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[sonycowboy]

The negative comment is pretty much in line with my concerns. It seems problematic for games and problematic for people with bandwidth limitations such as caps. So there isn't some magic sauce that is being overlooked that makes this a non issue.

How does bandwidth caps come into play? Instead of downloading 2GB, you only download 200MB (and then 2GB) afterwards (if the dev really needs it all immediately or is lazy and wants to pull it all down immediately). So, for the initial purchase, it has 0 effect on your bandwidth. Going forward, you could "imagine" a situation where you're downloading the same 2GB over and over and over again, but in reality, that's not going to happen. If you're really using the app that much, it's NOT going to get deleted. It's other apps which are rarely used which will get purged first...

The app assets are only downloaded when they're needed so if it takes a month to get to level 10, that's when you'll download it. And if you never needed it, it never gets downloaded... And why keep level 1 when ~most folks won't play it again.

App Thinning is a "for the user" kind of thing and other than perhaps the slight inconvenience of having to wait for a resource, it's a really, really good deal for the consumer. We've all had to make the decision to delete apps because we ran low on space... This feature has the capacity to make it where that just doesn't happen. You'd need like ~300 apps (OK, if all apps took 200MB and say you actually got 24GB of usable space on the 32GB version, you'd be able to download 120, but the average size won't be 200MB).

Yes, the apps have to slim down to 200MB by putting multiple portions of the app into discrete app bundles, but there's already far more significant changes you have to make to an iOS app to get approved for Apple TV than actually tagging your resources appropriately. I'll trust the app developer quoted above, but it's actually very hard to have a standard app where you aren't putting your resources into the resource bundle and get anywhere close to 200MB sans the resources. It was a trivial matter for my company to tag the images, multimedia (sound, video), etc we use in our apps... Not that we were close to being a huge app by any means. I'm sure it's the game developers that are the most impacted as they have non-trivial resources (game levels, high resolution artwork, music/sounds) that they've probably had complete control over how they packaged them before and now will need to slice it up, but it's really not going to be a big deal...

 

[Raistlin]

As a digital movie noob can you explain why?

• Largest HD selection. Or at least it used to. If not currently it's still one of the largest
• HDX - While other services are finally catching up, on average it still has the best encodes full stop. 1080p24 with nominal bitrates of 9.5 Mbps and peaks as high as 20 Mbps. All coupled with Dolby Digital Plus audio.
• Competitive prices
• Is available practically everywhere - TV's, BD players, set-top boxes, PC, consoles. Probably second to only Netflix in that regard. About as 'play anywhere' as any service.
• Disc to Digital - On your PC or at Walmart stores, can get a digital copy upgrade for a reasonable fee of your existing DVDs or BDs (including HD from your DVD).
• InstaView - When you buy qualifying DVDs and Blu-rays at Walmart or on Walmart.com, they'll automatically add it to your VUDU account. Think of it like Amazon's AutoRip for CDs.
• VUDU To Go - You can download movies/TV on several devices including PC, mobile devices, consoles, etc.
• Supports UltraViolet
• Support Disney Movies Anywhere
• Lots of sales

So basically they've always been the most progressive in terms of A/V quality and features like super high bitrate 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus (and shortly Dolby Atmos and 4K with Dolby Vision HDR), adopting joint services like UltraViolet and Disney Anywhere, and offering usability and accessibility features like Disc to Digital, VUDU to Go, automatic 'Instaview' syncing with BluRay purchases, etc. On top of this they offer their apps on anywhere that will have them and have the largest library of HD content. The fact they have competitive pricing including actually offering more sales than the competition makes it a no brainer IMO.

Overall they've been the best since the beginning, and are constantly upgrading with new features, tech, and content. For a while I was scared when WalMart bought them, but instead of resting on their laurels they've continued to improve.

Been using it for years, and still haven't seen a reason to move (and I've tested basically all services).

