escargot

headfull0wine said:

I wonder if the COVID upheaval has forced Apple to abandon the hardware redesigns and focus on getting the new Silicon out the door in existing enclosures before the end of the year. They can always introduce new form factors next year. 

Nope, following the leaks that have been around since before Apple even announced the transition that has always been the plan since the beginning. 

Thanks CgWerks, that’s very helpful. So the apps have to be specifically updated to use the T2 for HEVC encoding or it’s automatic?  Did they mention adding that support in their release notes for recent updates?  Thanks. 

entropys said:

I think I will have to get one. My questions are:

• Will it be noticeably faster to insert a 256GB SSD than the 2TB fusion drive?

At least in the previous Gen (2017), the fusion drives maxed out around 2000 MBps read and 750 MBps writes. The SSDs could regularly get about 3000 MBps reads and 2000 MBps writes. So yes the SSDs are a lot faster, and consistently faster. But the fusion drives are no slouch either.

We will know a lot more as people start actually getting their hands on these new machines and running some benchmarks. 

cgWerks said:

I didn't care much about the T2 when I bought my 2018 mini, but now I do! The HEVC/h.265 encoding is several times faster than even the six-core i7, AND it keeps things quiet as an added bonus.

May I ask what App you are using for doing the HEVC encoding?  FCP X?  Which six core i7 and on which computer are you comparing it to, the one that it is several times faster than?

christopher126 said:

I agree w/ your assessment the three biggest annoyances w/ my current TV/AppleTV setup is the multiple remotes needed and having to use the TV remote only to switch the TV on and off.

The need to have a sound bar (w/ another remote) b/c the speakers on the TV are so 'tinny' sounding. I don't mind having a sound bar, in of itself. I realize the sound quality of very thin speakers inside a very thin TV is problematic. I just wish the speaker would come on automatically.

I guess I would just like everything to work from my AppleTV remote!

Best.

P.S. I was hoping I could wait for Apple to solve all this with the next release of the AppleTV. But it looks as though their solution is AirPlay two, an AppleTV and two HomePods. Hmmmm. A bit on the expensive side.

I’m not sure what you mean as everything you are describing is already possible with the AppleTV 4. That’s what HDMI-CEC is for. On my Vizio TV and Samsung soundbar, when I press a button on my AppleTV remote, the tv and soundbar turn on, the tv input switches to AppleTV, and the volume buttons on the AppleTV remote control the volume of the soundbar. When I use the AppleTV remote to put it to sleep, it also turns off the TV and soundbar. The same thing happens with my PS4.

I do keep the dedicated remotes around because sometimes I might want to do more advanced stuff like change advanced picture settings etc. But if we are talking about turning the tv and soundbar on and off, adjusting the volume, and switching inputs, that is all already possible with the AppleTV 4 and later and its Siri remote.