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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.

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Anonymous User
Not applicable
@Anonymous User

I get that my friend but what if it’s all about money etc and dependant on the release of the new Apple TV as that needs more storage for the recording feature and Nowtv etc want there cut of the action like Amazon did, I think Apple let themselves down there when they lowered the App Store fee. Just my opinion but in this crazy world at the moment anything is possible
nst
Elite

I just don't understand this holy grail of a 'recording' function.

 

Back in the late '90s when they first released Sky+ with a HDD it was a revelation.  There was no such thing as catchup back then.  Recording was revolutionised without the faff of juggling VHS cassettes - we all remember the pain of finding a spare tape, with enough spare space for the show you wanted to record, and getting it in the right place so as not to record over what else was on there!

 

Nowadays, some 25 years later - I think its fair to say that every 'live' broadcast channel has a catchup service.

 

This is why I finally gave up on SkyQ - the concept of recording my shows was redundant as everything I watch of course is available on catchup.

 

Why would I want or need to record a show?  It gives me almost no benefits - APART from the only major downside of this... which is the dreaded ADs....I can't stand them.  It is a major pain watching things on My5, ITV Hub, and All4 when you are bombarded with ads and cannot skip forward to the end of a show without having to sit through them.  Granted, if the shows were recorded you could do what ive done for years which is just FF through them.

 

Of course, Content on NowTV and Netflix, Disney+, Britbox etc is ad free - and in the case of NowTV its actually a better experience as Sky1 has a lot of ad breaks so its nice to watch their shows without having to sit through or FF through ad break after ad break.

 

The ads are a small price to pay for ditching the very expensive SkyQ PVR.  Of course, I could get a Freesat PVR and use that with no cost to record the ad-infested ITV, C5, and C4 channels content but I much prefer the single interface, single remote, single STB approach with my AppleTV and the TV app makes things so much easier - using that is just like having a PVR and its a shame that NowTV and Netflix don't play nice yet (though we were promised NowTV to do so - just another broken promise of the beta trial!)

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

"I just don't understand this holy grail of a 'recording' function."

 

Well with about 4million ish UK Virgin Media subscribers using Tivo, there must be a good reason!

 

Personally, I would much rather subscribe to a terrestrial show on Tivo, then have it work in the background for me recording episodes, then I can see in one simple list what new episodes have been broadcast and I can watch them one by one, whilst forwarding through adverts. It's that simple really.

 

Of course there are some shows only on Netflix, Amazon etc but if they are being released weekly, I always find it a pain to fire up that app and check to see if new episodes have been added (unless I remember which day they are released).

 

With TV channel catchup services, yes you have to sit through adverts, but also some of the quality isn't as good as is broadcast live, ITV the most notable, I can't believe how bad that is sometimes, it almost looks SD.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
I note proper supported tvOS apps tell you when a new episode of something you’ve watched is added via the TV app, which also pops up in iOS and watchOS devices too NowTV doesn’t support this! But I do take your point, recording a whole series is different.
Hooba
Scholar 3

I'm with @nst  - I really don't like recording stuff.

 

I did have a sub for a short while to the premium ITV Hub service - no ads, HD. Channel 4 now offer the same. £4 a month each. I don't subscribe, on the grounds that there's only a couple of things I watch on either channel. 

 

I guess series record on TiVo / some other service, is trying to 'emulate' the big streaming services - you have all episodes queued up ready to watch as and when. Both 'work' - but streaming / catch up is better for me. A couple of examples: 1) I watched Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema recently. Really liked it. Discover previous series / episodes available, so I stream them, rather than kicking myself thinking: why didn't I record that when it was on? 2) Channel 4 news. I don't watch it every day, so I'm not going to put in on series record. And I often don't sit down in front of the TV until 7.30ish - no problem, fire up All 4 and 'watch from start'. 