 

[Zeyphersan]

• Largest HD selection. Or at least it used to. If not currently, it's still one of the largest
• HDX - While other services are finally catching up, on average it still has the best encodes full stop. 1080p24 with nominal bitrates of 9.5 Mbps and peaks as high as 20 Mbps. All coupled with Dolby Digital Plus audio.
• Competitive prices
• Is available practically everywhere - TV's, BD players, set-top boxes, PC, consoles. Probably second to only Netflix in that regard. About as play anywhere as any service.
• Disc to Digital - On your PC or at Walmart stores, can get a digital copy upgrade for a reasonable fee of your existing DVDs or BDs (including HD from your DVD).
• InstaView - When you buy qualifying DVDs and Blu-rays at Walmart or on Walmart.com, they'll automatically add it to your Vudu account. Think of it like Amazon's AutoRip for CDs.
• VUDU To Go - You can download movies/TV on several devices including PC, mobile devices, consoles, etc.
• Supports UltraViolet
• Support Disney Movies Anywhere
• Lots of sales

So basically they've always been the most progressive in terms of A/V quality and features like super high bitrate 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus (and shortly Dolby Atmos and 4K with Dolby Vision HDR), adopting joint services like UltraViolet and Disney Anywhere, and offering usability and accessibility features like Disc to Digital, VUDU to Go, automatic 'Instaview' syncing with BluRay purchases, etc. On top of this they offer their apps on anywhere that will have them and have the largest library of HD content. The fact they have competitive pricing including actually offering more sales than the competition makes it a no brainer IMO.

Overall they've been the best since the beginning, and are constantly upgrading with new features, tech, and content. For a while I was scared when WalMart bought them, but instead of resting on their laurels they've continued to improve.

Been using it for years, and still haven't seen a reason to move (and I've tested basically all services).

The sales they have are pretty big. Constant $7.88 monthly HDX sales, constant theme sales, constant series sales when a new movie in it comes out

I have a small list of movies that aren't on VUDU yet, but every month they seem to add another one. These are older movies, too

 

[Marty Chinn]

How does bandwidth caps come into play? ..

It's quite simple. Anytime the OS auto deletes something and you have to download it again, it's an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap.

 

[Raistlin]

The sales they have are pretty big. Constant $7.88 monthly HDX sales, constant theme sales, constant series sales when a new movie in it comes out

I have a small list of movies that aren't on VUDU yet, but every month they seem to add another one. These are older movies, too

Yup, not to mention plenty of bundle discounts for multiple movie series or multiple TV season packs, huge special event sales like at the end of the year, and random specific sales like on Back to the Future Day (picked up the BttF Trilogy for $19.99 in HDX).

Then there's their rental specials like their $.99 deal of the day and weekly (I think) $2/2-day deal.


What's nice too is they do a decent job of including extras. I bought a Season Pass for Orphan Black before the most recent season started. Instantly it popped up with a trailer for the new season, a series recap, a short Q&A, and a special on Project Castor. Then when each episode aired, it would also give you a an 'Inside Orphan Black' behind the scenes for that specific episode. Similar deal for when I bought the Season 2 pass. Actually it even had a 'Meet x' for each of the main clones.

 

[Zeyphersan]

Yup, not to mention plenty of bundle discounts for multiple movie series or multiple TV season packs, huge special event sales like at the end of the year, and random specific sales like on Back to the Future Day (picked up the BttF Trilogy for $19.99 in HDX)..

I picked up every Fast and Furious movie in HDX for $30. Shit was insaaaaaaaaane

 

[345triangle]

It's quite simple. Anytime the OS auto deletes something and you have to download it again, it's an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap.

it seems pretty clear to me that this approach is likely to save bandwidth for the vast majority of users. you're only ever going to download 2GB for a game if you actually make your way through all of the content, for example, instead of being forced to get the whole bundle at once like on iOS.

 

[KtSlime]

It's quite simple. Anytime the OS auto deletes something and you have to download it again, it's an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap.

Isn't it also an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap if they download a game that's several gigs just to find they don't like it or play it often (like it works now)? My guess is with how games are downloaded and not completed or take a long time to complete (due to having so many games and so little time) that it will even out, if not actually end up a net reduction in data cap usage.

 

[infiniteloop]

A couple of apps coming:

simplex - 3rd party Plex client

Mr Jump - platformer

Streaks Workout

Withings Home - add CCTV in every room of the house and view it all on your big-screen TV in the living room.

