Apple TV Service Delayed Until 2016, Apple TV Coming Next Month (Report)....Variety....Janko Roettgers...August 13, 2015
Apple TV Service Delayed Until 2016, Apple TV Coming Next Month (Report)
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The continuing saga of the Apple TV service. Always a stumble at the line and the quarter back drops to a knee. Yes, their game continues and the loyal fans sit patiently in the stands hoping for some Hail Mary play, but another season will pass knowing that they will likely not be going to the Super Bowl...
I'm happy with Dish at this point, so I'm WAY more interested in an Apple TV with an App Store than I am an Apple Subscription TV service. (An HD NASA TV App would be super! Pretty Please???)
At this point, the Venn Diagram for my setup has just about everything I could want being provided by Apple TV and my Sony Bravia. The Bravia has the Amazon that the Apple TV lacks, and they both have overlap (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) Apple TV has iTunes (natch) and HBO Now that the Bravia lacks. I've even been able to use the Live TV capabilities of the ESPN and NBCSports apps when the satellite goes out due to rain. But it all depends on cost and availability to see if an Apple Subscription TV service make sense to us here in the middle states.
At this point, the Venn Diagram for my setup has just about everything I could want being provided by Apple TV and my Sony Bravia. The Bravia has the Amazon that the Apple TV lacks, and they both have overlap (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) Apple TV has iTunes (natch) and HBO Now that the Bravia lacks. I've even been able to use the Live TV capabilities of the ESPN and NBCSports apps when the satellite goes out due to rain. But it all depends on cost and availability to see if an Apple Subscription TV service make sense to us here in the middle states.
- Nov 29, 2003
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All I want is a Apple TV unit that has the same TV apps that my iPad does, then I can turn in my X1 in to Comcast and just get a cable card for live TV ( news, football when it is on).
NBC and CBS All Access channels are now available on the AppleTV, along with something called "Made to Measure" (Apple TV Gains CBS All Access, NBC, and Made to Measure Channels). NBC is like the ABC and FOX Apps in that it requires an account with a cable or satellite provider (Dish/DirecTV), but the CBS All Access is treading in true Cord Cutter territory in its $6/mo subscription model. Plus, in some areas of the country, it will provide "live" access to your local CBS affiliate.
I say "live" because in comparison with the OTA channel, it seems to be about two minutes behind. Even Dish manages to deliver the in-market OTA channels within 12-15 seconds.
The big catalog of CBS shows seems to be the big draw with the CBS All Access. All of the Star Trek franchises are here, along with some Old/New shows like Hawaii 5-O and The Odd Couple, more NCIS than you can shake a stick at, all Seasons of shows like "The Good Wife", "Big Bang Theory", and more oldies like "Wings" (which I could have sworn was on NBC) and the "Cheers"/"Fraiser" shows (which I KNOW were on NBC!). However, even paying for content isn't enough, as Ads are embedded in the shows, no way to avoid them. I guess "Hulu Lite". Unfortunately, the ads' volume levels are all over the place, as in +5dB to +30dB louder. Okay, maybe not +30, but noticeably louder.
Anyway, the other big news is the new AppleTV will be available for pre-order starting on Monday. I'll be ordering one of the small units.
I say "live" because in comparison with the OTA channel, it seems to be about two minutes behind. Even Dish manages to deliver the in-market OTA channels within 12-15 seconds.
The big catalog of CBS shows seems to be the big draw with the CBS All Access. All of the Star Trek franchises are here, along with some Old/New shows like Hawaii 5-O and The Odd Couple, more NCIS than you can shake a stick at, all Seasons of shows like "The Good Wife", "Big Bang Theory", and more oldies like "Wings" (which I could have sworn was on NBC) and the "Cheers"/"Fraiser" shows (which I KNOW were on NBC!). However, even paying for content isn't enough, as Ads are embedded in the shows, no way to avoid them. I guess "Hulu Lite". Unfortunately, the ads' volume levels are all over the place, as in +5dB to +30dB louder. Okay, maybe not +30, but noticeably louder.
Anyway, the other big news is the new AppleTV will be available for pre-order starting on Monday. I'll be ordering one of the small units.
I figure that by the time I have picked up a 4K TV for the family room, Apple will have upgraded the HDMI connection to HDMI v2+, so the lesser capacity minimizes my costs. If the Apps take up a lot of room, then I can get a 64 GB unit, but until then, I'll see what happens with the 32 GB unit.
