Apple TV update adds channels for Vevo, Disney, Weather & Smithsonian
The Apple TV set-top box was updated on Tuesday with a number of new dedicated channels: Vevo, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Weather Channel, and content from the Smithsonian Channel.
The launch of new content options on Apple TV comes just days after it was revealed that Apple had inked a deal with Vevo to provide music video content to its HDTV accessory.
Apple has been steadily adding channels to the Apple TV through new dedicated apps throughout 2013. The last major update came in June, when Apple added HBO Go, WatchESPN, Sky News, CrunchyRoll and Qello.
Established programming partners on the Apple TV also include Hulu Plus, Netflix, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Vimeo, youTube, Flickr, and The Wall Street Journal.
The next major direction for Apple TV may be live and on demand content from cable providers. Apple is said to have been working with Time Warner Cable to provide streaming content to existing cable subscribers without the need to have a dedicated table box.
Tuesday's update also arrives amidst rumors that Apple is in the process of negotiating directly with content providers for a new product category that may be a realization of the company's long-rumored television set. It's been said that Apple has found little success in negotiations with cable providers, prompting the company to turn to the content providers themselves.
One rumor from earlier this month suggested that Apple could announce a new television product of some sort as soon as November. While that product may not be a full-fledged television set, it was said the supposed product is likely to include some sort of enhanced control functionality.
Apple's future ambitions in the TV space were hinted at with the company's acquisition of Matcha.tv earlier this month. The small startup company provided a second-screen iOS app connected to various content outlets like cable TV, Internet streams, and digital storefronts.
The launch of new content options on Apple TV comes just days after it was revealed that Apple had inked a deal with Vevo to provide music video content to its HDTV accessory.
Apple has been steadily adding channels to the Apple TV through new dedicated apps throughout 2013. The last major update came in June, when Apple added HBO Go, WatchESPN, Sky News, CrunchyRoll and Qello.
Established programming partners on the Apple TV also include Hulu Plus, Netflix, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Vimeo, youTube, Flickr, and The Wall Street Journal.
The next major direction for Apple TV may be live and on demand content from cable providers. Apple is said to have been working with Time Warner Cable to provide streaming content to existing cable subscribers without the need to have a dedicated table box.
Tuesday's update also arrives amidst rumors that Apple is in the process of negotiating directly with content providers for a new product category that may be a realization of the company's long-rumored television set. It's been said that Apple has found little success in negotiations with cable providers, prompting the company to turn to the content providers themselves.
One rumor from earlier this month suggested that Apple could announce a new television product of some sort as soon as November. While that product may not be a full-fledged television set, it was said the supposed product is likely to include some sort of enhanced control functionality.
Apple's future ambitions in the TV space were hinted at with the company's acquisition of Matcha.tv earlier this month. The small startup company provided a second-screen iOS app connected to various content outlets like cable TV, Internet streams, and digital storefronts.
Comments
I wish they would enable a single sign-on via itunes so I don't have to juggle 11ty accounts for app access.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
When does AppleTV get the redesign treatment? It sorely needs it! Talk about ugly.
Agreed. Not sure how many more apps they can keep adding before it starts to get too cluttered. It's already getting large to scroll through as is.
At the very least update the Remote app for the iPhone so that I can see all these apps and click on them from my iPhone instead of scrolling.
Also make the Remote app stop losing the Apple TV so I don't have to close the Remote app, turn off/on WiFi and then open the app again. Thanks!
Do you need cable subscription to access those channels?
What's been troubling me lately is the redundancy with the stock apple apps. I kind of get that they have designed the stock Apple-related Apps so you don't need to sync your computer to it...but let's face it. If you own an ATV, you probably have an iTunes account and probably have a pc or mac that you sync to it. So to have a podcasts, Music, movies, tv shows, etc. all as separate apps, then have the "Computers" app that has the exact same things, minus the iTunes store. Seems really redundant. Not to mention now there's a ton of network specific apps. Needless to say the screen is getting a bit too crowded and the interface is sevearly lacking of some better, more efficient usability. They must have something up their sleeve soon (as has been rumored) because it's getting a bit overwhelming to navigate and haphazard.
The one thing we all desperately need from Apple at this point is a new Bluetooth general remote. The IR remote is killing me.
I suspect it will get the iOS 7 make over soon enough. After running iOS7 since it came out I now find the same reaction to iOS 6 you do to the Apple TV. iOS7 seemed barebones at first, now if feels normal and iOS 6 looks cartoon like to me.
Meanwhile I look forward to the day when those of us who have internet only, i.e. no account for HD TV with a cable company, can use these new channels. Fat lot of good they are when most still require verification of such an account. It is like owning a Tesla but being told you can only use it if you still buy $100 worth of gas a week even though you don't need it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by zaba
There should be a method of choosing which of the channels you want as I for one have no interest in the majority of them. I use it for movie rentals and photos, that's basically it, and its great for that.
You can hide the ones you don't use under parental control. Why under parental controls? Good question. But you can nonetheless do what you want.
Why does everyone do this? Why do you hear hoof steps and think zebra?
Maybe this is about Steve's simple interface. IN THE LITTLE BLACK BOX
iCloud Keychain?
Agreed plus those icons are ugly. Just use the same iOS ones. And give us the same moving them, 'boxing' them as a mobile device.
And yes yes to your Remote idea
These changes are USA-only I guess? I don't see any changes on my AppleTV here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
When does AppleTV get the redesign treatment? It sorely needs it! Talk about ugly.
I have to agree with this (although 'ugly' is a ridiculous overstatement).
Time for a major redo. Also, as the list grows, allow me to delete or make disappear the icons I don't wish to see.
Yep. Totally got to change one day soon .... I, like many am internet only and this is like having to put a horse on your Tesla to get it to move! I have to think Apple are working away behind the scenes to allow a direct fee system via the iTunes Store to get these apps working without a f****g contract with a cable company.
I think you can hide apps in settings > parental controls.
Yes, when you use all the devices Apple make as so many of us do, there definitely should be a look of uniformity across them all. I am pretty confident that will happen over the next year or so as they all get Jony's touch. I get a shock on iOS 7 when I launch Find my Friends ... seeing 3D leather stitching is very weird in the setting of iOS 7! (My caveat is retaining the likes of Logic Pro X's realistic look which is totally OK, which IMHO looks and works great, it's all about the 'need').