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.

[Sandey]

Anyone else’s NOW app keep crashing when using the search function?

[nst]

@Sandey 

Not tried it myself however the 'joy' of the AppleTV TV app integration is that you have no need for Now's own search.. just use the search function in the TV app and it should include Now's content.

[Anonymous User]

Having looked at this a bit more, whilst Sonos is reporting 5.1 I’m pretty sure I’m only getting stereo content as no sound is ever coming from the rear speakers.

so it is very strange that everyone is getting different results. 

have just tried live content and I do get sound from rear speakers in this case

[nst]

Not long to go before its magically fixed 🙂 

I can't recall the exact date the AppleTV app went live... around the 10th?

One year on - one year of technical supremacy for the Firestick...

Time will tell.

[moroboshi]

I watched movies on Netflix, Disney+, and even Now at the weekend. On Netflix and Disney+ I was getting 4K Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos audio. On Now it was 1080p SDR with stereo audio.  Let that sink in. The SDR thing is inexcusable, the 1080p thing is utterly baffling. But STEREO?  In 2021? I was getting 5.1 from DVDs in 1999. That's 22 years ago.  5.1 was on laser discs even earlier. 

The mind boggles at the staggering level of technical ineptitude.  Are the engineers at Now aware of just how incompetent they are? Or is this some sort of infantile war with Apple over something?

It's beyond pathetic. It's imbecilic, insulting, feeble minded, and offensive. 

[MrZippy]

I don’t think they want Now to be too good, or it would eat into their core Sky service. Apple TV is a premium box, I suspect they see it as having a real chance of doing that, whereas the cheap £50 sticks are rubbish, in my opinion.

And they don’t listen as I ‘tested’ the new app and they basically ignored the feedback and launched their appalling UI using non native controls so it looks and feels rubbish.

[Enapace]

I’ve had a complaint into NOW for over 2 months now since I felt they were false advertising saying the Apple TV box did live pause on there info on the site for months when it has never worked at all. 

They have had me do so many things from telling them the software version of app to the OS installed number which remote I had etc. They are very slow in replying back to my email replies the latest is having me take a video of loading into the app going take to the tv picking and Channel and showing them I was clicking the play pause button on the remote lol and nothing happened lol. 

Maybe they will eventually implement live pause by the end surprised how long it’s gone on for and with them just not simply admitting it doesn’t have the functionality and they don’t plan to implement lol. 

Would be nice when I’m watching F1 though haha. 

its a shame they won’t actually use the Apple TV Remote how it’s actually meant to be designed as the one for the 4K Gen 2 handles fast forward really well once you get used to it. 

[Enapace]

@moroboshi 

I don’t think the engineers at Sky itself are much better Sky Glass has not had a very good start at all. There implementation has not been good at all. 

[nst]

I genuinely think 5.1 is going to be magically sorted soon.

However shhhh.  Nobody tell them about the appleTV TV app.

Well, I think that they have somewhat taken "inspiration" from the TV app when they developed Sky Glass as functionally its basically the same.  The only difference being that Netflix plays nice with Sky Glass and it doesn't with AppleTV TV app.

However we get to use the AppleTV TV app for free.

Although they want NOW to be the poor mans sky, and basically hope that its an introducer service that leads more people into full fat sky... they can no longer get away with it being 2.0 on a high end piece of hardware such as the AppleTV.  Fine on some ropey old has-been box but not the AppleTV.

Its taken them years to get to this point, and 18 months since the first beta - one year since launch... and still 5.1 eludes them on catchup.  We know its working on live content... weve seen it... so why the app doesn't work on catchup is a very deep mystery.

Still, as ive said before, its coming up to 1 year very shortly since the app launched, and then 1 week later the Firsestick app launched.  Lets see if timing works out here 🙂 

[Enapace]

@nst 

Im still of the opinion when SKY Q gets Apple TV which is meant to be anytime now that Now app will get 5.1 

[nst]

@Enapace 

I agree.

This time last year the AppleTV app launched then straight after, with no prior warning (unlike the torturous AppleTV "beta test" i went though) the Firestick app launched.

