For those who have trouble streaming video to the fourth-generation Apple TV, the new VLC app offers a solution, but only if the video isn’t encumbered by DRM.
The tvOS Channels app works with popular over-the-air broadcast tuners to let you view live television on your fourth-generation Apple TV. Couple that with streaming apps and a mix of other software for recording live TV and you can build a complete solution for watching all types of television programming within the Apple TV
Most Apple TV coverage has been U.S.-centric, but Sarah Hendrica Bickerton offers her perspective on the Apple TV as a New Zealander, and it’s not a sunny one. Bickerton reports that Siri and iTunes TV shows are not available, and even iTunes movie releases lag weeks behind the rest of the world. While Netflix is finally available in New Zealand, it doesn’t even offer the Netflix original series “House of Cards” due to muddy distribution rights. Despite all of that, Bickerton is bullish on the new Apple TV due to tvOS and its associated App Store. Her article is a welcome reminder of how technology often isn’t evenly distributed around the world.
The Apple TV’s App Store is seeing explosive growth, but statistics from appFigures indicate that developers may not be giving users what they want.
Engineer Dan Bostonweeks contacted Amazon to complain about the lack of an Amazon Instant Video app for the fourth-generation Apple TV, and he was surprised to receive a response saying that Amazon is working on it. The company added that the app should hopefully be available in a few weeks. That’s good news for users who were tired of having to watch Amazon Prime Video via some other video streaming box. We hope it will also end the online griping about Amazon ignoring Apple users, or about Apple not playing fair with Amazon, depending on your point of view.
“Take Control of Apple TV” author Josh Centers explores the first wave of Apple TV apps to see how things are shaping up, what works, and what doesn’t.
TidBITS Managing Editor Josh Centers joined Bart Busschots, Jeff Gamet, and host Chuck Joiner for a special session of the MacJury on the MacVoices podcast to evaluate the new Apple TV, including its launch, the Siri Remote, and apps. The verdict? It has a number of rough edges, but is still an improvement over the old model.
Curious about the new fourth-generation Apple TV or have one now? “Take Control of Apple TV” author Josh Centers answers your questions.
The fourth-generation Apple TV is just days away. In the meantime, the current model gets a few new channels, and we tell you how to see the new Apple TV’s screensavers today.
The TV platform battles are heating up, with the latest salvo fired by Amazon, which will stop selling the Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast by the end of the month, ostensibly because they don’t “interact well” with Amazon Prime Video. That explanation falls somewhat flat given that the upcoming fourth-generation Apple TV will allow independent apps, and Amazon could presumably have created a Prime Video app (unless, of course, Apple made doing so infeasible for some reason, which is also entirely possible). The move will probably hurt Chromecast sales more than Apple TV sales, due to Apple’s strong retail presence. In the end, this is just tech giants playing hardball with one another — Amazon isn’t sufficiently dominant for there to be any antitrust issues at play.
“Take Control of Apple TV” author Josh Centers has all the details about the fourth-generation Apple TV, and explains why you’re going to want one.
The Apple TV’s NFL Now app has been updated to add support for the new NFL Pass service. A one-year subscription to NFL Game Pass costs $99.99 per year, and offers full video of all games after they air, as well as live streams of out-of-market preseason games. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer live streaming of regular season or playoff games.
Apple has reached out to some recent purchasers of the third-generation Apple TV, telling them that their units were shipped with a faulty part and that the company will replace them free of charge, even throwing in an iTunes gift card for the trouble. Apple hasn’t issued a public statement, meaning that this issue probably affects only a handful of customers. There is no need to worry about this unless Apple contacts you
“Take Control of Apple TV” author Josh Centers hasn’t given up hope on the device yet. He explains why the Apple TV isn’t dead, reveals clues about the upcoming model, and weighs in on whether you should buy one now or wait for a new model.
After spending a month with the Apple Watch, Managing Editor Josh Centers joined Tech Night Owl host Gene Steinberg to discuss his experience with it, as well as what he’s expecting from the rumored Apple TV update. Josh also discusses market interest in 4K television and his brief experience with AOL.