Technically, the 4th Gen AppleTV A8 could play 4K content, but it's limited by it's 100BaseT ethernet and WiFi. This 5th Gen better have GbE or H265 compression. My best is both of those.
4K HEVC only requires 10Mbps or so, much less then the 100Mbps Ethernet or WiFi provided.
But, but, where is the UHD drive to play 4K UHD blu-rays? /sarcasm YES, i know... just pointing out the dumbness of the whining about the Ps4pro...
seriously, I hope the new appleTV can play 10bit H.265 4:2:2 videos... (the 4:2:2 would be nice, but i am hopping for 10 bit h.265 playable video's encoded by Handbrake... )
The Apple TV is the same size as the Echo Dot -- why can't it have the same great microphones with Siri integration so I can replace the Dot and have ONE device to control my living room via speech. Utterly brain dead if this is missing.
And 4k? Who cares?! It should have been in the last version!
Does the Amazon Firestick and Fir TV have the same mics in it as the Echo Dot?
My Apple TV is in a closet because I don't like wires running along a wall. Since the remote uses BT this works out great. This means an Apple TV with mics would be wasted, not to mention annoying when someone says certain words on TV and it decides to ask me what I want. I get this with both "Hey Siri' and "Alexa," when something similar enough is said, like "Hey sir" or "Alex." I think I'd rather just keep the voice control in the remote control. Having mics close to your mouth without you having to yell seems like a better option for the HEC.
But don't get me wrong, I love both my Echo and Echo Dot. My bedroom has no lit alarm clock as I now only use an Echo Dot for my clock, alarm clock, and meditation. It's pretty great for those things. And my Echo are used for the kitchen and bathroom since you can easy have your hands full and use the device. I can even use voice commands to pair my phone to play music without ever fiddling with my iPhone. If Apple comes out with something similar I'd be very interested, but putting that into an Apple TV seems like a waste to me. Make it a standalone product with great speakers… which means it's much larger than an Apple TV (and let's keep in mind that no Echo can play HD video).
What Apple TV really needs is an updated remote! Lack of crucial buttons, overly sensitive touch, inconsistent app mapping to button functions and horrid ergonomics (easy to hold upside down, too thin).
The best thing I can say about the ATV remote is that I tolerate it. IMO, it is Apple's worst design failure in recent memory.
This being Apple, they were probably holding back on 4K+HDR until they had some content to sell you. If it comes with an upgrade to a decent chunk of their catalogue with reasonable upgrade pricing it could be worth something.
You won't have an option to upgrade to UHD from HD. You may purchase a new copy of what you want in UHD but not pay a small fee to upgrade to it. It's not even in Apple's control to allow you to do that.
Nothing like buying the same movie multi times!!! From VHS to DVD to Blue-Ray, to Digital SD to HD, and now 4K. Not once have I ever seen any type of discount for owning a past copy. 4K is really just so overblown anyway. 4K is what you are watching at a movie theater. Is your TV screen that large? It's really all about Size vs Distance to Resolution. To many people already have to small of a 1080P HDTV. They think that's more then large enough, when it's not. Generally it should be larger then you think. Jumping up to 4K means you really need a larger TV on top of what you already though was as large as you could go, or the wife would let you go. Unless you really sit pretty close to that 4K TV, 8 feet away, about average you should be in the 100" screen size range!!! Seems large, but really it isn't for 4K. If you're going to get 4K, don't you want to see the better detail 4K gives you? Which you can't with a screen size to small. What most people will really notice is not the better resolution because they have to small of a 4K TV, but HDR. (High Dynamic Range)
Really, the only practical, cost effective way to have a large enough 4K picture is a Front Projector.
AppleTV needs a FUNDAMENTAL rethink, both in terms of software and hardware.
I find myself using it less and less. Also, I repeatedly run into sign-in issues (iTunes Store, Xfinity-related ones, YouTube, HBO) that I just have not been able to resolve.
The Apple TV is the same size as the Echo Dot -- why can't it have the same great microphones with Siri integration so I can replace the Dot and have ONE device to control my living room via speech. Utterly brain dead if this is missing.
And 4k? Who cares?! It should have been in the last version!
Does the Amazon Firestick and Fir TV have the same mics in it as the Echo Dot?