The Firestick app in conjunction with a new content deal between Now and Amazon.

mmmmmmm, so the Firestick needed to be the platform of choice eh... lets see if we cant disable the AppleTV one for a bit to push more users to that platform.

And here we are 1 year later.  A whole year of not fixing 5.1 when it does work on live content through the app yet still telling us that the app isnt capable of 5.1 when we can see it is.

In conjunction the announcement of the new Sky deal with Apple.... As ive said all along expect 5.1 to magically start working pretty soon.

I mean, apart from all this, to have an app on the AppleTV platform thats not capable of 5.1 where all the other apps have been doing it for literally years AND also 4K and Atmos.... its a bit of a joke frankly.

[nst]

I see we got new iOS versions of NOW the other day.

Did we also get a TVOS update?  I havent been able to check yet.

Also, the long awaited 5.1 I dont think is dependant on a new version of the app given that it works for Live content and has done for a while...

But a new version is always the catalyst for hope!

[Enapace]

Not been any update to the Apple TV App.

[nst]

So, today there's a bit of media frenzy regarding the release of the AppleTV+ app on Sky and Sky Glass.

Interesting.

Sky and Apple officially working together now.  Just like Sky and Amazon were a year ago.

So, also given that we are now 1 year since the launch of the (hamstrung) AppleTV NOW app....

... I wonder if we will see 5.1 for on demand content suddenly start to work very soon.

Bye Bye firestick you've been given 1 year of technical superiority and you'll have to attract customers to Now on your own merits soon 🙂 

[MarkB1]

I think they really are having technical issues, probably because they opted to go for the custom player rather than Apple TV's in-built version.  I only seem to get 5.1 when I switch to a live channel when the programme is playing.  If I switch on during an ad-break it is 2.0, and stays on that for the duration I am watching the channel. 

I also set my folks up using Now on their Apple TV (HD) recently.  They have a 2.1 soundbar, and the sound goes out of synch gradually over time when watching live sports.  By half-time punditry it's a good 3-4 seconds out.  Doesn't happen with Now on demand, or any other streaming service on the Apple TV (including live Amazon Prime sports).  Changed to high speed HDMI etc, but still an issue.

Hopefully might force Now to use the native Apple player if this is the issue.

[nst]

@MarkB1 

Lets be kind and assume that the AppleTV has some weird unique technical issue that stops the Now app having 5.1.

They have had a long time to get this right.

The "new" app has now been out 1 year.  During that year we've had assurances that it will be fixed "soon" ever since this time last year just after launch.

The "new" app had been in public beta for 8/9 months before release.  Assurances were made to the beta testers that full boost support would be included in the live release.

There are many apps on the AppleTV that provide 5.1 output without blinking... and have done for literally years.  NOW could give one of them a quick call and ask how its done.

The fact is that the app is supposed to not be capable of 5.1 yet it is, it can, and it works fine for live content.  I just can't understand why it can't be done for 'on demand' content.

[MarkB1]

It’s not an issue with the Apple TV, but what I’m wondering now if there has been a fundamental fault with the way Now have designed and implemented the app in first place that is the problem (e.g. not using the standard player).  I agree there is no excuse for not fixing the issue, they don’t appear to want to, for commercial reasons or otherwise.

I don’t believe the live channels 5.1 is fully working though, and other threads point out that switching between sound formats isn’t working in all cases.  Customers with HomePods highlight the issue, and I also see it with a Sony receiver.  That said, it wouldn’t impact on demand content as there are no adverts with boost anyway.

As you mentioned, hopefully this new Apple partnership will give Sky/Now the impetus to get the app working as it should.

[Anonymous User]

Is anybody else having trouble with the app playing programmes as the wrong frame rate? I have my Apple TV set to match the content frame rate, but US programs look very juddery. Looks like something is converting the 30fps shows to 25fps. After all this time, my TV’s built-in NowTV app still looks way better than the Apple TV version even for simple HD content. Haven’t noticed this on any other streaming service. 

[nfrend]

Recent update. Have not noticed any changes other than subtitles on live. Still stereo on demand. 

[Hooba]

I'm reading that the AppleTV+ app on SkyQ is 2.0 audio only ..... 

[Enapace]

@Hooba 

Interesting i wonder why that is as it should do Dolby Atmos