4k TVs are so advanced, whats the point of Apple TV 4k?

[Macalicious2011]

Since then I have decided to treat my TV as dumb and let Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield TV do all the content heavy lifting. Apple and Nvidia are doing well with updates.

I appreciate that they are hard to find now but I bought a dumb 4TV by LG.

As long as it was fast at switching on and off I was happy. It was a display unit that didn't even come with a stand, so I bought a height adjustable one from Amazon and have the TV set high enough for the soundbar not to obscure the picture. Used a chromecast on it for 18 months and then bought an ATV.

My TV is just a screen and because I have SKY, I only use the power button on the TV remote, nothing else.

 

[400]

It's Apple gateway to the iTunes Store.
For them it is irrelevant what your TV can do.

I would not have bought the Apple TV had it not done 4k and done it well, see no point in a 4K tv and HD only streaming when a good 4K is available (this is a personal thing, others will not be so worried). For the results to be this good, I think a lot of thought has gone into it.

I am apple centric anyway for tech in the house and my ISP cannot do anything outside one channel of 4K sport. Gives me a wider option for the films I am not worried if they are streamed and with a good return on the bit rates.

 

[donaldm241c]

I use Apple TV for Amazon and Netflix. I find the menu is much faster than my LG OLED 4K TV (3 yrs old). Apple TV also provided access to iTunes movies. Picture quality also appears sharper although I realize the LG Tv upshifts the input to 4K, but Apple TV processor appears to be better than the LG processor

 

[steve62388]

that's pretty outrageous for a tv costing 3 grand !!!

It’s pretty standard with all smart TVs.

 

[George Dawes]

i wish apple would make a tv

 

[sdwaltz]

It probably depends on what TV any given person has, but quite simply, I find that the experience is much richer all-around with the Apple TV.

I also don't have much of a choice because I don't have cable and use DirecTV Now, so I HAVE to have an Apple TV despite having nice Smart TV's.

 

[Tom Elger]

I have just purchased a brand new Apple 4K TV. I have setup Kodi on Apple TV and installed Exodus Repository but Exodus is not working for me. Actually, I'm a newbie to Kodi and does not know which are the best addons. There are many guides for it but it would be great for me if someone wants to share a personal favorite add-ons list.

 

[priitv8]

Exodus is defunct.
Placenta works.
But Kodi UI is so ugly imho, it’s like installing windows on a mac.
Image quality in exodus et al is mediocre, audio is 2.0 only.
I do not see any reason why would one invest into 4K tech just to watch that lo-fi content on exodus?

 

[tarsins]

from reading so many threads on so many av forums it seems as if apple tv is a tv's saviour !!!

sony's utterly awful android os for example almost ruins their otherwise superb tv's

fortunately you can bypass it by adding , you guessed it

an apple tv !!!

i'm getting an xf90 soon and i certainly won't be using the tv's buggy slow apps when i've got the wonderful atv4k attached....

Totally with you on this. I have an XE90 and its apps are just awful: slow, clunky, crashing. ATV4K is a breeze.

 

[bp1000]

These so called advanced 4K TVs have EXTREMELY PATHETIC updates and support. Eg. My LG OLED C6 which I purchased for $3000 in January 2017 has stopped receiving software updates in 2018.

Completely agree.

I've had a very good Samsung UE55JS8500 TV since late 2016. Its the best TV i've ever owned but the apps are pretty terrible.

They get updates, but the processor / memory of a 2016 TV can't keep up. Regular crashing, hangs, slow operation etc. Sometimes even the TV just hangs and goes black. I have a panasonic 4k too which is pretty stable but missing some apps.

ATV4K on the other hand was purchased to take all that pain away. Whilst the apps aren't as up to date as the Samsungs, they all just work, smoothly and well.

A few quirks such as some Amazon titles don't have 5.1 yet, YouTube 4k being absent.

But really, its an environment that works smoothly, looks good, is easy to use and seems to produce the best quality.

NowTV (UK) is getting a refresh, amazon will fix 5.1 and 4oD (uk) will be available this year, that completes a full suite of compatibility and on demand / streaming access, for me at least. Plus i can take it with me when i go away.

 

[Macalicious2011]

But really, its an environment that works smoothly, looks good, is easy to use and seems to produce the best quality.

This is key. My girlfriend, siblings and in laws have no issues using Apple TV. I don't recall someone asking for me to show them how to use it.

Sure, it's unfortunate that Siri is slow and doesn't recognise many names, cities or artists and the lack of 4K YouTube is disappointing. Other than that, it's a great "brain" for your TV.

 

[Guda.FL]

I find myself using ATV still.

My Sony X900F's interface is meh. however its Nice enough that everything works correct, HDR, atmos etc.

