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Television Apple

Why Does the Apple TV Still Exist? (sixcolors.com) 189

Apple commentator Jason Snell writes: Why does this product still exist, and is there anywhere for it to go next? Gruber and Thompson [two other columnists] suggest that perhaps the way forward is to lean into an identity as a low-end gaming console. Maybe amp up the processor power, bundle a controller, and try to use Apple Arcade to emphasize that this is a box that is for more than watching video. The thing is, that's really been the story of the Apple TV for the last few years, and so far as I can tell, it's basically gone nowhere. Apple isn't Nintendo or Sony or Microsoft when it comes to gaming. Apple's track record with gaming products isn't solid, to say the least. It's hard for me to see this succeeding -- but it doesn't mean Apple won't try. The other possibility that I've come up with is to merge the Apple TV with some other technologies in order to make something more than just a simple TV streamer. Gaming can be a part of that, yes, but there needs to be more.

Broader HomeKit support, perhaps with support for other wireless home standards, would help, as would a much more sophisticated set of home automations. And if Apple really wants to continue to play in the home-theater space, I've been saying for years that there's room for an Apple SoundBar, that could integrate the big sound of HomePod with the Apple TV software to create a solid music and video experience. Then there's the final possibility: No more Apple TV. Removing it simplifies Apple's product naming scheme (Apple TV is a hardware box, an app, and a streaming service, but not yet a dessert topping), and allows the company to focus on other things -- perhaps including other home-themed products that might be more up its alley. I don't think Apple is going to kill the Apple TV, even though I might recommend that it do so. If I had to predict a next step, I'd go with Gruber and Thompson: Apple TV Arcade, an updated, premium-priced box that will lean into games and other features that competing TV boxes don't offer. I'm not optimistic that it'll be successful, but it does seem like something Apple would try.

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Why Does the Apple TV Still Exist?

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  • by MNNorske ( 2651341 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:16AM (#61067794)
    Apple makes a crapload of money selling movies, music, and apps. And, having a set top box makes it easy to consume that content.
    • by tysonedwards ( 969693 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:51AM (#61067862)
      Set top boxes sadly remain an essential part of the equation. Smart TV Vendors have shown to abandon app updates soon after launch even though they’re still under warranty. I have a 2018 Sony TV with Android TV that no longer can run YouTube natively and needs to be casted from another device I have since bought an Nvidia Shield TV simply to use the apps, games, and media I payed for left a really bad taste for the Google TV “ecosystem” and I wish things were as easy and reliable for me as my parents have it with an Apple TV. But at this point sunk cost fallacy at work.
      • It exists because of UI, Siri, and the remote. The TV built in apps suck by comparison, let alone the Smart Tv privacy issues. I use Apple TVs on all my TVs and donâ(TM)t connect the TVs themselves to the network, unless something is wrong and I try to firmware update. Just my $0.02
        • by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @07:55AM (#61068290)

          It exists because of UI, Siri, and the remote. The TV built in apps suck by comparison, let alone the Smart Tv privacy issues. I use Apple TVs on all my TVs and donâ(TM)t connect the TVs themselves to the network, unless something is wrong and I try to firmware update. Just my $0.02

          That's what I use Apple TV for: YouTube streaming through my mobile phone using the YouTube app, Netflix, Prime Video, a number of other streaming services including music because my TV is hooked up to a quality sound system and occasionally for low-end gaming where the sound system helps make the experience a bit more fun. On top of that the cable TV companies in my neck of the woods offer streaming apps for Apple TV so I don't have to keep a Cable TV box around. I just fire up the Cable TC app, log in once and Bob's your uncle, a couple of hundred TV channels to browse. Not that I watch cable TV much but others in my home do. Same for satellite TV providers, some of them have moved over to streaming foreign TV channels over the internet instead of selling you a big, expensive and neighbour annoying dish installation. I also know a bunch of people who use hacked versions of Apple TV for accessing and watching pirated media. Another plus about these types of boxes is that, if you don't give a shit about gaming, these TV boxes, Apple and other brands, tend to be somewhat cheaper than the gaming consoles he mentioned by virtue of not needing the expensive hardware you need for high end gaming. My Apple TV just fuses over a dozen sources of media together in one box, I get excellent update support (my Apple TV is at least 5 years old and still gets updates) and it's relatively cheap. Same goes for any number of similar products from other vendors than Apple. Anybody asking the question: "Why Does the Apple TV Still Exist?" is a high end console gamer who thinks everybody else is also a high end console gamer.

      • by Richard_at_work ( 517087 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @03:20AM (#61067902)

        Plex has abandoned non-4K Samsung TVs, despite them literally still being sold today....

