appletv 2.4 discussion

[omni]

The reason why I'm starting a new thread is because I wanna talk about 2.4 itself, not really how using an iphone as the remote is cool or anything like that. I was away for business the week 2.4 came out so if there is already a thread (i searched and found nothing) feel free to redirect me or whatever.

So first thing first - we now have a new command for chapter skip. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this. I use a harmony 880 so I never felt all that limited by the little white remote but I guess I'll get used to it.

The little blue dot seems a little too sensitive, especially at the end of a tv show / movie. In earlier versions - I found the whole, 'resume or start from the beginning' to be about perfect. If I stopped a TV show where the credits were rolling it seemed smart enough to start the episode from the very beginning without prompting me. I wish the blue dot was like this.

The listing of tv shows is now A-Z instead of Z-A. I fully admit this was something I wanted when I first got my AppleTV but I guess I've gotten used to it the other way around. Is there a setting to specify which one you want?

The little boxes that now surround individual items - hrm, it really stood out when I first updated and my reaction was, 'man - this is ugly'. I think after few days of use - I still hate it. How is everyone else liking it?

Those seem to be the main things that I noticed right when I updated. How is everyone else liking the new update? I feel like it was a pretty big update to be honest. Small stuff for sure, but has had an impact on how I use it.

 

[Nicolasdec]

I am extremely pissed off at Apple. This stupid new update ran without me authorizing it. And now I have lost Boxee, and all of the Hours of content I put onto it.

Steve Jobs, I know you probably hate Boxee as it dosnt fit into your world of perfect. However, Boxee made the ATV perfect. The included software is ***** and dose nothing but try to sell you iTunes movies (which are overpriced and the quality isnt that good)

 

[Billy Boo Bob]

I am extremely pissed off at Apple. This stupid new update ran without me authorizing it. And now I have lost Boxee, and all of the Hours of content I put onto it.

Even if you don't use it for anything else, NitoTV and (I think) SoftwareMenu both have a "block Apple updates" toggle in them.

Or if you just SSH into it you can simply add an entry in /etc/hosts as:

127.0.0.1 mesu.apple.com

No more auto-updates.

 

[Nicolasdec]

Even if you don't use it for anything else, NitoTV and (I think) SoftwareMenu both have a "block Apple updates" toggle in them.

Ahh, I should have done that. Thats If I ever bother re-installing boxee I will do it. Thanks.

 

[obey908]

i like the boxes

the best part is that, tv show seasons are listed as oldest season first

 

[roidy]

I hate the grey boxes, they`ve ruined what was a really nice looking interface. What I would of liked to have seen in this update is some sort of artwork grid view for my movie selection, like what we have when browsing the store.

I keep hearing talk of peoples AppleTV`s auto updating, since I got my AppleTV over a year ago with 2.0.1 installed it has never once auto updated on me.

 

[toddrohner]

I am a fan of the 2.4 update. Nothing groundbreaking, but it resolved some of my biggest annoyances.

The modification to the chapter skip is a win to me when you balance it against the fact that you no longer need to press and hold to activate fast forward/rewind.

A nice addition is the jump back. Press and hold the rewind button and it will jump back ~10 seconds. Perfect for when you missed or could not understand what someone said.

Another big plus, that I believe was added with this update, is the ability to jump to the root of the menu system by pressing and holding the menu button. I have always hated navigating from movie listings to TV listings, but this has made it somewhat quicker and easier. My wish list item would be discrete commands to jump directly to "my movies", "my shows", "my pictures", and "my music."

I prefer the new sort order for TV shows. It just bugged me that they were in reverse chronological order.

I don't really care one way or the other about the boxes. I do like that it is more responsive to the remote now.

I cannot recall my AppleTV ever updating without authorization. It has downloaded updates, but then asked if it could apply the update. My AppleTV is not hacked or modified in any way.

 

[uberamd]

I am extremely pissed off at Apple. This stupid new update ran without me authorizing it. And now I have lost Boxee, and all of the Hours of content I put onto it.

Steve Jobs, I know you probably hate Boxee as it dosnt fit into your world of perfect. However, Boxee made the ATV perfect. The included software is ***** and dose nothing but try to sell you iTunes movies (which are overpriced and the quality isnt that good)

Really? Because I hacked mine and I got a prompt. Are you sure you just didn't accidentally press "Update now"? I am simply not buying it, as every update I have ever had has prompted me to accept.

 

[MikeDTyke]

I keep hearing talk of peoples AppleTV`s auto updating, since I got my AppleTV over a year ago with 2.0.1 installed it has never once auto updated on me.

Either it can`t reach apple`s update servers ie. check whether it has a router address in the network config or you`ve installed boxee or xmbc which can disable the auto update.

I tried updating to 2.4 yesterday and although i had disabled update via launcher previously and then enabled it for this, i found it could not get to the server. It took a couple of toggles of off then on to get it to work again. Shoddy 3rd party hacky software....

 

[steve-p]

I keep hearing talk of peoples AppleTV`s auto updating, since I got my AppleTV over a year ago with 2.0.1 installed it has never once auto updated on me.

Me neither, but then it forgets the WiFi password every couple of weeks and disconnects from the network so that's probably why

 

[roidy]

Either it can`t reach apple`s update servers ie. check whether it has a router address in the network config or you`ve installed boxee or xmbc which can disable the auto update.

I think you misunderstand me, it will tell me theres an update but it will never just go ahead and just automaticaly install it, it always gives me the option to install or not.

