4 ms·

I threw my Roku in the garbage when they couldn’t get the HBO Max contract done before launch and bought an Apple TV. Apple doesn't sell user data and nobody wa

I threw my Roku in the garbage when they couldn’t get the HBO Max contract done before launch and bought an Apple TV. Apple doesn't sell user data and nobody wants to be left out of the Apple money machine so all the services I want are available. It was completely worth it, in my opinion.

dahfizz 5y ago
I am also considering ditching Roku for an Apple TV. Do you have an idea of how well it would work if the Apple TV was the only Apple product I owned? I don't want to drop $200 only to find out I need an iPhone for the setup process or something.
- refracture 5y ago
  An iPhone makes setup easier and it supports some neat things like using the camera on your phone to calibrate color tone, but it's optional. If you buy a new Apple TV make sure you get the one that just came out with the new Siri remote, it looks much better than the old touchpad one that I think at best people tolerate.
- kingsuper20 5y ago
  You might consider the thing that I have, an Nvidia Shield. It appears to work fine and is a lot snappier to use than the Rokus or Fire TVs I've used (also $200ish). After owning quite a few internet appliances through the years (Roku,Fire,Shield,internet radios,Kindles,etc.) I've noticed that they one thing you can always count on working is a desktop/laptop PC. edit: I notice that people above have also mentioned the Shield. Sorry for the repeat. I keep wondering how long youtube will be standable. You can see the ads sneaking in bit by bit over the last few months (5 seconds with cancel, 2 x 5 seconds with cancel, 2 x 6 seconds with cancel, 2 x 6 seconds without cancel on one thing I watch. The worst has been firing up somebody's music list and getting a 5-10 minute(!) ad between each song). I really should be getting to work on a hoard of videos stored locally. The days of 'free' entertainment are coming to an end.
  - arsome 5y ago
    Personally I love having a desktop plugged in as I mainly watch YouTube, Plex and play games, but for someone who's planning to use a lot of DRM-encumbered services like Netflix, they often restrict the streaming resolutions available to desktop PCs where the DRM isn't as capable. A Shield will work nicely in those cases though.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    You can see the ads sneaking in bit by bit over the last few months... Every time I see a comment like this, I get a jarring reminder that some people don't have uBlock Origin installed. Probably unavoidable on a "device", but like you say the PC is eternal.
- syops 5y ago
  I believe all you need is an iCloud account. If you do get an Apple TV here’s the best way to subscribe to video services. Subscribe to the video service using the Apple TV app (confusing to have an app with the same name as the device). Then install the corresponding app and watch the programs using that service’s app. This will allow you to cancel services easily and you won’t have to create an account for each video service. The Apple TV app itself is garbage and I only watch Apple TV+ content on it.
- srj 5y ago
  I have an Apple TV and was able to get it setup using just an apple account. It has all worked well except two things: -The remote is inferior to the one that ships with roku. The touchpad you can get used to, but there are so few buttons and one of them is dedicated to just opening the apple tv app (even though we mostly use netflix / amazon). -I signed up for paramount+ from apple tv's app, and then later needed to change my credit card number. They want me to open iTunes to do this. I can update my card number on the website, but seemingly to get that associated with my streaming subscription I need to use iTunes. Why a proprietary app on a closed platform is needed for something everyone else let's you use a website for is beyond me. I'll say Apple is famous for their UX design, but something feels unintuitive with the remote and some of the UI choices. However, overall we've gotten used to it and it works well.
  - threeseed 5y ago
    You do know they just updated the AppleTV and the remote has more buttons. Also there is a preference so that button goes to Home screen instead of AppleTV app.
    - srj 5y ago
      No I didn't know that. I actually find it frustrating that I paid full price for the one we have a couple of months ago and now it's apparently out of date.
      - pimlottc 5y ago
        That’s frustrating but happens with every company. Apple does have a good track record of supporting their hardware for a long time, so I wouldn’t be too worried about it. You also have the option to buy the new remote separately and use it with your existing Apple TV: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/4/20/22394196/apple-tv-4k-new-siri-remote-sold-separately-price-buttons https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- quickthrowman 5y ago
  If you don’t have an Apple phone, it’s not quite as useful since you can enter text on your phone and use it as a remote. AFAIK you’ll need to create an Apple ID to download apps on an Apple TV, and that’s about it. It does come with a remote, the touch remote is one of apple’s few bad products, if you get an Apple TV, wait for the new remote that re-adds buttons.
- dawnerd 5y ago
  Despite what people say Apple TV on its own is fine. Yes you’ll miss out on keyboard entry but I wouldn’t call that a dealbreaker at all. Mine pretty much runs as it’s own device.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

dahfizz 5y ago

I am also considering ditching Roku for an Apple TV. Do you have an idea of how well it would work if the Apple TV was the only Apple product I owned? I don't want to drop $200 only to find out I need an iPhone for the setup process or something.

