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Anonymous User
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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

As ive mentioned before, I took the step of cancelling my SkyQ subscription at the end of last year, and ditching the 'liveTV/PVR' setup completely.

 

This is somewhat unusual for me, as Ive had a PVR forever!...  I was so very used to setting recordings, having series links etc... and sitting down to watch whatever was ready on my PVR queue.

 

The reason I took the plunge was partly financial as NowTV had the £99 for 1 year of Movies AND Entertainment.... but also a realisation that the streaming market is now quite mature and it is possible to watch all your content on apps and catchup nowadays.

 

There are a number of factors that made this switch possible for me:

 

1.  The Apple "TV" app.  This is essential and a great app as it keeps an eye on all the series you are watching (across iPlayer, ITV, All4, Demand5, Amazon Prime, and Disney+).

2.  The availability of NowTV's Boost.

 

2 was particularly important as I could not ditch my HD/4K SkyQ service and go back quality-wise.  As ive said before, boost is pretty good - OK we shouldn't really be paying more for this given that all the other streaming services are up to 4K and in some cases thats 'standard' cost.

 

I have to say this has been pretty successful so far.  There are a few irritations which are as follows:

 

1.  The Apple "TV" app is not flawless.  Once in a while a new episode of something has been on and it just doesnt appear in watch next... or it takes a day or two to appear (IF you remembered it was on you just go to the streaming app direct).

2.  Related to 1..... sometimes a show is broadcast then takes ages to appear on the native streaming app let alone the AppleTV app.

3.  The availability of a working up-to-date NowTV app (the point of this thread!) - until its sorted AND supports boost this will always need to be on a separate box (a real pain!!)

4.  Having to sit through non-fastforwardable ads!  How annoying is that having spent 30 years skipping through ads on my recorded content.   Just have to put up with that on shows from ITV, C4/E4, C5.

5.  If you want to watch something 'live' it is possible via iPlayer, All4 etc - though I have found the picture quality and reliability to be a bit lacking especially on All4.... however on a positive note you can 'start from the beginning' in many cases and thats handy too.

 

 

To summarise the major successes of this:

 

1.  Cost.  Obviously.  Was paying £55 for SkyQ multi room with movies. - this is now £8.25.

2.  Convenience.  No need to pay for multi room when this is accessible from set top boxes.. just buy a new set top box for each TV and its all available anywhere.

3.  Apps - All content is viewable from iPhone, iPad, AppleTV - and the AppleTV TV app syncs across devices.... its like having my SkyQ recording queue available anywhere anytime.

 

 

Im just hoping that the new NowTV app is sufficient and fit for purpose - minimum requirement being Boost for me - but it would be great for it to integrate with apple's TV app also - not holding my breath on that one to be fair.

 

AppleTV can then be my one set top box - neat, small, powerful fast interface - and everything in one place for a great user experience.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Whereas if you use the Apple TV app for more than one person the tv app becomes completely useless and a bit if a mess to be honest - I have it in the "useless" folder as a result.

 

I don't believe NowTv will support it for the simple reason they want eyes on the app - there is a reason the home screen shows movies/sports and entertainment - it shows what you are missing and they want you to think ow I would like to watch this so will pay for a pass. 

 

If it was integrated on the TV app you would just click to go to the next epsiode - more conviniant yes put it keeps you from using the other bits of the app.

 

I like you have ditched traditional tv however we have a HD home run and then the channels DVR on Amazon devices and the apple tv. It does live tv playback flawlessly and less cables in every room as we only need one aerial point, and then we use Plex/iplayer etc to watch anything we have missed.

 

As much as "cutting the cable" is tempting the convenience of live tv makes it hard to beat at the moment. I do however have everything now on the Apple TV that I could want to watch - the only thing missing is boost support on nowtv!

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User I find switching between user accounts in the TV app is quite painless. My wife and I have our own watch lists, and we're perfectly happy with it. Would much rather it included Netflix and NowTV content though!

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Unfortunately young users don't get the message.

 

There is only so many times you see fireman Sam on your up next before you just give up on the idea.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User Just hide the remote from the kids 😉

Anonymous User
Not applicable
I second the TV app is unless as it stands in a multi user setup, users are not forced to identify themselves and it isn’t clear who’s logged in. So mine shows all kids stuff!

And like Netflix they want eyes on their own content, so doubt TV app integration ever.
Anonymous User
Not applicable
Assume you don’t have kids!?

Mine would not even think to switch ID, it might be easy but nothing actually shows you who’s logged it.
Anonymous User
Not applicable
The Apple TV remote hides itself!
Anonymous User
Not applicable

No kids here. And I'm more than happy to keep it that way. Wouldn't want to ruin my TV App experience 😉

nst
Elite

well I second, and third everyone else.

 

Dont blame the AppleTV TV app when they make it very easy to have individual accounts and watchlists etc... 

 

If you, or your kids, dont use it correctly then its not really a deficiency of the app!

 

Anyway, it and its functionality are a godsend when ditching the PVR (though as I say it doesn't work 100% of the time more like 90%).

 

Also, whoever made the point about not going into the app itself.. thats not really true.  All the the TV app does is present a handy unified up next list - when selecting the programme you are taken straight to the app itself anyway.  Also there would be no avoiding, or needing to avoid using the NowTV app to 'discover new content' so I dont see this as an argument for not wanting to support it.  Ive never understood why Netflix had chosen to shun the TV app when it cant harm them one bit.. in fact it would help them when someone was watching something and was reminded a new episode was available instead of forgetting.  It just directs people to the Native app anyway so how is this a bad thing?