I had mine now for over a month. I am now waiting for my USB C cable to come in as Apple did not ship the dev units with them so I can not upgrade my software to the release version.
Went to the Apple Store and they didn't have any USB C cables so I had to order one from Amazon instead.
Went to the Apple Store and they didn't have any USB C cables so I had to order one from Amazon instead.
I gather the "preview" units won't update over the network? Makes sense, I suppose.
I apologize in advance for the disjointed review. I'm typing things as I come across them. That said, here are my First Impressions:
Setting up my 4th Gen AppleTV starts with he unboxing. The box is not the usual Apple no space unused box. There is actually a few cubic inches of air sitting under the AppleTV and the manual. Where the power cord coiled under the older generation unit, this power cord goes into a separate section all by itself, making the box oblong instead of square. Does it matter? No, but it's further evidence that today's Apple is not a slave to Steve Jobs (for better or worse).
I was able to unplug my old Apple TV and plug the new one in its place. The extra height of the 4th Gen AppleTV does mean that I can't slip it under my Sony Bravia like my old 3rd gen unit. However, since the remote is Bluetooth, line-of-sight isn't necessary and it sits in the same spot, just back 1.5 inches. I can still see the LED blink to indicate remote activity.
Set-up could have gone easier. I chose the Manual Setup since I have different iTunes and iCloud accounts. As a result, I ran across complaint #1: The inability to use my iPhone as a keyboard! The current iOS Remote App is not compatible and the new Apple TV will not show up in the list of remote devices and Libraries. This wouldn't be a huge issue except the tvOS on-screen keyboard, er, "is not optimal" and has more in common with my wife's new Hoover than the old on-screen keyboard. I suppose if I had a Bluetooth keyboard laying around it wouldn't be so bad, but I don't. Apple will be happy to sell me one, though...
Believe me, after you have entered in your Apple Store credentials and your iCloud credentials and your Netflix credentials and your Hulu credentials and (you get the idea,) the lack of the iOS Remote App keyboard support really diminishes the expected Apple-y experience.
Also, I am having major issues with my iTunes Home Sharing. Sometimes it works, sometimes I have to stop and restart iTunes on the iMac.
The old AppleTV put every App on the Home Screen and it was up to you to "hide" them if you didn't want to see it. The new AppleTV comes with a minimal number of Apps, so if you want Netflix or WatchESPN, you need to go into the new tvOS App Store and download them. Which means typing in your iTunes/App Store credentials on the crappy on-screen keyboard, again! (Did I say I don't care for the on-screen keyboard?)
One positive I noted: It seems the tvOS App Store and the iOS App Store share purchase history, so I was able to get "Crossy Road" and it taps into the GameCenter so my lack of achievements follows me from device to device. Video app-wise, the TWiT App is here, so I doubt I will miss the Podcasting App.
Big plus is the included remote. It "knows" how to talk to your TV to find the volume control IR codes, so now the remote control can be used to control your TV's volume instead of setting the AppleTV remote down and picking up the TV's remote. Also, since it supports the CEC over HDMI, activating your AppleTV switches your TV on and sets the TV Input to the HDMI input the AppleTV is plugged in to.
I still think there has to be a better manner to display all these app icons. We are still presented with a 4 high by 5 wide array of icons. The swipe on the remote's touchpad works okay to navigate the icons, but overshooting is easy. The responsiveness of the touchpad can be set in the Settings. But I want to be able to shrink the icon size so it could fit 5x6 icons or 5x7. Either that, or being able to create Folders of similar Apps to simplify the Home Screen.
I can't say too much about the Siri search capabilities at this time as I haven't had too much time to play with it. The one time I tried the "what did he just say" the program didn't have CC available! But it did jump back 15 seconds so I could hear it again.
So far the playback has been solid and the interface is responsive, which it should be considering the A8 processor inside.
Anyway, a yard full of leaves beckons, so I am going to leave this review of now.
I apologize in advance for the disjointed review. I'm typing things as I come across them. That said, here are my First Impressions:
Setting up my 4th Gen AppleTV starts with he unboxing. The box is not the usual Apple no space unused box. There is actually a few cubic inches of air sitting under the AppleTV and the manual. Where the power cord coiled under the older generation unit, this power cord goes into a separate section all by itself, making the box oblong instead of square. Does it matter? No, but it's further evidence that today's Apple is not a slave to Steve Jobs (for better or worse).
