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.

[Simonpaddy1]

Thought it was a quote and then couldn’t delete or edit. 

Strange that this issue seems so all over the place. It does make watching box sets difficult, a few times I have started an episode and realised it was a few episodes back from where I actually got to. 

Channel 4 have an annoying habit of highly marking episode numbers - I think the previous series of Taskmaster had a New Year Special episode coded (let’s say) 9101, but then when series 9 started a few weeks later it was coded as 901, 902 etc meaning the whole series never showed up on the Up Next queue automatically. 

[nst]

@Simonpaddy1 

Totally.

Its annoying when this happens.  I had the same thing for taskmaster - in the end I just had to remove the series as I was annoyed at the New Years thing appearing over and over.

Just goes to show that its down to the individual companies.  Apples TV app is only as good as the metadata that it is provided with I suppose.

Anyway by and large its a fantastic feature and makes the AppleTV the obvious and unbeatable set top box of choice for me.  Nothing else comes close to that and its the only way Ive been able to cancel SkyQ and forgo any recording functions - there's just no need with the AppleTV TV app. (when it works)

[redchiz1]

@nst Wow, quite an endorsement! Does it make tea as well? Perhaps when they drop the price by around two-thirds to compete with other similar plugin devices I might consider it.  🙂

[nst]

indeed it is.

Look on it as Sky Glass but for free....

And, if you are in the apple ecosystem and have an iPhone or iPad you already have the TV app and it will do the same for you without needing the AppleTV set top box.

You can use it to keep track of what's on when and what's ready to watch then basically just watch the thing on your tv or main tv and use the iPhone / iPad to mark as watched kindof like ticking it off a list.

[redchiz1]

I do use the app on my iPad and iPhone, it is a handy way to find out what's on where. 

[Clem_Dye]

I’ve stayed away from the whole NowTV app. on Apple TV boxes issue for a while, because it seemed to me that the issues relating to bug fixes and missing 5.1 audio weren’t going to be fixed. Is that still the case? Is 5.1 audio with the Boost pass still MIA?

I don’t live stream anything on the NowTV app. on my LG TV, but do use the Boost option for stuff that I stream via my Entertainment pass. I’m itching to buy an AppleTV box, as it will cover all of my streaming requirements, assuming that the NowTV app. offers 5.1 audio. My guess is that it’s still a pile of junk. Am I right?

[nst]

Yep... The App still has issues.  A pile of junk might be a bit of an overstatement to be fair.

The app works as it does across most other platforms with the exception that FF and RW are terribly implemented on the AppleTV.  It is one of the worst apps out there (for the most expensive streaming service!)

And yes, 5.1 is still missing from on demand content in the app an astonishing 14 months after its original release.

[redchiz1]

"Most expensive" is always a moot point as unlike the majority of providers NOW have a very flexible pricing policy towards retaining customers. 

[nst]

@redchiz1 

You say that.... but today I cancelled my boost pass.  Its a point of  principle now.  They have put it up to £5 now from £3.... whereas I was expecting it to actually vanish when hopefully 5.1 and 1080p was the base level service as it is in most other streaming services but instead they put the price up.

Anyway, ive given them well over a year and still nothing and I refuse to pay £5 and not get 5.1 on my platform of choice.

Ive cancelled twice in the past but they relent and give it to me for £3 so Ive continued but this time its £5 or the highway....  so the highway it is!

Ill keep my eye out and if they ever get 5.1 working on AppleTV app then ill consider it but till then... no.

Of course what this will now mean is that I cancel my movies subscription too.... I only watch a couple a month anyway and I might as well rent the film from iTunes at £4.99 and get it in 4K and ATMOS for that price.  Im sure over the course of the year ill save a fortune doing it that way.

[redchiz1]

@nst Absolutely. If you do not get a retention offer from NOW with which you are happy then you can just walk away.  

I don't know about a "fortune" though!  🙂

[nst]

@redchiz1 

Well, ive never really sat down and worked out how many movies I watch on NOW a year.... its certainly no more than one a month on average as many weeks can go by with no new films that interest me.

Some months there can be 2, some 0.

£4.99 rental for a movie on iTunes at 4K and ATMOS quality... even at one a month is still a 50% saving on the NOW cost.

The thing is, NOW are fools unto themselves.  Ive now had cause to think, and stop.  If they left my offer at something I considered reasonable Id have just carried on paying and not watching - the way most subscription places make their money by apathetic customers!

However, now I have had to do this I look on it differently.

In the future as I say ill rent from iTunes.  Should content appear on NOW that interests me, ill wait a few months until I have a few things I want to watch then pay for a single months sub and watch them all then cancel again.

[redchiz1]

Hey, I agree with you again. It is all about which services you use most and how much you pay. I have subscribed to the Cinema Membership in the past at heavily discounted prices and found myself hardly using it at all. No bargain there. As for 4K, Dolby Atmos etc. then you need the equipment in your home to make the most of it. Whilst most of us have 4K TVs these days, I doubt we have the sound systems to match.

[Clem_Dye]

I took part in a NowTV survey last week. One of the questions which seemed to be asked several times was how important was a full HD picture and 5.1 audio. To me, very important and I suspect to ATV users still waiting for 5.1 audio support on the app. too. I wonder if they sent the survey to NowTV subscribers using Apple hardware?

[MrZippy]

Well they didn’t send to me. 

And you have to laugh, Atmos audio is important to me as it makes an amazing difference. 5.1 is so 1990’s.