        • Get a Roku and then you can use Plex with any TV

        • Which is a shame because plex used to be the system to go to when you wanted a home media server system. It did that one thing and it did it really well. Now they want to be the one stop shop for everything TV related.

          Now they do podcasts, a very crappy live tv thing, movies on demand, and live news. They are trying to do everything and not doing any of it well. An now their home media center is starting to suffer.

      • by arglebargle_xiv ( 2212710 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @03:38AM (#61067926)
        Apple TV exists because there's not that much competition unless you play close to Apple-TV prices. You've got "smart" TVs with all the capabilities and performance of a $29 cellphone running Android 4.3, an infinite number of Android media players that can't play anothing more than 720p Youtube videos because DRM, and for anything fully-featured you're getting into Apple TV prices anyway so you may as well get last year's Apple TV off eBay at half the price. Which is exactly what I did, and I'm not an Apple user.
        • by N1AK ( 864906 )
          Genuine question: Unless I'm missing something then the 4k fire stick, Chromecast with Google TV, and the 4k Roku are all functionally equivalent to an Apple TV (the only exception I can think of is that I think you can still use an Apple TV as a Plex server, which if relevant is a big difference) and cost vastly less. Are there really other notable benefits of Apple TV over those other products, aside from obviously being integrated with Apple services (which is I assume the reason why most people actually
          • by arglebargle_xiv ( 2212710 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @04:39AM (#61067986)
            As I mentioned I'm not really an Apple user so I'm not able to defend it, but when I looked around a (second-hand) Apple TV seemed to be the best option in terms of content and capabilities. I'd looked at Chromecast but it seemed to be rather gutless compared to the Apple TV, and would have cost more as well (new Chromecast vs. eBayed Apple TV). The killer is that DRM pretty much forces you to go with expensive products that have jumped through the required DRM hoops. If not for that I'd be using a cheapie Android media box.
            • I’d also say that it’s taken until a couple months ago for Google to release a “Chromecast with Google TV”. Before that, the Chromecast Ultra, the top end device since 2017 was a 4K receiver that relied on another device to get content to your screen, and cost $70 to do it. Whereas Apple was charging $150 - $200 for their “run smartphone-ish apps on a TV box”.
          • I can't speak for the others but the Firestick is more than capable and is always on sale at around £40. That's less than a quarter the price of the Apple TV for no gain that I can see.

            I think if I was looking to spend the amount Apple are looking for and didn't want to just build my own I'd actually pay slightly more (or get a refurb) for a PS4, which has everything on it including TV+, Prime, Netflix, etc, etc, as well as 500GB storage and proper games.

            As far as I'm concerned though, you can't beat

            • Ps4 isnt the best streaming platform. You are locked out of most live tv offerings, and newer services never make it to PS4. I own a ps3, a ps4, a roku ultra, a roku 3, a fire tv cube, a fire tv gen 3, a fire tv gen 2, a roku 4k streaming stick, an appleTV gen2( even had a gen 1 till i gave it to goodwill for a receipt for a $300 computer donation) , and a chromecast.

              I can honestly say the appletv got the least playtime of all my devices including the chromecast which I find unsuitable for what i needed
          • The Fire Stick doesn't do casting well (or at all from an iDevice). Other than that it seems usable. But I do know people who on principle refuse to have any Amazon (or any Google) hardware in their home.

          • by jeadly ( 602916 )
            I just got one expressly for the purpose of running Zwift with my indoor bike trainer. Those other options allow you to screen-share from your phone but Apple TV can run it natively on the device. I haven't even activated my free year of Apple TV service since whenever I'm on there, I'm biking.
          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by guruevi ( 827432 )

            Roku, ChromeCast and the like are full of ads, that's how they keep the cost down for these things in the first place. And they crash, regularly. I have a Roku, I have to restart it every few days by unplugging and plugging it back in, often the audio crashes with the only fix to unplug it and plug it back in, it's annoying as hell, digging deep into the menu to restart the device doesn't even "restart" it, it just reloads the UI and most of the content is 1080p upscaled to 4K.

            On the other hand, the AppleTV

            • Sounds like you have a bad device. Both of my current ones have uptime over a year.

              The upscaling from 1080 is an individual content provider problem of not delivering 4K. Itâ(TM)s not a Roku limitation.

