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Lots of promise, but...it's still new (Moderated by Deepika, EleanorSews)
Posted on: 1/4/16 10:41 AM ET
One of my Christmas presents this year was a 3rd gen Apple TV from my daughters. Hubby and I discussed the differences between the 3rd gen and the new 4th gen, and decided to return the 3rd gen and get the new one (the nearby Apple Store continues to impress me with their customer service!).
The big difference between the 3rd and the 4th is that the 4th runs on a new operating system, tvOS, which is a variant of iOS. The good news about this is that many iOS apps are easily adapted to the tvOS format, and there are already hundreds, if not thousands, of apps, listed as working on Apple TV. Most of them are streaming media, of course (including Craftsy!), and...games.
Yes, Apple TV does games now, and many popular iOS titles are already in the App Store for Apple TV. In addition, whatever you have already purchased for iOS is usually a free download for the Apple TV (updated apps are typically "universal", working on both). The App Store, Movie Store, and Music Store integration is one big positive feature. After entering in your Apple ID, everything is synched up.
There's also a new remote that features Siri. It's somewhat limited right now on what Siri can do, but even telling Siri to go back or forward a specified amount in a video is really helpful. And Siri will even search movies across apps, can be asked to filter by ones that have better reviews, etc.
So, that's the good news, and I think what Apple has created here has a ton of promise, not only to bite into Roku's and Amazon Fire's market share, but also to be the TV box of choice for more casual gaming (for those who like to play games but don't want to devote hours and hours to gaming).
One issue is that a lot of the game releases appear to be buggy and difficult to navigate with the remote. You can purchase a third party gaming controller, but they are around $50, and the last thing I want to do right now is plunk down more money on something right after Christmas. The Remote App for iOS has been updated to work with Apple TV, so I'm going to see if that is helpful as far as the games go.
And as far as that Siri Remote, learning how to get around takes a little time. It's not as simple as the Roku remote, which uses fairly self-explanatory arrows. The Siri Remote has a clickable track pad, volume buttons, a Menu button, a "Home" button (which is a TV screen icon), and a Siri button. With the exception of volume, all of these work a little differently than their counterparts on iOS devices. The included instructions are pretty terse - reading the Apple TV manual online will help alleviate confusion, but I didn't do that for a day or two.
There are a few user interface tweaks that are badly needed. The biggest deals with entering text, where the letters appear on screen across a straight line. This fits visually into Apple's user interface, but is the most inefficient and difficult-to-use online "keyboard" I have ever seen.
The 4th gen Apple TV has only been released for two months, and it's a promising start, IMO. Once some of these kinks are worked out, and a few missing streaming media apps get updated to work with Apple TV (Amazon Instant Video is in the works, I hear, as one example), I will likely be using it instead of the Roku for all my video streaming, as well as taking advantage of the gaming capabilities.
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The big difference between the 3rd and the 4th is that the 4th runs on a new operating system, tvOS, which is a variant of iOS. The good news about this is that many iOS apps are easily adapted to the tvOS format, and there are already hundreds, if not thousands, of apps, listed as working on Apple TV. Most of them are streaming media, of course (including Craftsy!), and...games.
Yes, Apple TV does games now, and many popular iOS titles are already in the App Store for Apple TV. In addition, whatever you have already purchased for iOS is usually a free download for the Apple TV (updated apps are typically "universal", working on both). The App Store, Movie Store, and Music Store integration is one big positive feature. After entering in your Apple ID, everything is synched up.
There's also a new remote that features Siri. It's somewhat limited right now on what Siri can do, but even telling Siri to go back or forward a specified amount in a video is really helpful. And Siri will even search movies across apps, can be asked to filter by ones that have better reviews, etc.
So, that's the good news, and I think what Apple has created here has a ton of promise, not only to bite into Roku's and Amazon Fire's market share, but also to be the TV box of choice for more casual gaming (for those who like to play games but don't want to devote hours and hours to gaming).
One issue is that a lot of the game releases appear to be buggy and difficult to navigate with the remote. You can purchase a third party gaming controller, but they are around $50, and the last thing I want to do right now is plunk down more money on something right after Christmas. The Remote App for iOS has been updated to work with Apple TV, so I'm going to see if that is helpful as far as the games go.
And as far as that Siri Remote, learning how to get around takes a little time. It's not as simple as the Roku remote, which uses fairly self-explanatory arrows. The Siri Remote has a clickable track pad, volume buttons, a Menu button, a "Home" button (which is a TV screen icon), and a Siri button. With the exception of volume, all of these work a little differently than their counterparts on iOS devices. The included instructions are pretty terse - reading the Apple TV manual online will help alleviate confusion, but I didn't do that for a day or two.
There are a few user interface tweaks that are badly needed. The biggest deals with entering text, where the letters appear on screen across a straight line. This fits visually into Apple's user interface, but is the most inefficient and difficult-to-use online "keyboard" I have ever seen.
The 4th gen Apple TV has only been released for two months, and it's a promising start, IMO. Once some of these kinks are worked out, and a few missing streaming media apps get updated to work with Apple TV (Amazon Instant Video is in the works, I hear, as one example), I will likely be using it instead of the Roku for all my video streaming, as well as taking advantage of the gaming capabilities.
------
- Libby with a "y" not an "ie"
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
Posted on: 1/4/16 10:53 AM ET
We are a multi Apple family and have the older version of Apple tv. We have been able to disconnect from the local cable company (hooray!). We use cable only for the internet. We do use netflix and are able to get PBS, CBS, NBC, ABC and several others for free. (we send PBS $ every year). It is wonderful to hear your comments about the new version and to think that someday I may be able to see the Craftsy classes on the large screen--
Thank you
Thank you
Posted on: 1/4/16 11:54 AM ET
We are a almost-all Apple family (hubby has an android tablet). One neat thing about the new Apple TV is that some of the games use iPhones and iPads for multiple users: Let's Dance, a karaoke game, and a Pictionary-like game.
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------
- Libby with a "y" not an "ie"
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
Posted on: 1/4/16 1:42 PM ET
I love my Apple TV. I love to stream my computer to the tv, I also love the new apps, especially craftsy.
Posted on: 1/4/16 4:00 PM ET
So, Enerostar83, you got a new one too? Have you tried any of the games? Have you had issues with the Siri Remote when trying to play them?
FYI...I weakened on the gaming remote. Found a compatible one manufacturer refurbished on Amazon for about $38. It just has to be a MFi (made for iOS) compatible remote.
-- Edited on 1/5/16 at 9:17 AM --
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FYI...I weakened on the gaming remote. Found a compatible one manufacturer refurbished on Amazon for about $38. It just has to be a MFi (made for iOS) compatible remote.
-- Edited on 1/5/16 at 9:17 AM --
------
- Libby with a "y" not an "ie"
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
(People who know Richmond will get this!)
Visit my blog - http://www.creativecurvychic.com
"Sewing is not a hobby, it's a journey."
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