 

It's not just that I can't be bothered to record (agree, its not huge effort) but streaming does have some advantages.

nst
Elite

@Hooba 

 

Absolutely

 

And to me the paradigm of 'recording' belongs in the remit of PVRs.  There are plenty of PVR services Both expensive (SkyQ / Tivo) and cheaper/free to use (freesat and freeview).  These are however a very different beast to a streaming box like the AppleTV.

 

My point being there is simply no need to record something when its available on demand.

 

I take the point that some streaming services are lower quality - but to be fair my main viewing habits cover the sort of shows that you'd find on Netflix and Sky1 - There are many too on E4 and potentially ITV2 that are of interest but im happy to watch those in a lower quality as my TV does a decent job at upscaling so I don't notice it much.  

 

The trouble with modern streaming services is there are just too many of them.  Imagine subscribing to NowTV,  Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV+, and the ITV and Channel4 ones too - that makes things quite expensive (though I note still not as expensive as the SkyQ subscription I was paying).

 

This is, in my opinion, AppleTV's  HUGE  advantage over the competition.  The TV app is just amazing.  It totally replaces the need for a recording queue, and I wish that Netflix and NowTV would play nice.  yes its still a pain when something is on Weekly on either of those services to have to remember to go into each app and check their own 'up next' queue.  Its so much nicer to have the unified experience that the TV app gives you.  Ive never understood why Netflix refuse when almost everyone else uses it.  BBC, ITV, C4, C5, Amazon Prime, Britbox, and Disney+ all seem quite able to use it - and of course we were promised that NowTV would also... but we know how that turned out eh.

 

My only criticism about the TV app is that its retrospective... so if I know something brand new is coming up next week on a PVR I would set it to record using the upcoming 7 day EPG.  On the AppleTV you have to wait until after the show has first broadcast to be able to find it, and add it to up next.

 

I do miss the casual channel hopping that is possible with a TV guide and SkyQ / Tivo box... as the streaming apps are not really good at that - however I am interested to see how the Firestick is nudging towards this with its live tv feature.  This is something that is relatively new and seemingly changing all the time - only Channel 5 seems to play nice with this at the moment but I can see it being way more useful when the others join in.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
@nst

This is why I think Apples new patent for the live TV guide etc is exciting times and would definitely be a plus, if the Uk plays nice which I think they would as they all play nice with the Apple TV app.

I personally do believe Apple are on the right track with things and when there film and tv series has a lot more content I think you will see a big shift towards Apple TV plus.

What gets me the most about sky/ Comcast is they do t really think about the bigger picture and the way things are going with streaming etc, if there not careful I can see them becoming the next blockbuster video and going bust, the more I speak to people the more I’ve noticed that people are getting rid of sky and if you see there marketing they constantly pushing cheaper and cheaper deals, I cut the cord over two years ago and I’m constantly getting phone calls and letters through the post begging me to come back.

My wish is they just do what they promised with the now tv app but I guess we will all be commenting on this forum for a long time yet.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Which Patent are you referring to? I haven’t seen anything mentioned about an EPG patent for Apple TV. If you want an EPG, channels works fantastic for Freeview alongside the HDHomeRun

Anonymous User
Not applicable
@Anonymous User

Here’s the link to the article about the patent.

I’ve always wondered about channels and the hdhomerun but never heard anything with regards to a Uk review, is this something you use is it?
Anonymous User
Not applicable

Could you repost the link, not showing up?

 

Yes I use HDHomeRun with channels, gets you all the freeview channels and does offer an EPG they’ve now added PIP support too which is very nice. I only really use NowTV personally for Sports so current app in this iteration is fine for me the 50fps being far more important than the 5.1 albeit the 5.1 would be a nice addition and would have me consider some of the other packages but truth be told there is just so many television shows/movies as it is on Netflix, Prime, Disney+ etc. The entertainment/cinema packs just feels like a situation where if you’ve run out of things to watch on those then add it on for a month or two!

 

My only gripe with NowTV is feels crazy to charge £11.99 and £9.99 for those packs when Netflix will only be costing £13.99 after the bump, feels like a trick missed not to merge those two packs together and charge £12.99 or something...