I was able to unplug my old Apple TV and plug the new one in its place. The extra height of the 4th Gen AppleTV does mean that I can't slip it under my Sony Bravia like my old 3rd gen unit. However, since the remote is Bluetooth, line-of-sight isn't necessary and it sits in the same spot, just back 1.5 inches. I can still see the LED blink to indicate remote activity.
Set-up could have gone easier. I chose the Manual Setup since I have different iTunes and iCloud accounts. As a result, I ran across complaint #1: The inability to use my iPhone as a keyboard! The current iOS Remote App is not compatible and the new Apple TV will not show up in the list of remote devices and Libraries. This wouldn't be a huge issue except the tvOS on-screen keyboard, er, "is not optimal" and has more in common with my wife's new Hoover than the old on-screen keyboard. I suppose if I had a Bluetooth keyboard laying around it wouldn't be so bad, but I don't. Apple will be happy to sell me one, though...
Believe me, after you have entered in your Apple Store credentials and your iCloud credentials and your Netflix credentials and your Hulu credentials and (you get the idea,) the lack of the iOS Remote App keyboard support really diminishes the expected Apple-y experience.
Also, I am having major issues with my iTunes Home Sharing. Sometimes it works, sometimes I have to stop and restart iTunes on the iMac.
The old AppleTV put every App on the Home Screen and it was up to you to "hide" them if you didn't want to see it. The new AppleTV comes with a minimal number of Apps, so if you want Netflix or WatchESPN, you need to go into the new tvOS App Store and download them. Which means typing in your iTunes/App Store credentials on the crappy on-screen keyboard, again! (Did I say I don't care for the on-screen keyboard?)
One positive I noted: It seems the tvOS App Store and the iOS App Store share purchase history, so I was able to get "Crossy Road" and it taps into the GameCenter so my lack of achievements follows me from device to device. Video app-wise, the TWiT App is here, so I doubt I will miss the Podcasting App.
Big plus is the included remote. It "knows" how to talk to your TV to find the volume control IR codes, so now the remote control can be used to control your TV's volume instead of setting the AppleTV remote down and picking up the TV's remote. Also, since it supports the CEC over HDMI, activating your AppleTV switches your TV on and sets the TV Input to the HDMI input the AppleTV is plugged in to.
I still think there has to be a better manner to display all these app icons. We are still presented with a 4 high by 5 wide array of icons. The swipe on the remote's touchpad works okay to navigate the icons, but overshooting is easy. The responsiveness of the touchpad can be set in the Settings. But I want to be able to shrink the icon size so it could fit 5x6 icons or 5x7. Either that, or being able to create Folders of similar Apps to simplify the Home Screen.
I can't say too much about the Siri search capabilities at this time as I haven't had too much time to play with it. The one time I tried the "what did he just say" the program didn't have CC available! But it did jump back 15 seconds so I could hear it again.
So far the playback has been solid and the interface is responsive, which it should be considering the A8 processor inside.
Anyway, a yard full of leaves beckons, so I am going to leave this review of now.
So does the new Apple TV accept IR commands? I'm wondering about using a Harmony remote.
Yes, it does. I tried my Dish remote's Aux (which I set up for the Gen 3 AppleTV) and it worked just fine. However, by accident I discovered that my Bravia's remote is now able to control the AppleTV! Good news if you wanted to hide this away in an entertainment center. So, again, the hardware gets top marks.
I did find one helpful "cheat" for the tvOS on-screen keyboard. The Play/Pause button will toggle the case of the letters which saves you from needing to swipe down two rows to the case selection, swipe left/right to pick Upper or lower, and then back up to the letters. So finding that shortcut makes entering complex passwords a little more palpable.
Searching for Apps in the tvOS App Store isn't too good (could use a Clear All button on that keyboard) which isn't a problem yet. Get 50,000 apps in there and it's going to be awful. Hopefully Apple will release the AppleTV Remote app for other iOS devices by then. Or, letting us search and buy tvOS apps on our Macs or PCs via iTunes would be great.
Yep, I took too long to type that...