        • So there is no Roku were you live? No FireTV cube? No Roku stick? Or FireTV stick? Its only a choice between an appleTV set-top box and an integrated TV thst has no updates and maybe 6 apps??
      • by Actually, I do RTFA ( 1058596 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @07:51AM (#61068276)

        Why is it sad that set-top boxes remain an essential part of the equation. Given periodic updates in codecs and the associated performance requirements, I don't want my giant TV to become trash as it becomes out of date. My ideal is a big dumb screen and a small, replaceable box that drives it. It also lets me keep my big dumb screen and replace the box if, e.g., Google and my TV manufacturer fight each other and the TV manufacturer removes the YouTube app (this happened with Amazon stuff a while ago, now over).

        Finally, you can use set top boxes that don't spy on you and replace them when they do, since all smart TVs seem to. Hell, the only updates I ever hear of smart TVs getting is adding ads after you bought them.

      • by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @08:23AM (#61068332)

        I just hooked up an old Dell Optiplex to my TV. Cost me $100 and does everything that a set top box does and more . The interface isn't great, and that's probably the only downside. But there isn't a media service that doesn't work on Windows. You can also play games and use it as a Plex server for the other devices in your house. When that machine dies, I'll probably spend a bit more and get something that can do some more modern gaming. Having an actual computer under your TV is way better than any media box.

      • by TuballoyThunder ( 534063 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @08:39AM (#61068372)
        I would say "thankfully" rather than "sadly." The useful lifespan of the audio/visual components of a TV is greater than the useful lifespan of the smarts. I would much prefer a TV with no smarts or networking built into it.
      • My webOS LG Smart TV still does everything, at least on paper. The GUI is OK, it does multi tasking (fast switching between application without restarting them), and the wii-like remote allows easy navigation much better than the typical 4 arrows.

        I still bought a FireStick and here is why:

        1. The Netflix on the smart TV keeps crashing, and the only solution appears to be to factory reset the TV every couple of months. Entering all the settings again take me half an hour of pain (entering passwords without a

    • by Kisai ( 213879 )

      Bingo.

      Also it probably runs on all the ARM chips they can't otherwise put in phones. All you need is a working h264/h265 decoder and enough working cpu core performance to run it.

    • But you can consume that content using fireTV or roku. iTunes music might not be a direct access but movies all fall under the consortium of MoviesAnywhere and UltraViolet before that. Regardless of if my movies were purchased or unlocked using Amazon, Vudo, the studios direct website, google Play, iTunes, etc, they can all be viewed through sites like Flixster, Vudo, Amazon, MoviesAnywhere, Play, and iTunes. With the exception of just one movie studio who appears in vudo and not movies anywhere, I can watc
    • by tsa ( 15680 )

      Besides, a simple TV streamer is a good thing to have.

    • by MachineShedFred ( 621896 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @10:15AM (#61068648) Journal

      Set-top streamers exist because so-called "smart TVs" are so horrifically stupid and poorly executed that there is still a thriving market for buying a low-cost piece of hardware to hang off the back of the TV to do what the "smart" TV should be able to do.

      I'd much rather pay $100 - $200 to have a discrete component that actually gets updated, performs well, allows access to popular software, supports things like AC3 passthrough (extra points for additional surround sound codecs) to a home theater receiver, and doesn't incessantly show me ads and default to bullshit streaming channels I want to NEVER see and cannot remove.

      Signed, the owner of two Nvidia SHIELD TV products and an Apple TV. As a prologue, I'd love it if the "smart" TV died. TV standards don't change as rapidly as software standards for video playback, so I'd rather invest in a TV that I can use *all* the features of for 5+ years, and swap out the playback component as they change / improve on a far more rapid schedule.

      A TV that incorporates a video playback app that is slow AF out of the box, and never receives updates so that it eventually will not function is a completely useless "feature" and will eventually represent paid-for value that no longer exists. Kind of like the sweet blu-ray player I have that has a "blockbuster" streaming video app on it. Well done, Samsung.

  • Why not? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Acum Amcum ( 6208780 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:25AM (#61067806)
    For people in the Apple ecosystem itâ(TM)s a much better option than Google TV/Android. I recently bought a 4K Android TV but donâ(TM)t use the Android at all. Still use my Apple TV. Using AirPlay, connecting to AirPods, iCloud Music, iCloud Photos are a few features it has that you canâ(TM)t get otherwise.
    • I take it you fell for the smartTV instead of addon boxes like FireTV and Roku. You can do just about everything except icloud using those other two. What i never liked about smart tv and smart bluray players were that you got locked into 6 apps. If a new service came out (sling, movies anywhere, direct tv now, youtube live tv, insert new company here) you were just fucked. I dont know about later gen of Apple tv but my 2nd gen had those same limits. My streaming box needs to be a versatile platform so new
      • I take it you fell for the smartTV instead of addon boxes like FireTV and Roku.

