AppleTV X - I am playing with something new

[Xymox]

Oh there are other truly incredible systems here. Maybe flavors of incredible too BEST is really a relative thing. I think each one is personal.

Vinyl has its own wonders that are different from digital.

Its possible to play super high bit rate UPnP video files off the Taiko on the ATVX using the VLC app BTW

 

[Zeotrope]

FYI- the screen saver can be manually started by pressing the “<“ button 3x quickly.
Edit: no, this doesn’t work when a movie is paused, for example.
Anyone know how to easily start the screen saver on demand?

 

[Xymox]

FYI- the screen saver can be manually started by pressing the “<“ button 3x quickly.
Edit: no, this doesn’t work when a movie is paused, for example.
Anyone know how to easily start the screen saver on demand?

I remember having the screen saver start one time while I was madly pressing buttons. Good find, 3X <

I wonder if these behaviors are also defined, or redefined, by each app.

Yea I just recently discovered how to terminate a app. double click the menu button then either swipe up or double click up while on the app.. I have to do this now and then on the Pluto app as it gets really confuzed and video is half off the screen. Its a pluto bug. Every once in a LONG while I have to restart it. It can get into a weird mode and is a bit juddery in video. When TVOS 16 updated, it landed in a weird state of kinda bad picture and this required a FULL power cycle to clear. I am usally on the beta tho and so my experience may differ. You can get it doing beta, if your daring, pretty easy. Just go here, sign up, then go to your update on the ATV and "use beta". This can be a bit dangerous being on a beta. So you should know what your doing. https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram

Yes while I can make it a wonderful picture and sound electronically, its still a AppleTV and so has all the quirks that come with that. I do not, cant and wound not fiddle with firmware so its just a AppleTV,, with MUCH better electronic performance.

 

[Xymox]

Oh ****.. Looks like Apple hides away some features in weird ways..

"You can start the screen saver at any time. Just go to the top-left corner of the Home screen on your Apple TV and press the Menu button on your Apple TV Remote. "

This will require some poking to figure this out.. hahaha..

 

[Zeotrope]

Oh ****.. Looks like Apple hides away some features in weird ways..

"You can start the screen saver at any time. Just go to the top-left corner of the Home screen on your Apple TV and press the Menu button on your Apple TV Remote. "

This will require some poking to figure this out.. hahaha..

I read that but have no idea what it means! How do you go to the “top left” corner when there is no pointer? Especially for Apple, this is a very cryptic tip.
I haven’t had any issues with the screen saver, so I think I’ll just leave it to auto start after 5 min. The worry is pausing content and forgetting it or leaving it too long with the display on.

It’s also probably a good idea to periodically restart the ATV (just like any PC; note that Taiko Extreme also benefits from this).

 

[Xymox]

I read that but have no idea what it means! How do you go to the “top left” corner when there is no pointer? Especially for Apple, this is a very cryptic tip.
I haven’t had any issues with the screen saver, so I think I’ll just leave it to auto start after 5 min. The worry is pausing content and forgetting it or leaving it too long with the display on.

It’s also probably a good idea to periodically restart the ATV (just like any PC; note that Taiko Extreme also benefits from this).

Yea, a restart now and then is most likely a good idea. I usually do it because of beta updates. But yea, all digital things need rebooting now and then. A full power cycle tho is really rare. I have only seen a need once, that just recently when Apple went from 15.x to 16.0 for the main firmware. I was running on a beta 16.x and when it jumped to being the main release that got weird and the video was juddery and the menu was slow. Restart did not fix it. A full power cycle did. Could be because I was on the beta and then it main to main release.

I don't know of any issues with the screensaver currently. I also dont know of any issues with sleep or power off/on. In the recommended settings for the ATVX I err on the side of caution tho.

 

[Zeotrope]

After a few days’ use I can report that the ATV X is a Game-Changer. Image quality is stunning. It’s actually better than my Kaleidescape (itself using an upgraded linear power supply). There is more visible detail and better overall contrast.
The K-scape has better sound, but that’s because applicable content has lossless audio, while the ATV has to contend with compressed files. Still, I would not buy the Kaleidescape if I could only buy one device, I would be happy with the ATVX. It negates the need for a K-scape, especially at 3-4X lower cost. I realize there are other benefits to the K-scape, and I would really like to see a “Kaleidescape-X” to see what can be done with less compression.

Overall, the ATVX is a must-have for anyone who has a great system and cares about the best image and sound quality.

 

[Xymox]

Thankyou for such a nice review. My intent when I decided to sell these was to provide this amazing experience to others. I also wanted to start a conversation about what is wrong with HDMI and streaming platforms electronically. I have the same experence as all the owners. Each time I watch I still go "wow" at some point.. Its a amazing experience and it defies belief that streaming can be so good.

I love hearing from users who are enjoying it. Your emails have been great fun.

Yes, if I could get K-Scape to make a AppleTV app that could stream from the local server.. Well.. There we go...

VLC can stream super high bitrate files from a local PnP server like a Taiko. So im sure K-Scape could stream to the ATV X. But its most likely a legal issue why they cant. Or maybe they can with enough encryption. There is a powerful CPU in a ATV.

Thanks again Zeotrope.

 

[Zeotrope]

I want to thank you again for going through the extreme efforts to not only envision and create the ATVX; but to offer it to the world. Many times inventors decide to not go through the efforts of commercialization. The fact that anyone can buy this, at a reasonable cost, is amazing. So thank you!

