How does apple tv have the best PQ and SQ?

[aeroash]

The remote and navigation of the sony is poor to put it lightly with gazillion buttons that you hardly use. PQ has been very good compared to LG but we are comparing apples and oranges here. LG remote and navigation has been not an issue.

It has been a general problem to move the movie timeline slider to exactly where you want in both the tvs. This issue looks like been efficiently solved in the apple tv using the jog wheel. Another issue is general usability of voice commands especially in sony.

I cannot discern any difference between the PQ from the apps on my Sony and the PQ on the ATV 4k; then again, I do not have a keen eye. I'm perfectly happy with the PQ on both.

The sole reason I acquired an ATV 4k was for the clean UI and the terrific remote (latest version). Once you get used to the jog wheel there's no going back. The UI is slick, and in conjunction with the jog wheel, which is also a touch pad, browsing is snappy. The voice input on the remote to search for titles is quick and works as expected.
In comparison, Android TV is clunky, and stutters (occassionaly, it's annoying to me nonetheless) ) on my TV. I'm not sure if Android TV isn't smooth enough or the TV processor isn't able to keep up with the UI.

 

[sandeepmohan]

But I would still want to juice up my TV as display for many more years, without having you resort to an external player.

If you are happy with what you see on your display, don't bother with an external streamer.
If you want to dip your hands into the media streamer space, I'd say borrow an Apple TV (even last gen is fine as Apple are pretty good at updates), Shield, Roku or whatever and see for yourself.
I don't use an external streamer. I am okay with what my Sony does, except that its a bit slow to respond and Android tends to throw a fit once in a while which can render the TV useless.

 

[k-pad]

I have sony 65 A8 OLED and LG 55 CX OLED.

The remote and navigation of the sony is poor to put it lightly with gazillion buttons that you hardly use. PQ has been very good compared to LG but we are comparing apples and oranges here. LG remote and navigation has been not an issue.

I have none of the streaming devices. But if any would provide better navigation coupled with better PQ and voice integration, I would not hesitate to jump.

It has been a general problem to move the movie timeline slider to exactly where you want in both the tvs. This issue looks like been efficiently solved in the apple tv using the jog wheel. Another issue is general usability of voice commands especially in sony.

I was initially worried if the PQ will not be as good as native apps because of deep integration but from reading the forums, looks like nvidea shield and apple tv betters inbuilt apps and apple tv more so.

Hence confused how it is possible and hence the question. This is all the history.

OP, you have a UI problem.
I don't think an Apple TV or a Shield can improve PQ of an A8. It is a legendary display. I seriously doubt any of today's TVs can do what the A8 does, even now. Preserve it, cherish it.
SQ is a toss up, it is for you to decide. Again, I don't think an ATV or a Shield will solve SQ issues.

 

[msankadi]

The owner's thread is full of such reviews.

Apple TV 4K - Owners Thread!

www.hifivision.com

Similar cases with other forums whose links iam not sure I can post.

And one of my friends here got an apple tv recently and is of the opinion that PQ and SQ is 2 notches above what the LG OLED produces with native apps and ARC for the SAME streaming content, only different apps.

The title says it all in my opinion. As I said, get out of biased threads or dedicated apple forums. People just trying to justify their purchases and why they overspent, don't know what is the technical name of this cognitive bias but it is one of the very basic ones. My city is the best, my country is the best, my device is the best etc

 

[milestoneseeker]

Can't speak about the PQ or SQ but I can confirm one thing - the user experience via ATV is miles ahead of native apps. I have LG C7 and the Hotstar is app is utter crap. Amazon Prime too suffers from stability issues. I have not had one reason to complain since I bought the latest ATV. Better user experience itself adds to a potential placebo effect when it comes to PQ.

 

[BLASTO]

The title says it all in my opinion. As I said, get out of biased threads or dedicated apple forums. People just trying to justify their purchases and why they overspent, don't know what is the technical name of this cognitive bias but it is one of the very basic ones. My city is the best, my country is the best, my device is the best etc

Endowment effect?

It is not like their TVs are borrowed.. They own both the devices and are comparing the PQ with native vs ATV apps..

Please post some links I can refer.

 

[Bloom@83]

The title says it all in my opinion. As I said, get out of biased threads or dedicated apple forums. People just trying to justify their purchases and why they overspent, don't know what is the technical name of this cognitive bias but it is one of the very basic ones. My city is the best, my country is the best, my device is the best etc

Look who’s lecturing about biases.

 

[DB1989]

I have netflix on Sony tv, firestick and xbox. The only thing that beats xbox is Bluray on xbox.

