I loathe Comcast, but they're the only broadband option in my area. A few months ago, sick and tired of the astronomical pricing of their "triple play" bundle (they charge extra fees for high def, cable card, basic programming, before you know it your bill is over $200/month) I downgraded to an internet-only subscription and switched to getting my TV through DirecTV Now. It's not perfect (scrobbling on their AppleTV app is horrible, it works much better on their Amazon FireTV app), but I'm saving lots of money and DirecTV Now gives me a lot more viewing options and a built-in DVR. I'd never turn back. And I can't wait for the day Sonic offers fiber in my area like they do in San Francisco. It will be buhbye Comcast, never again!
That said, Apple continues to do a less-than-optimal job of playing well with others. Think of how long it took to get Amazon video on there (that's when they lost me to my smart TV and Roku). This needs to change, and fast.
Amazon video is a third-party app. How can Apple be blamed when other developers don’t embrace the platform? Think Google/Nest refusing to implement HomeKit.
My smart TV is Roku. Not bad at all. Only thing I use my Apple TV for now is AirPlay and watching Apple keynotes.
Mine too. We kept debating about getting a Roku or AppleTV or something else. Then this TV with Roku built in came on sale. We're very happy. Don't see any need to get an external box at all.
That said, Apple continues to do a less-than-optimal job of playing well with others. Think of how long it took to get Amazon video on there (that's when they lost me to my smart TV and Roku). This needs to change, and fast.
You've got it backwards. The delay was entirely on the part of Amazon, which they admitted. They withheld their Prime App for almost two years.
Why? What reason did they give for the delay?
Amazon said they hate their customers and haven’t aligned their business with their customers wants which is why they’re willing to hold them hostage during corporate jousting. At least, that’s what their actions say.
That said, Apple continues to do a less-than-optimal job of playing well with others. Think of how long it took to get Amazon video on there (that's when they lost me to my smart TV and Roku). This needs to change, and fast.
Think Google/Nest refusing to implement HomeKit.
I don't know that it has ever been determined "why" no Homekit, but with Apple softening their stance in the past few months to allow software authentication and now recently deciding to join the Google Thread Group as a top level member I think Nest (which uses Thread) might finally be offering Homekit support in the near future. Just guessing of course.
Tim, why not stop the buybacks and just swallow Comcast whole? You could do the world a favor and split it up, spin NBC/Universal off, same with Sky, shut the cable side down and operate it as an ISP. Comcast has most of the better markets in the US.
Xfinity Streama promised zero sign-on app at the beginning of January. Effectively it turns an Apple TV into a cable box, giving access to every Spectrum channel and the provider's on-demand content.
Other companies using the Apple TV as a cable/satellite box replacement include France's Canal and Switzerland's Salt.
Ummm! That was interesting!
I always thought of Comcast Stream as for mobile devices and never associated it with Apple TV.
Conversely, I only ever thought of Apple TV as essentially just device for streaming internet stuff.
It's good to see that it can do both. It makes it much more functional in my opinion
Comcast can screw themselves. The worst company I have ever dealt with. They have lied to me so many times, refused to honor contract pricing (while also refusing to give a written contract so I could call them out later on their refusal to honor contracts), adding of features I've never requested (including, randomly, the Latino package and some obscure 'voice access' feature to replace their modem rental fee, even though I had no voice services). If I didn't watch my bill every single month, I'd probably have been paying $60,000 a day for services with all the crap they pulled.
The final straw was when our bill hit $270 for basic television, Internet, and a home phone that we weren't using. When I called to cancel the home phone I was informed they'd raise our rate by $20 and cut our Internet speed in half. Fine. Let me turn in my cable modem because I have my own. "You can't do that, because your bundle requires compatible equipment" (meaning it had to be compatible with the home phone service we weren't using). They're absolute shisters of the worst kind.
Thankfully CenturyLink offers fiber service in our area, so we're now paying $75/month (for life) for gigabit up and down without the stupid data cap Comcast imposed. We have DirecTV Now for TV service (yes, the interface isn't great, but it's the best streaming TV service out there in terms of available channels and video quality, plus the adding for HBO, Starz, and Showtime are far less expensive than any other option), and Ooma for our home phone (my wife and I both work from home and need this).
Of course canceling our service with Comcast was a nightmare, and they tried claiming we never returned our equipment despite having receipts showing that we had. It took months to get a refund on what they owed us.
