Do you use apple tv in your home in Thailand?

[davidst01]

If so. How do you rate it?

I will soon be getting HBB fibre optics internet at my house. Will this be sufficient for using apple Tv?

Im on a 1 month trial with netflix. If I get apple tv can I log in via apple tv?

What English news tv channels does apple tv have? What about BBC world news? (the same thats on truevisions cable.

If I have a new apple macbook pro can I play my itunes via apple tv?

What other features or functionality can I use via apple tv?

thanks

[Lite Beer]

I have the old Apple TV.

Works great. Works with Netflix.

Includes Sky News.

You can view or listen to files on your TV that are stored on your computer/MacBook using Airplay.

The new Apple TV allows you to download your own apps from Apple Store.

Twice as expensive though.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Lite Beer

[Mr Red]

Yes -- I have older model, but it works well to connect to iTunes (I have US account) and play movies, music, TV shows, etc. I can view all of my photos on my home computer on the TV thru the Apple TV as well. I also use the Airplay function to play content from my iPhone or iPad -- I use this to view Amazon Prime video feeds. Very worthwhile device.

This link shows what is available on the Apple TV vs its competitors http://www.cnet.com/news/what-you-can-watch-on-the-new-apple-tv-vs-roku-vs-fire-tv-vs-chromecast/

[grahambkk]

I also have the old Apple TV and agree the comments made by Lite Beer.

The picture quality on Sky News and Netflix appears to be very close to HD quality. I can also receive, but rarely watch, ABC News and some other US-based news services--none of them as good as Sky News.

The picture quality of Sky News on the Apple TV service-the international edition of Sky News--is better than the UK-sourced version on Thai Ex-Pat TV. However, you may also like to watch the UK adverts to know what you could/or could NOT be missing back in Blighty... Netflix programme offerings in Thailand are relatively poor compared with the UK.

I have looked at the specs of the new Applle TV box and cannot see anything there that would be of value to me outside the UK or US.

Edited January 26, 2016 by grahambkk

[anfh]

I have latest Apple 4 TV

All has been said before etc, you can load apps directly, and there is a cut down version of Kodi available, but very restrictive due to Apples copyright worries ( I loaded Kodi on smart tv instead via Android )

You can down load games as well, and use remote to play etc

Also, can mirror iPad, therefore, using VPN, you can save programmed via BBC iPlayer etc and watch on TV. ( for some reason, if you try to watch live iPlayer, it will not work, or picture quality is impaired.)

You cannot directly watch UK tv on it, BBC iPlayer app is available but will not work directly from Apple TV here. BBC new is also not available.

Sky News app is available.

There is also a UK radio streaming app which has most UK radio live streaming.

[jphasia]

Yes, I am using Apple TV in my house in Phuket. I have a 3BB FTTH 30M internet connection. I am using it mainly to rent movies online. I have a Thai Apple account. Also using iCloud and having my photos stream on my apple TV. Also using Home sharing to listen music from my Mac directly on the Apple TV. I have just subscribed last week end to the Netflix trial and log in through my Apple TV and it work fine. When log into Netflix trough Apple TV, you have the option to use directly your Apple account. No Problem at all with Apple TV. I am quite happy with the purchase with cost about 3,000 THB. Renting a movie cost around 150 THB which is basically the cost of 1 cinema ticket. As we are watching movies in Family, it is then cheaper than going to the cinema.

[recycler]

If you have an all Apple environment it may be nice, but Apple TV does not give you much freedom to run anything else or watch content from other sources.

A small PC with Linux, Kodi and a Chrome browser gives you Netflix and Kodi has endless plugins and runs any media that you can imagine including what's on your Macbook and iPhone.

[Lenscraft]

I use the Apple TV 4 here in Bangkok and it works okay over a slow ASDL line. It would work much better over a faster connection.

Not sure what 'recycler' is talking about it not working with 'other sources'. I get HBO Now, Netflix, & YouTube. I know it works with Hulu and Amazon Video as well.

[pbassham]

I have the new one, and love it. The addition of apps opens up a lot of possibilities, and more in the future as more apps are released and they get better. If you get a good VPN or SmartDNS service, you should be able to watch Netflix just like any other streaming box. And apps like Plex, VLC, and Infuse let you browse a local computer on the same network and stream any media from it pretty effortlessly. It has built-in capability to stream from your iTunes, but I use Plex the most and it does a good job of organizing everything, adding metadata, and making everything pretty and easy. The games are also nice, especially if you have kids. You can use the included controller or buy 3rd party bluetooth controllers to play multiplayer and it becomes a nice little gaming system for cheap.

