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Post by Gary Cook on Nov 8, 2015 4:25:04 GMT -5
I ordered a new Apple TV4 Friday afternoon a week ago and it was delivered on Monday with the usual Apple efficiency, first off an SMS informing me of the order bering received, a second SMS telling me that it has been dispatched and 5 minutes after to was delivered a final SMS telling me that it had been delivered. I'm not going to go into too much detail of the unpacking process, what's in the box etc, there's plenty of that sort of info around. How it works with an Emotiva UMC-200 is really what this is about.
It was a pretty simple process for me as I was replacing an ATV3 so I could use the same HDMI cable, plugged into HDIM input #2 (#1 is the cable TV and #3 is the BD player). I did swap to the new power cable which gave me a good excuse to tidy up the cabling behind the rack, it's still ugly, but better than it was. Set up is a breeze, power it up and hold another IOS device (bluetooth on) close by and the ATV4 picks up the home network, password, computers, lap tops, iPhones, iPads etc on the network. Neat feature, just needs the iTunes password input. Next pop into the App store and load Netflix, Stan and TenPlay etc. It all works seamlessly with the UM<C-200 no video or audio issues, like the ATV3 no pops, clicks or thumps. Video I left set to auto which seems to work OK with 1080P sent via the UMC-200 to the Sony panel when expected. The only trick for setting up for the UMC-200 in the "Settings" "Audio" "Surround Sound" is to de select the default which is "Automatic" and select "Dolby" instead. If I left it at auto the UMC-200 would only allow the stereo options, switching to Dolby gave me all the usual options, Dolby digital, PL, movie, music etc.
Impressions, as usual the packaging and presentation is superb, the remote is cool, much easier to navigate around with its touch pad. The picture quality is a noticeable step up from the ATV3 which was no slouch. Audio, once the Settings are fixed as per above, is much the same as the ATV3 maybe a fraction cleaner, but not night and day. It does load Netflix programs much faster than the ATV3, as an example select an episode of House of Cards and it starts playing almost instantly. It also has a much better interface with the music library from the MacMini, simpler selection process and very quick to play the elected track.
Is it worth the upgrade, for me definitely as I had a need for an ATV in the family room as there was previously the odd fight over who has preference, the ATV4 solved that. The bonuses were superior remote, faster loading, improved picture quality, APP store access and the music library interface.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by audiosyndrome on Nov 8, 2015 10:51:40 GMT -5
Nice writeup Gary. I was on the fence (no optical out) but your writeup swayed me. The ATV3 will now go in junior's system.
Russ
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Nov 8, 2015 13:44:18 GMT -5
Thanks Gary, nice write up!
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Post by melm on Nov 8, 2015 14:10:33 GMT -5
My AppleTV 4 replaced an Apple TV 2 which moves to another TV in the house. Setup was easy, except where text is required. That's a major pain using the on-screen cursor, and Apple's remote app no longer works with the Apple TV 4 so you can't use your iPhone to type in user names and passwords.
Video output quality is much better. The app store is pretty thin, but Plex is free and I downloaded it and it found all my NAS based movies, photos and music.
I'm not a big fan of the trackpad. I tried a lot of different settings on it, and it is still funky. Maybe I will get used to it.
The AppleTV 4 is fast, as noted by others. Netflix and HBO load media quite rapidly.
Syncing photos from Apple's Photos app is dog slow. I'm two days in, asked it to sync 350 photos, and they still aren't all there.
That's a continuing problem with Apple's flaky sync routines, probably not a fault of the Apple TV.
So a nice unit. Searching for apps is painful, and Apple will have to fix it. Being able to use an iPhone app with a keyboard or a bluetooth keyboard would be a big plus.
I've got the Apple TV plugged into an XMC-1. No issues there. It simply replaced the old one. I didn't even swap the power cords.
Mel
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Nov 8, 2015 14:26:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the write ups guys. Thinking of putting one on my Christmas list. I have an AT2 in my bedroom, but would put the AT4 in the main system.
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Post by Gary Cook on Nov 8, 2015 14:43:20 GMT -5
Thanks Mel, good tips there, I hadn't tried the remote app, hopefully an update is in process. I have a few thousand photos in selections on iCloud, haven't tried the ATV4 for them as yet. I have a couple of programs that sync via the cloud (not iCloud) and they can be painful at times. I'm OK with the track pad, a fraction sensitive, but I got used to it, the boss hit it straight away, maybe (definitely) more gentle than me. With audio it's interesting that you just plugged it into the XMC-1 and didn't have to change the settings from "auto", must be a later generation of 2 way communications at work.
