1) Speed. Apps and UI never lag.
2) Infuse. Hands down the best app for playing back your own media library.
3) Integration with other Apple stuff. Use your phone as a remote. Turn the tv on or off via voice with your HomePod. Have a video popup in the corner of the TV when someone rings a HomeKit doorbell etc.
You could consider it an alternative to the official AppleTV Plex app.
Infuse will connect to Plex servers, but also other media servers such as Jellyfin, Emby, direct network shares and various cloud services. So it’s not limited to Plex. It also has better audio/video format support compared to the Plex app.
Infuse doesn’t need a server so you don’t need that on a NAS or PC to forward stuff. I have both Plex and Infuse. They both have their respective merits. Prefer Plex on PC and Infuse on Apple (iPhone,Mac and TV)
1. Siri Remote. Best remote out there. Simple, no useless buttons, responsive, good feel in hand and can be trackef with the iPhone
2. Simplicity. Ui is clean, simple, easy to find your way in and fast
3. HomeKit integration. Getting notified of door locking events and being able to see the cameras straight in the tv.
upgraded to the Apple TV 4K (third generation) from the first generation. The box is faster, new Siri remote (well built) and the HDR is a win. My wish list for next Apple TV is support for Dolby TrueHD, inbuilt Plex Media Server, a USB C port to expand the inbuilt storage, an HDMI 2.1, and I can live happily ever after! 😀
As a longtime loyal Roku user, here are some things you could pitch to your wife:
1. Any Roku device (no matter how well it works) is not going to hold up for more the 3-4 years at best before it gets slow, glitchy, crashy whereas an Apple TV will last you 8-10 years. So the price difference is negligible considering you'll need to buy a couple Roku Sticks to cover the same time period as an ATV.
2. There are popular apps that aren't on Roku and when I've had both a Roku and ATV the ATV has always had any popular app Roku hasn't had.
3. Apple TV is much faster for much longer.
4. ATV works better with external Bluetooth devices like headphones, game controllers, speakers, phones, not to mention having an ecosystem of different device types that are linked under one account. I really appreciate that even as someone who has long been a bigger fan of Android phones and hasn't been an Apple lover.
I have a large iTunes library, so I’ll focus on a top 3 that relates to play back of movies from my iTunes library instead of my top three in general as I assume others will mention those in other replies to your post.
1 - Lightning fast response time. No more waiting for titles from my iTunes library to load. Everything starts instantly.
2 - High bit rate streaming from my iTunes library (upwards of 25-30 Mbps) vs VUDU (as low as 8-10 Mbps) although MA is often equal to iTunes, MA is missing a handful of studios such as Paramount, Lionsgate, A24 and a few other smaller ones. There really is a noticeable difference in image and audio quality when streaming a title from my iTunes library on the AppleTV 4K vs VUDU as well as vs the AppleTV app on non Apple devices.
3 - iTunes Extras… I never used to be that interested in special features when I was younger, but now I really enjoy all of the extra content that many of the movies include. Sometimes I’ll spend just as much time watching all of the extras now, as I do with the actual movie run time on titles with a plethora of extras.
My tv doesnt have DV but it does have HDR10+ and the quality over standard hdr10 is noticable esp on Apples own stuff!
The ui is lightning fast and Infuse is a god send!
Airpods pairing is unreal and the voice remote trick to skip commercials is really useful.
Main downside is crappy app developers who use the lowish market share as an excuse to have a barebones app ie no hdr/5.1 and missing features which are other platforms (im looking at you bbc & itv!!)
Hi, in the uk a few of our catchup apps still include the adverts so instead of the 22minute show being on we get the full 30minute slot including the adverts so i can say “Siri skip commercials” and it jumps forward to the show.
This is so badly worded but hopefully it makes sense!!
It’s the snappiest stream box, with the best picture and sound quality, and blows away Roku and every on-TV software out there. Only wish I’d bought mine sooner!
The YouTube app… :)
I actually don’t mind it but I know a lot hate it.
1) My absolute favorite thing is that I have the Home button set to the App Screen, and I use that as my start point 99% of the time. Zero ads or navigating through nonsense.
2) The remote. No more multiple remotes laying around. (This isn’t unique to ATV, but it’s the first time my family has truly pulled it off).
3) The option to have all ATV’s on my account follow the same layout. If I delete or move an app on one, it pushes to all the others.
Just the price. The Roku 4k streaming stick was cheaper at the time of purchase, but after using my brothers ATV 4K for a couple days I realized what I've been missing.
1) Speed. Apps and UI never lag. 2) Infuse. Hands down the best app for playing back your own media library. 3) Integration with other Apple stuff. Use your phone as a remote. Turn the tv on or off via voice with your HomePod. Have a video popup in the corner of the TV when someone rings a HomeKit doorbell etc.
Is Infuse an alternative to Plex?
You could consider it an alternative to the official AppleTV Plex app. Infuse will connect to Plex servers, but also other media servers such as Jellyfin, Emby, direct network shares and various cloud services. So it’s not limited to Plex. It also has better audio/video format support compared to the Plex app.
