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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
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Thats really positive beta testing, I’m sure it was well worth NowTV giving you a test flight code. I’ve reported around 15 issues so far. 

nst
Elite

@Hooba I understand your issue, and ive been very vocal about the fact that Boost is essentiaal should be non-negotiable on the new app.

However as @Anonymous User says, its a waste of your Beta involvement.  There are a lot of things you can still try out and help everyone with.

 

I must say, I won't watch content on the Beta app that should be available in 1080p via Boost.  That being said a few shows that I am currently watching to include Project Blue Book on SyFy and War of the Worlds on Fox aren't available in 'HD' anyway (Ive NO IDEA why not - I thought that Boost covered the vast majority of modern content on the Entertainment Pass channels) IN fact the boost page says that 'ALL the live entertainment channels' support boost and thats not really true given that Syfy and Fox seem to ignore it.

 

Therefore I am able to tinker with the app, watch some stuff with it, and contribute to the Beta and report bugs.

 

I very much support the notion, however, that Boost is absolutely 100% totally completely essential for the new App!!!  

I have a slight concern that it wont be supported but its too soon to make that assumption.  Although there is plenty of time to include it in a later build of the Beta app.. im very surprised to see it left off in the first place.  After all we are talking about high-end hardware which is more than capable of 1080p.  You would be forgiven for thinking that in some kind of sales related cynical move they are keeping Boost as an option only for their own devices... however this is incorrect as at time of writing Boost is also available on Roku, Some Samsung TVs, PS4, Youview (including TalkTalk and BT Boxes), and LG WebOS TV (limited).  Therefore why not the Apple TV?!  Theres no reason to leave it off.  I'd have thought the AppleTV was a reasonably popular device.

 

NowTV have a lot of competition in the UK streaming market.  There are more services appearing all the time and they are all managing to include bog standard 1080p HD (a minimum surely) and include that in the base price.  They need to make their service more attractive, the app more useable and feature rich, and boost ubiquitous across all the devices they support in order to keep relevant in the UK market.

Hooba
Scholar 3

The thing is - I was on the last Beta. Used it a lot. And it wasn’t ever updated. ‘New’ versions of that Beta were released periodically - but only to extend the expiry date of the Beta. And there were at least two occasions when they forgot to do even that.

 

The only point of being on that Beta was access to additional functionality. In this Beta I get less functionality (Boost) than I can get elsewhere. I’d love to believe that there’s a team of NowTv staff poring over bug reports and working away to refine the app. But I don’t believe it. I’m not an overly cynical person (honestly !) but it’s fair to judge them on their past history. 

nst
Elite

@Hooba that's disappointing to hear.  Lets hope that this beta goes better.

 

Something you said rings true.... The current Beta for the AppleTV is indeed less functional than the version of the app thats already released on other platforms... but of course did anyone expect this to be anything other than a 'catch-up' with the rest of the platforms?  Im certainly not expecting some super-duper new function that isnt available on their "flagship" (cough) device.

 

We can only hope that Beta 1 is just that.... the first.. and that by the time its released it will be at least as 'good' as the one found on the NowTV box.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

The Fox HD channel on nowtv has been pulled to covid 19. 

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2374543/new-channels-on-now-tv

Anonymous User
Not applicable
If you choose other as a reason you can type in your own reasons for why
you are cancelling your pass. I've just had three months for £1.60 per
month and I'm getting another three months for just £1.80 a month.

I always use the other box to type in that I have Disney+ which offers 4K
Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, so does Apple TV plus and even Amazon and
Netflix offer HD and 5.1 sounds standard. Basically I have a good whinge
about why this service is so poor then I seem to get offered a good deal.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User 

 

very odd place to post this but that’s not true Fox HD has replaced Fox SD on April 1st same day that National Geographic replaced Wild. Sky History rebrand from History and the launch of Sky  Nature And Sky Documentaries has unfortunately been delayed due to the ongoing issues. It looks like they might now be coming around the end of May instead of the beginning of April like they were meant to sadly. 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I 100% want HD, but don't f**king want to pay for Boost when all that stuff comes as standard with almost every streaming service. FFS!

nst
Elite

@Anonymous User fair point.  It is what it is though.  I suspect that market forces being what they are, and the ever increasing amount of completion out there will see 'Boost' an included default at no extra cost sooner rather than later.

 

I would, however, point out that boost as a function remains very poorly supported across the various platforms that NowTV offer.  Very telling, and  little concerning that Boost was not supported in Beta 1 of the new AppleTV app - we can only hope that common sense prevails here.

 

I would also point out that in my experience Boost does actually give you a significantly and noticeably enhanced picture quality so it well 'worth it' if not in price but experience.

nst
Elite

Ive just noticed something interesting.

 

During the course of contributing to this forum, you'd be forgiven for thinking that NowTV on the AppleTV is a marginal service for Sky... I mean, there has to be a reason why NowTV have thought it acceptable to leave the app so poorly supported in such a long time.

 

Perhaps, you'd think, that statistically there are not as many AppleTV users as other platforms.  Now, I have to say, the main reason for poor use is down to the poor app, and most people would try it, and then if they had an alternative platform available to them.... switch to that.  Thats exactly what I did.... as the AppleTV app is unusable in its present form and ive been forced to buy another set-top box in order to get a decent viewing experience.  I hope that Sky do not see that and are naive enough to think that people just aren't interested in the platform... 

 

However, back to my point... I noticed something today that surprised me.  The NowTV app currently sits in the top 10 of video apps on the AppleTV store.  Number 10 at the moment.  I was very surprised to see this - as even now, 4.5 years later, enough people are still downloading it (and using it?) for it to appear in the list - its higher than Demand5 for example which is at number 12.

 

So, there must be a lot of people out there waiting for this new version..... OR there must be a lot of 'churn' for NowTV's customers who subscribe for a month... only try the AppleTV app (as they have no alternative platform), and promptly give up as the experience is so terrible.