mac_128
About
- Username
- mac_128
- Joined
- Visits
- 115
- Last Active
- Roles
- member
- Points
- 1,104
- Badges
- 1
- Posts
- 3,454
Reactions
-
No, Apple's licensing of iTunes & AirPlay 2 isn't a 'strategy reversal' in any way
What does the platform have to do with prices on Amazon and FandangoNow? Both apps are available on the Apple TV. Movies Anywhere further blurs the lines between the platforms for most of the major studios. I buy movies wherever they’re the cheapest and watch them all through my Apple TV, even those purchased through Google Play. That’s still not a reason to use the built-in Smart functions of any TV.rgh71 said:
And movie rentals are cheaper from Amazon and FandangoNow! I’ll still pay the premium when I’m using my ATV on my main Panny plasma, but I save with other smart tv options on my Vizio. Apple better lower their prices or how can they compete?robbyx said:
Apple TV is ridiculously overpriced. I just had a (non-techie) friend text me a little while ago asking what to buy, Fire, Chrome Cast, or Roku. I responded, since they are an Apple household, why not Apple TV? Her response was simple: it's 3x more expensive and for what?StillHappy2BullyU said:
The correct thing to do - the best strategy would have been to make the Apple TV half as much and make it the premium offering over a Firestick but to populate the installed base of iOS with basic affordable set top boxes that would have rendered this conunumdrum already solved.Notsofast said:
This idea of an Apple TV never made any sense as Apple doesn't get into low margin, commoditized businesses unless it has something to differentiate it and command a suitable profit margin. Heck, major players like Panasonic and Sony have been pulling back because low margin companies like Vizio have cannibalized sales as consumers can't tell a meaningful difference between the screens (for the most part, now that we are well into HD, 4K, etc., the TV's are all great), leaving the companies to compete on price--not Apple's market.robbyx said:TVs supporting AirPlay2 and an iTunes app for TVs tell me two things:
1) Apple has completely abandoned the idea of offering their own TV hardware (if that was ever really a possibility anyway)
2) Apple's upcoming video service is going to be a lot more than just some free original content to sweeten the deal for existing Apple hardware owners (as some sources have suggested)
Personally I'd like to see Apple make their TV app the center of the Apple TV experience. Right now it's confusing with so many different apps and interfaces, some of which work with the TV app while others don't.
The app on one and not the others and some available on old ones but not other old ones - these are terrible omens for this TV service and Apple TV. It’s already been handled the wrong way in the press, and it’s confusing already and most people don’t care about AirPlay 1 or 2. They just look at the phone. The End. If they want Apple content at all - they’d want iTunes and now it’s only in Samsung and Samsung QLED tech is well behind OLED. To say nothing of Tizen.
I really don't understand what they are doing with Apple TV. I have one and I like it, but aside from the Apple "experience", what does it offer over the competition? Nothing. I also agree that these latest announcements are not the best omens. I'm confused, and I'm a seasoned Apple user. Will the Samsung TVs only offer iTunes content? Will they get the rumored TV service? Is the TV service falling under the iTunes umbrella? We shall see...
-
TCL, LG under pressure from customers about AirPlay 2 compatibility
Who has time for all of that? If I don’t need to use smart features, I just don’t connect it to the internet, and then I don’t have to do anything (and I see no reason to buy a TV for its smart features or use them as I stated in my OP). As I said I’m not paranoid about any of this. I have plenty of devices connected to the internet and I’ve not read the EULAs, or gone beyond a basic visit to the settings and flipped some virtual toggles. But there’s nothing I’m doing with any of these devices I’m overlay concerned about sharing with anyone. Doesn’t mean I don’t still have some reservations about the ramifications about sharing all of this information, but for now, it’s not worth much more time than I spend on it. I understand it perfectly fine. Perhaps you don’t to invest so much effort. But more importantly, I don’t need it. Things that truly matter, which I use, I invest time into, especially if I don’t understand them. But the average person doesn’t. And the manufacturers prey on that mentality, while doing nothing to reassure those who don’t understand the new technology. That’s a bad combination which justifiably brings consumer wrath and suspicion onto them.gatorguy said:
That's not exactly what was going on and TBH it was generally understood after the fact that it was a non-issue, but I absolutely understand people's concerns over all of this.mac_128 said:
As far as you know.gatorguy said:
I have a TCL 4k and you are correct that if you don't change the defaults then usage data is funneling back. So like you should with just about every electronic device nowadays (even your iPhone for that matter) simply change the defaults. It's not hard. Do a bit of research on what and where, and ignore the way controls are sometimes framed as "turning this off will end this valuable thing we're doing for you". Sometimes it is but more often than not you won't miss a thing.mac_128 said:
I just read an article that suggests TLC and Vizio manage to change so little for their TVs because they collect and sell every piece of data they can from a customers use of them.AppleExposed said:seanismorris said:AirPlay is a competitive advantage for Samsung TV over LG.
