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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

@RoyB 

 

Nobody has any idea of figures of course.

 

But I feel this is definitely a self-fulfilling problem.

 

Nobody is using the AppleTV app because its useless!.... thats not necessarily a reflection of how many active (and potential) AppleTV owners are out there itching to use NowTV on their box.

 

Bear in mind, that most people who have an AppleTV *may* also have access to another device such as the in-built smart TV app on their TV, or maybe they have a PS4 or Xbox.  Therefore those appleTV owners will not be on NowTV's radar as they have elected to use a different platform even if they really wanted to use their AppleTV (as the probably do for all other streaming services they access).  Personally I bought the NowTV box when it was cheap and use that because of my need for boost support.

 

i cant imagine that the current app on the AppleTV has all that many active users as the experience is appalling and they arent getting the functionality that they are paying for - they dont get a discount for not having a watchlist and a continue watching function...

As I say, I think most AppleTV owners are "temporarily" using another platform - though itching to get back to to using the AppleTV as soon as they can..... either that or they are patiently waiting for the new app to enable them to become an active user again.

Hooba
Scholar 3

Presumably when Boost was made available NowTV usage on AppleTV took a hit? I effectively walked away from it at that point. Before then I could live with the ancient / rubbish app. Didn't matter what device you were using, it was all 720p, 25FPS, stereo sound. I'd be surprised if other didn't follow suit.

 

But presumably NowTV spotted that and so far have decided not act.

 

I wonder what has happened to subscriber numbers, and devices that people are now using, since Boost became a thing, plus the availability on BT boxes.Perhaps NowTV are comfortable with that end result, and want to retain the current status quo. Who knows? 

nst
Elite

I think you are absolutely right.

 

Those who stuck with the app may well have walked away when you did.

 

It takes the mick a bit when the app is so far behind that of all the other platforms that the functionality you are getting is not the same - yet the service costs the same.  I feel its so bad that they shouldn't even currently advertise the AppleTV as a supported device.

 

Im surprised that the update isn't a lot more 'urgent' than it seems to be.

 

The beta has been ongoing for 3+ months and frankly doesnt seem to be moving along very fast.  At this rate I dont see the app dropping to the public until at least August.

 

As you say, there cant really be many active users out there on the old AppleTV app.  Most would have voted with their feet or as I did succumbed to another platform (albeit temporarily)

Anonymous User
Not applicable

"I've long suspected that Sky simply don't want to cannibalise subscription to their far more lucrative dish based services."

 

I also pondered this, but then why do they have a set-top box / stick that you can buy and use for NowTV prices vs Sky dish ones! It's baffling that they offer the service via an app on a popular device but leave it so far behind. We can discuss this until the ends of the earth but I doubt we will ever find out why unless someone leaves their employment and spills the beans.

nst
Elite

@Anonymous User 

Lets not forget this is a bit of a moot point as there *is* a much more up to date and feature rich app in the pipeline and it should be with the public sometime (ish).

 

As to why its taken so long and why the AppleTV as a platform has been left so neglected for so long... thats something we will never know.

 

I dont believe there is cannibalisation even though I myself left SkyQ for NowTV - OK its the same content but many prefer the premium services that SkQ offer - and that sets it apart - such as non-streamed content, PVR recording, and 4K picture quality. 

 

My theory, as I have stated before, is that NowTV have bold ambitions and want to look as good as the competition i.e. Netflix and have a huge list of "supported platforms".  I suspect the reality is that the development resources are spread far too thinly at NowTV towers... and its easy for them to lose track or de-prioritise certain platforms in favour of others.  Of course the NowTV box/stick gets the lions share of the development capacity and is always bang up to date.  AppleTV languishes down the bottom along with some smartTV OSs - and it shows.

Its surprising as the iOS (and iPadOS) is also very well maintained - yet the AppleTV app should be a universal binary and they could easily keep the whole lot in step.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
Skyq films and boxsets were streamed content and 4k was an additional fee same HD of the older boxes.

I fear Nowtv are so slow with updates that when they release it it wont be compatible with the up and coming iosTV 14
Anonymous User
Not applicable

One factor that I've not seen mentioned thus far and would explain most, if not all the issues/ shortcomings is the competence level of the app developer(s), or lack thereof.

 

If this is something Now TV are undertaking in house, they could literally be using a bedroom coder to do it. Or with the time it's taken thus far, several bedroom coders who have all failed up to this point.

 

Paul

nst
Elite

@Anonymous User 

 

I agree. There is definitely a lack of skilled resources on the TVOS "team" (I use that phrase lightly).

 

However, what doesn't make too much sense is that the iOS (and iPadOS) version of the app is great - and fully up to date and regularly updated.

As I understand it, iOS/IPadOS AND TVOS apps are a universal binary, and the same app if coded correctly will run on all 3 devices without needing changes.  I dont understand why the AppleTV app isn't just running the already working and well-maintained iOS version - surely its easier to tweak that to ensure that it works on TVOS instead of seemingly developing a whole new and separate app for the platform.  Of course the concern at this approach is that you end up with another app that could well fall into disrepair just as the existing original AppleTV app has done.

 

I just hope that when the new version is released that it gets the same ongoing TLC that they give to the iOS version.

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@nst 

 

That being the case, it doesn't sound as though they're directly porting the iOS/ iPadOS app across. If they were, it would have been done and dusted years ago and kept up to date, as the iOS/ iPadOS app is.

 

Have you compared the iOS app with the TVOS the other Apple apps at all?

 

Paul

Anonymous User
Not applicable
It’s already realised as a universal app on the Irish App Store, and it looks identical to the beta.