        It's hard to find a consumer TV that is not some sort of smart TV; whether it s a roll your own by the manufacturer or licensed from Roku et. al. I simply turn off the smart features and use my Apple TV or firestick. I could buy a large monitoor but that would cost way more than a TV. Like you, I find the flexibility of a setbox worth the price. In addition, Apple TV is useful to connect to projectors/screens for presentations using Airplay.

  • by Agent Fletcher ( 624427 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:25AM (#61067808)
    I usually try to be thoughtful with replies and give a counter view with opinions or facts to back up my comment however this is one of the rare cases that just replying "what a stupid f***ing question "why dose the apple tv still exist" is? It exist because it's proftiable and a vehicle for services which is extremely profitable.
    • Yup, exactly. It’s not as if every product needs to conquer the world.

      By and large, people are going to consume streaming media. So the only question Apple needs ask is - “are we, as a company, better off with those people using our own offering or a competitor’s product?”

  • Because (Score:5, Informative)

    by therealprologic ( 2118298 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:26AM (#61067810) Homepage
    It also happens to be a nice set-top box you can plug into a large screen. You can easily run things like Plex.tv on it and other apps (or not). It just works and works really well, unlike some other products. I will continue to own an Apple TV and continue to upgrade to the latest/best, because of exactly this.
    • Re:Because (Score:5, Informative)

      by Richard_at_work ( 517087 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:48AM (#61067854)

      This, basically.

      Im invested in the Apple ecosystem, and Im also invested in Plex. So when Plex decides my 2020 Android TV is suddenly “unsupported” and the app breaks, I studied my options (switch to something other than Plex, buy an Android set top box, buy an Apple TV, continue to Chromecast everything) ultimately my choice was to buy an Apple TV.

      Best decision I have made in a while for my home media setup. Loving it.

      • Re:Because (Score:5, Informative)

        by mridoni ( 228377 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @03:10AM (#61067880)

        The same happened to me. About ten years ago I had a MythTV install, with PCI boards both for DTB and satellite, and I used to spend hours recompiling MythTV and applying patches. I also had to write a Linux kernel driver to support an homemade keyboard-equipped remote control. Then, when streaming became a reality, I started using Kodi on Raspberry Pi. After more years of updating plugins, recovering from botched updates, dealing with obscure configuration options, I realized that probably had spent more time fixing the software instead of using it. So I bought an Apple TV. Now if I want to watch a movie, I just needs to press "Play". I still use Kodi/OSMC occasionally, for some stuff, and I absolutely do not intend to disparage MythTV, Kodi or similar software. They are great, and I owe a lot to their authors, but there's a level of integration, simplicity and reliability that simply cannot be currently reached.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          After more years of updating plugins, recovering from botched updates, dealing with obscure configuration options, I realized that probably had spent more time fixing the software instead of using it.

          Ha ha, this sounds just like my adventures with desktop Linux in the early 2000s. Eventually, I decided to just buy my first Mac.

        • The same happened to me...

          My story is similar. Although I wanted to use a MythTV setup, I ran Windows Media Center for the longest time, primarily because my cable company insists on adding the CCI CopyOnce flag to most of my channels and WMC was, for the longest time, the only thing that could use it. I set up my WMC box toward the end of Windows 7's service life, so plugins were a bit sparse...but I was able to get Plex and Netflix and Pandora to work, and there was exactly one version of PowerDVD that included a WMC plugin which

        • by gatzke ( 2977 )

          Wife forced me into Apple TV and I am pretty happy with it. Things I wish for still:

          Remote beeper (activate from phone) to find remote

          Multiple remote (his/hers) with login capability for apps to bypass the who is using step.

          A magic app that gives me clean access to all my subscriptions and accounts. Hulu, free youtube, netflix, etc.

          BT speaker option when she wants me in silent mode.

      • Interesting, I have the plex streaming app running on my roku, my firetv, and my ps4. I dont think the 2nd gem apple had it, it doesnt have any sort of app store to add apps. I use the firetv more than any other device simply because it currently suports every service i use (plex, netflix, youtube, hulu, att watch tv [the free service], hbo max [also free]) along with the individual broadcast station apps you can unlock using credentials of your cable company (in my case att watch tv) such as hgtv, A&E,
      • by tsa ( 15680 )

        I also love my Apple TV. I have a 3th generation, have had it seemingly always and it's still updated regularly. In de beginning it had a few kid's diseases but now it just works.

        • FIY, YouTube support for the 3rd generation Apple TV is coming to an end soon. I'm hoping Apple are close to releasing a new Apple TV with a new (better) remote.