Our total bill is now roughly half what we paid to Comcast and we have better service. Mostly though, giving Comcast the middle finger was priceless.
At first I was upset but then I realized this is Comcast we’re talking about, so whatever.
I was so pissed-off at latest Comcrap price hikes figured I'd even try their CSRs. 2 calls. 2 different quotes better than current rates. Neither went into effect. Eventually, I caught a price cut (for being a customer for decades). They are the sole choice for glass fibre into our neighborhood.
Verizon has 5G antennaes up on their nearest tower. I expect they'll figure out how to turn them on by 2020 and just maybe work. We're in a valley; but, less than 7 or 8 miles away. Surely would be nice to have a choice and maybe even price competition.
That said, Apple continues to do a less-than-optimal job of playing well with others. Think of how long it took to get Amazon video on there (that's when they lost me to my smart TV and Roku). This needs to change, and fast.
Amazon video is a third-party app. How can Apple be blamed when other developers don’t embrace the platform? Think Google/Nest refusing to implement HomeKit.
That may be the case, but that's sort of irrelevant. The net effect was that it led to a dramatic decline in my use of AppleTV to meet my video needs.
That said, Apple continues to do a less-than-optimal job of playing well with others. Think of how long it took to get Amazon video on there (that's when they lost me to my smart TV and Roku). This needs to change, and fast.
You've got it backwards. The delay was entirely on the part of Amazon, which they admitted. They withheld their Prime App for almost two years.
Why? What reason did they give for the delay?
Amazon said they hate their customers and haven’t aligned their business with their customers wants which is why they’re willing to hold them hostage during corporate jousting. At least, that’s what their actions say.
Comcast can screw themselves. The worst company I have ever dealt with. They have lied to me so many times, refused to honor contract pricing (while also refusing to give a written contract so I could call them out later on their refusal to honor contracts), adding of features I've never requested (including, randomly, the Latino package and some obscure 'voice access' feature to replace their modem rental fee, even though I had no voice services). If I didn't watch my bill every single month, I'd probably have been paying $60,000 a day for services with all the crap they pulled.
The final straw was when our bill hit $270 for basic television, Internet, and a home phone that we weren't using. When I called to cancel the home phone I was informed they'd raise our rate by $20 and cut our Internet speed in half. Fine. Let me turn in my cable modem because I have my own. "You can't do that, because your bundle requires compatible equipment" (meaning it had to be compatible with the home phone service we weren't using). They're absolute shisters of the worst kind.
Thankfully CenturyLink offers fiber service in our area, so we're now paying $75/month (for life) for gigabit up and down without the stupid data cap Comcast imposed. We have DirecTV Now for TV service (yes, the interface isn't great, but it's the best streaming TV service out there in terms of available channels and video quality, plus the adding for HBO, Starz, and Showtime are far less expensive than any other option), and Ooma for our home phone (my wife and I both work from home and need this).
Of course canceling our service with Comcast was a nightmare, and they tried claiming we never returned our equipment despite having receipts showing that we had. It took months to get a refund on what they owed us.
Our total bill is now roughly half what we paid to Comcast and we have better service. Mostly though, giving Comcast the middle finger was priceless.
One of my rules is to avoid bundled services -- which is (one reason) why I didn't even consider their mobile option. I didn't want both my house and my phone chained to them.
But, that said, I have not had any trouble with them (knock on wood). I get their entry level cord cutter special and then switch to FiOS after a year when they double the rate. Then after a year (or two) on FiOS, Verizon doubes their rates and I go back to Comcast.. Hopefully, by the time they figure out the ridiculousness of all that, we'll have 5G and I can cut both of them out (or they'll stop doubling the rate at the end of the first year.)
At first I was upset but then I realized this is Comcast we’re talking about, so whatever.
Agreed. Comcast would most likely not make a good partner for Apple.
I have a bunch of AppleTV 4Ks streaming all the usual suspects on Verizon FiOS network. I would love to see FiOS release an AppleTV app but I am not holding my breath. If Apple offers optional live TV with in their package, I will likely dump DirecTV Now.
I think the Spectrum App with zero sign-on is awesome but could be better integrated with tvOS.
I have two Apple TV Gen4, 1 Apple TV Gen 3, and a Roku stick. The Roku gets the job done, but it's no Apple TV.
