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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Apple TV 4K

Kwan Khan

Kwan Khan

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Some notable things.

Supports 4K and HDR in the form of Dolby Vision and HDR10. I believe the first streaming device to do so.

Lots of new content sources incoming, including live sports and news.

Also, big focus on games.
 
Not sure how far this can go given the ISP monopolies in the US. Most people's internet connection is not fast enough to run a 4k movie, especially not live programming. And when the ISPs keep making their data caps worse and worse to makeup for lost profits in the failing cable system, no one will be able to afford the surcharges to download or stream these massive 4k files.
 
Its redicilous it took apple this many years to do a 4k Apple TV!! But I like that 4k movies have the same price as hd on there service. Did not think they would do that. Good move.
 
I need more hdmi ports on my TV to connect all the VOD boxes.
 
But wasn't that HDR example that they showed a little disingenuous? There was nothing stretching the dynamic range in the picture. All they did was to increase the saturation on the "HDR" side of the picture. C'mon Apple, we know better...
 
But how do you show HDR in a way that comes across to anyone viewing on a multitude of devices watching the keynote? Yes it was cheesy and even disingenuous of them to do it this way... Even though it’s the same way Panasonic, Sony, et al demo their HDR equipment on the show floor at NAB, IBC, etc.. First show the muted and muddy image, then show one where the colors are extremely saturated to the point of cartoony nonsense. Put them side by side for added effect.

Have to consider their target audience... There’s a reason they spent nearly 10 minutes playing with facial recognition controlling emojis.
 
Nathan Wold said:
Not sure how far this can go given the ISP monopolies in the US. Most people's internet connection is not fast enough to run a 4k movie, especially not live programming.
Click to expand...
We have 350Mbps down here in West LA, and UHD HDR looks fine from Netflix. Sharp as a pin, no compression artifacts that I can see, no dropped frames, beautiful pictures. So it can theoretically work.

I'm going to make a point to lay my money down on a new Apple TV 4K device the moment it's available for pre-prder on Friday.
 
I have three Apple TV's and now it looks like I will have a 4th. Just take my damn money Apple. In all seriousness though, regarding UHD HDR streaming playback, it will all work out fine. I have a Vizio P Series TV with built in 4k chromcast and have been streaming UHD + HDR Dolby Vision content pretty flawlessly on an 100 megabyte Verizon Fios connection for over a year. With Apple pushing the TV app as well as partnering with Netflix + Amazon for their 4k HDR content, I think 2018 is going to be a wild ride. Whats more exciting is with apps like Direct TV Now via 4K ATV, this opens even more possible viewing options down the road in 4k (if the content providers create 4k digital streams to allow it of course). Exciting times are ahead of us folks.
 
I have found that viewing netflix in 4K in my home (where the viewing distance about 2 meters on a 55" screen and color are absolutely consistent) has been an OK experience, but if I am being absolutely honest it does not affect my enjoyment of the content. I appreciated the HD series I watched and enjoyed as much as I enjoyed the 4K stuff.

The best 4K series experience by far was watching The Crown, which is technically and from a cinematography perspective a complete and utter joy to experinece.

Do I appreciate 4K? you bet. is it the deal breaker for me as a consumer of content? No way.

Apple is way, way, way behind on this one.

I expected the last big announcement of the new apple TV (whenever that was) to be the 4K jump. It was not and since then everyone has moved on.

Apple used to be a daring and innovative company. As I watched the event yesterday and looked closely at the crowd of people, it was hard to spot anyone around 30 years old, and while they may not be wearing blue suits, they have become the "GAP Casual" of the corporate world.

Nothing actually excites me about what apple is doing anymore and I lothe the day I'm sitting in a restaurant somewhere at night and I look around the room to see everyone's face being lit up by their torch-lit phone so that they can be "regognized".

Earlier this week there was a post about virtual reality on Facebook and my response was something like, "Next, they will be selling us, "actual reality"." and that is exactly how the event felt.

Apple, the fat cat kings of the computer world, sitting on trillions without a real innovative idea in sight.

Now at the peak of their power, they have an actual chance to change the world, but they seem to have turned into a bunch of Chardonnay sipping fake ex hippies.

Honey badger don't care!

Rant mode off.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

David
 
David Battistella said:
Apple used to be a daring and innovative company.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more.