Sketch Party TV - drawing game

http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/27/first...s-prepare-for-tvos-app-store-launch/?pushup=1

 

[borghe]

borghe, actually you are incorrect on this. Please read this developer document, specifically the Setting Preservation Policy section which states:


Also of note is the Low-Space Warning section:


The Preservation Priority is simply a hint to tvOS about how badly you need to keep the data around. tvOS will use this, in addition to how recently the data was accessed, as to when the resource should be purged in an instance where the Apple TV has become low on resources. Developers do not have the ability to force a resource to stick around. tvOS WILL delete it if it has to. And if an app fails to respond to a low-space warning by releasing resources it's not currently using, it can be terminated by tvOS if the system wasn't able to reclaim enough free space.

I overstated it, but yes obviously in the case where you are in fact RUNNING OUT OF ROOM, things will still get purged because, you know, you're RUNNING OUT OF ROOM. again, the box is incapable of magic.

Well, shit, the guy who was amazed that people don't know how app thinning works apparently also does not know app thinning works?

He was pointing out edge cases where tvOS HAS TO purge (i.e. No room on FS) In tvOS and app thinning in general there is no "oh hey I have tons of available free space but this bundle hasn't been used in a while. OUT YOU GO!!!" As someone else said, on-demand resources are not part of some sort of garbage collection where they go stale. If the file system runs low on space it is just one of the areas (along with iCloud Photo Library, cached Music, etc) that is looked at to free up space. If you aren't running out of space, you'll rarely if ever run into the case. Likewise if a resource is used frequently in an app, it would make sense that the dev gives it a high priority and the tag in frequent/constant use putting it to the absolute last possible second to be purged.

The "sky is falling" nonsense in here regarding data caps and apps constantly downloading is stupid FUD. Even developers have agreed on that. The end result to the end user, as stated by developers, as an essentially an entirely positive benefit to the end user. The problems and headaches with app thinning are all on the developers, not the end users.

It's quite simple. Anytime the OS auto deletes something and you have to download it again, it's an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap.

But the problem with your complaint is the frequency with which this would happen is, at best no more than it currently does (i.e. The user deleting the app themselves), and at worst, hardly at all (i.e. Full file system, purging oldest released tags by date accessed, followed by oldest unreleased tags by priority and date accessed). The nightmare scenario you're forecasting will essentially never be encountered. Basically you've downloaded 32GB of apps, and to clean up space the system has removed resources for some game you haven't fired up in 10 months. And even THAT is less likely than tvOS first hitting cache files in apps and stuff to clean up room. Basically a problem no one will ever realistically encounter. I don't know how else to put it man.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Isn't it also an unnecessary hit to someone's data cap if they download a game that's several gigs just to find they don't like it or play it often (like it works now)? My guess is with how games are downloaded and not completed or take a long time to complete (due to having so many games and so little time) that it will even out, if not actually end up a net reduction in data cap usage.

I'm interested in hearing how this actually plays out for most users. The whole system is pretty complicated and hard to wrap your head around. If I had more control, as a user, of what goes or stays, then I wouldn't be concerned, but it's possible this system could cause more problems than it solves, at least until it's smoothed out or until I learn how to use the Apple TV the "right way" and avoid having to redownload content.

At least I've never had too many speed problems with Apple's servers, so downloading stuff from them should be pretty quick.

The "sky is falling" nonsense in here regarding data caps and apps constantly downloading is stupid FUD. Even developers have agreed on that. The end result to the end user, as stated by developers, as an essentially an entirely positive benefit to the end user. The problems and headaches with app thinning are all on the developers, not the end users.

I'm an iOS developer, and after reading through the tvOS documentation, this whole system worries me as both a user and developer. It's killed almost any interest I had in developing for tvOS, at least.

 

[badcrumble]

No really useful apps have been announced yet, haha.

 

[LCfiner]

No really useful apps have been announced yet, haha.

I cancelled my order because I'm waiting for the streaming apps to come out first. Decided not to jump in on day one.

It won't be much use to me beyond what my current Apple TV does until I get a good quality PC streaming solution. I want to see some reviews of those apps before committing.

 

[giga]

No really useful apps have been announced yet, haha.

Plex has been confirmed, which is my #1.