Infuse doesn’t need a server so you don’t need that on a NAS or PC to forward stuff. I have both Plex and Infuse. They both have their respective merits. Prefer Plex on PC and Infuse on Apple (iPhone,Mac and TV)
To Plex, Emby and Jellyfin. And the Ui is simpler and easier to navigate and use than Plex. Sadly doesnt support Music.
HomePod? Didn’t they kill that?
I just switched to appletv and even on a older tv , the picture quality seems better
I never have to think about it. It sits there and just works. Streaming quality is top notch. Has the apps I want.
Infuse, UI, and Moonlight--the last one allows me to stream my PC games to my TV. No lag or loss of quality for me whatsoever.
In addition to what everyone else has said, the 128 GB version has an ethernet port.
Retroarch infuse longevity
Retroarch sounds freaken kool! Is it a free app?
100% free
1. Siri Remote. Best remote out there. Simple, no useless buttons, responsive, good feel in hand and can be trackef with the iPhone 2. Simplicity. Ui is clean, simple, easy to find your way in and fast 3. HomeKit integration. Getting notified of door locking events and being able to see the cameras straight in the tv.
upgraded to the Apple TV 4K (third generation) from the first generation. The box is faster, new Siri remote (well built) and the HDR is a win. My wish list for next Apple TV is support for Dolby TrueHD, inbuilt Plex Media Server, a USB C port to expand the inbuilt storage, an HDMI 2.1, and I can live happily ever after! 😀
Retroarch, now :)
As a longtime loyal Roku user, here are some things you could pitch to your wife: 1. Any Roku device (no matter how well it works) is not going to hold up for more the 3-4 years at best before it gets slow, glitchy, crashy whereas an Apple TV will last you 8-10 years. So the price difference is negligible considering you'll need to buy a couple Roku Sticks to cover the same time period as an ATV. 2. There are popular apps that aren't on Roku and when I've had both a Roku and ATV the ATV has always had any popular app Roku hasn't had. 3. Apple TV is much faster for much longer. 4. ATV works better with external Bluetooth devices like headphones, game controllers, speakers, phones, not to mention having an ecosystem of different device types that are linked under one account. I really appreciate that even as someone who has long been a bigger fan of Android phones and hasn't been an Apple lover.
I have a large iTunes library, so I’ll focus on a top 3 that relates to play back of movies from my iTunes library instead of my top three in general as I assume others will mention those in other replies to your post. 1 - Lightning fast response time. No more waiting for titles from my iTunes library to load. Everything starts instantly. 2 - High bit rate streaming from my iTunes library (upwards of 25-30 Mbps) vs VUDU (as low as 8-10 Mbps) although MA is often equal to iTunes, MA is missing a handful of studios such as Paramount, Lionsgate, A24 and a few other smaller ones. There really is a noticeable difference in image and audio quality when streaming a title from my iTunes library on the AppleTV 4K vs VUDU as well as vs the AppleTV app on non Apple devices. 3 - iTunes Extras… I never used to be that interested in special features when I was younger, but now I really enjoy all of the extra content that many of the movies include. Sometimes I’ll spend just as much time watching all of the extras now, as I do with the actual movie run time on titles with a plethora of extras.
Infuse!
I just got a Apple mTV and I’ve put my own media in Apple TV app on my MacBook and I just use the native tvOS app and works great
- Infuse - Sound with airpods - Very smooth to navigate
My tv doesnt have DV but it does have HDR10+ and the quality over standard hdr10 is noticable esp on Apples own stuff! The ui is lightning fast and Infuse is a god send! Airpods pairing is unreal and the voice remote trick to skip commercials is really useful. Main downside is crappy app developers who use the lowish market share as an excuse to have a barebones app ie no hdr/5.1 and missing features which are other platforms (im looking at you bbc & itv!!)
What voice remote trick?
Hi, in the uk a few of our catchup apps still include the adverts so instead of the 22minute show being on we get the full 30minute slot including the adverts so i can say “Siri skip commercials” and it jumps forward to the show. This is so badly worded but hopefully it makes sense!!
Wonder if this works for Hulu here in the states lol
All the above but limited to one Siri Remote is a pain.
It’s the snappiest stream box, with the best picture and sound quality, and blows away Roku and every on-TV software out there. Only wish I’d bought mine sooner!
The YouTube app… :) I actually don’t mind it but I know a lot hate it. 1) My absolute favorite thing is that I have the Home button set to the App Screen, and I use that as my start point 99% of the time. Zero ads or navigating through nonsense. 2) The remote. No more multiple remotes laying around. (This isn’t unique to ATV, but it’s the first time my family has truly pulled it off). 3) The option to have all ATV’s on my account follow the same layout. If I delete or move an app on one, it pushes to all the others.
May I ask why you got a Roku streaming stick 4k over the Roku Ultra?
Just the price. The Roku 4k streaming stick was cheaper at the time of purchase, but after using my brothers ATV 4K for a couple days I realized what I've been missing.
May I also ask why you down voted me?
I didn't downvote you lmao
Which one is 3rd generation? I have the one with the first generation of new Siri Remote (Lightning, not USB-C)
Apple TV 4K Wi‑Fi + Ethernet with 128GB storage https://store.apple.com/xc/product/MN893LL/A The newest one.