Lets face it the pause button doesn’t always work when using the NowTV app. We have no chance of advanced 1990’s features like 5.1 audio. 

I suspect Sky is doing a BlackBerry, not keeping up with the tech, and look where that got them. 

[gavs82008]

@Clem_Dye  

Haven’t had a survey from NOW in a while. 

That being said, god knows why 5.1 sound is still not in the app for Apple TV’s. 

@nst 

Just looking for some info, what’s the pros for the Apple TV? As I’m just curious.

Even though I have a Sony Android TV with the fully functioning NOW app, I do have 2 Amazon 4K fire sticks. Which I use one for a back up and the other for my bedroom TV.

That being said I do have an iPhone and iPad, so I’m not far from the world of Apple. Just could never justify paying their prices for the TV.

[Clem_Dye]

That's the issue for me. I've bought into the Apple ecosystem, but my braindead Panasonic TV doesn't play with other Apple stuff like my LG TV does. An ATV box is the only solution. Or rather it would be, if the NowTV actually offered full Boost support.

Does anyone from Sky/Comcast/whoever actually check-out posts in these forums in order to appreciate customer satisfaction levels, or is it a case, like the BBC, that they don't care, that we're expected to make do with what we're given and be grateful that they can be bothered at all?

[MrZippy]

The Apple TV is fast an responsive, no freezes, pauses or stutters in the UI.  It also properly supports frame rate matching, although not surprisingly NowTV don’t support this. Also I think every streaming app is available, bar NowTV most are implemented quite well. Amazon is probably the next worst after NowTV. 

Also if you use the Infuse app you can play back pretty much anything, and that app supports lossless audio, Atmos and Dolby vision. 

[nst]

@gavs82008 

I could wax lyrical about the AppleTV box all day... though given this thread is AppleTV owners mostly its preaching to the choir.

OK, so to summarise for me:

1.  Interface - uncluttered, and very fast and smooth.  Compare to the Firestick which is still so messy and riddled with ads.

2.  Performance - even the last gen boxes are still very fast.  Way way faster than even new models of the Firestick.

3.  Stand alone box is better than TV built in apps only because TV OSs come and go and eventually get dropped by app developers and you end up with old apps.... that said BBC Iplayer on AppleTV is functional and fine but somewhat neglected.

4.  The TV App.  Well this should be 1.  Ive said before its just great and the main reason the AppleTV is unbeatable.   As an iPhone owner you know this, as you have it already - its functionality is so handy in the streaming era and I couldn't have ditched my SkyQ without it - in many ways its better than having a recording queue.

5.  Inter-device compatibility including airplay audio and video - if you have iPhone and iPad the iCloud integration between devices is second to none.

Anyway I could say more but you get the picture.

Just a shame that NOW don't think AppleTV customers are worth spit.

[redchiz1]

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@nst wrote:

@gavs82008 

I could wax lyrical about the AppleTV box all day... though given this thread is AppleTV owners mostly its preaching to the choir.

OK, so to summarise for me:

1.  Interface - uncluttered, and very fast and smooth.  Compare to the Firestick which is still so messy and riddled with ads.

2.  Performance - even the last gen boxes are still very fast.  Way way faster than even new models of the Firestick.

3.  Stand alone box is better than TV built in apps only because TV OSs come and go and eventually get dropped by app developers and you end up with old apps.... that said BBC Iplayer on AppleTV is functional and fine but somewhat neglected.

4.  The TV App.  Well this should be 1.  Ive said before its just great and the main reason the AppleTV is unbeatable.   As an iPhone owner you know this, as you have it already - its functionality is so handy in the streaming era and I couldn't have ditched my SkyQ without it - in many ways its better than having a recording queue.

5.  Inter-device compatibility including airplay audio and video - if you have iPhone and iPad the iCloud integration between devices is second to none.

Anyway I could say more but you get the picture.

Just a shame that NOW don't think AppleTV customers are worth spit.

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Re. point 3. Have a look at the BBC's ever reducing budget and then consider their responsibility as regards supporting myriad devices universally. Then look at the number of Apple TV boxes active in the UK. And wonder where their are priorities are. As are those of NOW, seemingly. The fact that you are invested in what you regard as a superior device does not entitle you to anything other than what that box is capable of. If other services do not provide the qualities you desire then, erm, use another device. I know, tough, innit?

[Samuel71]

It’s more the fact they advertise as supporting Apple TV when they clearly really don’t.

No issue using another device if they didn’t support it. But they claim to support it and don’t.

[Hooba]

Well the current implementation of Now on AppleTV is head and shoulders above what it was a couple of years ago. I've got a couple of AppleTVs on the go - one hooked up to 5.1, one not. The one not hooked up is a pretty faultless experience.

It is pretty frustrating not having 5.1. But for my 5.1 set up I just use a BT TV Pro box for Now. So, as per usual, if you want full bells and whistles, its a 2 box/device solution. I don't think there's any device that supports all the major streaming apps with 5.1, 4K, HDR etc. Even SkyQ doesn't deliver that as AppleTV+ on the Sky box is restricted to 2.0 audio. Which seems a bit tit-for-tat. But there you go .....

I use Now mostly for Sport. Then about another £15 on top for movies and entertainment combined. If I didn't want the Sport I wouldn't bother at all. But I do occasionally watch some cracking movies on Now, and you tend to get 4-5 decent box sets each year on Entertainment. Just about makes it worthwhile. You pays your money, you choose from what's out there I guess.