 

[badcrumble]

I cancelled my order because I'm waiting for the streaming apps to come out first. Decided not to jump in on day one.

It won't be much use to me beyond what my current Apple TV does until I get a good quality PC streaming solution. I want to see some reviews of those apps before committing.

I'm quite unworried about streaming app support. I'm more curious about stuff that is less about media and more about e.g. interesting quick-summary information, like Panic making a Status Board port.

 

[Got the Shakes]

No really useful apps have been announced yet, haha.

The official Plex client was announced a month and a half ago and they said last week that it will be out day 1 for the Apple TV. For a lot of people it is the must useful and important app for Apple TV.

 

[borghe]

I'm an iOS developer, and after reading through the tvOS documentation, this whole system worries me as both a user and developer. It's killed almost any interest I had in developing for tvOS, at least.

As a developer I totally get it. It's an interruption to most existing workflows. Especially asset heavy apps like games, as well as games with heavy procedural content where you only have 200MB for your base bundle, where all of the procedural code would have to live.

But as a user, what are the concerns. Virtually all of it will work as it does today, except when running low on space. Actually scratch that, virtually all of it will work BETTER than today (only download tvOS assets), except when running low on space (when stuff still has to be purged anyway)

 

[The Elite]

The official Plex client was announced a month and a half ago and they said last week that it will be out day 1 for the Apple TV. For a lot of people it is the must useful and important app for Apple TV.

Is it Plex Pass only?

 

[Got the Shakes]

Is it Plex Pass only?

They haven't said. I don't think they've ever done Plex Pass only on iOS (they were charging a $5 fee to unlock all the features). If I had to guess they would take the same approach on Apple TV but we'll have to wait at least a few days to find out I think.

 

[Somnid]

App thinning is a perfectly fine idea for resource prioritization and allows otherwise large apps to be usable under space constraints. That said it's nothing new, web has been doing this since forever and more importantly it's a distraction for the real problem which is no upgradable storage. 64GB costs about $20 in SD card terms, and you just can swap cards out when they get full if you really want. It's not dependent on internet connection caps etc. And then there's also external hard drives where the sky's the limit. So the problem is more Apple crippling the ecosystem for no good reason, you can't put large libraries of media on the device and you get nothing in return, in fact the device has a shorter life span and costs more. App thinning doesn't fix that.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

As a developer I totally get it. It's an interruption to most existing workflows. Especially asset heavy apps like games, as well as games with heavy procedural content.

But as a user, what are the concerns. Virtually all of it will work as it does today, except when running low on space. Actually scratch that, virtually all of it will work BETTER than today (only download tvOS assets), except when running low on space (when stuff still has to be purged anyway)

I'd prefer a device not purge my program's data at times outside of my control. I'd prefer that I was the one purging, not the OS. I'd much rather the device go "you're out of space" and pop up a window of stuff to remove. It's the "old way" of doing things and from a user's perspective I rather like it; I don't have to learn the "right" way of coexisting with tvOS. But then, I'm the sort of person who downloads a whole movie from iTunes before starting it; I don't like waiting for the internet when I'm in the thick of something. And I'm not convinced that developers will all get this right. Or that Apple's entire infrastructure is tight enough to handle this without any seams.

We'll see. I'm not doom and gloom, the whole thing could turn out great (or more likely irrelevant when most apps will be under 200 MB), but I think people have a point when they bring up concerns, and it's not all just FUD.

 

[NinjaCatfish]

Is it Plex Pass only?

As long as alternative apps like Simplex exist, then they can restrict it to Plex Pass all they want imo.

(That said, i really hope they don't restrict it to Plex Pass)

 

[sonycowboy]

As a developer I totally get it. It's an interruption to most existing workflows. Especially asset heavy apps like games, as well as games with heavy procedural content where you only have 200MB for your base bundle, where all of the procedural code would have to live.

But as a user, what are the concerns. Virtually all of it will work as it does today, except when running low on space. Actually scratch that, virtually all of it will work BETTER than today (only download tvOS assets), except when running low on space (when stuff still has to be purged anyway)

Apps have already been limited on iOS to 60MB for the executable bundle. After that, it's resource bundle (and a few other sections that generally aren't that big. I ~suppose storyboards or nibs can be pretty big, but relative to 200MB they aren't).