As I watched the reveals unfold, I just kept thinking to myself that releasing an iPhone 8 at the same time as releasing the X, the phone they actually wanted to debut, that it was such a cop-out. It was a safe choice. I feel like that was a very un-Steve Jobs type thing to do. Apple always had that "You don't know what you want. But we do." attitude. Now... not so much. I guess there is something to be said for giving the customer options, but I feel like that's just weak.
 
I think the reason the 8 exists is because of the price point of the X... That and not everyone is going to feel comfortable jumping to the X. I know it seems silly to say it’s about price point, but there is a $300 difference — even more in some areas.

As for the AppleTV 4K, yes they are a bit late to the party... Sort of. Apple has teased 4K content through iTunes for some time and they have had the ability to do a 4K AppleTV for a while now. They waited for the content to back the device. Look where they’re positioned in the market — They’re $50 cheaper than the crappiest name-brand 4K BluRay players, the movies are cheaper, they’re allowing those with existing iTunes content to upgrade their content to 4K for free (pending availability) and their system does apps and games and customized live content now. This is such a typical Apple move — one of the last to jump in with a product, but it’s very refined and has software/ media/ etc. to back it. In the history of Apple, the only times they have truly launched an innovative or industry/world changing product has been with the first Mac and then iTunes and then the first iPhone. Everything else, including the first Apple I and Apple II computers, as well as the iPod, have been “me too” products. For the most part it has been their level of refinement and the content and services backing the product which has made them successful.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Everything else, including the first Apple I and Apple II computers, as well as the iPod, have been “me too” products. For the most part it has been their level of refinement and the content and services backing the product which has made them successful.
Click to expand...

True,

and that has never felt more...gone.

What happened to Sir Jonathan Paul "Jony" Ive? A sort of "trusted voice" for Apple products seems to have been moved aside.

Have to also say, the script for these events is getting older than the events themselves.

David
 
David Battistella said:
Apple used to be a daring and innovative company.
Click to expand...

It's almost a cliche at this point, but since Steve Jobs died, Apple not only yet to have another game changing innovation, they haven't even had any substantive useful innovations on their existing products.

Now the company is run by marketers who only try to find ways to market a new product, not to justify its existence with innovation in the first place.

I'm still livid about them removing the headphone jack. It's changes merely for the sake of marketing something new, even if its far less convenient.
 
David Battistella said:
True,

and that has never felt more...gone.

What happened to Sir Jonathan Paul "Jony" Ive? A sort of "trusted voice" for Apple products seems to have been moved aside.

Have to also say, the script for these events is getting older than the events themselves.

David
Click to expand...

All you need is love. And... $1800 AUD.
 
Nicholas Croft said:
All you need is love.
Click to expand...

That was another peeve. Don't get me started. They might be able to afford to License the song, but they sure are a long, long, long way away from the energy and beauty that created it. :)

I don't want to sound old and grumpy, but I really sensed a kind of falseness to the whole event.

David
 
Nathan Wold said:
innovation
Click to expand...

Apple for many, many years has been a company focused on refinement, simplification, and design. For instance, the iPod came well after the rather clunky and hot running Nomad Jukebox from Creative Labs and a couple of other things. However, the iPod was compact, very simple to use, and perhaps one of the best designed electronic products when it comes to a straight MP3 player.

While they are known for adding some spicy innovation occasionally, i.e. TouchBar, that is indeed just an auxiliary touch interface display, which has been been around for a heartbeat. They just examined the tech and saw the power behind putting it into notebooks/laptops.

As for the Apple TV 4K. The innovation here is creating a simple interface for a broad range of consumers on a global level to easily view 4K and HDR content. I'm a bit close to the fire here, but here's the real info on 4K in the market. Consumers can afford 4K sets now, that's not even the question. In fact generally speaking consumers want 4K because they can "see" what's good about it. But the big question is "how and where" they can get their content.

While there are smart TVs out there with apps to grab 4K content, most of that experience is "meh" and clunky. Apple TV is a hub for a great deal of apps and content providers. It's a small unobtrusive box that "lives" in your home. I emphasize lives because that's part of what everybody is trying to do now. Google Home, Amazon Dot, etc... The key thing with the Apple TV experience is refinement. Simple menus, simple to get into apps, simple, simple, simple.

For those who have read my Window Effect stuff years ago, it's all about the casual viewing experience. While a lot of new and innovative tech will land punches, especially those keen for the technology itself, it will die shortly on if it's not easy to get into and I dare say fun to use.

So in it's own way, Apple TV's biggest innovation is bringing all of the possible content to your fingertips and televisions at a time where there's a bazillion places to get content.
 
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