 

[George Dawes]

i agree 100%

i use the sony smart tv as a dumb appliance as much as possible

leave the clever stuff to the people who know what they're doing

APPLE

 

[Mac 128]

i agree 100%

i use the sony smart tv as a dumb appliance as much as possible

leave the clever stuff to the people who know what they're doing

APPLE

What's sad is that Sony used to be the people who knew what they were doing with the clever stuff. Apple even emulated them, and outsourced products to them to design and manufacture. My how things have changed.

 

[priitv8]

What's sad is that Sony used to be the people who knew what they were doing with the clever stuff. Apple even emulated them, and outsourced products to them to design and manufacture. My how things have changed.

Actually, their Video player, albeit very basic in UI, can handle the media streams in a decent manner and pass every audio that ARC supports, directly through. HDR and subtitle formats are also handled properly, including single-layer Dolby Vision (profile 5), HDR10 and HLG.

 

[Mac 128]

Actually, their Video player, albeit very basic in UI, can handle the media streams in a decent manner and pass every audio that ARC supports, directly through. HDR and subtitle formats are also handled properly, including single-layer Dolby Vision (profile 5), HDR10 and HLG.

But that's really the issue isn't it? All of Sony's hardware seems to work pretty well under the hood, but unlike the heyday, it's almost impossible to access through the UI. I've never been able to get their Video player to work well, as the Android TV OS -- at least on my TV -- makes using it far more trouble than it's worth.

 

[priitv8]

What kind of trouble?
They had an aspect ratio bug but that has been sorted by now.
I am happy they haven’t bloated the functionality, that would bog the poor CPU down...

 

[Shanghaichica]

I don’t have a 4K tv (only 1080p) and my tv isn’t smart. However even if I had a smart tv I’d still have an Apple TV because I have a large library of tv shows and movies that I’ve bought from iTunes that I want to watch on my tv.
[doublepost=1533977078][/doublepost]

Completely agree.

I've had a very good Samsung UE55JS8500 TV since late 2016. Its the best TV i've ever owned but the apps are pretty terrible.

They get updates, but the processor / memory of a 2016 TV can't keep up. Regular crashing, hangs, slow operation etc. Sometimes even the TV just hangs and goes black. I have a panasonic 4k too which is pretty stable but missing some apps.

ATV4K on the other hand was purchased to take all that pain away. Whilst the apps aren't as up to date as the Samsungs, they all just work, smoothly and well.

A few quirks such as some Amazon titles don't have 5.1 yet, YouTube 4k being absent.

But really, its an environment that works smoothly, looks good, is easy to use and seems to produce the best quality.

NowTV (UK) is getting a refresh, amazon will fix 5.1 and 4oD (uk) will be available this year, that completes a full suite of compatibility and on demand / streaming access, for me at least. Plus i can take it with me when i go away.

ITV need to fix their app for the Apple TV. Anytime I subscribe to the add free version the app keeps crashing whilst I’m watching something.

 

[Macalicious2011]

ITV need to fix their app for the Apple TV. Anytime I subscribe to the add free version the app keeps crashing whilst I’m watching something.

It has occasionally happened to me. The worst bug is that sometimes the audio of adverts keep playing after the commercial break. To temporarily resolve it I have to return to the home screen and then reopen the app.

 

[Zxxv]

Easier to update and replace a box than a whole tv. These tv manufacturers are notorious for screwing customers with updates etc

 

[priitv8]

Easier to update and replace a box than a whole tv. These tv manufacturers are notorious for screwing customers with updates etc

Plus - why would you throw out otherwise perfect display panel just because the os on smart-part is out of date?
Screens have much longer useful service life than the rest of the smartTV.
They also tend to be the most expensive component.

 

[x-evil-x]

Exodus is defunct.
Placenta works.
But Kodi UI is so ugly imho, it’s like installing windows on a mac.
Image quality in exodus et al is mediocre, audio is 2.0 only.
I do not see any reason why would one invest into 4K tech just to watch that lo-fi content on exodus?

you can change skins yaaa know. the way I have mine setup looks really nice.
There is also popcorn time that only puts movies out that are 720p or 1080p and actually are real good quality. There are Kodi type add ons that can stream pretty good quality.

 

[priitv8]

There are Kodi type add ons that can stream pretty good quality.

I know, and with placenta you can even see a counter of sources per quality.
I am into 4K recently and have not yet encountered a single UHD source there.
And stereo sound is a major let-down.
So for my taste the gap is too big to be worth the hassle.

 

[x-evil-x]

I know, and with placenta you can even see a counter of sources per quality.
I am into 4K recently and have not yet encountered a single UHD source there.
And stereo sound is a major let-down.
So for my taste the gap is too big to be worth the hassle.

yes if youre intro true 4k and sound quality then you'll be paying for it. as in a physical disc, surround sound with a good receiver and a 4k tv. Streaming true 4k to me still isn't anywhere close to a physical disc especially the sound quality. For free kodi and popcorn time is nice to have.

 

[BomexM3]

How does the Apple TV handle 4K steaming media from a computer? My Sony stutters all the time when I play UHD content.