My Apple TV is in a closet because I don't like wires running along a wall. Since the remote uses BT this works out great. This means an Apple TV with mics would be wasted, not to mention annoying when someone says certain words on TV and it decides to ask me what I want. I get this with both "Hey Siri' and "Alexa," when something similar enough is said, like "Hey sir" or "Alex." I think I'd rather just keep the voice control in the remote control. Having mics close to your mouth without you having to yell seems like a better option for the HEC.
But don't get me wrong, I love both my Echo and Echo Dot. My bedroom has no lit alarm clock as I now only use an Echo Dot for my clock, alarm clock, and meditation. It's pretty great for those things. And my Echo are used for the kitchen and bathroom since you can easy have your hands full and use the device. I can even use voice commands to pair my phone to play music without ever fiddling with my iPhone. If Apple comes out with something similar I'd be very interested, but putting that into an Apple TV seems like a waste to me. Make it a standalone product with great speakers… which means it's much larger than an Apple TV (and let's keep in mind that no Echo can play HD video).
I'm rather on the fence about Echo Dot. Certainly the price is attractive, but I have Siri on my wrist. The problem, of course, is that Siri is spectacularly unhelpful in doing anything other than "what time is the game on?" YMMV. But I do agree that once Siri fails with requests, people (me included) stop using it.
The one function on the Siri remote that is useful is "what did s/he say?"
The Apple TV is the same size as the Echo Dot -- why can't it have the same great microphones with Siri integration so I can replace the Dot and have ONE device to control my living room via speech. Utterly brain dead if this is missing.
And 4k? Who cares?! It should have been in the last version!
Does the Amazon Firestick and Fir TV have the same mics in it as the Echo Dot?
My Apple TV is in a closet because I don't like wires running along a wall. Since the remote uses BT this works out great. This means an Apple TV with mics would be wasted, not to mention annoying when someone says certain words on TV and it decides to ask me what I want. I get this with both "Hey Siri' and "Alexa," when something similar enough is said, like "Hey sir" or "Alex." I think I'd rather just keep the voice control in the remote control. Having mics close to your mouth without you having to yell seems like a better option for the HEC.
But don't get me wrong, I love both my Echo and Echo Dot. My bedroom has no lit alarm clock as I now only use an Echo Dot for my clock, alarm clock, and meditation. It's pretty great for those things. And my Echo are used for the kitchen and bathroom since you can easy have your hands full and use the device. I can even use voice commands to pair my phone to play music without ever fiddling with my iPhone. If Apple comes out with something similar I'd be very interested, but putting that into an Apple TV seems like a waste to me. Make it a standalone product with great speakers… which means it's much larger than an Apple TV (and let's keep in mind that no Echo can play HD video).
I'm rather on the fence about Echo Dot. Certainly the price is attractive, but I have Siri on my wrist.
I don't wear my Watch to bed and saying Alexa is less taxing than "Hey Siri" when you're half asleep with your eyes closed. Plus, the Alexa service offers a lot that Siri doesn't. I use about 10 Skills, currently. I could use my iPhone but that has a display so I also don't keep that in my room.
One of those is the Starbucks Skill. On the rare occasion that I'm in a hurry getting ready I still want my morning coffee so I can use my Dot (or the Echos) to submit my order and have it ready for me in 2-7 minutes at the store near me. This really only saves me about a minute doing it manually from the Starbucks app on my phone, but when you're in a hurry that extra minute can be important.
This being Apple, they were probably holding back on 4K+HDR until they had some content to sell you. If it comes with an upgrade to a decent chunk of their catalogue with reasonable upgrade pricing it could be worth something.
You won't have an option to upgrade to UHD from HD. You may purchase a new copy of what you want in UHD but not pay a small fee to upgrade to it. It's not even in Apple's control to allow you to do that.
They did with music a few years back. Upgraded my whole downloaded catalog for pennies per track.
You payed more to free your music from DRM, not for better upgraded quality. Show me anywhere with any of the other streaming services, like Vudu, where you can have the HD version and upgrade to the UHD version when it's available. You can't because it doesn't exist and won't exist with Apple all of a sudden magically.
What Apple TV really needs is an updated remote! Lack of crucial buttons, overly sensitive touch, inconsistent app mapping to button functions and horrid ergonomics (easy to hold upside down, too thin).