          • by tsa ( 15680 )

            I know, and I don't like it. But I can stream from my iPhone. That works a lot better than from the MacBook Pro.

    • You just described the Amazon Firestick which comes in at less than a quarter of the price, so I'm not really sure what justifies the price difference. Not that I'm dissing - buy whatever works for you - but I just don't see it myself unless you're desperate to view photos or something you have stuck in the Apple eco-system.

      • I liked the full size fire better just for the extra storage and when it comes to side-loading some questionable addons that can be added to Kodi. I upgraded to the Cube for more processing power but cut out the mic because i hate alexa.
      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        A small but growing number of people want nothing to do with Google or Amazon. I won't sign up for YouTube because of Google. As for Amazon... I stopped using them over two years ago.
        Apple TV is a decent alternative to the others out there.
        I have a Sony 50in TV that is supposed to be a 'SmartTV'. It isn't very smart then half the services have never worked from day 1. That didn't bother me because I didn't buy it for the so-called 'smart' bits. I have an Apple TV and a FreeSat (the UK free to air satellite

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • It exists because (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Incadenza ( 560402 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:28AM (#61067814)
    Apple doesn’t want to be dependent on any other hardware or software to stream its content. That would moot their whole privacy selling point.
  • A better question (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:29AM (#61067818)
    Why does Jason Snell exist and why is he allowed to write stupid articles like this? Which streaming device does he think should exist? Roku? Firestick? Chromecast? Nvidia shield? Smart TV apps only? Relying on software built into smart TVs is a mistake since the TVs fairly quickly stop getting updates. Past that, it's just device preference.
    • by dfghjk ( 711126 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @03:13AM (#61067888)

      Correct answer. This article is predicated on Jason Snell's ignorance, it deserves neither responses nor views.

      • But wait, this is slashdot after all. Unfounded opinion on irrelevant dated material tangentially related to technology is the staple here.
        • That's okay as long as you don't click on the article link, so that this idiot (Jason Snell) does not get page views.

          • That's okay as long as you don't click on the article link, so that this idiot (Jason Snell) does not get page views.

            Click on what now? Sir, this is slashdot.

    • I think he thinks that streaming devices shouldn't exist and every box under the TV should be an Xbox, PS5 or Nintendo.

  • ... and shove em. I just looked at the prices of those things and holy shit! I'll make do with my $5 RaspPi Zero W and $0 Kodi.
    • I persevered with Kodi for a long long time. Eventually had to acknowledge it is just too unstable and will never have good integration so I purchased plex lifetime pass when it was on sale, still doesn't do everything but at least it does more than Kodi and is infinitely more stable.
      • Different uses. I sideloaded kodi on a firetv so i can get access to non-paywalled sourced of shit CBS doesnt broadcast over the air like star trek. Plex is fantastic for playing back media stored on a server and interfacing with my Silicon Dust antenna. Not so great for playing Disney+, netflix, hulu etc. i prefer my streaming box to be switzerland so all the different venues will write apps for it. That way i can have kodi with its addon modules to access some things, plex to access my plex servers, strea
    • The problem with a roll-your-own solution (e.g. GloDroid, Anbox, Androidx86) is lack of certified DRM to stream anything above 720p.

      OTOH, my crappy NBN connection buffers regularly on 1080 youtube, so I'm in no hurry to upgrade to any 4K equipment!

    • Been there, done that for a while, even networked the Satellite dish so we could watch from it in multiple rooms using Kodi. Impressive.

      But I realized that I don‘t have time for this. So we have 5 Apple TVs now in two locations. They work very well and are nicely integrated into everything Apple we use.
      On top they are the invisible gateway to Apple Home for all the smart crap (shutters, sensors, light, ...) we have, while MQTT/Home-Assistant stuff still is the backend. It just works with all the iDevi

    • by Malc ( 1751 )

      I paid £140 five years ago for my Apple TV 4. That's really not much money, and it's still got life in it. For your $5, you've spent a lot more of your personal time than me on it. Actually, I lie: I did try Kodi on it, until I realised it was sucking up a disproportionate amount of my time than it was deliverying in enterainment. Your RP also doesn't solve the problem of displaying our iPhones, iPads or Macs on the TV, so ante up some more.

      And seriously: a naked, caseless circuit board hang

  • by Mortimer82 ( 746766 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:39AM (#61067834)
    Because it's one of the best media streaming devices available for TVs for those who don't care for broadcast TV.