Basically, game assets are ALREADY tagged as resources, just not necessarily the way they need to be for on demand app bundles.

Normally the work to setup on demand app bundles that's different from normal coding is:

1) Define the on demand bundles. Ideally, you break them into meaningful discrete sections (Eg, Game levels, player models, that are necessary for a given session that a user may play). This is non-trivial, but if you're ~reasonably organized with the resources and already have them broken into smaller sections, this ~isn't too bad. But, depending on the number of resources, it will take time.

2) The application code needs to be changed to make requests for the assets instead of just ~assuming they're always available. And, of course, structured to ONLY pull what it needs or else you lose the value (and speed, and space savings) of on-demand resources. Again, if the code isn't structured well, this could be a good amount of work. But, I'd classify it as more of a hassle than any sort of significant obstacle.

 

[borghe]

eh, I wouldn't even say "if the code isn't structured well". I mean it's perfectly reasonable to have well factored and executed code that isn't perfectly modeled to work with on-demand resources.

Your last sentence is spot on. It's not a huge obstacle.. It's just a hassle. A change to workflow for one platform that didn't previously exist. I think the Binding of Isaac dev's comments were largely targeted TOWARD that game specifically given the nature of it (lots of graphical assets assembled in a procedurally driven manner making prioritization of JIT resources more of a pain)

Ultimately though it all comes down to one question... How popular will tvOS be? If it's very popular, devs will quickly get their code sorted out. If not very popular, I'm sure we'll see plenty of devs still release for it (I mean it is essentially iOS still), and plenty of devs who pass on it.

Interestingly (and slightly on a tangent), I am hoping a jailbreak is released quickly and we get a Controllers For All release. If I have to buy a MFi controller, so be it.. But if we can get a jailbreak that lets me use my DS4 as a MFi controller.... oh man.........

and in an unrelated topic... did anyone else pay with paypal? I ordered yesterday, didn't have my card on file that I wanted to use and saw paypal as an option where I actually have enough in my PP account to cover it. Today I'm getting a "There is a problem with your order." email from Apple. Yet I got the email from PP yesterday saying "Here's your receipt for your purchase." and today it shows pending. Is this normal?

 

[ngower]

Are these available in any stores yet, or is it online-ordering only? If they are in stores, is it just the Apple Store or would I have any luck finding them in Target, Best Buy, etc?

 

[Got the Shakes]

Are these available in any stores yet, or is it online-ordering only? If they are in stores, is it just the Apple Store or would I have any luck finding them in Target, Best Buy, etc?

So far online only through Apple. Someone had posted in here yesterday that they were told they'd be available in Apple Stores "by the end of the week." Not sure we know when they'd be available in other retailers, but it's a safe bet that it's eventually going to happen.

 

[borghe]

In-store pickup currently says "Coming Soon". So I'd guess we'll see them in stores sooner rather than later. Not sure about Target, but I know Best Buy had ATV3 the day it launched, as that was where I bought mine.

 

[giga]

So far online only through Apple. Someone had posted in here yesterday that they were told they'd be available in Apple Stores "by the end of the week." Not sure we know when they'd be available in other retailers, but it's a safe bet that it's eventually going to happen.

Really? Just "someone." Girl please that shade is uncalled for.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Really? Just "someone." Girl please that shade is uncalled for.

Haha. No shade at all, I was just too lazy to scroll up and read previous posts.

 

[Raistlin]

I picked up every Fast and Furious movie in HDX for $30. Shit was insaaaaaaaaane

oh shit

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Ordered my new 32GB model and should have it early next week really looking forward to making the upgrade from Gen 3 ATV.

Also excited to play Oceanhorn on the new ATV as well. Upgraded graphics should showcase what the new device is capable of.

 

[infiniteloop]

Also excited to play Oceanhorn on the new ATV as well. Upgraded graphics should showcase what the new device is capable of.

Universal app too, so don't need to buy if you have it on ios.

 

[eyeball_kid]

The "sky is falling" nonsense in here regarding data caps and apps constantly downloading is stupid FUD. Even developers have agreed on that. The end result to the end user, as stated by developers, as an essentially an entirely positive benefit to the end user. The problems and headaches with app thinning are all on the developers, not the end users.

