[cody69]

Apple announced the new ATV is available for purchase last week (http://www.apple.com/tv/)... anyone interested and planning on buying one?

I've had my eye on one to use to stream web content from OS X device and watch on a flat screen TV.
For my purpose, the 3rd generation ATV would probably be just fine, so I need to weight the additional features and cost to rationalize the new one.

I was a bit surprised to see the new units have eliminated the output optical port.

[KR500]

Yeah , I checked it out .....no optical port , bummer .
You get voice command instead if that's important to you .
I'll pass and stay with my 3rd gen Apple TV

[mresseguie]

I just bought the 3rd gen Apple TV device. I see no reason to get the new one personally.

[wgscott]

I actually returned mine and we are back to the ATV2. It is the only Apple product I have returned in 20 years.  I've heard you can now use a bluetooth keyboard with the new one, which fixes one huge irritation.  No one in the family liked the siri remote, and the 12 year old game addict was underwhelmed by the games.  The white font on light grey background was a challenge to read. The apps all staying open until you swipe-close them seemed bizarre. 

If the rumored amazon app ever materializes, I might reconsider this, but for now, even the resolution gain over the 720p ATV2 wasn't worth the price.

[Ern Dog]

I almost got the Apple TV 4th gen until I found out no digital outputs.  That was a total deal breaker for me because I have no way of connecting hdmi to my tube preamp. 
So I bought a refinished 3rd gen and have it connected to my dac.  I'm a happy camper now.

I now have Netflix and Amazon prime and that is keeping me entertained. 
My biggest complaint is that the font size on the screen is too small to read from across the room.  Maybe I need to wear my glasses.

[wgscott]

I have the same font size problem (although it was far worse with ATV4).  However, I interpreted this as the need for a larger TV.

[avahifi]

Still no 4D - Ultra HD capability with the Apple TV 4.  First deal breaker.

No digital output?  Another deal breaker.

I got one ( Version 3) just to catch F1 on NSNBC as NSPSP does not air all the practices.  Found a few other things of interest but my Lucky Gold Star OLED TV has Amazon Prime, Netflix, and more built in and that's were I find good programing.

Frank Van Alstine

[Ern Dog]

I have the same font size problem (although it was far worse with ATV4).  However, I interpreted this as the need for a larger TV.

Haha I like your way of thinking.  We love upgrading don't we!

[rlee8394]

Yeah, what Frank said. The lack of some sort of digital output did it for me. Seems Apple is eliminating the Audio/Video performance in favor of "features" like apps, games, storage, and voice control (Siri). Even Apple's webpage proclaims "It's all about apps." Features should be secondary to the best audio and video performance available in my opinion, and that's where Apple dropped the ball. That's why I'm gonna stay with my ATV2, ATV3, and if I need a new streamer, I'm gonna spring for the new Roku 4. They seem to have gotten it right.

https://www.roku.com/products/roku-4

Ron

[dB Cooper]

No digital output?  Another deal breaker.


Frank Van Alstine

There may be a way around the second one... I remember that Mark Waldrep, who runs the "real HD Audio" website, came up with some kind of "hack" that made it possible to extract the digital audio feed from an HDMI connection independently and route it thru the DAC of your choice. You might want to contact him. Here is a link to his 'contact us' page http://www.realhd-audio.com/?page_id=60 He seems to be very willing to help people out.

I agree btw, no excuse for omitting digital out. I see that the Roku sensibly provides this.

[kingdeezie]

There may be a way around the second one... I remember that Mark Waldrep, who runs the "real HD Audio" website, had some kind of "hack" that made it possible to extract the digital audio feed from an HDMI connection. You might want to contact him. Here is a link to his 'contact us' page http://www.realhd-audio.com/?page_id=60 He seems to be very willing to help out people, probably even more so a colleague.

I agree btw, no excuse for omitting digital out.

There are always ways around this. You can generally just get an HDMI audio decoder that will output optical audio.

You also plug it in to your TV, and then have the TV send the audio out via optical.

Its all stupid though, because, how expensive is it for apple to include an optical port?