    I don't watch broadcast TV and before I got my Apple TV my daily routine on my Samsung Smart TV was:
    - Press power button on remote and wait several seconds
    - Press "Smart Hub" button, wait for it to appear
    - Navigate to desired streaming App, wait 10+ seconds for app to start

    Now with the AppleTV, I don't need a TV remote at all anymore, I press the Menu button which wakes up both the AppleTV and TV itself. It's where I left off, possibly paused from where I was. It's got plenty of CPU power so is fast to start or switch apps as desired.

    My wife and I also very regularly AirPlay Spotify from our iPhones to the AppleTV, it's a one tap process from the phone and automatically wakes up the Apple TV and TV.

    And then there are the other arguments of Apple compared to other offerings. For example, Android (and Android TV) serve Google's advertising business, while Apple TV like other Apple products adheres to their policy of respecting user privacy while making the experience as easy as possible for users.

    AirPlay aside, I'm sure there are other compelling options, but the AppleTV to me was affordable, supported AirPlay and I was confident that as a popular platform it would be well supported by media streaming services.
    • Just a little addition - there is since a few months an official Spotify app for the Apple TV. No need to Airplay anymore.
      • Thanks, that's nice to know. I do still however like the convenience in certain situations of just pressing AirPlay on the phone and not having to use the physical remote (or Remote app).
    • Why is it whenever you guys tout the apple tv you only compare it to a smart TV? not a roku box. Not a FireTV box. Not their slimmer stick counterparts. Comparing Apple TV to a smart TV is like comparing Apple TV to a sony blueray player, or comparing a Bosch dishwasher to a Sony Discman. Its not even close to the same thing. You would think a /. Poster would recognize the difference between a computer and a speak-and-spell.
      • You should take the time to fully read my comment, the first thing I said was that "it's one of the best", I then later said "I'm sure there are other compelling options", by implication I acknowledged there may in fact be better options. I wouldn't know for sure if there are better options since my experience is limited to Apple TV, Android TV and my Samsung Smart TV.

        The article was about why people care for AppleTVs and I stated my own personal experience with why I'm happy with my AppleTV which I chose
      • You seem to be hell-bent on hating Apple and using wild and pointless comparisons (as a rebuttal I'll say the Sony Discman sucks compared to the Bosch dishwasher when it comes time to wash the dishes), but for Apple users there's not point in comparing the Apple TV to other streaming devices because all those other devices lack features that only Apple can provide.

        • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
          not at all, I own apple devices, I even own an AppleTV, but honestly it falls well short of what I get out of a FireTV Cube. My annoyance was more than a dozen threads that compared apple TV to a smart TV, as if it was the only 2 options. Explaining why you went with appleTV over Roku or FireTV would be more to the point IMO. Someone even compared it to chromecast, which baffles the hell out of me since a chromecast is not much more than an intelligent HDMI cable.
      • All those cheap Android based boxes are trash. They lag and have flaky hardware and good luck getting support or updates. I’m sorry that people who want a simple appliance that just works is upsetting to you.

        • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
          roku is not android, and firetv is quite a divergence from a simple android device as well. Neither have ever flaked and i have owned countless generations of them. I have also owned a 2nd gen apple TV which offers almost jack shit when it comes to new apps like disney+ etc. There is no app store at all to install new apps, and it litterally forced apps on me I did not really give a shit about like Major League Baseball. Just curious, Do you for some reason feel you should be locked into services only apple
  • It's pretty good (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cjeze ( 596987 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @02:42AM (#61067840)

    I use AppleTV every day. The menu system is snappy, responsive, and extremely intuitive. I can access all my content, and stream from plex. Recently I hooked up a PS4 controller and started playing some games.

    We have three AppleTVs and I advocate it for all friends and family. Even a friend who is die-hard against all Apple devices found a place in his heart to buy and use the AppleTV.

    In my opinion, it is highly underestimated. If you decide to live in Apple's walled garden, it integrates very well across devices.

    It makes it very easy for me to manage content.

    • I've been saying for years that there's room for an Apple SoundBar, that could integrate the big sound of HomePod with the Apple TV software to create a solid music and video experience.

      You can do that now with the latest AppleTV 4K and one or two (for stereo) HomePods. See https://support.apple.com/en-u... [apple.com] I haven't done it because I have the older model, but the possibility may get me to upgrade. Apple TVs are cheap enough and I can use the old one somewhere else.

  • Don't know why it still exists but I use mine very day. I don't need to play games on it, I just want an easy way to get my streaming content.

  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2011/10/21/steve-jobs-on-tv-i-finally-cracked-it/?sh=3d7f265150be

  • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @04:44AM (#61067996)

    If the writer wants a gaming console he should buy a gaming console. The Apple TV exists for the same reason many other small streaming boxes exist: To stream online content to a TV.

