apple TV Archives - Argyll Free Press

Apple TV Apps – Plex and VLC Incoming

September 15, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The next gen Apple TV was announced last week. It has been redesigned to better suit its target demographic. It has an overhauled Siri, which comes with a new search function and also its very own App Store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted, during the announcement, that the future of television is apps. Therefore, expect a plethora of Apple TV apps in the near future.

This also means that we’ll witness a ton more new apps that were not available for the earlier versions of Apple’s TV. The first to see the light on day on Apple’s TV will be Plex and VLC.

Jean-Baptiste Kemp, one of the lead developers of VLC, unveils that video playback is now possible. He has been also reported of saying that Plex, who he co-founded, will be available on Apple’s new platform. It’s only a time of evaluating their position and which path it’s best to take Plex on.

This isn’t shocking news, but still it’s important, not only for the Cupertino-based company. With these new Apple TV apps, users will have the possibility to stream local content to their box-of-wonders using different devices. This frees up the dependency of using Apple’s pre-installed online streaming services.

Plex will be available on Apple TV soon, founders note.

This is relevant in countries like India and any other place where Netflix’s presence is absent. Apple’s TV, or Amazon’s Fire TV, turns from a highly-appreciated device into a literally useless box in 5 seconds flat.

These Apple TV apps aren’t revolutionary. That’s not the case. They have been available for the majority of Android-enabled set-top-boxes. In India they are witnessing a surge of popularity.

An Android set-top box manufacturer reports that the most used app on his product is YouTube. Following in second, third and fourth place are Plex, XMBC and VLC.

Their target demo for India is going to be different than what Apple has been focusing on in Europe or the US. Yet, it’s a great sign that the big A is starting to focus on markets like China and India.

Huawei and Xiaomi have been relentlessly trying to push their products there and they have achieved brand recognition, among other things.

Huawei is also a big player in Europe. Their smartphones product-line is starting to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. It’s just a matter of time until Huawei has the perfect opportunity to go deeper into the set-top box market in Europe and US.

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The Next Gen Apple TV Will Be Game-Changing

September 3, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

On the 9th of September, on a Wednesday, Apple will most definitely unveil their next gen Apple TV.

It will feature more powerful components and a new touchpad-friendly remote.

However, the new remote will be one of the main highlights. The touchpad input greatly improves its usability and the built-in motion sensors will make it function as a game controller.

Software-wise, the next gen Apple TV will be packed-full with features. It will have its very own App Store and, of course, Siri will be fully integrated. The beloved digital assistant will support hardcore voice control, sources add.

Reports note that the next gen Apple TV will come with a feature that old Apple TV users have been craving for years.

I’m talking about universal search.

Think of Popcorn Time, but legal. You can search for a TV series or a movie and results will displayed from various sources.

Sources close to Apple note that this will be a game-changing addition. The end-user is the one to profit out of this. We will have the possibility of choosing from a wide variety of streaming video services – why should I pay $10 for Breaking Bad when I can get it at $5?

Be sure that Apple’s iTunes Store will be displayed each and every single time.

But a search function is pretty useless without filters. The Apple TV’s universal search will allow users to search for directors and actors, among other things.

All these things can be done via Siri.

Yet, not only Siri resides at core of this new functionality. In 2013, Apple acquired a video discovery startup named Matcha.

The Proactive search feature found in iOS 9, along with Matcha, is rumoured to also be part of the stew, 9to5Mac reports.

The universal search feature is going to be a cornerstone for Apple’s TV, a device that suffered immensely from its text-based capability. This may very well transpose the next gen Apple TV as a reliable entry-level video-streaming-oriented device.

9to5Mac also reports that the price of the new Apple TV will start at $149. In the near future, Apple will sell internet TV service subs. The faster they make this happen, the more households will be enticed to install an Apple TV.

Of course, Apple declined to comment on these rumors. Go figure.

We’ll have to wait until the 9th of September for the official announcement.

We are more than curious to see what Apple’s TV main competitors, Amazon Fire TV and Roku, have in store for us. If they don’t act fast, they might just lose the head-start they have.

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Apple TV Streaming Service to be Launched in September 2015

March 21, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The Apple TV streaming service announced some time ago will be presented to the general public most likely this June, as the mass-media sources have found out. The US giant is currently building an offer comprising approximately 25 channels from all over the country, including here major broadcasters such as CBS, Viacom, ABC, Discovery and Fox.

This package will be launched in September 2015 and will be compatible with Apple TV. iPhones, iPads and every type of iOS device. The streaming service might also include other major American channels, like FX and ESPN, since one of Apple’s goals is to address to larger on-demand virtual libraries, however it leaves out plenty of the smaller broadcasters.

Recently, Apple made a huge deal in mass-media, by earning the exclusive rights for HBO’s streaming services for several months, this leading to a significant decrease in Apple TV’s price.

Older rumors regarding new TV technology and devices from Apple, such as set-top boxes or even new types of TVs have constantly emerged for several years; but it seems that this year many of these speculations will become reality and, thus, major players on the market.

A package designed to fit any pocket

Apple is now discussing with programmers to have a much slimmed-down offer of TV networks, compared to what was predicted some time ago, due to the fact that several broadcasters did not accept the contract terms of the deals wanted by Apple.

Some specialists still believe that it will be quite hard for this brand new TV streaming service to have the recognized success without famous American channels, like NBC Universal for example, but Apple is currently negotiating with the majority of the other media corporations, including CBS, Disney or 21st Century Fox.

It is said that the predicted cost for this package of service will be an extremely affordable one, since it is aimed to cover a large area of potential customers. This news is linked to the previous reports from a few moths ago about Apple getting ready to launch a significantly innovated model of TV box that has attached to it a redesigned and much improved user-interface, but also a new type of remote control that could revolutionize this type of technology.

So, now it makes sense for the company to release its pair of streaming services and hardware in tandem during the course of this year. You might have a preview of what can be expected from this mutual package in April, when Apple’s exclusive contract with HBO will be presented in a common press conference.

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A package designed to fit any pocket

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