This is why I dislike Apple. They just remove things, and expect people to accept it, or be left out. They also just stop supporting older hardware for no reason ( see original airport express, and the original ATV).

I feel sorry for anyone heavily invested in ITunes, because eventually, your ATV2 will just stop being supported, and you'll be without a digital audio out, because the ATV 6 won't have it included.

As a media device, the Roku 4 is a far better purchase. 4K, HDCP 2.2, 4K Upscaling, Optical Audio Out, Vudu Support, Amazon Support, etc, etc. 

[Crimson]

I have a 4th gen model hooked up to an older audio system (no HDMI inputs) and use a decoder like this one from Amazon. Works great.

[jriggy]

Glad I purchased a ATV3 to replace the ATV2 right before the ATV4 came out!
What I will miss, when/if my ATV3 stops working is renting movies.
Apple/iTunes through the AppleTV is the only service I know of that gets new movie rentals on the first day of availability. Its pricy sometimes but there is no other rental streaming service that is as complete with ALL the new movies. Seems you have to wait 6mo to a year sometimes for tons of good movies to get licensed out to these other services... I like keeping up with new movies but tent to forget about them if not watched when they are newly available...

OR am I wrong? Is there another device/service that has movie rental program as up to date as Apple/iTunes?

[kingdeezie]

Glad I purchased a ATV3 to replace the ATV2 right before the ATV4 came out!
What I will miss, when/if my ATV3 stops working is renting movies.
Apple/iTunes through the AppleTV is the only service I know of that gets new movie rentals on the first day of availability. Its pricy sometimes but there is no other rental streaming service that is as complete with ALL the new movies. Seems you have to wait 6mo to a year sometimes for tons of good movies to get licensed out to these other services... I like keeping up with new movies but tent to forget about them if not watched when they are newly available...

OR am I wrong? Is there another device/service that has movie rental program as up to date as Apple/iTunes?

With the exception of HBO Now when it released, there isn't any major motion picture studio exclusive to Apple.

VUDU and Amazon get the same new releases as Itunes on the same day. You can use both of those services on a Roku.

[jriggy]

With the exception of HBO Now when it released, there isn't any major motion picture studio exclusive to Apple.

VUDU and Amazon get the same new releases as Itunes on the same day. You can use both of those services on a Roku.

Im not sure Amazon has been as complete but I could be wrong there, and I must admit I did not know about VUDU.

Thanks for the heads up!!!

[kenreau]

Thanks for this thread guys.  I was all ready to purchase an ATV 4th gen at Costco ($169) this weekend, but had concerns.  I recently read some post CES rumor / news that Apple is already moving on to manufacturing its next generation ATV (5?) probably to compete with the Roku4 (4) or some other technology advancement that didn't make it in to the ATV 4.

I checked craigslist and saw numerous ATV 3rd gens up for sale and bought one for $40 (prices range in the $40 to $50 range).  Watched 3 episodes of Nurse Jackie last night through my netflix account and all is well.   

Thanks
Kenreau

[jpm]

John Darko wrote a (typically) excellent piece on using the Oppo BDP 105 as a DAC for ATV4

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2015/11/oppo-digitals-bdp-105d-an-hdmi-dac-for-the-apple-tv/

For me, the unique selling point is the PLEX client which is far and away superior to the one on ROKU.  I'm insensitive to the price of these gadgets as my budget is defined by the amount of money I save by ditching cable and Sattelite.

Biggest beef with the ATV4 is the remote - a uniquely terrible design being impossible to tell which way is up in the dark, small enough to slip between seat cushions with ease and not threatening enough to frighten the cat away from standing in front of screens.

[DS-21]

Any anyone else's data usage skyrocketed since getting an ATV4? Mine literally went up 100GB from December to January, assuming Comcast's meter is accurate and not just a scam to find a way to raise more rents from their customers. And that was the only difference.

[wilsynet]

Did you start streaming movies?

[DS-21]

No of course not. I upgraded from an AppleTV 3, and my usage pattern is no different.