This is news to me. I had an Xbox One for a couple of years and never bothered to watch any content on it

SQ through PS5 is audibly inferior to my TV and firestick

 

[DB1989]

In comparison, Android TV is clunky, and stutters (occassionaly, it's annoying to me nonetheless) ) on my TV. I'm not sure if Android TV isn't smooth enough or the TV processor isn't able to keep up with the UI.

Depends on the TV and it's processing capabilities including how well it's optimised by the manufacturers. Basically, Think of it as an Android phone simpliciter.

To clarify, it runs smoothly on both the MiTV 4X and Sony X95G.

 

[msankadi]

Look who’s lecturing about biases.

I have crossed a few stages, at least I am well aware of my biases now

 

[msankadi]

Endowment effect?

It is not like their TVs are borrowed.. They own both the devices and are comparing the PQ with native vs ATV apps..

Please post some links I can refer.

No definitely not borrowed but in this case it will be even stronger...imagine you had bought a 1 lakh tv and 'think' that based on some reviews spending another 20-25k on apple tv 'might help improve the picture quality'.

So, after you spend the 20k you will definitely need to justify to yourself and others why you spent 20k more for something which could have been done free (with tv) or cheaper (with other streamers including nuc).

 

[chander]

Without fuelling the fire or irking the trigger happy here - a general observation.

Also I have no experience with your specific TV the Sony A8 - but I have seen and extensively experienced the Android TV implementation on high end Sony TVs so will keep that as the criteria.

If you are looking at improving your PQ & SQ with an ATV 4K, I am not sure if the improvement (if any at all) will be as per your expectations. There is no way to tell for anyone other than you. I can only share what I felt or experienced but that can be easily categorised as user bias/ purchase justification/fanboy gloating or just simply uneducated .

Why I say this "There is no way to tell for anyone other than you" is because - though there are many people who swear by LG OLEDs, I however found the picture extremely unnatural on the LGs and I find the picture disturbing. It isn't LG's fault but different strokes for different folks, is something we easily forget in this hobby.

NOW - However if you want to elevate your overall streaming experience (barring the PQ&SQ improvement); just the day to day usage and consumption - IN MY CASE - I believe this is the best device out there for the user experience if your primary media is streaming. It works flawlessly, I have never experienced glitches/issues with the OS & Apps, and it just works - every single time - it just works.
**For example - Youtube (it is a google app) freezes on my Android phones including - Pixel 4XL, but Youtube works flawlessly, with no issues at all (functionally) - on on my apple devices including ATV4K.

IN MY CASE - I found the Sony, LG, Samsung and VU - TV OS UI, extremely cumbersome and unintuitive, compared to the ATV 4K.

****I have used Shield, Dedicated Media PC, Plex server, Xbox series S/X and ATV4K for streaming/media playback - so I am sharing my experience.

 

[Love4sound]

From that thread, there are at least eight people I respect:
@insane79 @ankitbhargava @Love4sound @liverpool_for_life @fLUX @msankadi @frankmehta @chander
And a few others whose opinions I really value.
But how any of them rates ATV over Shield is not really clear on that thread.
Maybe, they are right.
Maybe, we need a device to stream stuff (A couple of them are projector people also)
But, I still insist, if you have a top-shelf LG or Sony, everything works like a dream.
And for local files, Plex or Kodi do really get the job done without a device.
I may be grossly wrong, but it comes from my limited experience.
Either way, putting this thread on watch. Would want to listen to more opinions.
Wishing you the best.
Regards

If only OTT Apple TV is the better choice over shield IMO. It is easily available and you get service support as well. Shield has the upper hand when it comes to local play back.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

But how any of them rates ATV over Shield is not really clear on that thread.

Never used a Shield, so don't know. I love Apple TV+ content. First-class audio and video quality. Netflix original programming is pretty darned good as well. The other streaming services don't get close to these two, from the little I've seen of them. I'll still watch stuff occasionally on them (Chernobyl, Mare of Easttown etc) if the content is compelling enough, but I keep PQ and SQ expectations low. Even then, I'll often find myself wishing it was on Apple TV+ or Netflix instead

As for recent movies, I find iTunes good enough. I turn up the volume, if required, to get to a similar perception of loudness wrt disc. Older movies on Netflix look worse to me. Again, I tend to reset my expectations for those. Still get taken out of movies with video artifacts that are obvious even to my untrained eye. It is what is, unless I pony up for a Kaleidescape (unlikely).

Bottom line: If everything on streaming sounded and looked as good as Apple TV+ content does for me, I wouldn't miss discs. At all. YMMV.

 

[Raj22]

Interesting thread.

I have picked up Apple TV 4K a month or so back and here are my observations:

UI is very smooth and almost all apps are way better than my LG C9 or some Sony and Samsung TV apps I have encountered.

