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Anonymous User
Not applicable

Update Now TV app for apple TV

Will the Now TV app for Apple TV ever get an update?

 

The current version is complete rubbish and makes me regret ever getting a Now TV pass.

 

Unless there is an update my Now TV experience will be very short indeed.

2,755 REPLIES 2,755
nst
Elite

here's a further real world example.

 

Ive been meaning to re-watch the Marvel movies - all 23 of them encompassing  phase 1, 2 and 3.

 

NowTV has a few of them - but not that many anymore.

 

Anyway.... Ive got a Disney+ subscription, so of course... how am I going to watch those movies... of course Disney+ for a few reasons.  1.  It's got a decent app on the AppleTV (which integrates with the TV app no less).  2.  Um, well the movies are in 4K via Disney+.  (oh its missing Spider-Man x2 and Hulk).

 

Of course, again, this is where its hard to compare and contrast.  At £5.99 per month thats great value to dip in and out of - but personally speaking im not a fan of Disney as such, and am only interested in the Marvel and Star Wars content.  This is, however, extremely finite.  Once im done, I have no intention of maintaining the subscription until such time as the Marvel TV series are released and then I will only pay for one months subscription to watch what I want and then cancel again.  I will do this with each series I want to watch.  However bear in mind a lot of content is 4K as standard and at no extra cost or higher subscription tier.

 

Now.... unfortunately NowTV is far more 'valuable' to me in that the content is far more diverse.  It constantly has things on to watch, and especially the entertainment pass covers multiple 'live' channels where new content is added daily.. its not really comparable to Disney+ at all.

 

Id say that NowTV is priced about right, but it MUST make 1080p the norm, and not charge extra for it... and they MUST make their apps much better.  You cant compare the viewing experience between the two, but sadly neither can you compare the content.

 

 

ScottishMike
Mentor

That's me cancelled my two NowTV passes. When you cancel they let you pick a reason why, but unfortunately there's not one for "because your Apple TV app is utter bobbins".

nst
Elite

Thats a shame, and it would do them well to understand the problem.  Why not drop them an email.

 

However, I would point out that we are in a slightly different situation now than we perhaps were a few weeks ago.

 

All we had for such a long time was silence and no idea whatsoever if the 4 year old app was going to be abandoned, or updated.  Clearly as it is.... its completely unfit for purpose and so far behind the app on other platforms that the AppleTV is to all intents and purposes not usable - in that way I dont blame you one bit for cancelling if the AppleTV is your only option.

 

The difference now is that we know for certain that an update app is on the way.  The app is in Beta test and a number of contributors to this forum are engaged in the beta trial though of course cannot discuss specifics.

 

Its fair to say now that the appalling outdated app on the AppleTV is only an issue for a "while" longer.... how much longer we dont know... and whether the final app will be 100% as 'good' the the NowTV box version (including Boost compatibility) remains to be seen.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

There was a 'other' option when a friend cancelled and you could just type what you wanted. I encourage everyone cancelling to do this and mention Apple TV if that's the reason! 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I think overall people are being unfair now. NowTV has finally listened to people and there is a complete overhaul app being beta tested at the moment. Maybe it won't have Boost at launch but that is something they could easily add later to the app once they have an app that can easily be updated on TVOS like other developers have. 

 

Yes it is perhaps still a month or two away while the bugs are ironed out but it is coming it has been a long wait but they have listened and that is enough for me. 

nst
Elite

with respect, I dont think people are being unfair in the slightest.

 

Remember, this is a forum and like it or not the fundamental nature of such forums is that people venture into here for help, and discussion about things that are generally wrong.  You rarely get gushing praise in a forum as the happy people tend to not need to seek out help and advice.

 

Also, yes you are absolutely right - there is indeed a new app coming.  However you must realise that a number of people participated in a TestFlight trial in the summer of 2019 and that just fizzled out into nothing and no updated app was ever released.  NowTV have previous here - so lets hope that this time the app actually gets released.  Also an updated app was released in Ireland and Italy... its totally baffling why it wasn't also released in the UK.

 

You also need to understand peoples frustrations.  You have only to look back at the sheer size of this thread, and also how long its been going.  People have been frustrated with the version 1.0 of the app that was released in 2015.  This version of the app was itself just a lazy port of the existing app that was already available on the old AppleTV hardware - nothing more.  At the time we were expecting something new to take better advantage of the new more powerful interface and hardware that Apple released - but of course it didnt.  This app is appalling - and it was fine if that was the best they could muster at the time to get something on the new App store - also the NowTV app was one of the ones that was promised for release in the UK at launch of the new AppleTV as there was precious little content at the time.. but even that was late and didnt appear for a number of weeks after the hardware was available.  I recall getting my new AppleTV on the day of release but then being almost unable to use it because the UK app store didnt have any 'tv viewing' apps available.

 

Also, as I have said before, my personal opinion is that Boost is absolutely essential.  The function is well worth while to those who use it, arguably we shouldn't have to pay an additional £3 for the privilege  of a comparable picture and sound quality to that which is already available on all the other streaming platforms as standard but thats another discussion.  To be releasing a long awaited and brand new build of the AppleTV TVOS app on hardware that is HD and 4K capable and for it NOT to support a 1080p picture is completely unacceptable.  Again as I have said before I purchased a NowTV box in late 2019 because it was one of the few platforms that supported Boost and it was only £20 at the time... and I was unwilling to watch some content at a much lower resolution when there was something better available.  I was ditching SkyQ which had 1080p as standard across the board and even 4K content too - I wasn't happy to go back a step.  After all this effort and waiting finally for the new App on AppleTV... if it is not released supporting Boost then personally it will be all for nothing in my case as I will be unable to use it in preference over the NowTV box which im desperate to ditch and get all my content under one roof i.e. my AppleTV.

 

Sometimes, in some forums you do get deluged with moaning and negativity... however all I have experienced in here is some very reasonable people with some very lucid arguments as to why things need improving.... its all rather civilised.... and we all have a very good point.  Nobody is being unfair in the slightest.

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable
I completely agree with you, finally a much better working app (apart from the bugs).

It may have taken years to finally happen but hey it has to start somewhere and then they can improve it and add to it as time goes on.

I for one am really enjoying being on the beta and using this one rather than the old outdated horrible one
Anonymous User
Not applicable
Morning and thank you for the info.
When will the finished update be rolled out to the general public?
nst
Elite

nobody has a clue.  sorry.

 

The only facts that are out there is that the beta trial is ongoing.

 

Im not giving too much away by saying that we are still only on build 1 of the beta, and that by all accounts there have been a significant number of bugs reported that are taking a while to sift through.

 

I have a background in software testing myself.... and I would suggest that the process will not be a quick one especially with the COVID situation you've no idea whats happening with respect to the NowTV development team.  Usually for a Beta trial you would expect there to be a number of different builds released to the Beta testers as the reported bugs are fixed.  Generally speaking you'd expect a number or replacement builds in quick succession at the early part of the trial and then it levelling off towards the end.

 

Sadly right now the answer is "when it happens"

 

Personally I would have though it was in everyones best interests for the public release to be as polished and feature rich as possible.

 

Hooba
Scholar 3

I have so far spent a total of 5 minutes with the Beta - long enough to log in, check that Boost was missing, and then to log off. Won't touch it again until Boost is available. So maybe never.