 

[Xymox]

I have a announcement.

I am moving my buis to a bigger facility. I need more room for a bigger lab and more production space.

This will mean some downtime for production. I am planning to be down starting 11/13 and resuming shipments on 12/15 with higher capacity. I am taking orders now for shipment before the move. There is stock now and my distributor has stock. So I do not anticipate any gap in supplying orders. However. There are reviews in progress and I do not know when those will hit and these could deplete stock. If you want one before Christmas, now is the time to order up.

The move will be great. I will have 3 times more room for a lab setup and double the production space. I will be able to do serious engineering and make lots of ATV Xs

 

[Xymox]

I want to thank you again for going through the extreme efforts to not only envision and create the ATVX; but to offer it to the world. Many times inventors decide to not go through the efforts of commercialization. The fact that anyone can buy this, at a reasonable cost, is amazing. So thank you!

Your welcome. It IS a lot of work. It was a debate if I wanted to go thru the effort to make these. Doing the production is fairly grueling. I can only make 2 a day as it causes my fingers to hurt and my brain to warp. Plus all the normal issue with electronic production and these days with supply chain weirdness. BUT its been worth it. I think I stumbled onto something that might change the human visual model and alter HDMI testing and specs. So it might lead to new science. You can't measure what your seeing as the difference, even tho is just shockingly obvious. Next year I want to do some science and work to track down what to measure that we have missed so far. Its a REALLY important thing. Like jitter in audio. There is something going on that we dont know to measure yet..

So that is the exciting part for me and the big reason I made these.

So far EVERYONE who sees one sees the same thing. Its WAY better. This is statistics and math that shows something is up. I wanted to see how this went and I was surprized its been 100%. I had a guy who played with one on a Walmart Viseo LCD for fun and he said "It sure does not look like a Viseo anymore". I have a bunch of people who used it VS a TVs apps, and it easily wins. I have had them put into video distribution systems and they still make people go "wow" even after all sorts of wire and processing. I have a client with one on a giant video wall with 12 combined screens and a processor and he tells me people stop and just stare at it going "wow".

And then there is the sound.. And everyone here has killer sound systems. Everybody raves about the sound. If you have a great system its just stunning what can come from it for streaming.

I am always happy to hear from each client to hear what they think. Each client is research for me.

Thanks again, and of course thanks to all the owners here on Whats Best.

 

[Zeotrope]

TOTALLY agree. And to be clear, I have zero affiliation to the company. I was sceptical at first: not whether there would be an improvement, but as to the magnitude of the improvement.
If there was content I was looking forward to watching, I would first try to find it on Kaleidescape, and would be disappointed if it wasn’t there (which is often the case). No longer. I’m actually excited to watch on ATVX now.

 

[Xymox]

The ATVX, myself, along with audio / video industry folks are in the room discussing it in a new TV series that will be about insanity high end systems. This was a fun, but EXHAUSTING day of TV production. The series has a bunch of filming to do and is next year. Exciting seeing the ATVX get noticed by the industry.

 

[Brucemck2]

The ATVX is terrific. Any other devices you’ve got your sights on?

 

[Xymox]

The ATVX is terrific. Any other devices you’ve got your sights on?

Not until after I settle into my new location. But next year, who knows yet. I fixed something fundamental that applies to a lot more the HDMI. I addressed TDMS Modulation and the chips before it. I learned some interesting stuff. USB and Ethernet are TDMS too. HDMI is the most difficult because its 4 channels of it and very high speed. So I think what I learned also can easily apply to all flavors of TDMS.

So.. WHo knows what is next. I will have a bigger and very dedicated lab for this pursuit. First tho, I gotta get a ton of stuff moved and then all setup in a new facility. First is to get production back up, and that looks easy and shipping ATVXs by dec 15th. Then the lab deplotement by Christmas. So I should be good to start off the year looking at new things to work on. I am shifting my work focus to do only this work.

Should be fun

 

[Xymox]

Hmmm... This new AppleTV seems to have gone thru cheapening. Its 1/2 the weight, which is BAD. They only way to do that is elminate the ultra cool metal blocks that do such a killer job of RF noise shielding. The A15 cpu chip is just because they dont make the A12 anymore. And the current UI is faster then my my thumb now. They did not add any new HDMI features other the HDR10+ ( useless ).. No one even uses the 32GB, so the 128GB flash is useless.

I dont see any reason I would want this...

Also.. Its been thru a cheapening process.. It seems its to compete with Roku and give it a CPU they are making still.

I will get one on the day it ships and pop it open, but, I think this is a step backwards as far as performance goes. BUT that was what I was already hearing.

So the ATV 4K 2021 may end up being the best one they every made.

 

[Xymox]

It appears Apple got rid of the metal in the new unit. It would be way cheaper to make, and ship, but less performace for sure... I admit I did not expect them to do a really big cheapening..

This part

 

[Zeotrope]

Makes sense. The stars aligned and we got lucky to have the 2nd Gen Apple TV and your skills @Xymox.
Time to buy up remaining stock of the 2nd Gen 32GB units!

 

[TommyC]

The new Apple TV is fanless, so less vibration?

 

[Zeotrope]

How long would you say it takes the power supply or internal caps to stabilize after a power failure?
With the Taiko Extreme, for example, it’s 3-5 days before it sounds its best…