Apple Releases New Apple TV 4K

What I need is to be able to use two remotes with the Apple TV. I suspect that my wife would like the new Siri remote. She didn’t like the old Siri remote so I programmed an old DirecTV remote for her to use. Heck, the new remote looks like an improvement and I might just get one of those for my old 4K. I’m not a fan of the touch pad.


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ATV4K users will be notably excited about an updated remote. I got used to the current remote quickly, but my significant other is not a fan of the remote at all. I'd really be interested to see how visuals look as the box pairs with an iPhone to "color correct" content, based on the settings you already have on your TV.

We don't need an updated ATV4K box here, at least at the present. Still hanging on to that beautiful plasma set until the wheels fall off, and the paired Homepods produce a nice Atmos experience for us. (We'll never invest in a dedicated surround setup, so this suffices.) No gaming happens in our home, so the Arcade services means little. But those with more modern, full A/V setups will probably appreciate what the updates have to offer.

Paying $60 feels a little lofty for a replacement remote, but such is the way of Apple.

 

Yeh I mean minus the remote... it does nothing else for me

 

Same. Browsing through some rumor sites/wish list bloggers/etc. over the past couple of weeks, I think there were some lofty hopes for what the ATV4K *would* be. Aside from a couple of HDR support enhancements and added support for gamers, I don't feel that there's much needed to be done with ATV4K at the moment. (Besides the remote.) It's a solid unit, performs really well and has app support for all major services. I might be in the minority of that mindset, but I'm darned near two years in with mine with no headaches.

 

Yup, I see no reason to get one, and I am happy with my remotes. But, I think I will purchase a new remote just to see if it's an improvement on the older remotes.

Rich

 

I like my Apple 4K, however I have tried 2 units and both suffer from audio dropouts of 1-2 seconds after about an hour of watching. This then happens every 10 minutes or so until a restart. Both units had the same problem, and I see many many references to similar problems online. At one point (tvOS12) it was listed as a known bug by Apple. But here we are years later and it still happens.

I hope the new unit finally fixes it, with the faster processor (although video never glitches) - but I will wait and see

 

Oh everything or just certain apps? I wonder if simply closing the app and restarting it would solve your issue maybe?

 

Yeh I have never had that problem

 

My ongoing issue with my ATV4K is that, maybe 1 out of every 3 or 4 times I use it, it will drop frames, resulting in choppy motion. Does this regardless of which apps I use, and even does it scrolling through the UI. Restarting the box fixes the problem every time. The problem has persisted for years, across multiple versions of tvOS. I once read that it was an ethernet-related issue but it still occurs now that I'm connected via wifi. It's a nuisance but otherwise it's a great device. Use it for all my TV viewing.

 

On all apps - YouTubeTV, Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max. The only fix is to restart, which buys another hour or so...

 

It looks like it has both a touch pad and buttons.

 

I hate to hear that you guys have constantly experienced these issues. I can't say I've experienced much of it, barring some rare instances within YouTube TV. Hopefully the updated hardware will help resolve things.

 

Serious question guys and gals...

Why do you spend $150-$200 on an Apple TV when Fire TV products and Roku devices can be less than half of those prices. What's the big feature attracting folks to pay the Apple premium? Thanks

 

For us it is because we have all apple products so the use is seamless... We can control right from our phones and airplay is quick.. Biggest thing is we cant stand the Fire and the Roku interface.. I know Amazon just updated theirs but the previous was a cluttered mess.

 

• My #1 reason is no dispute with app developers as long as the app developer follows Apple's privacy guidelines. Amazon & Roku both have had app carriage disputes with WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, AT&T (Amazon & Roku) and AT&T TV & Spectrum (Roku) over monetization of the apps and how much the device holders gets which is a reverse implementation of the old days of cable. I would rather pay a one time charge of $150-$200 to avoid that.
• Solid build and updates: I have two Apple TV 4K (5th Generation) boxes that are now discontinued with this new version of the Apple TV 4K releasing in May. However it still runs just as quick and responsive as the first day I got them. Apple supports their hardware for a very long time. I still have an Apple TV HD (4th Generation) that has lasted way longer than most basic Fire TV Sticks and Roku Express (HD) boxes.
• iTunes Extras: If you either purchase digital movies or redeem the digital copy codes the iTunes Extra feature comes in handy. It essentially replicates a DVD/Blu-Ray's menu for playing a film or exploring special features, deleted scenes from one place. Most digital retailers like Amazon or Vudu (for Roku) will split the theatrical and alternate cuts for most films into separate purchases. However iTunes will sometimes combine these into 1 purchase thru iTunes Extra.
  • Like when I redeemed a digital copy code for the 8-Film Harry Potter 4K/Blu-Ray Film Collection through Movies Anywhere I can watch the extended editions of the first two films via iTunes Extras on my three Apple TV devices (the two Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD) through iTunes Extras. If I was using Fire TV, Roku or Android/Chromecast with Google TV devices I would physically have to pop in the Blu-Ray discs from the collection to watch the extended editions of those two films.
  • If you buy/redeem the extended edition of Suicide Squad Apple includes the theatrical version at no extra cost through iTunes Extras. Other retailers like Amazon charges you for both.
  • There are other movies from other studios that does this but that list is on my other computer lol.
• If you have more than 1 Apple device the Apple TV (HD or 4K) just works with your other Apple devices especially the Apple TV app. Especially if you use the Apple TV app as your 1 stop hub for every streaming app (standalone and/or TVE app). It is extremely easy to stop watching stay Last Week Tonight on your Apple TV 4K and pick it up on your iPhone 12 Pro or stop watching The Mandalorian and then take it to go on a iPad Air.

 

I love my Apple TV 4K and think it's worth the money because of how well thought-out the UI and controls are. Unlike other platforms, there's a high degree of consistency in terms of how playback controls work, and what the on-screen playback timeline/UI looks like, between the major apps. So you don't have to learn a slightly different set of button presses on the remote to, for example, jump back several seconds in Netflix vs. HBO Max vs. Peacock. I also love being able to press the Siri button and ask "What did he say?" while watching a video in nearly any app, which will automatically jump back about 15 seconds and temporarily turn on captions during the replay.

Aside from that, I also very much like how well the Apple TV lets me find, browse and keep track of content across a whole lot of different apps. The Siri universal voice search works very well. I love the TV app, which has a universal Up Next watchlist that integrates titles from across just about everything except Netflix, who chooses not to support the feature. (Their loss, as it meant that I found myself watching less Netflix and I eventually dumped the service.) So I have one place to go and decide "What do I want to watch next?" I can look at series and movies from across lots of different services in one place. And the Up Next list has two-way communication with the underlying apps, so it keeps track of what you're watching in those apps, even if you didn't launch an episode or movie from the Up Next list itself. This list is like the streaming version of your old DVR list of recordings from your various cable channels. (Can you imagine if you had to maintain a separate list of DVR recordings for each channel? So why should you have to maintain separate watchlists for each app?)

Aside from Up Next, the TV app also has a really nice UI that features curated content suggestions from Apple with an easy way to watch movie trailers. Find a show or movie that looks good and with one click, it's added to your Up Next list.

So the TV app on my Apple TV essentially acts as my main home base. I do go out to the actual home screen, which is just a grid of apps (similar to Roku, but without the tacky ads), in order to launch certain apps that don't integrate into the TV app, such as the apps I use for live and recorded OTA TV (from my antenna and HDHomeRun network tuner), as well as YouTube and music apps like Pandora. I do all my TV viewing through the Apple TV, with the rare exception of watching a Bluray or DVD.