Cheers
Gary
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Post by melm on Nov 8, 2015 15:01:09 GMT -5
Gary
Had to set it to Dolby. Didn't mean to imply that part was automatic. Just that there were no issues. Pops, clicks, HDMI problems were not problems.
Mel
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Post by AudioHTIT on Nov 8, 2015 15:09:30 GMT -5
Good review Gary Cook, I'm picking one up next week when I get to my winter home. The network setup sounds cool and easy, nice touch and very Apple, the remote as well. Faster Netflix sounds good too, I was just rewatching House of Cards on the ATV3 with my wife who's only seen season one. I do hope the tantrums between Apple and Amazon settle down and we get an Amazon Prime video App. What is the difference in the music library interface you mention? (I wish they'd bring back CoverPlay everywhere). Thanks for your impressions. |
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Post by AudioHTIT on Nov 8, 2015 15:13:36 GMT -5
... Setup was easy, except where text is required. That's a major pain using the on-screen cursor, and Apple's remote app no longer works with the Apple TV 4 so you can't use your iPhone to type in user names and passwords. That's too bad, wonder why they dropped the remote app. |
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Post by cawgijoe on Nov 8, 2015 15:17:56 GMT -5
... Setup was easy, except where text is required. That's a major pain using the on-screen cursor, and Apple's remote app no longer works with the Apple TV 4 so you can't use your iPhone to type in user names and passwords. That's too bad, wonder why they dropped the remote app. I would think a new one is in the works. It really makes no sense to not have a remote app. |
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Post by Loop 7 on Nov 8, 2015 15:44:17 GMT -5
Im going to wait. I use the optical out to a DAC I like that does not have HDMI. Since the ATV 3 was a bit outdated, I turned to a Roju 3 for video content which is stellar. I love how we as consumers are winning with all the streamer competition.
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cawgijoe
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Post by cawgijoe on Nov 8, 2015 17:02:51 GMT -5
Im going to wait. I use the optical out to a DAC I like that does not have HDMI. Since the ATV 3 was a bit outdated, I turned to a Roju 3 for video content which is stellar. I love how we as consumers are winning with all the streamer competition. It sure seems like everything is going HDMI. |
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Post by Gary Cook on Nov 8, 2015 17:33:16 GMT -5
It sure seems like everything is going HDMI. HDCP at work  Cheers Gary |
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Post by Gary Cook on Nov 8, 2015 17:43:03 GMT -5
What is the difference in the music library interface you mention? It's way faster bringing up the content, better looking screen, higher definition cover art display, much quicker responses to play/pause etc, the music starts playing almost instantly, even when the MacMini is asleep. My wife used it yesterday to play music from the server, usually she plays from her iPhone on the ATV3, so the ATV4 interface must be easier for her to use. I'll have to ask what it is specifically that makes it easier/quicker for her. She even asked me to add a couple of her favourite albums to the play list, normally she just pops a CD into the ERC3 if it's not on her iPhone. Cheers Gary |
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Post by Loop 7 on Nov 9, 2015 23:58:18 GMT -5
I agree HDMI is the all encompassing future.
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Post by AudioHTIT on Dec 9, 2015 19:47:53 GMT -5
Thought I'd post here that an update for the Apple 'Remote' App came out today, it can now control the Apple TV 4 ( melm, Gary Cook). |
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Post by Loop 7 on Dec 9, 2015 20:11:30 GMT -5
My AppleTV 4 replaced an Apple TV 2 which moves to another TV in the house. Setup was easy, except where text is required. That's a major pain using the on-screen cursor, and Apple's remote app no longer works with the Apple TV 4 so you can't use your iPhone to type in user names and passwords. Video output quality is much better. The app store is pretty thin, but Plex is free and I downloaded it and it found all my NAS based movies, photos and music. I'm not a big fan of the trackpad. I tried a lot of different settings on it, and it is still funky. Maybe I will get used to it. I wanted to stay with Roku but the widely reported resolution issues got old after a year. The new ATV trackpad will take some adjustment but I'm using a Harmony as well. PLEX and a redesigned SkyNews app were also motivators and I'm looking forward to the Amazon Instant Video app which has been confirmed to be in development. Broken record but I wish the ATV 4 had optical out so I could use it with the XDA-2. Oh well. |
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