But the problem with your complaint is the frequency with which this would happen is, at best no more than it currently does (i.e. The user deleting the app themselves), and at worst, hardly at all (i.e. Full file system, purging oldest released tags by date accessed, followed by oldest unreleased tags by priority and date accessed). The nightmare scenario you're forecasting will essentially never be encountered. Basically you've downloaded 32GB of apps, and to clean up space the system has removed resources for some game you haven't fired up in 10 months. And even THAT is less likely than tvOS first hitting cache files in apps and stuff to clean up room. Basically a problem no one will ever realistically encounter. I don't know how else to put it man.

I think you're assuming outcomes that may not be so rosy in realistic use cases. People getting the 32GB version may well hit space limits often if they watch a lot of streams, listen to music often, and download several apps. Will tvOS delete video streams or music before it deletes app resources? I don't think we know that yet.

I think a good way to think about this is Time Machine. Time Machine will happily fill up a drive with new backups, but eventually it will hit the space limit. At that point, it will start deleting older backups. The same is true here.

The problem depends on usage patterns, combined with resource sizes. If people download a few large-sized (2+GB) games and play them all often, they may well run into the situation where assets they still use are deleted to make room. In this case, data usage for having to re-download game assets (or movies) would be a concern for people with data caps. I don't think it's "FUD" to bring up such concerns.

It totally depends on how people will use the device. People that only play a couple casual games and do mostly TV episode streaming may never notice. People that expect large assets to stay on the device may have an unpleasant surprise. I think Apple could help mitigate this by providing customers with a way to flag games or movies as protected from deletion, instead of tvOS having absolute control of what remains on the drive.

 

[Blackhead]

Really? Just "someone." Girl please that shade is uncalled for.

someone needs love

Spoiler

also forgot it was you because of the new avatar

 

[Terrell]

I think you're assuming outcomes that may not be so rosy in realistic use cases. People getting the 32GB version may well hit space limits often if they watch a lot of streams, listen to music often, and download several apps. Will tvOS delete video streams or music before it deletes app resources? I don't think we know that yet.

We basically DO know that, though. Previous generations of Apple TV only held onto streaming data for at most 24 hours, sometimes even less, and usually auto-deletes stream/video/audio data as soon as it was confirmed watched/listened to from beginning to end. So yes, it's fair to assume that it won't be an issue. tvOS could even section off a portion of your storage purely for buffering and streaming and operate as it always has.

Aside from app data, Apple TV will retain next to no data from its other functions long-term. You can essentially bank on that.

Platform agnostic and much higher quality video. It's a better format.

Shame Vudu can't claim that it's region-agnostic. Services that can't even bother to exist outside of the US are essentially worthless to me and several others on this forum.

 

[Terrell]

DP, sorry.

 

[glow]

Pro tip - you should be purchasing all digital content from Vudu.

What is it about VUDU that makes you think it will have more longevity than services like iTunes or Amazon Instant Video? Ultraviolet? I buy almost all of my digital movies and TV from Amazon because I don't see them going away anytime soon. Of course I redeem all of my UV codes on VUDU but that's only because there aren't really any better options.

 

[Zeyphersan]

What is it about VUDU that makes you think it will have more longevity than services like iTunes or Amazon Instant Video? Ultraviolet? I buy almost all of my digital movies and TV from Amazon because I don't see them going away anytime soon. Of course I redeem all of my UV codes on VUDU but that's only because there aren't really any better options.

tbh it doesn't matter what site you redeem your UV movie on, it will stream from any of them. That's the point of UV

Also VUDU is owned by Walmart, I don't see them going away anytime soon either

Really? Just "someone." Girl please that shade is uncalled for.

Fool change your avatar back you're making us all look bad

 

[Maybesew]

Is it Plex Pass only?

It's not in the store yet, so I don't know. Neither is simplex.

There is a back to the future version of Jetpack Joyride though, and a Battle of Yavin Disney infinity mission.

 

[Got the Shakes]

I just looked for the hell of it and mine switched to preparing for shipment at some point in the last 12 hours.