People have reported on some more on-screen keyboard shortcuts that help with entering text. Holding the Select brings up a list of optional versions of the letter pressed. For example, press-and-hold the "a" and your first option is "A" with the Backspace a swipe to the left and "à á â ä æ ã å ?" a swipe to the right. So, this does ease the pain of not having a real keyboard to type with.
The tvOS App Store now has Top Charts and the number of available Apps grows daily. Right now, there are probably two dozen different Fireplace apps, aquarium, screensaver/fine art backgrounds (with and without music), TV Trivia. Even a "Bernie 2016" app! The official Plex app is now live (and free) plus a number of other LAN-based media players.
Maybe the 64 GB version was the way to go...
Back to the CEC support: With everything off, I can wake up the AppleTV which turns on the Sony, and after it "boots up", switches the Input to the AppleTV which also sets the Sony's remote into AppleTV control mode. The only downside is most buttons that do nothing on the AppleTV (like Option) are likewise deactivated for the Sony. The Sony's remote does have a way to switch to TV-specific controls temporarily, but that isn't a non-geek user option. But it does allow me to set TV Options like PiP or the Sleep Timer without changing the Input.
The tvOS App Store now has Top Charts and the number of available Apps grows daily. Right now, there are probably two dozen different Fireplace apps, aquarium, screensaver/fine art backgrounds (with and without music), TV Trivia. Even a "Bernie 2016" app! The official Plex app is now live (and free) plus a number of other LAN-based media players.
Maybe the 64 GB version was the way to go...
Back to the CEC support: With everything off, I can wake up the AppleTV which turns on the Sony, and after it "boots up", switches the Input to the AppleTV which also sets the Sony's remote into AppleTV control mode. The only downside is most buttons that do nothing on the AppleTV (like Option) are likewise deactivated for the Sony. The Sony's remote does have a way to switch to TV-specific controls temporarily, but that isn't a non-geek user option. But it does allow me to set TV Options like PiP or the Sleep Timer without changing the Input.
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Maybe this is dumb of me, but what is Apple tv and what will it offer? Is it kinda like Sling tv?
AppleTV is basically an iOS device (like an iPad or iPod Touch) with an HDMI output to your HDTV instead of an LCD screen. It runs a subset of applications that can be used to stream Internet-based TV services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Showtime, Watch ESPN, Crackle, etc. AppleTV can also access your iTunes and Apple Music purchases. The newest version being discussed here now has access to an App Store so you can add Apple-approved applications which includes games. One of the most anticipated Apps is Plex, giving you access to any media files you have on file servers in your home network.
AppleTVs can be used to mirror your iDevice's screen or play back content from said devices to your TV.
Right now, with the exception of HBO, Showtime, and CBS, you need to subscribe to a paid TV provider (like DirecTV. Dish, Comcast, etc.) to qualify to watch the many TV Apps (Watch ESPN, ABC, FoxNOW, USA, etc.) That means the AppleTV is not currently a good choice for a Cordcutter. Apple is rumored to be working on a SlingTV-like service to be introduced next year. I'm sure if Apple hadn't been working on this service they could have provided a SlingTV App.
A lot of how attractive a box like this for streaming over the Internet depends on your Internet connection. I tried Netflix on the previous generation AppleTV when I had DSL and it was not feasible. Buffering, buffering, buffering... I have U-verse now and the 24 Mbps down is much more usable.
AppleTVs can be used to mirror your iDevice's screen or play back content from said devices to your TV.
Right now, with the exception of HBO, Showtime, and CBS, you need to subscribe to a paid TV provider (like DirecTV. Dish, Comcast, etc.) to qualify to watch the many TV Apps (Watch ESPN, ABC, FoxNOW, USA, etc.) That means the AppleTV is not currently a good choice for a Cordcutter. Apple is rumored to be working on a SlingTV-like service to be introduced next year. I'm sure if Apple hadn't been working on this service they could have provided a SlingTV App.
A lot of how attractive a box like this for streaming over the Internet depends on your Internet connection. I tried Netflix on the previous generation AppleTV when I had DSL and it was not feasible. Buffering, buffering, buffering... I have U-verse now and the 24 Mbps down is much more usable.
There have also been persistent rumors that Apple would launch a "slingTV" like service and provide live programming in addition to the apps on Apple TV. Of course it looks like that licensing problems have prevented this from happening.