refracture 5y ago
An iPhone makes setup easier and it supports some neat things like using the camera on your phone to calibrate color tone, but it's optional. If you buy a new Apple TV make sure you get the one that just came out with the new Siri remote, it looks much better than the old touchpad one that I think at best people tolerate.
kingsuper20 5y ago
You might consider the thing that I have, an Nvidia Shield. It appears to work fine and is a lot snappier to use than the Rokus or Fire TVs I've used (also $200ish). After owning quite a few internet appliances through the years (Roku,Fire,Shield,internet radios,Kindles,etc.) I've noticed that they one thing you can always count on working is a desktop/laptop PC. edit: I notice that people above have also mentioned the Shield. Sorry for the repeat. I keep wondering how long youtube will be standable. You can see the ads sneaking in bit by bit over the last few months (5 seconds with cancel, 2 x 5 seconds with cancel, 2 x 6 seconds with cancel, 2 x 6 seconds without cancel on one thing I watch. The worst has been firing up somebody's music list and getting a 5-10 minute(!) ad between each song). I really should be getting to work on a hoard of videos stored locally. The days of 'free' entertainment are coming to an end.
- arsome 5y ago
  Personally I love having a desktop plugged in as I mainly watch YouTube, Plex and play games, but for someone who's planning to use a lot of DRM-encumbered services like Netflix, they often restrict the streaming resolutions available to desktop PCs where the DRM isn't as capable. A Shield will work nicely in those cases though.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  You can see the ads sneaking in bit by bit over the last few months... Every time I see a comment like this, I get a jarring reminder that some people don't have uBlock Origin installed. Probably unavoidable on a "device", but like you say the PC is eternal.
syops 5y ago
I believe all you need is an iCloud account. If you do get an Apple TV here’s the best way to subscribe to video services. Subscribe to the video service using the Apple TV app (confusing to have an app with the same name as the device). Then install the corresponding app and watch the programs using that service’s app. This will allow you to cancel services easily and you won’t have to create an account for each video service. The Apple TV app itself is garbage and I only watch Apple TV+ content on it.
srj 5y ago
I have an Apple TV and was able to get it setup using just an apple account. It has all worked well except two things: -The remote is inferior to the one that ships with roku. The touchpad you can get used to, but there are so few buttons and one of them is dedicated to just opening the apple tv app (even though we mostly use netflix / amazon). -I signed up for paramount+ from apple tv's app, and then later needed to change my credit card number. They want me to open iTunes to do this. I can update my card number on the website, but seemingly to get that associated with my streaming subscription I need to use iTunes. Why a proprietary app on a closed platform is needed for something everyone else let's you use a website for is beyond me. I'll say Apple is famous for their UX design, but something feels unintuitive with the remote and some of the UI choices. However, overall we've gotten used to it and it works well.
- threeseed 5y ago
  You do know they just updated the AppleTV and the remote has more buttons. Also there is a preference so that button goes to Home screen instead of AppleTV app.
  - srj 5y ago
    No I didn't know that. I actually find it frustrating that I paid full price for the one we have a couple of months ago and now it's apparently out of date.
    - pimlottc 5y ago
      That’s frustrating but happens with every company. Apple does have a good track record of supporting their hardware for a long time, so I wouldn’t be too worried about it. You also have the option to buy the new remote separately and use it with your existing Apple TV: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/4/20/22394196/apple-tv-4k-new-siri-remote-sold-separately-price-buttons https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
quickthrowman 5y ago
If you don’t have an Apple phone, it’s not quite as useful since you can enter text on your phone and use it as a remote. AFAIK you’ll need to create an Apple ID to download apps on an Apple TV, and that’s about it. It does come with a remote, the touch remote is one of apple’s few bad products, if you get an Apple TV, wait for the new remote that re-adds buttons.
dawnerd 5y ago
Despite what people say Apple TV on its own is fine. Yes you’ll miss out on keyboard entry but I wouldn’t call that a dealbreaker at all. Mine pretty much runs as it’s own device.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]