 

[Terrell]

Also VUDU is owned by Walmart, I don't see them going away anytime soon either

That's going to depend on how well they avoid charges of bribery and tax evasion into the double-digit billions (in tax havens where they can't claim "deferral" since they have no operations there, like Luxembourg).

But even outside of that, the moment Vudu stops making them money, Walmart will dump it. By all accounts, Apple crushes them in video sell through (purchases) and has a substantial lead in video-on-demand (rentals), and all accounts show that the presence of Google and Amazon has eaten more into Vudu's market share than Apple's.

So simply put, in corporate America, nothing is a guarantee.

I just looked for the hell of it and mine switched to preparing for shipment at some point in the last 12 hours.

Mine too. Since I don't usually buy online from Apple, how long does it usually hang in this status?

 

[eyeball_kid]

We basically DO know that, though. Previous generations of Apple TV only held onto streaming data for at most 24 hours, sometimes even less, and usually auto-deletes stream/video/audio data as soon as it was confirmed watched/listened to from beginning to end. So yes, it's fair to assume that it won't be an issue. tvOS could even section off a portion of your storage purely for buffering and streaming and operate as it always has.

If I download a movie I purchased and it gets deleted 24 hours later, that would definitely be an issue for me. But with the increased storage on this device vs. the older Apple TVs, I don't agree that we can extrapolate to the new ATV how aggressively the OS used to delete files.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Mine too. Since I don't usually buy online from Apple, how long does it usually hang in this status?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I always seem to buy stuff from Apple that has a hard release date like an iPhone or iPad. With those you know what day exactly it should show up by right when you order. I see that it says that mine is shipping with 2 business day shipping, so hopefully it ships tomorrow so it would potentially be here Friday.

 

[hugocésar]

I just looked for the hell of it and mine switched to preparing for shipment at some point in the last 12 hours.

Yep, mine too. Although it still says delivery between the 2nd and 4th of November. I hope it changes along the way, would love to get it by the weekend.

 

[eyeball_kid]

Mine is still Processing, but the Nimbus controllers I ordered arrived today. It's hard to believe Apple had a hand in designing this controller; it is horribly ugly and surprisingly heavy. Buttons and d-pad definitely feel cheap, as do the thumbsticks, which feel like they could probably break at some point. Because of the shape and the weight, the controller doesn't feel comfortable to hold and I probably couldn't have a long gaming session with it.

 

[Quasar]

I just looked for the hell of it and mine switched to preparing for shipment at some point in the last 12 hours.

Same here. Guess it means I might get it on Friday afterall.

 

[dallow_bg]

I cancelled my order because I'm waiting for the streaming apps to come out first. Decided not to jump in on day one.

It won't be much use to me beyond what my current Apple TV does until I get a good quality PC streaming solution. I want to see some reviews of those apps before committing.

I forgot why I was so excited about it post conference so I'll also be waiting for reviews and app info.

 

[Terrell]

If I download a movie I purchased and it gets deleted 24 hours later, that would definitely be an issue for me. But with the increased storage on this device vs. the older Apple TVs, I don't agree that we can extrapolate to the new ATV how aggressively the OS used to delete files.

It's a streaming box, not a permanent media storage locker. The idea is if you want a permanent download, you fire up iTunes to have a permanent downloaded copy, which you can locally stream from the computer via Home Sharing. Otherwise, it's streamed on demand from Apple TV. It's not deleting your purchase history, just the file.

At best, I could see them sectioning off a small portion of the storage to store something your most recent video/music download until you start another download, where it is then overwritten by the newest request.

And that's assuming they make any changes to the video and music backbone of the ATV environment, which I doubt highly that they will. The storage is there for apps and their associated data first and foremost.

 

[numble]

If I download a movie I purchased and it gets deleted 24 hours later, that would definitely be an issue for me. But with the increased storage on this device vs. the older Apple TVs, I don't agree that we can extrapolate to the new ATV how aggressively the OS used to delete files.

The new ATV and old ATV just have a "stream" option, I believe--you don't choose to download iTunes media, you just stream and it starts after buffering (or plays if it doesn't need to buffer).

 

[FlyStarJay]

mine is still processing. ordered it on monday in less than 20mins after it went on sales. was giving 30 - 3. hope i get it on friday for the weekend