    Seriously is the writer some basement dweller without a family or a TV in the livingroom? How did he get so out of touch with the world around him that he fails to realise not only is Apple TV an active product bundled to active Apple services, but that there are entire companies out there whose sole business model is based on these streamers (Roku).

    Not everything needs to be a $300+ games console.

  • by Camembert ( 2891457 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @05:40AM (#61068092)
    I like the device, but then our household is in the Apple ecosystem with ipad, iphone, mac, airpods and watch. In that context it works well and above all simply.
    Airplay to it is sometimes very useful
    Easily access my photo slide shows in icloud
    Podcasts synced through icloud
    Nest camera feed from the baby room Apple tv+, netflix and spotify apps
    I use Infuse Pro ($10/year, same license as on ipad and iphone) to play all my local network drive media. It plays everything without transcoding needed and serves it alm in a Netflix style GUI. Probably similar to Plex which I never tried.
    A few other streaming news apps
    I donâ(TM)t play games, Apple Arcade may be ok for casual gamers but itâ(TM)s not for me.
    • by k2r ( 255754 )

      Thanks for mentioning infuse, I have been using it on iPad for a while but completely forgot that it is on Apple-TV, too.

  • Apple TV is one of the most useful TV devices ever when compared to the Amazon Fire TV and Roku.

    It's super fast, works great with AirPlay (send your phone screen to the TV to show a video clip or movie).
    It plugs into the network so it isn't bogging down the wifi.
    It works with plex, netflix, amazon, youtube, and can even double as a cable box (for those of you who still have cable).

    It even pays games.

    Some day it costs too much, but it is rock solid and works in the Apple ecosystem with Airplay.

    So why am I do

  • What are you talking about? We watch all our streamed shows through it. Since we donâ(TM)t have (or want) cable, it is perfect. And it plays music!
  • I canceled Apple+ Free after buying an Air Pad.
    1) Subscription lock-in
    Now FREE subscribers will need to IRS report Apple paying them to to continue free
    2) Tom Hank’s was great, as always, but its other offerings missed “relevancy”
    3) Too few options on the platform to warrant paying
    4) SteveJob

  • ...it's there. (cit. G. Mallory)
  • There are a million different devices out there to handle your native streaming needs, but there's nothing that provides as good an AirPlay experience as the AppleTV, which makes it a value-add for anyone who has a primarily Mac or iDevice household. For music needs, AirPlay speakers and sending iTunes output to 1 or more AppleTVs provides a great whole-house music experience.

    By itself, AppleTV thus provides something more akin to a Chromecast, but for mac/iOS. I think the obvious step forward is to stop tr

  • by e3m4n ( 947977 ) on Tuesday February 16, 2021 @11:32AM (#61068934)

    Having read more than a dozen threads it seems nobody in this forum has a damn clue what the article was trying to say and what an appleTV really is trying to be

    first, lets set some ground-rules on understanding. There are 3 categories being compared here that are in no way apples to apples. Stop trying to justify why a Fuji apple is so much better and sweeter than a damn mandarin orange. Those 3 categories are 1) set-top boxes; 2) integrated devices like smart TVs, bluray players, etc; and 3) recast devices like chromecast. These different platforms have different limitations and functionalities.

    secondly, lets establish a bit of credibility here. I have been trying out all these various devices since the days of TiVo which started as a VCR but grew a bit from there. In my current possession exists: Playstation3, Playstation4, Panasonic TCP-65VT15 'smart' tv, Sony BDP-S590 Bluray player, Roku 2, Roku 3, Roku Ultra, Roku 4k streaming stick, FireTV gen2, FireTV gen3, FireTV Cube, Fire TV Recast, Apple TV gen3, a Plex media server running on an embedded Atom C2558, Silcon Dust HDHomeRun EXTEND, Raspberry Pi3+, Raspberry Pi4 4gig, Raspberry Pi4 8gig, a Sonos CONNECT, and a Chromecast. In the past I have also owned a few TivoHD used with DishNetworks, and the first gen AppleTV which was litterally a Mac mini with a HDD and a different OS loaded on it

    Now that we have that out of the way, I want to say "stop it already" when it comes to explaining how your apple TV is better than a Chromecast or a smartTV. Thats like trying to explain why your Bosch dishwasher is soooo much better than my Dyson vacuum cleaner. Its an apple and an orange. The point of the article is how is Apply trying to make the appleTV relevant as opposed to a Roku set-top box or a FireTV set-top box. When I say AppleTV I am referring to the set-top box, and not the app with the same name, and not the video service, again, with the same name. There are some advantages and disadvantages of each, but I must say that set-top boxes are a clear winner over integrated devices as I will explain the three basic categories.

