Update Now TV app for apple TV

[Anonymous User]

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.

[Anonymous User]

It is clear they are trying to save Sky Christmas sales

the covid lockdown also helps to push such services

remember Sky is not pushing NowTV like normal Sky plans

SkyQ it is overly promoted

nowtv is for the long tail target (low spending)

within a service already demoted... the Nowtv stick/box is promoted because a one stop shop for other content (e.g Netflix and in the future maybe Disney+ for instance)

app on other box is the last within the last ones

[Anonymous User]

I use the Irish app and it has no further integration with AppleTV features, top shelf etc. has not been implemented. We never got access to boost, still no release date, so I obviously can't comment how well it works.

The app itself has had a fair few bugs created and fixed but updates are few and far between. For instance if you watched live TV and left the app, when you opened the app again all you would get was a spinning wheel. This was a bug they introduced via an update and you had to kill the app to fix it. Then it took weeks to fix it, clearly no testing was done before release.

The app also doesn't update in the background or when it re-opens. So today they will be advertising whatever football is on at the top of the "home screen", tomorrow it'll still be there. The lack of refreshing can also be seen in the watch list, if I add a new show from my phone, I'll have to kill the app to force it to refresh the watch list. This also affected the channel logos in the TV guide and the pass sections, they would just be blank, again you needed to kill the app but it seems to have been fixed.

Also it doesn't update when the iOS app updates so it wouldn't appear to be the universal app they have promised.

[MrZippy]

Sounds like the normal NowTV quality then!

The current U.K. beta app isn’t that bad, but I suspect the Irish one is an older build. From your comments it sounds like the code we’ve been testing hasn’t been rolled into the Irish app then.

This is all a mess really, but it doesn’t surprise me, it’s almost like they don’t want your money. Which probably isn’t far from the truth, except they do seem to support some platforms more seriously.

[Anonymous User]

I did read an article the other day that Comcast were drastically loosing cable subscribers etc and that they want to invest heavily into streaming, surely that’s a good sign for us all.

[nst]

@MrZippy 

Its a shame really.. we are so nearly there.

Its so true that they favour other platforms and the AppleTV has been the lowest of the low for many years.

Almost on the other end of the scale.. we have the iOS / iPADOS app - this seems very well supported and is regularly updated - about once every couple of months or so.

So... once the TVOS app is sorted and its all rolled into one universal app (we can only hope common sense prevails here)... then from that point on we can hope that the TVOS app will get fresh updates as quickly as the iOS/iPADOS one (as its the same app).

This public release.. however... is taking way too long.

[Anonymous User]

@MrZippy 

The build for the Irish app is 6.2.8 and was released on 24th August, it's been mainly bug fixes since I got the Apple TV this time last year with a lick of paint to the UI, not a single new feature. Whatever code branch this app is built has clearly been on maintenance mode since last year.

[MrZippy]

6.2.8 is the build of the beta test app.

[Anonymous User]

@MrZippy 

Haha well I guess they've got a lot to do to add all those promised features before Autumn ends!

[Anonymous User]

So we have an email from the trials manager asking us to fill out a survey as there close to launching the app, surely that’s a good sign

[Anonymous User]

Looks like we are finally getting somewhere, hoping this all comes in ASAP. My Sky contract is coming to an end in January so I’m hoping to have timed this well. 

[Enapace]

@Anonymous User 

To call it a survey is being generous I’ve had longer surveys by school kids. 

[Anonymous User]

@Anonymous User

Best thing I did was get rid of sky q cost a fortune, just hope it gets launched soon as it really does save me a fortune every month and the deals they do to keep you are amazing, don’t think I’ve paid full price since I signed up two years ago

[Anonymous User]

@Enapace

This is very true but I thought I would be kind as it looks like we are getting somewhere, so does everyone think the things that was promised will be available on launch or on a future update however long that takes

[MrZippy]

Just done the ‘survey’ I listed all the issues like lack of 1080p as the reasons for my choice.

[Enapace]

@Anonymous User 

Oh completely agree I was one of the lucky ones who got the £20 for 9 months deal and on a decent entertainment offer. 

[Anonymous User]

@Enapace

I’m hoping they have some great offers for Black Friday again

[Anonymous User]

I got on the beta last month and not had any surveys through as yet, i must have fallen through the cracks!

[Enapace]

@Anonymous User @nst 

Slight good news both EE TV [24 November] and Xbox 360 [3rd November] will stop being supported this month means the amount of devices that don't support boost is going be shrinking even more getting rid of obsolete devices. Only older Roku [Suspect they might be next to go] and Chromecast devices left now. Should hopefully mean that going forward there is a streamlined process.

[nst]

@Enapace 

I dont entirely follow your logic in that ditching support for older devices doesnt suddenly mean that the AppleTV will get more attention.

Of course, it makes perfect sense to streamline their offering as long as they do not spread their development resources too thinly otherwise you just end up like we are now which is ancient apps without updates.

On the flip side they are releasing new apps for Xbox one X and series X/S (whoever made these names should be fired!) but again lets hope that the experience across all supported platforms is similar and all support boost etc.

If a platform is supported.. it should be fully supported including boost compatibility.

[nst]

With regards to todays 'survey'... it seems like the public release is looming at last - how much longer it will take we dont know but the 'survey' seemed final.

They specifically told us not to reiterate faults and bugs in this survey ... just things that we would want to mention from a usability perspective.

I chose to mention the ffwd/rw mechanism as a problem with regards to usability - its clunky and they should adopt the TVOS 'standard' of clicking the touchpad then scrubbing left or right.

Apart form that.. maybe we can expect something in the next few weeks.

[Anonymous User]

@Enapace

Let’s hope so I think we’ve all waited long enough