For those concerned about other vendors dropping apps for the Apple TV, keep in mind that most of them, because they are free, are already universal apps that are basically the same app for Apple TV/iPhone/iPad in a combined application bundle. The development costs are nil at that point to keep the Apple customers happy with an app that provides access.
Comcast is a horrible company. More than likely Roku made a deal with Comcast to share user data with them. It's no secret that Roku makes their money off of user data provided by their customers in terms of viewing habits, etc. I believe every app has to make user information available in order to get their app approved in their store, though I may not be describing the terms 100% accurately. Apple probably has no desire to give up the treasure trove of information that Roku is willing to provide. That being said I don't blame them, they have to make money somehow considering their product is very inexpensive.
I have to laugh when people pretend Roku is better than Apple TV.
After using the "horrible" Siri remote and Apples simple interface, going back to clicking for every damn option/gesture/letter feels like going back to a flip phone.
Also I have a 2017 TCL TV and the Roku function is an absolute nightmare. After calling Roku and TCL all they did was blame each other and I never got the Roku part to work. Apple TV was plug and play.
Sounds like user error to me. Mine works just fine when I want to use it. My Apple TV works the same as well.
Well guess what? If I was in the US, and Comcast was my provider, and they pulled this, they'd get the big'ol bird from me, and off I'd go to a more progressive competitor, one who doesn't partner with a company self-admitted for structuring their business model around harvesting data and not providing good hardware and software UX first:
Comments
spin NBC/Universal off, same with Sky, shut the cable side down and operate it as an ISP. Comcast has most of the better markets in the US.
It's good to see that it can do both. It makes it much more functional in my opinion
The final straw was when our bill hit $270 for basic television, Internet, and a home phone that we weren't using. When I called to cancel the home phone I was informed they'd raise our rate by $20 and cut our Internet speed in half. Fine. Let me turn in my cable modem because I have my own. "You can't do that, because your bundle requires compatible equipment" (meaning it had to be compatible with the home phone service we weren't using). They're absolute shisters of the worst kind.
Thankfully CenturyLink offers fiber service in our area, so we're now paying $75/month (for life) for gigabit up and down without the stupid data cap Comcast imposed. We have DirecTV Now for TV service (yes, the interface isn't great, but it's the best streaming TV service out there in terms of available channels and video quality, plus the adding for HBO, Starz, and Showtime are far less expensive than any other option), and Ooma for our home phone (my wife and I both work from home and need this).
Of course canceling our service with Comcast was a nightmare, and they tried claiming we never returned our equipment despite having receipts showing that we had. It took months to get a refund on what they owed us.
Our total bill is now roughly half what we paid to Comcast and we have better service. Mostly though, giving Comcast the middle finger was priceless.
Verizon has 5G antennaes up on their nearest tower. I expect they'll figure out how to turn them on by 2020 and just maybe work. We're in a valley; but, less than 7 or 8 miles away. Surely would be nice to have a choice and maybe even price competition.
I have to imagine I am not the only one.
Stop! Too much cuteness.
But, that said, I have not had any trouble with them (knock on wood). I get their entry level cord cutter special and then switch to FiOS after a year when they double the rate. Then after a year (or two) on FiOS, Verizon doubes their rates and I go back to Comcast.. Hopefully, by the time they figure out the ridiculousness of all that, we'll have 5G and I can cut both of them out (or they'll stop doubling the rate at the end of the first year.)
I have a bunch of AppleTV 4Ks streaming all the usual suspects on Verizon FiOS network.
I would love to see FiOS release an AppleTV app but I am not holding my breath.
If Apple offers optional live TV with in their package, I will likely dump DirecTV Now.
I think the Spectrum App with zero sign-on is awesome but could be better integrated with tvOS.
For those concerned about other vendors dropping apps for the Apple TV, keep in mind that most of them, because they are free, are already universal apps that are basically the same app for Apple TV/iPhone/iPad in a combined application bundle. The development costs are nil at that point to keep the Apple customers happy with an app that provides access.
Comcast is a horrible company. More than likely Roku made a deal with Comcast to share user data with them. It's no secret that Roku makes their money off of user data provided by their customers in terms of viewing habits, etc. I believe every app has to make user information available in order to get their app approved in their store, though I may not be describing the terms 100% accurately. Apple probably has no desire to give up the treasure trove of information that Roku is willing to provide. That being said I don't blame them, they have to make money somehow considering their product is very inexpensive.