Another big plus, that I believe was added with this update, is the ability to jump to the root of the menu system by pressing and holding the menu button.

The AppleTV has had this ability for a long time.

 

[Nicolasdec]

Really? Because I hacked mine and I got a prompt. Are you sure you just didn't accidentally press "Update now"? I am simply not buying it, as every update I have ever had has prompted me to accept.

I never clicked "update now" because I know that updates break boxee. However It was very easy to get it back on, just re-plugged the patchstick and boom, Boxee's back on my ATV. All my content and settings are still there.

 

[srl7741]

Nice

For the most part I like the 2.4 update. The one thing that still eludes me is how my aTV disconnects from my Mac after 20-30 minutes of not using it.
This began occurring w/iTunes 8.2 update. I wish I could find a solution.

I also enjoy the new remote app features it seems to work pretty good.
I used to use Boxee but no longer do for several reasons but last time i recalled you could turn off the auto update for those who are using it check to see if you can still turn that off?

 

[Sol]

I like the refinement of the menus; changing the look in any way makes me a little more excited to use the Apple TV. The new way of navigating chapters is great and I look forward to buying my first iPod Touch and using all the new remote functions.

Still needs more films, especially to rent.

 

[fpnc]

Me neither, but then it forgets the WiFi password every couple of weeks and disconnects from the network so that's probably why

I use to have this problem also but I discovered it was being caused by interference problems in my wireless network. After I switched to 802.11n, 5GHz-only mode I've never had a situation where my password was forgotten (going on over one year, before that change in my network it would forget the password almost every week).

 

[steve-p]

I use to have this problem also but I discovered it was being caused by interference problems in my wireless network. After I switched to 802.11n, 5GHz-only mode I've never had a situation where my password was forgotten (going on over one year, before that change in my network it would forget the password almost every week).

That's possible I guess. The router and Apple TV are only a couple of feet apart though (separated by a wall). Signal strength is reported as maximum everywhere in the house according to all other devices. Even if there was interference, it shouldn't forget the password - just keep trying to reconnect periodically.

 

[mohanman]

I don't like the new update because you have to press down to get to chapter skipping. What was wrong with holding it to ffw/rw? It worked perfectly fine.
I do like the new genres for the movies section though.

New APPLETV!

Mo

 

[roidy]

I do like the new genres for the movies section though.

New APPLETV!

Mo

I don`t get it, how`s it different from the old ones, apart from pressing left to select it?

 

[kadeschs]

I especially like the new look of the Podcast items and the sort tabs. Looks much more professionally done.

 

[whatupg1]

Apple TV updating automatically

I have had my Apple TV update automatically.

It prompted me telling me there was an update available and asked if I wanted to update now and I selected NOT to update now. But it just kept asking me telling me there was an update available and asking if I wanted to update and I kept selecting NO and all of a sudden it just started to install the update all on it's own.

And yes I'm sure I was selecting the option NOT to update now

 

[belvdr]

I have had my Apple TV update automatically.

It prompted me telling me there was an update available and asked if I wanted to update now and I selected NOT to update now. But it just kept asking me telling me there was an update available and asking if I wanted to update and I kept selecting NO and all of a sudden it just started to install the update all on it's own.

And yes I'm sure I was selecting the option NOT to update now

I have _never_ heard of that one. Mine prompted and I said no until I was sure I could patchstick it again. Even when I clicked no, it didn't come back and annoy me like that.

 

[roidy]

I have _never_ heard of that one. Mine prompted and I said no until I was sure I could patchstick it again. Even when I clicked no, it didn't come back and annoy me like that.

Same here, my ATV asks me once to update and if I say no it never asks again. Then when I decide I do want to upgrade I just goto Settings/General/Update Software. Mine is an unhacked ATV that came with 2.0.1 installed and is now upgraded right upto 2.4 and not once since 2.0.1 has it ever auto updated or bugged me to update. Guess I`m just lucky

 

[mensrea]

I have 2 Apple TVs. I got my first at initial launch and second last year. At no time, under any circumstances has either ever 'just installed an update' without my active involvement.

 

[SpeedFleX]

I have had my Apple TV update automatically.

It prompted me telling me there was an update available and asked if I wanted to update now and I selected NOT to update now. But it just kept asking me telling me there was an update available and asking if I wanted to update and I kept selecting NO and all of a sudden it just started to install the update all on it's own.

And yes I'm sure I was selecting the option NOT to update now

I only know of one computer that does what it wants, its name is HAL, does ATV speak to you too?

 

[BertyBoy]

Aimed at anyone that remembers v1.1 firmware:

So is v2.4 finally any better than the train wreck that has been v2.x ?

I bought my AppleTV for the Frontrow interface, and with a bit of cunning with TV Shows, with v1.1 firmware it's perfect. No annoying iTunes tat. My DVD-ripped movies and TV Shows are where they should be.

I have absolutely no desire at all to buy or rent movies from the AppleTV or iTunes, so I'm not missing most of the new functionality. Only having movies to rent / buy (at present anyway) from one day after the DVD release is a big mistake by Apple.

You can see where Apple is coming from though, subscription (could be an iTunes option in the future) and pay-per-view TV are (somehow) multi-billion pound business in the UK alone. But that's stuff people want to watch. Apple hasn't realised that it has to compete with subscription DVD rentals, ie. LoveFilm.com, £4 per month for as many DVDs as you can watch.

BTW, never had my AppleTV auto-update on me, but my 2 year old did confirm the update some time ago, I just factory reset to v1.1 (originally v1.0 but I replaced it with a v1.1 image).