[recycler]

I use the Apple TV 4 here in Bangkok and it works okay over a slow ASDL line. It would work much better over a faster connection.

Not sure what 'recycler' is talking about it not working with 'other sources'. I get HBO Now, Netflix, & YouTube. I know it works with Hulu and Amazon Video as well.

With other sources I mean that I can do Netflix, HBO, YouTube on my small PC with Ubuntu Linux, but in addition I can install Kodi media center (formerly known as XBMC) that does all that the Apple TV does and in addition stream content from hundreds of sources all over the world, many legal, some maybe not.

I bought an Apple TV first generation when it was just released in 2007 and ended up hacking it to install than XBMC to be able to enjoy it. The current generation of Apple TV is not so easy to hack and it locks you in what Apple wants you to see. So at 150 - 200 US$ plus paid content it's not cheap. The Linux or even Android boxes with Kodi give you all the paid content, much more freedom and a lot of free content too.

[Phaeton]

I have an older Apple TV. One good thing about it is that it is fairly easy to use settings inside the unit, to define a DNS. And say that I am in the U.S. This sounds techy, but there is a youtube video that shows you how to do it. And it is just a few steps. This makes the machine pretend it is in the U.S. which gives me access to complete Netflix. Not sure if the newer units allow this.

But even without that, I think it is a very good device. I started watching Bosch last night, a good Amazon show based on some novels I liked. I used a vpn app on my phone, to pretend the phone was in the U.S., and airplayed that, through apple tv to my TV. And I was very happy. Again, it sounds techy. But airplay is easy. Ummm if you have an iPhone. Not sure otherwise.

I read Amazon may soon offer an Apple TV app.

I watched NFL.com this season, on the app that is on the apple TV. That made me very happy.

Fiber would be awesome. I watch on a sketchy True DSL connection, and usually things look great.

I find myself renting movies quite a bit these days via iTunes. The quality is very good. And for $3.99 U.S. the convenience and quality are well worth it.

[roadrunerboi]

Am using ATV over wifi and its still awesome!

[Dustdevil]

I don't live in Thailand but visit Chiang Mai frequently. For what it's worth, I already have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sling, so I just watch those with a VPN on my tablet. For large-screen T.V at home, I also use an ASUS Media player with USB port and HDMI cable to watch stuff I've downloaded. Cables may be old-fashioned but they don't need no stinking Thai WiFi.

[HerbalEd]

I also have the old Apple TV and agree the comments made by Lite Beer.

The picture quality on Sky News and Netflix appears to be very close to HD quality. I can also receive, but rarely watch, ABC News and some other US-based news services--none of them as good as Sky News.

The picture quality of Sky News on the Apple TV service-the international edition of Sky News--is better than the UK-sourced version on Thai Ex-Pat TV. However, you may also like to watch the UK adverts to know what you could/or could NOT be missing back in Blighty... Netflix programme offerings in Thailand are relatively poor compared with the UK.

I have looked at the specs of the new Applle TV box and cannot see anything there that would be of value to me outside the UK or US.

Personally I really like the added features on the new Apple TV, especially being able to use Siri. I also very much like being able to tell "her" to instantly skip back 5 seconds to play a segment I didn't hear well, and to add subtitle to that segment so I get it right.

Also, the new Apple TV is much much easier to key in words which is frustrating and s-l-o-w with the older unit.

Edited January 26, 2016 by HerbalEd

[GinBoy2]

I run an ATV Gen 3.

Works fine, I also run Roku's and the app's mostly overlap. I keep the ATV mainly since the CBS on the apple works great, whereas on the Roku it's a piece of crap.

In terms of flexibility and ability to switch/decide which region you want to reside, I have to say the Roku is the better option.

[Phaeton]

I run an ATV Gen 3.

Works fine, I also run Roku's and the app's mostly overlap. I keep the ATV mainly since the CBS on the apple works great, whereas on the Roku it's a piece of crap.

In terms of flexibility and ability to switch/decide which region you want to reside, I have to say the Roku is the better option.

On the ATV that I have it seems straightforward to set a U.S. DNS and do other things to convince the device you are in the U.S. Netflix runs fine that way. When I tried my Roku, there didn't seem to be this possibility. Is it possible to do this on the Roku? Or you do it at the level of your network?

[GinBoy2]

I run an ATV Gen 3.

Works fine, I also run Roku's and the app's mostly overlap. I keep the ATV mainly since the CBS on the apple works great, whereas on the Roku it's a piece of crap.

In terms of flexibility and ability to switch/decide which region you want to reside, I have to say the Roku is the better option.