I say almost all.. because there’s a big catch to this statement which i was surprised to find.
Netflix app is not as good as it’s on my LG TV, it’s a bit buggy in the way it works. This I’m sure is Netflix issue — Netflix app is great on my iPhone and iPad. So they must be doing something wrong on the Apple TV, anyone else using this can weigh in.

Here’s the bigger issue if you are using a Dolby Vision supported TV. When we use the features Match Dynamic Range and Frame rate..when it switches between DV content and regular content, the screen blacks out and comes back on after a couple of seconds. If it’s off, all contact which is not DV is also pushed as DV content! This is the main issue I’m annoyed with. I have the same issue when I connect it to the TV or the AVR.
If anyone knows how to deal with this issue, please do let me know.

Other than these issues specifically, everything else is great. The audio and video quality when streaming is better than the apps on my TV. Hopefully these will get ironed out soon.

After posting this, I have decided to reset the device to factory settings. Will update on my observations once it’s all setup.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

General consensus here and in other pro forums is that the apple tv apps are best in displaying streaming content.

I am confused as to how it is possible since the streaming bitrate is source restricted (restricted in netflix/prime servers for example). Is it possible to display same bitrate content differently by processing in the receiving side alone?

Or does apple tv get preferential treatment from the servers through some business deals etc?

Either ways, it feels natural to expect the native tv apps (eg: LG OLED apps) to perform better than generic apps because they are custom built for the platform and the display capabilities of the tv. How does apple tv break this seemingly natural expectation on every single device?

Or is it a placebo introduced by seamless integration in other areas (fluid UI, superior OS graphics, navigation etc) that we come to the conclusion that the AV quality is also better?

Iam not talking about upscale capabilities which the apple tv seem to posses lots of. Iam talking about solely playing back 4k native streaming content. What is superior in the apple tv apps that furthers better playback compared to other streamers and native tv apps out there?

If anyone knows please enlighten.

I cannot discern any difference between the PQ from the apps on my Sony and the PQ on the ATV 4k; then again, I do not have a keen eye. I'm perfectly happy with the PQ on both.

The sole reason I acquired an ATV 4k was for the clean UI and the terrific remote (latest version). Once you get used to the jog wheel there's no going back. The UI is slick, and in conjunction with the jog wheel, which is also a touch pad, browsing is snappy. The voice input on the remote to search for titles is quick and works as expected.
In comparison, Android TV is clunky, and stutters (occassionaly, it's annoying to me nonetheless) ) on my TV. I'm not sure if Android TV isn't smooth enough or the TV processor isn't able to keep up with the UI.

The only reason I still didn’t get one is the audio resampling to 48khz. Other than this, Apple TV is to me superior than any other “box”. Apple TV + dual HomePod setup is easily an elegant alternative to a soundbar.

 

[drkrack]

good TV with google tv or even android tv with a native app?

Projectors Benq HT 3050 1080p and Epson 9400 Connected to Marantz 7010 and 8015 respectively.

But that also calls for a new device, right?

Yes, Netflix on Sony BDP doesn't do Atmos, also many streaming apps not available on Sony BDP. If you are mostly into streaming, You will need a dedicated Streamer anyway.

 

[ssf]

This is news to me. I had an Xbox One for a couple of years and never bothered to watch any content on it

SQ through PS5 is audibly inferior to my TV and firestick

The SQ is better than the others. I tried it again last night. Netflix on TV at the same volume, dialogs, so so. Had to pay attention to understand.

On Xbox One S, no issues at all. Dialogs very clear. Sound effects too are better than the other two.

 

[Murlidher]

I guess ATV doesn't support DTS upmixers for 2.0 OTT content and it can only pass through Dolby upmixers. Same with my LG OLED. I don't get to use Neuralx upmixers for 2.0 content. Not a deal breaker but something to note....

 

[superczar]

The SQ is better than the others. I tried it again last night. Netflix on TV at the same volume, dialogs, so so. Had to pay attention to understand.

On Xbox One S, no issues at all. Dialogs very clear. Sound effects too are better than the other two.

Is the xbox set to bitstream? Also, is the TV audio via eARC?

Reason to ask is that the unprocessed audio track, if bitstreamed without additional processing on the renderer/player should sound exactly the same (or with subtle differences at most)

The only scenario in which there will be a large difference is when one of the devices under comparison is doing additional processing or normalization.

PQ can vary (e.g. some may prefer the color calibrated / frame rate matched output of ATV while others may prefer the upscaled o/p from a shield) but the Audio stream is meant to be unprocessed and shouldn’t really differ