The best thing I can say about the ATV remote is that I tolerate it. IMO, it is Apple's worst design failure in recent memory.
I think it's great except for the core issue that the original "hock puck" mouse had—you can't easily tell which end is front or back. I put an elastic hair tie and on the palm end so I can more quickly orient it.
...Little else? The lack of 4K is the only reason why I haven't bought Apple TV to this day. Once they add 4K capability, I'll buy one for every TV I have.
If its 4K, that means obviously it will have a new Soc and completely new internals. And obviously the OS will see a major update and features this yr.
The thing isn't going to grow a display or legs, it will still be the same box, but that doesn't mean it can't be significantly improved with new internals and software. Not that I have many complaints about the current one, I use it everyday.
It needs nothing of the sort. The A8 can handle 4K as it stands, as I linked above. All it "needs" is HDMI 2.0, and only then if it'll support 4K60.
If an upgrade to a 5th generation or later ATV is required, that would be a little disappointing. But seeing as how I have no 4K TVs and don't plan to buy a new one soon...
Nope. When the current AppleTV was released, there were only a handful of chips that could do HDMI 2.0 (the first version to allow real 4K at 60 Hz), and they were only available in small quantities. The HDMI chip it uses supports HDMI 1.4, which can only do real 4K at 24 Hz. It also doesn't support the deeper color spaces or other functionality which requires the extra throughput HDMI 2.0 allows.
This being Apple, they were probably holding back on 4K+HDR until they had some content to sell you. If it comes with an upgrade to a decent chunk of their catalogue with reasonable upgrade pricing it could be worth something.
You won't have an option to upgrade to UHD from HD. You may purchase a new copy of what you want in UHD but not pay a small fee to upgrade to it. It's not even in Apple's control to allow you to do that.
Nothing like buying the same movie multi times!!! From VHS to DVD to Blue-Ray, to Digital SD to HD, and now 4K. Not once have I ever seen any type of discount for owning a past copy. 4K is really just so overblown anyway. 4K is what you are watching at a movie theater. Is your TV screen that large? It's really all about Size vs Distance to Resolution. To many people already have to small of a 1080P HDTV. They think that's more then large enough, when it's not. Generally it should be larger then you think. Jumping up to 4K means you really need a larger TV on top of what you already though was as large as you could go, or the wife would let you go. Unless you really sit pretty close to that 4K TV, 8 feet away, about average you should be in the 100" screen size range!!! Seems large, but really it isn't for 4K. If you're going to get 4K, don't you want to see the better detail 4K gives you? Which you can't with a screen size to small. What most people will really notice is not the better resolution because they have to small of a 4K TV, but HDR. (High Dynamic Range)
Really, the only practical, cost effective way to have a large enough 4K picture is a Front Projector.
The only thing I've seen is if you have old Disney digital copies in SD and you sign up for Movie Rewards, Disney upgrades all your old SD movies to HD for free.
I disagree. You can easily see the benefits of 4K with a 55" screen sitting 8 feet or so away. That has nothing to do with HDR either. I have a ton of native 4K content that isn't HDR and it's pretty incredible at how much better the resolution is compared to 1080. Same with watching UHD blu rays. Take the movie The Revenant for example. The 4K blu ray blows away the regular 1080p blu ray. 4K is not overblown at all.
Bullsh** If it has 4k it will come with a faster processor. At least an A9.
If Apple decides to update iTunes with 4k this Apple TV will release same day as content.
I agree...why not build the thing for the future instead of today. Hell, I'd put in an A10X. Why it wasn't released with 4K in the first place is beyond me. The lack of 4K and 4K content is Apple TV's largest downfall in my opinion. You're paying $150 for something that doesn't even do 4K (only 1080p) when there are cheaper devices that do the same thing and support 4K.
Why not put in a TB of ram and octo-processors and 12 USB-A ports using that logic. Everything is a trade off.
If they really are pushing services, then they should view the ATV hardware as break-even, and put the best SOC in there they can to support not just 4k video but also better games. The ATV 4 should have had the A9X.
This next one ought to have the A10X.
The games don't have to run at 4k -- fine for them to be mostly 1080p -- but with an A10X (and other more game friendly specs -- more RAM, more local storage) the AppleTV could be a pretty decent game console at a low price, in addition to all the other functions it can serve.