Tizen is a negative. LG’s WebOS is a positive.
Visio having AirPlay is compelling.
I didn’t know about the TCL/Roku. That’s an interesting option at the lower end, and would probably make a good bedroom TV.
TCL is only "budget" in price. Their TVs are ahead of the game supporting Dolby Vision. A beauty for Apple TV.Roku is a nightmare though!!!
My Sony is definitely not a budget TV, but even it has an BG app called Samba which evendently reports to Sony everything I do and watch with my TV. I only found this out while seeking to disable it because it slowed down my UI. It was also brought to my attention that in the EULA, I was agreeing to give away a ton of user data by enabling auto software updates. I believe TLC is a Chinese company as well.
My TCL isn't sending my personal information anywhere AFAICT. Leave the factory defaults as is and yes every company will use them to their advantage. Why wouldn't they? They aren't in it for the charity.
https://www.imore.com/how-change-privacy-settings-apple-tv
im not overly paranoid about this, but certainly recently reported incidents about disabling google apps from sharing location, and then discovering that the user preference actually had no effect is troubling
Aren't the collective "we" always fearful/distrustful of new technologies? Cameras all around us, microphones in places we wouldn't expect them to be. Bluetooth beacons, and wifi location trackers and advertising identifiers and "smart assistants", lane departure and auto-stopping vehicles, even totally self-driving. It's a lot to take in and digest. It's natural to mistrust what you don't understand. In my case that might include Amazon. I've not done near enough research on them and while everything might be hunky-dory I don't know enough about 'em.
Personally whenever I get a new device for my home or vehicle one of the very first things I do is a websearch regarding settings, especially privacy settings and where to find them. I read the EULA's (yeah I know, lawyer speak and permissions with double meanings and sometimes unusual and confusing connections to other docs). But ya gotta read em and if you don't understand them research what they mean. And when you do don't use a competitors hard-nosed fansite to do so. Their members are not very likely to give a straightforward AND honest answer about it. First they probably don't know the facts anyway and second they are likely to look unkindly on competitors no matter the product or feature. There's lots of web resources that have no particular competitive reason to slant the explanation. Search 'em out.
Anyway I've got a couple hundred photo session images to process from earlier this morning so ....
TCL is a Chinese company, that is selling their products on razor thin margins, by offsetting costs collecting and selling everything they can about the customers who purchase their products. I have no interest in supporting that model, even if it means saving a couple of hundred bucks. Then again I can afford such ideological luxuries. So who am I to judge anyone? I’m just saying...
-
TCL, LG under pressure from customers about AirPlay 2 compatibility
As far as you know.gatorguy said:
I have a TCL 4k and you are correct that if you don't change the defaults then usage data is funneling back. So like you should with just about every electronic device nowadays (even your iPhone for that matter) simply change the defaults. It's not hard. Do a bit of research on what and where, and ignore the way controls are sometimes framed as "turning this off will end this valuable thing we're doing for you". Sometimes it is but more often than not you won't miss a thing.mac_128 said:
I just read an article that suggests TLC and Vizio manage to change so little for their TVs because they collect and sell every piece of data they can from a customers use of them.AppleExposed said:seanismorris said:AirPlay is a competitive advantage for Samsung TV over LG.
Tizen is a negative. LG’s WebOS is a positive.
