For a few short hours last week, Apple TV software update 6.0 was available. However, due to a variety of glitches, had been pulled. The patched software has made its triumphant return today, featuring iTunes Radio along with a few playback and synchronization enhancements. While iTunes Radio is frequently compared to Pandora, it feels more like a platform to merely sell tracks – given prices displayed all over the place. And if I wanted to listen to music through my TV, I’d head over to the way more visually stimulating VEVO — MTV for the digital age. Of course, Airplay remains unrivaled… although Google’s $35 DIAL-powered Chromecast dongle looks real promising. But I’m still holding out hope for a more powerful aTV, sporting a full fledged app store and the ability to take advantage of iOS’ new gaming controller API – I think you know where I’m going here. Folders for ‘My Apps’ versus the current Roku-esque clutter would also be an appreciated enhancement.
From the release notes:
| Tunes Radio | Create your own radio stations and listen to them ad-free with iTunes Match. (Available only in the United States.) |
| iTunes Music Store | Browse, purchase, and play music directly from the iTunes Music Store. |
| iCloud Photos | Adds support for playing video from a shared photo stream and viewing photo streams from multiple contributors. |
| AirPlay from iCloud | Apple TV will play content from iTunes in the Cloud instead of your AirPlay device when possible. Requires iOS 7 on AirPlay device. |
| Podcasts | Sync your podcasts and podcast stations across Apple TV and all your iOS devices. |
| Subtitles & Captioning | Automatic subtitle selection based on Apple TV language setting. Customize closed caption style. |
| Conference Room Display | Lock Apple TV into Conference Room Display (for business and education environments) and show onscreen instructions for using AirPlay. |
I very much expect the Apple TV to have apps and more game playing abilities thanks to the game controller APIs in iOS 7 and other software. I think Sony saw the writing on the wall and realized this and is the reason they released the PS Vita for TVs. Apple TV with Gaming will disrupt Nintendo, Sony, and others. I am hoping for some big surprises on October 15th from Apple.
No issues with the original update on my 3 ATV’s, guess I got lucky. Say, Dave, didn’t you mention that we should all be seeing the multi-user interface in Netflix on AppleTV now? I’m dying for that, and still don’t have it on any of my AppleTV’s. Thoughts?
Frank, have you set up profiles within the Netflix webpage? Not sure if it’s a staggered rollout… but I don’t believe they’re configured on aTV, just accessed there. Hm.
Dave, that was it, thanks. I didn’t realize you needed to set up the profiles on the website first! Woohoo.
Though my excitement was VERY short lived. I quickly realized that the ‘non-main’ profiles have no wishlist or queue, nor recently watched, so I guess I was left wondering what the point is.
For instance, my 5 year old loves all things lego. He frequently watches these lego ninja shows, but with his new profile, there’s no easy way for him to continue on with the season. He’d have to re-search for it every time. This is silly and poorly thought-out.
Sigh. All this time waiting for profiles only to find out they are basically worthless! Thanks for steering me in the right direction, though. :^(