Apple TV Service Delayed Until 2016, Apple TV Coming Next Month (Report)

[mike123abc]

I finally got around to installing and using my new AppleTV. It is very responsive and I like the new remote. Perhaps I have not figured it out yet, but it seems to be missing trick play that the previous versions had with itunes content. I have not figured how to do slow motion, and pause does not have the timeline go away after a short period of time. I love pausing things when something like a letter or newspaper is on screen and reading what it really says. Now I have to move the timeline preview box out of the way, and cannot frame back and forth to find the clearest images.

 

[Foxbat]

Mike, I found that my Sony TV remote will act like the old AppleTV remote via CEC. If your TV supports it, you could try that when you're switched over. It boarders on cool feature to press the new AppleTV remote and have the TV turn on, switch HDMI input to the AppleTV, and start watching streaming TV.

 

[mike123abc]

Another thing I do not like is the linear episode placement for TV shows. If you have a bunch of seasons of a TV show and have not watched every single extra feature, it tries to put you on the first unwatched item instead of the latest episodes. If you have 10 seasons of a show it is a real pain to have to scroll to the end. Especially shows like Dr Who where you have specials that are out of sequence.

I would much prefer it to be like the ipad where when you select a show you then select a season then an episode.

In addition to not having found a way to do trick play, I have not found out how to mark things as watched like on the old AppleTV.

 

[mike123abc]

Rumors now are surfacing ( http://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/28/apple-tv-amazon-prime-video-tvos-app/ ) that Amazon is porting Amazon Prime to the new Apple TV. This would be a feature I would really love!

Amazon appears to have confirmed to engineer Dan Bostonweeks that it is developing a tvOS app for Prime Video that could launch before the end of 2015. "Hopefully, within a few weeks span, you will be able to see the Amazon Instant Video app feature on your Apple TV," the company purportedly said in an email.

 

[Foxbat]

That might tip me toward signing up for Amazon Prime. The Amazon player in my Sony Bravia is p-o-k-e-y compared to the similar apps on the AppleTV devices (both previous gen and this one).

I wonder how they will handle purchases. Apple usually wants 30% of in-app purchases. The Kindle App on iOS doesn't have a purchase option for that very reason. You can read what you've purchased on a Kindle or from the Amazon store App, but it's a separate app.

 

[mike123abc]

If it is like the Amazon app on the iPhone and iPad you have to use the web browser to go to amazon and buy shows outside of the app.

 

[lparsons21]

Got an AppleTV v4 64Gb version today. 1st one wouldn't go into the setup routine so went back to BB and swapped for a working one.
Setup was a breeze, and the potential is there for lots of things to happen, but the reality is that today the AppleTV v4 is more promise than reality. Hopefully Apple won't make app rules too tight for some good apps to show up. Found a DLNA client 'localcast' or some such. It will get to my recordings made from Playon, but so far it just crashes when I try to get a stream from Playon.
I'm hoping for more of the channel specific apps, as well as Amazon Prime.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Tapatalk

 

[mike123abc]

Quite frankly I would still wait to upgrade if you have a previous version of Apple TV. It is really, really, really (you get the picture) annoying how it does TV series with a bunch of seasons. You have to swish through and find the unwatched episode you are on. It seems to pick odd episodes as to where you left off instead of listing them like the old Apple TV with the newest first or even by season. Yes that is right, if you have 10 seasons of a show you have to swish through all 10 seasons to get to the current one every time....

I also suffer because at one house I have the old Apple TV and at one I have the new one, they moved play/pause to the other side of the remote, so I end up hitting the wrong one a lot!

Hopefully an update will fix the TV seasons issues.

 

[lparsons21]

I've still got my ATV v3 though not connected at the moment. Played around this morning with some of the DLNA apps. LocalCast is the best of the bunch at the moment though it is far from great.

One thing that was consistent among the ones I tried is that none of them will play a Playon stream, and all could play Playon recordings. OK, that's two things.

LocalCast has the best UI, InFuse appears to have the most potential. I'm hoping that Playon will make an ATV app and it should be doable as they have an app for iOS that works just fine. I wonder if there is much difference between programming for iOS and TVos??



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[Foxbat]

I tried installing the Plex tvOS App and installed the Plex Server on one of my Linux boxes for testing. This works better than the miniDLNA server I had tried earlier as it can transcode FLAC recordings. I'm still not sure about the usefulness of it as it's easier to use the built-in Computer app to play my iTunes library.

I also have a usability issue with the remote. Apple has used a glass touchscreen for 8 years now; I think the shiny part of the remote should be the touch surface and the matte be non-sensitive.

 

[lparsons21]

I've kind of gotten in the habit of recording via Playon. I can record with it and then get to those recordings from practically anything, very forgiving. And I can set those recordings from my iPhone or iPad, or play a stream and Airplay it to the AppleTV, so it isn't like there aren't ways to get it done, just a bit kludgy imo.

If Playon brings an app to the ATV v4, then things would be great.

Some limitations in the iOS app, you can only play or set a recording, you can't delete a recording from the server, you have to do that at the server.

Oddly things are reversed from the Hopper. I can play streams from Playon, but not Playon recordings.

BTW, got the Rayman game on the ATV, fun play as all the Rayman titles are!


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[lparsons21]

OK!! Got DLNA client that supports Playon live streams, it showed up yesterday in the TVOs App Store : MrMC, basically XBMC/Kodi alike that is not quite as full featured as XBMC or Kodi, but certainly wonderful for me. Not a free app, $5.99.



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[Foxbat]

I'm in a Happy Place now! The ISS Live app (free) lets me stream NASA TV and the ISS HD Earth Video feed. I can finally watch the launches in widescreen (I'm not so sure about how HD the feed is) but it looks far superior to the SD 4:3 feed from Dish.