Visio having AirPlay is compelling.
I didn’t know about the TCL/Roku. That’s an interesting option at the lower end, and would probably make a good bedroom TV.
TCL is only "budget" in price. Their TVs are ahead of the game supporting Dolby Vision. A beauty for Apple TV.Roku is a nightmare though!!!
My Sony is definitely not a budget TV, but even it has an BG app called Samba which evendently reports to Sony everything I do and watch with my TV. I only found this out while seeking to disable it because it slowed down my UI. It was also brought to my attention that in the EULA, I was agreeing to give away a ton of user data by enabling auto software updates. I believe TLC is a Chinese company as well.
My TCL isn't sending my personal information anywhere AFAICT. Leave the factory defaults as is and yes every company will use them to their advantage. Why wouldn't they? They aren't in it for the charity.
https://www.imore.com/how-change-privacy-settings-apple-tv
im not overly paranoid about this, but certainly recently reported incidents about disabling google apps from sharing location, and then discovering that the user preference actually had no effect is troubling.
bottom line for me is that any TV connected to the internet is probably sharing some data about you which you aren’t able to control, or are otherwise unaware. I don’t connect my smart TVs to the internet. My Apple TV is, but not the Sony, mainly because it runs more slowly when connected. I really miss the days of dumb monitors which do one thing and do it well, so paying a premium is going exactly where I want it — to the picture quality. I don’t really see the value of building all that technology directly into the TV.
-
Netgear shows off new mesh networking devices, 5G router, Meural smart art frame
Because those are standard LCD screen sizes, and a major goal stated is lowering the cost.macinfish said:What's with those aspect ratios for the smart art frames? They chose "1920 x 1080 full HD resolution" which is common for video (16:9), but not so common for actual cameras (3:2). Looks too skinny.
The bigger problem is that they chose HD and not 4K. I’d also suggest not going OLED here is a problem too, but then that wouldn’t exactly keep the cost down. 4K is a must for a wall frame that size, since you’ll be able to see the individual pixels in most cases.
Until these screens go 4K OLED, digital frames are really not going to be a suitable substitute for a photo display in a home. Of course OLED with its potential burn-in issues is likely not the best choice to display a static photo for hours at a ime.
i do wonder with the number of 16:9 screens populating commercial businesses whether that will start to shape people’s expectations about what constitutes normal portrait photographic ratios? I went to a major photo exhibition recently that mixed digital displays throughout the museum with physical prints, and all of the digital displays were 16:9 displays, either landscape or portrait.
-
Apple says some 2018 iPad Pro units ship with bent chassis, not considered a defect
You’ve personally polled all of those people, or they have otherwise commented on this issue?greenmeenie said:I know this is getting a lot of play...but the truth is I think it’s not as widespread as people believe it is. My 11” ipad pro is not bent. I work in the art world here in NYC, and most people i know have gotten the new pros, and not one of them has this issue. And none of the artists, photographers & videographers i follow on youtube who use the new ipad pro have a bending problem with it either.
Not saying it ain’t real, but i think the numbers are way way lower than is being portrayed on the internet.
And i truly believe that if someone out there gets an ipad with a slight, imperceptible bend out of the box, that they’d be able to exchnge it no problem. I’ve never once had a problem returning an Apple product for the silliest of reasons. Go into an Apple Store with a smile on your face, be pleasant but firm, and i gaurantee you’ll be walking out the door with a new ipad pro. Just open the new one in the store to be sure.
Again, the fact Apple has officially aknowledged the issue says there’s a significant enough issue to address, and that’s typically no small sample.
The fact it’s seemingly “slight and imperceptible”, may mean it goes unnoticed initially to many who have the issue. I have certainly bought things and only discovered a flaw or defect days or weeks later. It’s still early on, and outside of these forums, I’ve not really seen this reported, not to mention the distraction of the holidays and everything else going on in the world — so there’s an awareness factor as well.
As for dealing with the Apple Store, it’s not always as easy as you claim. I’ve had some great experiences and some not so great experiences, and one problem had to get resolved when “Steve” wasn’t working.
