Following Monday's release of the developer-only tvOS 11 beta 4, the upcoming Apple TV software is now available to members of Apple's free Public Beta Software Program.
tvOS 11 public beta 3 rolling out for Apple TV
Apple TV 4
Developer-only tvOS 11 beta 4 drops
Apple today rolled out a fourth beta of the upcoming tvOS 11 operating system update for the fourth-generation Apple TV. Today's tvOS 11 beta 4 (build number 15J5333f) is available to Apple's registered developers and members of the paid Apple Developer Program.
macOS Sierra 10.12.6, watchOS 3.2.3 & tvOS 10.2.2 released
In addition to releasing iOS 10.3.3, Apple today released a trio of software updates for its Mac computers, Apple Watch models, and the fourth-generation Apple TV: macOS Sierra 10.12.6, watchOS 3.2.3 and tvOS 10.2.2.
They're bug-fix updates focused on improving the performance and security of your devices so don't expect any significant feature changes or new user-facing features. Apple’s support document lists the security patches in macOS Sierra 10.12.6, watchOS 3.2.3 and tvOS 10.2.2.
Second public beta of tvOS 11 now available for Apple TV
Members of Apple's free Public Beta Software Program can now download and install a second public beta of tvOS 11 on their fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS 11 public beta 2 has the same features as tvOS 11 beta 3 that was seeded to developers two days ago.
tvOS 11 includes minor improvements such as the ability to synchronize your Home screen layout across multiple Apple TVs via iCloud, automatic switching between Light and Dark mode based on local time, new background multitasking modes, notification support, custom sound support, layered image improvements, right-to-left language support and other tidbits.
To enroll in Apple's public beta program, sign in with your Apple ID in Safari on your computer at beta.apple.com. Now click the link “Enroll Your Devices” to get started.
Next, go to Settings → Accounts on your Apple TV and sign in with the same Apple ID that you used to register for the public beta program into at least one of the account options (iCloud, iTunes and App Store or Game Center).
Now go to Settings → System → Software Update and turn on the option labeled Get Public Beta Updates, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete enrollment.
The Software Update mechanism on your Apple TV will put up a prompt when a new tvOS 11 public beta is available for download. To manually check for tvOS public beta updates, go to Settings → System → Software Updates → Update Software.
To submit feedback and report bugs to Apple, use the Feedback Assistant app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with the iOS 11 public beta.
tvOS 11 will release for public consumption this fall.
Apple also released this morning second public betas for iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. watchOS betas are currently unavailable for public beta-testing.
tvOS 11 beta 3 seeded to developers
Aside from releasing third betas of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, Apple today also seeded tvOS 11 beta 3 (build number 15J5324f) for the fourth-generation Apple TV to its registered developers and members of the paid Apple Developer Program.
No new outward-facing user features have been added in beta 3.
Non-developers can test tvOS 11 betas by signing up for Apple's Beta Software Program at beta.apple.com. Be sure to sign up through your computer using the same Apple ID you use for iCloud services on your devices, then go to Settings → System → Software Updates on your Apple TV and enable the feature labeled Get Beta Updates.
The Software Update mechanism on your Apple TV will now put up a prompt when a new tvOS 11 beta is available for download.
tvOS 11 includes minor features like the ability to synchronize your Home screen layout across multiple Apple TVs via iCloud, automatic switching between Light and Dark mode based on local time, new background multitasking modes, notification support, custom sound support, layered image improvements, right-to-left language support and other tidbits.
Apple TV universal search adds support for kids app Holster in US
Apple TV's universal search function, which lets you use Siri to find content across supported video apps, has gained support for the kids app Holster in the United States.
Apple's support document was updated Friday to reflect the addition. Before, it was supported by the universal search feature for users in Australia and the United Kingdom only.
Aimed at kids aged five and under and billed as the app that lets kids learn through the shows they love, Holster is available on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV with 800+ kids TV episodes, 100+ songs and nursery rhymes, curriculum-based learning games and more.
The app requires a subscription fee of $5 per month.
https://vimeo.com/185792548
A 7-day free trial is available.
The following third-party content providers and apps are currently supported by tvOS's universal search on the fourth-generation Apple TV:
United States: Movies and TV shows in iTunes, A&E, ABC, AMC, Animal Planet GO, Apple Music, BET, Bravo, CBS, Comedy Central, Cooking Channel, Crunchyroll, CuriosityStream, CW Seed, Discover GO, Disney Channel, Disney Jr, Disney XD, DIY, E!, Food Network, FOXNOW, FXNOW, FYI, Hallmark Channel, HBO GO, HBO NOW, HGTV, History, Hopster, Hulu, Investigation Discovery GO, Lifetime, MTV, MUBI, Nat Geo TV, NBC, Netflix, Nick Jr, Nickelodeon, PBS, PBS Kids, Science Channel GO, SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME Anytime, Spike, Starz, Syfy, TBS, Telemundo, The CW, TLC GO, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, USA and VH1. Australia: Movies and TV Shows in iTunes, ABC iview, CuriosityStream, Hopster, MUBI, Netflix, Plus7 and Stan. Canada and United Kingdom: Movies and TV shows in iTunes, CuriosityStream, Hopster, MUBI and Netlix France: Movies and TV shows in iTunes, CANAL+, Netflix Germany: Movies and TV shows in iTunes, Galileo, Netflix Japan, Mexico, Netherlands and Spain: Movies in iTunes, Netflix Norway: Movies in iTunes, MUBI, Netflix, NRK TV, TV 2 Sumo Sweden: Movies in iTunes, MUBI, Netflix, SVT Play Other countries: Movies in iTunesYouTube search is supported across all regions. To search for YouTube content, simply use Siri and include the word "YouTube" in your search (i.e. “Search UFO sightings on YouTube”).
