mbdrake76

StrangeDays said:

Yup, one can use a networked iTunes library on ATV today. 

Okay, if we were to go down a NAS route: for sharing downloaded iTunes files what  If Apple were to bring out their own compact NAS unit that supported both Time Machine backups and iTunes library support which could automatically download iTunes content from a designated Apple ID as soon as it was purchased (or hit one button and it'd grab whatever wasn't already downloaded) and make it automatically configure any Apple TVs, iPhones and iPads to stream movies and TV shows from it when they're connected to the same network (Wi-Fi or ethernet).  Taking your Mac, iPhone or iPad somewhere - download movies or audio from the NAS directly into Apple TV or Apple Music app on your device locally rather than from Apple's own servers.  That would go some way of resolving the whole purchase/disappearing content problem.  You make the entire process as automatic as possible.  The user just plugs the thing in, configures networking and other settings via an iPadOS/iOS/macOS app, and that's it.  Oh, and add Apple Photos library support too.

Add options to automatically back up the iTunes Library to a cloud service of the user's choosing (iCloud(*), Backblaze, Amazon, whatever), along with the ability to restore.  That way if the Apple NAS died, you'd just get a replacement and your library is redownloaded EITHER from Apple or through the backup service of your choice (which would be preferable if the content has vanished from the iTunes store).

In short: a NAS that follows the Apple ethos of simplicity and practicality.  No fussing about.  

I'd buy that in a heartbeat.  A single device that manages Apple Media everything.  Is (hopefully) relatively inexpensive.   Just works.  A complete idiot could work it.

* iCloud storage options would have to go beyond the current 2Tb ideally for those with large iTunes libraries.

neilm said:

mbdrake76 said:

It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed.  Just had a title removed from my library that I bought in 2015 for this reason.
[snip]
And you don't get any recompense or any notification whatsoever from Apple prior to the title being withdrawn.  It makes buying movies from them a massive risk (even worse with other digital stores such as Amazon or Google Play as you don't get to download them as a file as you do with iTunes - assuming one has a computer, of course).

Apple doesn't own the copyright to movies from major studios, and doesn't set the availability or terms of sale. That's why, for instance, new releases are sold for some time before being offered for rental. And when a studio, or its distributor, pulls a title from online sale or rental, its gone. It's also common for titles to be pulled from streaming temporarily during the period when they're being aired on cable or network TV. Again, that's a contract thing that the streaming service has no control over.

Streaming I absolutely get.  It's why I subscribe to so many.  And no, Apple does not own the copyright to the content they are selling (more like renting/licensing).  But the practice of calling something a "purchase" or "buy" and then having it pulled from under you - even with all the caveats and legal definitions - screams anti-consumer law to me.  At best it's an extended rental that offers no set limits.  And I intend to challenge Apple with this in the UK after giving them a week or two to respond to my queries about this.

AniMill said:

mbdrake76 said:

It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed. 

The problem here is even if you download your movies, if it’s pulled from the Apple library, it’s flagged as unplayable. So unless you’ve decrypt the original file, your still screwed.

This is why I still buy 4K Blu-ray disks, I get the iTunes code for convenience and physical media should it ever get pulled. And for some reason, the sound with Dolby TrueHD sounds better too.

The trouble with that is if the unit failed, all downloads would be lost.  You'd need some way of transferring everything to another device.  I too would keep buying 4K UHD blu-Ray discs, but: (a) UK has terrible fair use policies which technically makes it illegal to transcode material from it to other formats, (b) studio inconsistency with releases (it can be bad enough with regular HD Blu-Ray - especially around TV shows) and (c) I don't have enough storage space!

mjtomlin said:

mbdrake76 said:

It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed.  Just had a title removed from my library that I bought in 2015 for this reason.  As I have 1.75Tb worth of movies and that Apple storage is incredibly expensive, keeping them in the "cloud" seems the only reasonable way of doing it.  But no. 

And you don't get any recompense or any notification whatsoever from Apple prior to the title being withdrawn.  It makes buying movies from them a massive risk (even worse with other digital stores such as Amazon or Google Play as you don't get to download them as a file as you do with iTunes - assuming one has a computer, of course).  Subscriptions to Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, etc. are fine - you know what you're getting and you're willing to accept that you'd lose access to them if you stopped subscribing or if their licensing no longer permits them to stream the title. 

So for me, the Apple TV has lost its appeal somewhat.

This isn't a media server, it's a media streamer... If you want all your movies saved locally, do it on your computer and use it as a media server. My iMac has long been used as my "iTunes" server with some 2 terabytes of movies, tv shows, music, podcasts, and photos all stored on an external hard drive.

You're making the assumption everybody has a computer or NAS.  Plus 4K/HDR content cannot be downloaded as a file.  Maybe if Apple were to make the Apple TV a dedicated media server as well with sufficient storage (or the ability to add extra storage) and worked super nicely with iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows PCs running Apple TV app - that'd be one possible way of doing it, I suppose.

JinTech said:

mbdrake76 said:

It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed.  Just had a title removed from my library that I bought in 2015 for this reason.  As I have 1.75Tb worth of movies and that Apple storage is incredibly expensive, keeping them in the "cloud" seems the only reasonable way of doing it.  But no. 

And you don't get any recompense or any notification whatsoever from Apple prior to the title being withdrawn.  It makes buying movies from them a massive risk (even worse with other digital stores such as Amazon or Google Play as you don't get to download them as a file as you do with iTunes - assuming one has a computer, of course).  Subscriptions to Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, etc. are fine - you know what you're getting and you're willing to accept that you'd lose access to them if you stopped subscribing or if their licensing no longer permits them to stream the title. 

So for me, the Apple TV has lost its appeal somewhat.

Or just the ability to plug in a USB hard drive. I bought a $300 mini PC to essentially turn into a movie server, ended up being to slow so I ended up buying a low end Mac mini, which works like a champ but if I could have just plugged the USB drive into my AppleTV, problem would have been solved without the extra expense or headache.

But the average consumer shouldn't have to do this, and at such cost, because Apple is pimping - heavily - about the virtues of playing your "purchased" movies from practically everywhere (and without that asterisk that states that content pulled isn't available, and no, you don't get any notice or refunds).  See the previous posting which also states that you can't download 4K/HDR content.

That said, I DO very much like the idea of plugging in a portable hard drive (via USB 3.0/Thunderbolt 3) or via NAS to an Apple TV and have a "backup" function which can download the content directly to it, along with a "Restore" function.  And as long as those files could then be copied/backed up somewhere else for additional safekeeping, that would be good too.  But then again, it still adds complexity to something which should be entirely cloud-based.  Just because it's an intangible product doesn't mean to say that it should suddenly vanish on a copyright owner's whim (or bad fortune if the distributor goes bust).