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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

@dr_necessitor 

 

Having been in software development myself for many years.. of course what you say is true.

 

 

However.. in terms of monetising features... this makes no sense to restrict a single hardware platform where all the others that support boost do so 'properly'.  5.1 is not something they could or should hold back on a single platform.

 

A good analogy would be the AppleTV TV app integration.  To me, this is a huge deal and the best part of the AppleTV....  Now could have monetised that feature separately given that the AppleTV box uniquely supports it across their supported platforms... but of course they havent thankfully and I dont want them to get any ideas there.

 

But 5.1.... no.

@nst I’m also a software development veteran but in a legacy world.

Anyway I didn’t mean to suggest that this particular farce (DD5.1 on Apple tv 4K) was specifically about monetisation, just reflecting on the Sky’s attitude in general about what they do and how they do things. Boost is pure monetisation - it’s got the same hallmark as the old Sky+HD extra £10 a month for HD channels! Remember that one? Became harder & harder to justify as time went by, until they scrapped it and sold it as a no cost gift to customers…

nst
Elite

@dr_necessitor 

 

I didnt think you were at all apologies if my response suggested otherwise.

 

Yes, that £10 HD fee... i remember it well and I was there and paying that at the time.

 

Thats one of the more surprising things about boost to me.  Starting at £3 for a new service nearly 2 years ago then... fine.  but how long should that have lasted as an add-on - the same as the £10 HD fee it should rightly become rapidly extinct.

I was very surprised this year to see the price go UP ... very surprised.  I was expecting it to disappear and not increase.

This seems to me so bizarre when a streaming service does not exist in a vacuum and has to be competitive with others.  Charging an additional fee seems ridiculous in the current climate (given their base price is high) when Amazon and Disney+ make not only HD and 5.1 but 4K and ATMOS included at no extra cost.

 

It will, eventually disappear.  Can't come soon enough.  In 2021 a streaming service should be considering 1080p and 5.1 as a bare minimum specification.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I’ve been away from home the past couple of weeks, and finally got round to retesting the surround sound today.  I’m getting 5.1 from live streams, with clear sound from the rear speakers.  Still just 2.0 from all on demand content.  

 

One thing I did notice is that my Sony receiver still reports DD 5.1 when playing 2.0 (on demand) material, so I wonder if the delay of a full release is related to them having issues flagging streams correctly?  Netflix, Disney etc update the audio type whenever each new program starts on my receiver. Once the Now app has played a DD5.1 stream it never updates again while the app is open.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I was about to complain about the dream is over, as all the channels are back to 2.0, but just as The Hundred Live started it switched to 6 channel audio...

 

Now then, I have discovered what I believe to be the reason why Apple TV 5.1 isn't officially supported: It doesn't switch properly between 2.0 and 5.1.

 

When the video stream switched to 6 channel, while the Playback HUD noticed and said it was now 6 channels, the Apple TV output did not automatically switch to 5.1 output. It stayed on stereo.

 

This must mean if you tune in during the adverts for the first time, you'll get stereo and it won't switch to 5.1, and also why it doesn't switch back to stereo automatically in the ads like the Now TV stick does.

 

Edit: It's actually even weirder... the audio keeps dropping to 2.0 channel mid stream too.

nst
Elite

This whole thing remains, to me, one of the most bizarre customer support things I've ever come across.

 

Here we are with an app that we've lived with for almost 10 months that was launched inexplicably missing 5.1 for no real discernible reason.

 

Now couldn't explain why, just that it was being worked on and the fix was coming "soon".

 

I don't know about your definitions of soon... but mine is "in the next few weeks" and not "at least 10 months away".

 

Yet here we are now.  Its down to the customers to start noticing that things aren't  quite as they were. What kind of service is this?  If Now are actively developing this (which they should have been for the last 10 months) then why is this being experimented on in a "live" environment that leads to questions like this direct from their customers.

 

Why, when questioned about it, are they not able to give us an answer as to what's going on here.  It just leads to confusion and speculation and irritation.

 

A simple statement such as "we are actively trialling some live content in the AppleTV app and you may find that some live feeds have a 5.1 soundtrack whereas all on demand remains 2.0 for now" but no this seems too much like hard work.

I understand making no announcements when you are working behind the scenes but not when you are materially altering the content that your paying customers are consuming.

 

 

So, for now, we the customers have ascertained that the situation is that Live (accessed via the TV guide part of the app) might be in 5.1 but anything on demand is still 2.0.  Why, how, how long for are things we couldn't hope to answer.

 

 

Come on @nst you of all people should be fully aware of how it goes with “all things Sky” by now (or should that be “all things NOW by Sky?) anyway…

 

”Never apologise, never explain!”

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Did anyone manage to get Live Pause on the Apple TV box to work? Articles say it should but i can't seem figure out how to use it.

 

I recently upgraded to a Apple TV 4K 2021 version I do prefer the new remote as wanted 4K HDR for BT Sport and 4K BBC Iplayer when they update that app. While the Firestick is good I do find the linkage in the TV App on Apple TV to be far better so wanted the new one.

 

I noticed 5.1 isn't still sorted on Apple TV but I figured if i wanted watch a film on Now i could use my PS5 least it has 50FPS support for my sports. 

Anonymous User
Not applicable
I can’t even get normal pause to work with the remote button most of the time. You have no chance of them implanting live pause on the Apple TV!
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User 

 

Not struggled with any pausing with the remote but i do prefer the new Apple TV Remote over the old one having a proper clicker is a plus over the touch pad.

 

It does claim in the FAQ that you can pause Live TV on Apple TV 4K