On the ATV that I have it seems straightforward to set a U.S. DNS and do other things to convince the device you are in the U.S. Netflix runs fine that way. When I tried my Roku, there didn't seem to be this possibility. Is it possible to do this on the Roku? Or you do it at the level of your network?

I do all the geo masking at the router. On Roku it's impossible to manually set the DNS anymore, that disappeared several software revisions ago, plus the sneaky b*stards are also using forced DNS lookup, which involves some router script to get around.

Don't get me wrong I like ATV, but I'm a little agnostic, not a fanboy of any of them so I use them all. The big negatives on ATV for me are the lack of VUDU and Amazon. In fact the limited channels available is a bit of a downer compared to Roku. DD+ is also a little problematic on ATV3, since you cant use HDMI, you must use an optical cable, but thats fixable easily enough.

But I do love my CBS channel and since the Roku app is so awful, I keep ATV around

[tominbkk]

I have the new ATV, what everyone else says, works really really great.

[DaveBKK]

The new Apple TV 4 is a bit more flexible than the older models. It can play any file, .mkv, .avi etc (through infuse or vlc apps). It can connect to network drives, smb, etc. New apps are coming every day, for example WatchUp app grabs news clips from Sky, BBC, CNN...like 150 sources than you can watch from.

And the real kicker.... Casual games. Want to kill a few minutes, load up a quick game without the cost of Xbox, etc.

[nullx8]

Better get a used mac mini and install xbmc on it.

[SooKee]

I really like the ATV I use a v3 here in LOS but will upgrade to a v4 soon, esp now they've updated the remote app to work with it. There is also a VLC app for it now which means I can stream my ripped DVDs in any format without having to covert to MP4 and play via iTunes.

What's surprising though is the significant price difference between ATV4 here in LOS (8,500 baht) vs Malaysia (RM 729 = 6,237). I'll be in Penang in a month or two so will pick one up then. Many of the Apple products work out ROUGHLY the same price, even with the RM/Baht exchange rates which Apple often adjusts with their price hikes, but this item is really way out in price.

[DaveBKK]

The large price difference might be due to Thai tariffs. Because it's a "TV" device might put it into a whole different tariff bracket.

[DaveBKK]

Btw, Thai Channel 7 just released their own app for the Apple TV. I suspect all the Thai channels will follow suit. Who needs cable or TrueVisions any longer??

[Cynical Sailor]

I use Apple TV and can highly recommend it. I use a VPN on my iPhone and stream Netflix through wifi from any country I choose as the content varies considerably.

[SooKee]

The large price difference might be due to Thai tariffs. Because it's a "TV" device might put it into a whole different tariff bracket.

Yah. May well be. Few hundred baht out and I'd likely not bother but 2,200 is worth saving if you're in no rush, 30% or so more expensive in LOS is much more than normal so I'd guess there'd have to be something causing it. Odd, as normally, Apple prices are pretty similar wherever, aside from VAT issues.

Btw, Thai Channel 7 just released their own app for the Apple TV. I suspect all the Thai channels will follow suit. Who needs cable or TrueVisions any longer??

Another reason, for me at least, to upgrade to v4, esp now the remote app has been made compatible. The lack of that was the main thing holding me back. The regular addition of apps is great, esp VLC so it can now play in any format without having to install plex

Edited February 9, 2016 by SooKee

[webcrawler00]

I never buy any Apple products in Thailand. So much cheaper in Hong Kong or elsewhere where there are low or no taxes.

[stergthai]

I bought an Apple TV in the US. Wondering if I will need an adapter or a converter to plug it into an outlet in Thailand. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Lenscraft]

I bought an Apple TV in the US. Wondering if I will need an adapter or a converter to plug it into an outlet in Thailand. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Nope, it adapts to world power supplies and (most) Thai sockets will accept USA-style plugs. I've been using mine (purchased in the States) here for months.

[myprivate]

I also have the old Apple TV and agree the comments made by Lite Beer.

The picture quality on Sky News and Netflix appears to be very close to HD quality. I can also receive, but rarely watch, ABC News and some other US-based news services--none of them as good as Sky News.

The picture quality of Sky News on the Apple TV service-the international edition of Sky News--is better than the UK-sourced version on Thai Ex-Pat TV. However, you may also like to watch the UK adverts to know what you could/or could NOT be missing back in Blighty... Netflix programme offerings in Thailand are relatively poor compared with the UK.

I have looked at the specs of the new Applle TV box and cannot see anything there that would be of value to me outside the UK or US.

I also have an older Apple TV but there's no Sky News App on the home page. Any tips how to get it. I'm in Thailand BTW.

[SooKee]

Do you have a UK iTunes account? If so you need to logged into that to get the Sky News app

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