hardware, as a long time Apple user, I'm stuck in the mindset of "buy day 1 or wait for revision; never buy mid cycle if you can help it" so I'm just waiting for the next revision.

I haven't tried ad-hoc Airplay, but I imagine it's works just the same - it looks like bluetooth is just used to establish/secure the connection between the devices, then wifi does the heavy lifting for the stream itself. So it might not be useful to you if you need to stay on your original network for whatever reason, as you'll temporarily leave it. Let me know if there's any specific app/stream you'd like me to test.

re: hardware, yeah I'm the same. There are never really any decent price drops on the Apple stuff I want, so I just buy it on launch. I hope they'll be new ATV hardware relatively soon - but it still feels like side project for Apple, even with the new App Store.
 

Moreche

Member
I purchased Force Awakens and Batman vs Superman from iTunes UK but I find the quality not great.
I was expecting something similar to bluray but are my expectations to great?
Does bluray still hold the lead?
 

Quasar

Member
I purchased Force Awakens and Batman vs Superman from iTunes UK but I find the quality not great.
I was expecting something similar to bluray but are my expectations to great?
Does bluray still hold the lead?

Yes you are, and its still night and day for the most part. Which isnt a surprise given itunes videos are like 8 megabits, whilst bluray is 50.
 

Quasar

Member
So anyone had any issues streaming iTunes video to the ATV4?

I've long had buffering issues where it would take forever to start and run into buffering part way though movies. But I figured it was due to slow (10mbps DSL). Well now I'm on 50 mbps fibre and I still have the issue (which does not happen with any other application) and I'm trying to work out whats going on.

My iPad on the same LAN does not have this issue, and my PC on the same LAN has been able to download the itunes files at full speed. So I'm a little lost as are the low level techs at my ISP.
 

CraigMcD

Member
Wish they were though. That would improve its gaming power so its on par with iphone/ipad.

I can't see gaming taking off on it until we get an official controller on it.

I think that the next update will be centred around 4K compatibility. We'll probably have to wait until Apple have enough 4K content for iTunes and do a simultaneous launch.
 

Quasar

Member
The hardware in the current AppleTV is great.

Well...its OK. Plenty of room for improvement imo. Though I suspect Apple doesnt give a damn about those areas I'd love to see improved (support for 24Hz, support for DTS/Dolbly lossless passthru, h.265 decoding, gigabit ethernet).
 

kuppy

Member
Just checked the iOS App Store and saw the Apple TV Remote App. Would have thought that they just update the previous app but instead it's a completely new app. So you'll have to give that a download in order to check it out.
The Details page is nice but not actually all that useful. Will rather pause the video and scrub with the preview on the Apple TV for example than doing it without preview form the iPhone.

Edit: Actually opened my MacBook to link this proper:

Apple TV Remote
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