4 ms·

Exactly, the cable industry isn't going to let go of their precious. I've had most of the tv "internet boxes" (Roku, Xbox, AppleTV, now Google via Shield) I sti

Exactly, the cable industry isn't going to let go of their precious. I've had most of the tv "internet boxes" (Roku, Xbox, AppleTV, now Google via Shield) I still can't get live tv. Most of the TV apps require a cable login. The best I can get is youtube streams that is cast to the google box. But it's sub-optimal as it's prickly to find the content i want.

bogomipz 10y ago
>"Most of the TV apps require a cable login." This is reason I will never buy an Apple TV device again. There are regular "updates" to Apple TV. Those updates entail putting new crapware on the home screen which when you launch them want your Cable TV login. Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV?
- wil421 10y ago
  >Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV? Maybe you don't want to pay the monthly fee for another cable box. Maybe you're on vacation and brought your Apple TV. Or maybe the on demand access sucks (U-verse) and you can get full access to HD shows via AppleTV apps. Once these apps allow a DIRECTV now or SlingTV login I'll never buy cable again.
  - analogmemory 10y ago
    Sling TV has apps on every platform...
- djrogers 10y ago
  It's hardly Apple's fault that the content providers choose to do business this way - the same cable login is required to use those apps on a Roku or FireTV. As for the updates, the previous generation of AppleTV didn't have an app distribution model, so adding new apps via updates was the only way they could do it. The current one that's been out for the last few years doesn't do this - if you want the CBS or NFL app you go to the app store and download it yourself.
- astral303 10y ago
  New Apple TV (4th gen) doesn't automatically add new apps to your home screen anymore! No more crapware on update. IMO the new Apple TV is substantially better/more usable than the old Apple TV. It made me hate my cable box & DVR UI even more. > "Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV?" Because cable TV UI sucks super hard. Cable TV UI is slow, unresponsive, confusing. Pausing, rewinding sucks. Apple TV has an nice analog scrubber feel to it, which makes it quick to jump around and rewind an episode. Did I mention it's slow, and gets slower the longer the cable box has been on? I can watch non-live HBO on Apple TV and cable TV. Whenever possible, I use the Apple TV. Closed captions render better and more pleasant with ATV. I have an easy way to activate "loudness"/"compression" for nighttime viewing, instead of having to fudge with my amplifier's settings to accomplish the same. I use my cable box because I have to. If I want to watch the "Daily Show" the same night it aired, I have no choice but to use the cable box DVR. And then there's the live TV. Unfortunately, because there is no effective competition in the cable market, and because consumers do not complain loudly about shitty technology (cable box user experience), and because cable companies do not seem to care either, we are stuck in god knows how many more years of terrible cable box UI. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to use my Apple TV whenever I can.
  - berberous 10y ago
    How old is your cable box? It might be worth calling your cable co and see if there are newer generations that you can upgrade to for free. I cut the cord 5+ years ago because it's not worth $50+ a month to me. That said, I definitely miss having a DVR and cable. Cutting the cord is becoming a worse and worse experience as the content has fragmented behind multiple paywalls, forced ads have been added to many of the free offerings, and cable companies have resisted any attempts to make this all easier (for example, the slow/pathetic roll-out of Apple's single-sign on feature).
    - bogomipz 10y ago
      "I cut the cord 5+ years ago because it's not worth $50+ a month to me" I agree, and that's that's not even that pricey by cable standards. I know plenty of people that pay much more. I think you can do pretty well these days without cable, live sports aside with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon etc. I'm surprised think its miserable. What all streaming services are you using?

bogomipz 10y ago

>"Most of the TV apps require a cable login." This is reason I will never buy an Apple TV device again. There are regular "updates" to Apple TV. Those updates entail putting new crapware on the home screen which when you launch them want your Cable TV login. Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV?

wil421 10y ago
>Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV? Maybe you don't want to pay the monthly fee for another cable box. Maybe you're on vacation and brought your Apple TV. Or maybe the on demand access sucks (U-verse) and you can get full access to HD shows via AppleTV apps. Once these apps allow a DIRECTV now or SlingTV login I'll never buy cable again.
- analogmemory 10y ago
  Sling TV has apps on every platform...
djrogers 10y ago
It's hardly Apple's fault that the content providers choose to do business this way - the same cable login is required to use those apps on a Roku or FireTV. As for the updates, the previous generation of AppleTV didn't have an app distribution model, so adding new apps via updates was the only way they could do it. The current one that's been out for the last few years doesn't do this - if you want the CBS or NFL app you go to the app store and download it yourself.
astral303 10y ago
New Apple TV (4th gen) doesn't automatically add new apps to your home screen anymore! No more crapware on update. IMO the new Apple TV is substantially better/more usable than the old Apple TV. It made me hate my cable box & DVR UI even more. > "Why if I had cable TV would I use the Apple TV to access content I already have on Cable TV without the Apple TV?" Because cable TV UI sucks super hard. Cable TV UI is slow, unresponsive, confusing. Pausing, rewinding sucks. Apple TV has an nice analog scrubber feel to it, which makes it quick to jump around and rewind an episode. Did I mention it's slow, and gets slower the longer the cable box has been on? I can watch non-live HBO on Apple TV and cable TV. Whenever possible, I use the Apple TV. Closed captions render better and more pleasant with ATV. I have an easy way to activate "loudness"/"compression" for nighttime viewing, instead of having to fudge with my amplifier's settings to accomplish the same. I use my cable box because I have to. If I want to watch the "Daily Show" the same night it aired, I have no choice but to use the cable box DVR. And then there's the live TV. Unfortunately, because there is no effective competition in the cable market, and because consumers do not complain loudly about shitty technology (cable box user experience), and because cable companies do not seem to care either, we are stuck in god knows how many more years of terrible cable box UI. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to use my Apple TV whenever I can.
- berberous 10y ago
  How old is your cable box? It might be worth calling your cable co and see if there are newer generations that you can upgrade to for free. I cut the cord 5+ years ago because it's not worth $50+ a month to me. That said, I definitely miss having a DVR and cable. Cutting the cord is becoming a worse and worse experience as the content has fragmented behind multiple paywalls, forced ads have been added to many of the free offerings, and cable companies have resisted any attempts to make this all easier (for example, the slow/pathetic roll-out of Apple's single-sign on feature).
  - bogomipz 10y ago
    "I cut the cord 5+ years ago because it's not worth $50+ a month to me" I agree, and that's that's not even that pricey by cable standards. I know plenty of people that pay much more. I think you can do pretty well these days without cable, live sports aside with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon etc. I'm surprised think its miserable. What all streaming services are you using?