    Integrated Devices. These include most 'smart' devices like Smart TVs and Smart bluray players. These devices have a marketing appeal of being already 'ready' to watch popular streaming services like Hulu and Netflix but what the consumer quickly learns is that their choices are extremely limited and that unless they want to perpetually buy new TVs, their offerings will get outdated rather quickly. Did I mention I still have a Panasonic TCP-65VT25? This device is now 10 years old and its honestly not uncommon for an average consumer to get 10 years out of their television device. It doesnt help that plasma's true black can only be rivaled with the highest end QLED displays currently hitting market. During my 10 years of owning this device I have had to replace my set-top streaming boxes as services like hulu/netflix migrated toward h265 making their playback on the older devices anywhere from not great to downright unplayable. To be honest I have not even tried playing netflix or hulu on this TV in the last 5yrs and the last firmware update was November 2013, not that I expect the onboard chip to be a wiz at h.265 anyway. Not only will existing apps age out of support, but newer services like Movies Anywhere, Disney+, ESPN+, SlingTV, ATT TV, YoutubeTV (ok i think you get the idea) come to market you are left without any options.

    Recast devices. These are devices that, by themselves, have zero functionality outside of a screensaver. They do not house the brains of the applications and sometimes require doubling up on bandwidth to display content. To use a device like chromecast you must have a separate device such as a smartphone handy that runs the actual application, or a PC with a web browser going to their site. Depending on how this site developer wrote their chromecast integration, you may find that you are having to stream the content from the internet to your PC, and then wireles

  • The argument against Apple TV, is that it sucks as a gaming console.
    Sure you gaming console will do a good job as a TV Streamer, but for a lot of people that is overkill.

    The Apple TV is one of Apples more slow and steady technologies. Which is good, because you can have one device and use it for years perfectly fine, get the latest apps, vs trying to find out that one of those streaming services may not support your console, they all seem to have an Apple TV port.

    Yes it is a bit more expensive than most St

  • Every time there's a medium upgrade with Apple TV, my mom puts this on her Christmas list. I also keep one around, and I barely watch TV (she watches it all the time- her generation's killer app, I guess, my timewaster has always been video games).

    Apple TV:
    1- Has a consistent user interface
    2- Largely always works (I know it's the Apple meme but still)
    3- Talks with all the other Apple toys easily and usefully.
    4- Inexpensive and longlasting enough to have three of the things over various generations, one on

  • by laird ( 2705 ) <lairdp@gm a i l.com> on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @10:20AM (#61072026) Journal

    Yes, the PS5 and Xbox dominate 'gamer console' gaming, but you're forgetting that there are 10x more phones and tablets than there are consoles, and Apple is just as dominant in game sales in that market. What Apple is doing with Apple TV and Apple Arcade is expanding their strong position with phones and tablets out to adjacent markets, computers and TV gaming. It's not by accident that if you buy a game (or app or content) on any platform in the Apple ecosystem you tend to get it automatically across the whole exosystem, something that PS and MS tend not to do even between generations in the same platform. Remember, when you're writing a game to target, say, the iPad (a huge market) it is minimal extra work for developers to get the game to run on iPhone, Mac, and Apple TV, so from a developer perspective it's practically one huge game platform to sell into, with 10x the units in the field of PS5 or Xbox X.

  • by Luminary Crush ( 109477 ) on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @07:19PM (#61074008)
    I can't disagree with this columnist more. I've had Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV and the ATV is by and far the best of the lot. Besides, de-coupling the "smart" from the "TV" allows you to pick what best works for you. "Smart" TVs are, excuse me, junk; the software becomes outdated as vendors move on to next year's model TV and don't update older sets OS or apps, the interfaces on Smart TVs are mostly awful, the UIs are slow, app choice is usually very limited and there's no consistency. If something goes wrong with the 'smarts' which prevents the failure-prone onboard entertainment software from booting the TV is junk (I had this happen on an otherwise perfectly good Vizio - not repairable w/o spending more than it was worth). Put too many eggs in one basket and you have too many failure points. With an Apple TV (or any STB) you can upgrade either component as you wish and maintain a consistent operation. If you have other Apple products the ATV is brilliant regarding screen and media sharing. I initially had MythTV on a media PC a decade ago, then XBMC, then Kodi on a small set-top box and it was always a hassle to get the latest codecs with all these, do live streaming, etc... much less interface with my mobile devices. Roku and Fire, meh. Apple TV FTW.

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