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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

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?
- astral303 10y ago
  I have the latest Verizon Quantum TV box, for which I am paying extra.
bogomipz 10y ago
>"Because cable TV UI sucks super hard. Cable TV UI is slow, unresponsive, confusing. Pausing, rewinding sucks." In my opinion this is yet one more reason to get rid of Cable TV altogether. However if you use the Apple TV like this you still have to pay a monthly charge for that ugly cable box and te remote uses 1980s technology. What does a cable box rental cost these days 8 - 10 dollars a month? And the remote rental(yes you pay for that separately) 2 dollars a month? I'm not sure complaining to the company about their hideous cable box/UI/remote would do anything. The loudest complaint you can make is to cancel TV service. It's a dying business and it can't die fast enough in my opinion. I think as soon as ESPN comes around for live sports it will go much more quickly.

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?
astral303 10y ago
I have the latest Verizon Quantum TV box, for which I am paying extra.

bogomipz 10y ago

>"Because cable TV UI sucks super hard. Cable TV UI is slow, unresponsive, confusing. Pausing, rewinding sucks." In my opinion this is yet one more reason to get rid of Cable TV altogether. However if you use the Apple TV like this you still have to pay a monthly charge for that ugly cable box and te remote uses 1980s technology. What does a cable box rental cost these days 8 - 10 dollars a month? And the remote rental(yes you pay for that separately) 2 dollars a month? I'm not sure complaining to the company about their hideous cable box/UI/remote would do anything. The loudest complaint you can make is to cancel TV service. It's a dying business and it can't die fast enough in my opinion. I think as soon as ESPN comes around for live sports it will go much more quickly.