Apple TV Take 2 : Oh Dear.

2020hindsight · 15th February 2008, 22:55

I've seen it written that many think the Apple TV a failure.

I'm in what is perhaps a minority who think that the Apple TV is absolutely brilliant. I've told a number of my friends that my best purchase since arriving in Dubai is, without doubt, my Apple TV. And it has made our lives so much easier with its simple, convenient interface to my Mac and its external disks.

Sure, it wasn't without it's problems, but it was such a great step forward. Music in the lounge, direct from the Mac. No problem. Photos from my hard disk beamed up on my large screen TV. No problem. TV programmes and films direct from my eternal drive. No problem.

It was simple. It was elegant. And it worked.

I've just downloaded the "Take 2" update and I really wish I hadn't. Yes, I know there's a tendency to dislike things that are new and unfamiliar.

But how can something which now takes me more button pushes to access be better ? How can something which takes me more time to get the stuff on my screen be an improvement ? And how on earth do I get rid of that thing which says "You Tube" from the main menu and place it somewhere more relevant (like the bin) ?

I've replaced my simple, elegant solution with a clunky, complex update that takes me longer to access what I want to watch.

And they've not included the only feature that I would have liked to have seen - playlists for TV & films.

They've added "My favourites", but what I really would have liked was the ability to create a playlist of unseen episodes of the West Wing, or films I haven't seen for a year, or the ability to categorise films into action, rom-com and the like. Now that would have a great improvement.

Instead I have flippin' You Tube which (for me I accept) is a complete waste of time.

Does anyone know whether it is possible to back out of a software update for the Apple TV ?

fangpyre · 15th February 2008, 23:44

Hey 20,
First off, have you tried to factory restore it?

I personally like the ATV, 1 & 2.
Like you , I prefer the old interface.
I like YouTube, and having on the ATV is just great for me.
I for one don't think linking it to iTunes is that bad.
Going thru all those movies with the remote is just murder.

What I DO hate (and hasn't been resolved) is exactly what is missing from the iPod.
- When scrolling down a list (fast scroll), you should get a letter to jump to.
- I need to manually manage my content. What's the point of 160GB when it is connected to my 60GB Mac (which also shares that with documents. programs, and a full OS)? (and it still is linked, even after the update)
- It needs more movie formats.
- It should stream DVDs (how the hard can that be?)
- A few extras like widgets would be nice.

"Hind sight is always 20/20, but looking back its still a bit fuzzy" -Megadeth

2020hindsight · 16th February 2008, 15:17

Thanks Fangpyre. I'm holding off on the factory store for the moment to see whether I get used to the new interface or not ... don't want to be too hasty !

I've managed to remove YouTube. A lot of people will like it, which is fine, but for me it's history (you get rid of it rather fittingly via Parental Controls)

Another rather annoying glitch that I've come across is that quite often it wants to reload my iTunes library when you move from type of media to another say from Films/Shared Films to Photos/Shared Photos. Given that I don't use the hard drive of the AppleTV at all and stream photos, music, films and TV programmes from the Mac this is frustrating - I would have thought that once you had connected to a source, the iTunes library for that source should stay resident in memory.

What I do like, however, is that TV programmes now have a separator break for each Series, and the episode number appears alongside the name. In the past I've had to encode the episode number alongside the name so that it appears on the ATV.

15th February 2008, 22:55	#1 (permalink)
2020hindsight Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 15	Apple TV Take 2 : Oh Dear. I've seen it written that many think the Apple TV a failure. I'm in what is perhaps a minority who think that the Apple TV is absolutely brilliant. I've told a number of my friends that my best purchase since arriving in Dubai is, without doubt, my Apple TV. And it has made our lives so much easier with its simple, convenient interface to my Mac and its external disks. Sure, it wasn't without it's problems, but it was such a great step forward. Music in the lounge, direct from the Mac. No problem. Photos from my hard disk beamed up on my large screen TV. No problem. TV programmes and films direct from my eternal drive. No problem. It was simple. It was elegant. And it worked. I've just downloaded the "Take 2" update and I really wish I hadn't. Yes, I know there's a tendency to dislike things that are new and unfamiliar. But how can something which now takes me more button pushes to access be better ? How can something which takes me more time to get the stuff on my screen be an improvement ? And how on earth do I get rid of that thing which says "You Tube" from the main menu and place it somewhere more relevant (like the bin) ? I've replaced my simple, elegant solution with a clunky, complex update that takes me longer to access what I want to watch. And they've not included the only feature that I would have liked to have seen - playlists for TV & films. They've added "My favourites", but what I really would have liked was the ability to create a playlist of unseen episodes of the West Wing, or films I haven't seen for a year, or the ability to categorise films into action, rom-com and the like. Now that would have a great improvement. Instead I have flippin' You Tube which (for me I accept) is a complete waste of time. Does anyone know whether it is possible to back out of a software update for the Apple TV ?

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15th February 2008, 23:44	#2 (permalink)
fangpyre Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Dubai Posts: 1,417	Hey 20, First off, have you tried to factory restore it? I personally like the ATV, 1 & 2. Like you , I prefer the old interface. I like YouTube, and having on the ATV is just great for me. I for one don't think linking it to iTunes is that bad. Going thru all those movies with the remote is just murder. What I DO hate (and hasn't been resolved) is exactly what is missing from the iPod. - When scrolling down a list (fast scroll), you should get a letter to jump to. - I need to manually manage my content. What's the point of 160GB when it is connected to my 60GB Mac (which also shares that with documents. programs, and a full OS)? (and it still is linked, even after the update) - It needs more movie formats. - It should stream DVDs (how the hard can that be?) - A few extras like widgets would be nice. "Hind sight is always 20/20, but looking back its still a bit fuzzy" -Megadeth

16th February 2008, 15:17	#3 (permalink)
2020hindsight Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 15	Thanks Fangpyre. I'm holding off on the factory store for the moment to see whether I get used to the new interface or not ... don't want to be too hasty ! I've managed to remove YouTube. A lot of people will like it, which is fine, but for me it's history (you get rid of it rather fittingly via Parental Controls) Another rather annoying glitch that I've come across is that quite often it wants to reload my iTunes library when you move from type of media to another say from Films/Shared Films to Photos/Shared Photos. Given that I don't use the hard drive of the AppleTV at all and stream photos, music, films and TV programmes from the Mac this is frustrating - I would have thought that once you had connected to a source, the iTunes library for that source should stay resident in memory. What I do like, however, is that TV programmes now have a separator break for each Series, and the episode number appears alongside the name. In the past I've had to encode the episode number alongside the name so that it appears on the ATV.