In the words of @randominternetperson "Why not put in a TB of ram and octo-processors and 12 USB-A ports using that logic. Everything is a trade off." I guess were all just stupid and should just accept that Apple puts 3yrs old technology in a new box and sells it as new.
If Apple did this with an iPhone or a Mac the god damn world would have a meltdown!
A welcome addition, but not much true 4K content exists - so the importance of the lack of that feature was over emphasized (for now) . My Amazon Fire 'supports' 4K but processor still chokes with 1080p streams and finally overcame Dolby audio glitches with the most recent update.
What Apple TV really needs is an updated remote! Lack of crucial buttons, overly sensitive touch, inconsistent app mapping to button functions and horrid ergonomics (easy to hold upside down, too thin).
Try repeatedly flicking your thumb on the current remote, scrolling down a list of thousands of movies to reach your desired movie only to accidentally switch to another column on the Apple TV and having to start over flicking your thumb like a mad hamster. It's disgusting a remote control.
What Apple TV needs is a KEYBOARD remote. It doesn't work well with current Bluetooth keyboards.
What would be another needed upgrade is the use of MULTIPLE bluetooth remotes to allow game playing without the need to go through the network - which slows down response.
Comments
YES, i know... just pointing out the dumbness of the whining about the Ps4pro...
seriously, I hope the new appleTV can play 10bit H.265 4:2:2 videos... (the 4:2:2 would be nice, but i am hopping for 10 bit h.265 playable video's encoded by Handbrake... )
My Apple TV is in a closet because I don't like wires running along a wall. Since the remote uses BT this works out great. This means an Apple TV with mics would be wasted, not to mention annoying when someone says certain words on TV and it decides to ask me what I want. I get this with both "Hey Siri' and "Alexa," when something similar enough is said, like "Hey sir" or "Alex." I think I'd rather just keep the voice control in the remote control. Having mics close to your mouth without you having to yell seems like a better option for the HEC.
But don't get me wrong, I love both my Echo and Echo Dot. My bedroom has no lit alarm clock as I now only use an Echo Dot for my clock, alarm clock, and meditation. It's pretty great for those things. And my Echo are used for the kitchen and bathroom since you can easy have your hands full and use the device. I can even use voice commands to pair my phone to play music without ever fiddling with my iPhone. If Apple comes out with something similar I'd be very interested, but putting that into an Apple TV seems like a waste to me. Make it a standalone product with great speakers… which means it's much larger than an Apple TV (and let's keep in mind that no Echo can play HD video).
I can say I'd really like a OTA tuner or two with an antenna coax plug on the back.
I find myself using it less and less. Also, I repeatedly run into sign-in issues (iTunes Store, Xfinity-related ones, YouTube, HBO) that I just have not been able to resolve.
The one function on the Siri remote that is useful is "what did s/he say?"
One of those is the Starbucks Skill. On the rare occasion that I'm in a hurry getting ready I still want my morning coffee so I can use my Dot (or the Echos) to submit my order and have it ready for me in 2-7 minutes at the store near me. This really only saves me about a minute doing it manually from the Starbucks app on my phone, but when you're in a hurry that extra minute can be important.
You are living in a world of your possible
I disagree. You can easily see the benefits of 4K with a 55" screen sitting 8 feet or so away. That has nothing to do with HDR either. I have a ton of native 4K content that isn't HDR and it's pretty incredible at how much better the resolution is compared to 1080. Same with watching UHD blu rays. Take the movie The Revenant for example. The 4K blu ray blows away the regular 1080p blu ray. 4K is not overblown at all.
In the words of @randominternetperson "Why not put in a TB of ram and octo-processors and 12 USB-A ports using that logic. Everything is a trade off." I guess were all just stupid and should just accept that Apple puts 3yrs old technology in a new box and sells it as new.
If Apple did this with an iPhone or a Mac the god damn world would have a meltdown!
Try repeatedly flicking your thumb on the current remote, scrolling down a list of thousands of movies to reach your desired movie only to accidentally switch to another column on the Apple TV and having to start over flicking your thumb like a mad hamster. It's disgusting a remote control.
What Apple TV needs is a KEYBOARD remote. It doesn't work well with current Bluetooth keyboards.
What would be another needed upgrade is the use of MULTIPLE bluetooth remotes to allow game playing without the need to go through the network - which slows down response.