New Apple TV

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#1554652 18-May-2016 10:34

kharris:

Neither of those services are free... and HBO requires geo-unblocking (as does Netflix if you want access to a decent catalogue).

You are right. We primarily subscribe to SVOD services for access to TV shows. Having movies to choose from is an added bonus. The alternative for us is paying to hire one from the iTunes store, which is why we consider them a source of "free" movies.

I also understand HBO can be a bit tricky to geo-unblock for some, but we've never had any issues.

On that note, we've had limited success with geo-unblocking Netflix, so have generally been using their NZ catalogue. There's still some movies of interest there.

kharris

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#1554657 18-May-2016 10:43

You may or may not now that if you rent a movie on your Apple TV then you can't transfer it to any other device.

You must watch it on that device. I think if you rent on your computer then you can move it to other devices but I haven't tried it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1415

Note: Purchases are different. This only applies to rentals.

Kirk

timbosan

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#1554728 18-May-2016 11:38

Dingbatt: Any comments on its usability for a Blu-ray movie replacement? At least until better streaming services become the norm. No hurry for that though, we aren't due to get fibre until 2019. And Sky UK have just released its next generation STB so SkyNZ will be about 2020.

When you say Blu-ray are you specifically concerned about picture quality? Or are you move focused on usability and convenience?

Dingbatt

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#1554758 18-May-2016 12:39

timbosan:
Dingbatt: Any comments on its usability for a Blu-ray movie replacement? At least until better streaming services become the norm. No hurry for that though, we aren't due to get fibre until 2019. And Sky UK have just released its next generation STB so SkyNZ will be about 2020.

When you say Blu-ray are you specifically concerned about picture quality? Or are you move focused on usability and convenience?

I recognise that the video / audio won't quite match a Blu-ray but I just want something to produce a reasonable 1080p picture with 5.1 surround that I can use with my HT setup. Convenience is a major factor. I didn't mind the 10 min trip to the local video store, but now that it's 25-30 each way to the nearest one I need a more convenient option.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

dclegg

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#1554764 18-May-2016 13:05

Dingbatt:
timbosan:

When you say Blu-ray are you specifically concerned about picture quality? Or are you move focused on usability and convenience?

I recognise that the video / audio won't quite match a Blu-ray but I just want something to produce a reasonable 1080p picture with 5.1 surround that I can use with my HT setup. Convenience is a major factor. I didn't mind the 10 min trip to the local video store, but now that it's 25-30 each way to the nearest one I need a more convenient option.

The picture quality is pretty good. It claims to be 1080p, and I have no reason to doubt that claim, based on what I've seen. It's certainly HD enough for us... if that is a sciencey enough metric for you.

I can't speak for the audio quality, as we only have a 2.0 feed going into the AV receiver (too old to have HDMI inputs, and the TV doesn't spit out 5.1 via the optical out (yeah, I don't know why either. Seems like a lame limitation to me (also: why did you remove the optical out for the new model, Apple))).

The only real pain is its far too often insistence that a purchase can't be completed until payment details have been verified in iTunes on the desktop. This involves logging in, and re-entering your credit card information. However, this may be because we have multiple Apple accounts for various regions, which are being accessed by multiple devices.

kharris

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#1554800 18-May-2016 13:40

I too don't have any audio equipment connected, but I do know that there is lots of evidence of DD+ and 7.1 not working as expected.... you may want to read this regarding the audio.

http://developer.dolby.com/News/Dolby_Audio_Support_on_Apple_TV.aspx

Kirk

timbosan

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#1554865 18-May-2016 14:56

Dingbatt:
timbosan:

Dingbatt: Any comments on its usability for a Blu-ray movie replacement? At least until better streaming services become the norm. No hurry for that though, we aren't due to get fibre until 2019. And Sky UK have just released its next generation STB so SkyNZ will be about 2020.

When you say Blu-ray are you specifically concerned about picture quality? Or are you move focused on usability and convenience?

I recognise that the video / audio won't quite match a Blu-ray but I just want something to produce a reasonable 1080p picture with 5.1 surround that I can use with my HT setup. Convenience is a major factor. I didn't mind the 10 min trip to the local video store, but now that it's 25-30 each way to the nearest one I need a more convenient option.

My question was partly about picture quality, but also remember that Blu-rays often include a lot of additional material, deleted scenes, bonus content, etc. that doesn't always come with iTunes rentals.

As for quality, the few movies I have rented from iTunes (on my Apple TV 3) have always looked very good (UFB 100 connection). And 5.1 sound has always worked as expected.

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timbosan

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#1554868 18-May-2016 14:58

kharris:

I too don't have any audio equipment connected, but I do know that there is lots of evidence of DD+ and 7.1 not working as expected.... you may want to read this regarding the audio.

http://developer.dolby.com/News/Dolby_Audio_Support_on_Apple_TV.aspx

Yeah, there are lots of comments in the FireCore forums about this kind of thing. It seems there are limitations in the chipset in the Apple TV (or the firmware, but only Apple would know that). 5.1 DD is good, 5.1 DTS can be a pain if your playing back local content (as in not every player handles it) and 7.1 seems hit and miss. However I wasn't aware that iTunes rentals came in anything more than 5.1?

MikeAqua

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#1554960 18-May-2016 16:13

I'm thinking about getting an ATV4 to use as streaming (local and internet) box.

Currently we watch Lightbox, Plex, TVNZ, TV3 and we may add Netflix one day.

ATV4 Seems like a reasonably priced solution

My partner has an iPhone, however I have a Samsung.

Can anyone tell me ...

Is the ATV going to work without an iPhone - remote function and renting movies.

Does it have a proper web browser?

Mike

timbosan

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#1554967 18-May-2016 16:19

MikeAqua:

I'm thinking about getting an ATV4 to use as streaming (local and internet) box.

Currently we watch Lightbox, Plex, TVNZ, TV3 and we may add Netflix one day.

ATV4 Seems like a reasonably priced solution

My partner has an iPhone, however I have a Samsung.

Can anyone tell me ...

Is the ATV going to work without an iPhone - remote function and renting movies.

Does it have a proper web browser?

The Apple TV's (all of them, including the ATV4) come with a remote control and can operate without any other Apple devices - you just need an Apple ID. The ATV3 doesn't have a web browser and I don't think the ATV4 has (can someone else confirm?)

tdgeek

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#1554981 18-May-2016 16:23

Worth a browse

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=apple+tv+web+browser&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=5-07V76XIsSm0ASHx5aoBA

dclegg

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#1554988 18-May-2016 16:26

timbosan:

MikeAqua:

I'm thinking about getting an ATV4 to use as streaming (local and internet) box.

Currently we watch Lightbox, Plex, TVNZ, TV3 and we may add Netflix one day.

ATV4 Seems like a reasonably priced solution

My partner has an iPhone, however I have a Samsung.

Can anyone tell me ...

Is the ATV going to work without an iPhone - remote function and renting movies.

Does it have a proper web browser?

The Apple TV's (all of them, including the ATV4) come with a remote control and can operate without any other Apple devices - you just need an Apple ID. The ATV3 doesn't have a web browser and I don't think the ATV4 has (can someone else confirm?)

It doesn't have a built in web browser. There may be one on the App Store though (I haven't checked).

@MikeAqua, as for the services that you use, all are covered apart from TVNZ. Hopefully they're working on an app for it, but I have no idea if this is the case.

trig42

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#1554994 18-May-2016 16:33

I think Airplay will come before TVNZ OD App (I emailed them, got a pretty much boilerplate response - they are monitoring demand and if it appears to be demand they may look at an app....)

kharris

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#1554999 18-May-2016 16:38

timbosan:

kharris:

I too don't have any audio equipment connected, but I do know that there is lots of evidence of DD+ and 7.1 not working as expected.... you may want to read this regarding the audio.

http://developer.dolby.com/News/Dolby_Audio_Support_on_Apple_TV.aspx

Yeah, there are lots of comments in the FireCore forums about this kind of thing. It seems there are limitations in the chipset in the Apple TV (or the firmware, but only Apple would know that). 5.1 DD is good, 5.1 DTS can be a pain if your playing back local content (as in not every player handles it) and 7.1 seems hit and miss. However I wasn't aware that iTunes rentals came in anything more than 5.1?

Not many... Terminator Genesis comes to mind. Maybe Netflix/HBO offer some?

Kirk

dclegg

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#1555000 18-May-2016 16:38

trig42:

I think Airplay will come before TVNZ OD App (I emailed them, got a pretty much boilerplate response - they are monitoring demand and if it appears to be demand they may look at an app....)

To be honest, their PS4 app is so woefully bad (we couldn't get it to successfully stream the last time we tried on our UFB connection), I'm not holding out too much hope there anyway.

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