The full list of providers for tvOS's universal search function is on Apple’s website.
Classic cartoon streaming service Boomerang hits Apple TV
The cartoon service Boomerang on Thursday announced the release of a streaming app for the fourth-generation Apple TV, bringing classic cartoons like Wacky Races, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and many others to Apple's set-top box.
The service is also adding support for Google's Chromecast and Amazon's Fire TV HDMI dongles. Roku devices will be added in the coming weeks.
Boomerang originally launched its premium video subscription service in April.
You can subscribe to Boomerang for $5 per month, or $40 per year, to access exclusive shows and new episodes of cartoons, as well as enjoy Boomerang's on-demand archive of 5,000+ movies and TV shows from Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes and MGM animation catalogs.
A 7-day free trial of Boomerang is available.
Boomerang also launched the new original series “Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz from” Warner Bros. Animation, with the first thirteen episodes now available for streaming via their service.
The app's App Store description notes that Boomerang is only accessible in the United States “where a high-speed broadband connection is available” (well, I live in Croatia and we have a very high-speed broadband over here as well).
Download Boomerang for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV from App Store.
Apple now allows public testing of tvOS betas on Apple TV
For the first time ever, Apple will now allow non-developers to install and test tvOS betas on their fourth-generation Apple TVs, starting with the first public beta of tvOS 11 to be issued later this month. Before this change, public beta testers could only install iOS and macOS betas.
To take advantage of the upcoming tvOS 11 public beta, you should enroll in Apple's Beta Software Program by visiting beta.apple.com.
It's unclear how public beta testers will install a tvOS 11 beta on their Apple TV.
Currently, developers must download the tvOS 11 beta installer and connect their fourth-generation Apple TV to a computer running iTunes using a USB-C cable. The tvOS software is initially side-loaded on the device through iTunes.
Subsequent updates are then available over-the-air.
“The iOS 11, macOS High Sierra and tvOS 11 public betas are coming soon,” reads a notice on the webpage. “As a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, you can help shape Apple software by test-driving pre-release versions and letting us know what you think.”
You can provide feedback directly to Apple using the built-in Feedback Assistant app.
Apple opened macOS and iOS betas to the general public back in 2014, with the releases of major visual makeovers in iOS 7 and macOS Yosemite.
How to make SSH persistent on the liberTV jailbreak for Apple TV 4
If you've been tinkering around with your Apple TV 4 jailbroken on tvOS 10 with liberTV, you may have noticed that its built-in SSH client, Dropbear, has a tendency to be purged every so often, requiring it be re-spawned and set up again. This is due to the developer's (admirable) desire to retain all jailbreak-related files in temporary folders on the filesystem, reducing the risk of bricking your device while fiddling with it to near-zero. If you are confident enough to move a few files out of their temporary folder however, you can easily get your SSH client up and running persistently, avoiding those tedious reconfigurations which otherwise occur.
Infuse media player gains supercharged subtitles, 10-bit video playback & more
aTV Flash Black developer FireCore recently pushed a new version of Infuse, implementing vastly improved subtitle support, gorgeous 10-bit video playback and a host of other improvements.
Infuse 5.4 for iOS and tvOS, a free download for existing users, recently celebrated its fourth anniversary. Since making its App Store debut back in 2013 [review], this versatile media-player app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV has been gaining new features on a regular basis.
10-bit video playback10-bit videos now look great thanks to some slick new hardware decoding options available in Infuse 5.4. Not only does hardware-assisted decoding on newer iOS devices provide great playback performance, it unlocks hours of extra battery life as well.
Hardware-assisted decoding of the Hi10P video format (H264-encoded 10-bit video) requires Apple's A9 chip or later, meaning this feature is supported on iPhone 6s or later models, all iPad Pro models and the new 2017 iPad model.
Supercharged subtitlesSubtitles have been “entirely revamped” in Infuse 5.4.
The new subtitle rendering engine includes support for subtitles on 3D videos (SBS and TAB), plus subtitle position (AN) tags. The app now accepts many more subtitle formats, including .TXT files (MicroDVD, MPL2, SRT and TMP). As a bonus, the update introduces new options for adjusting text color to your liking and fancy styling and animation effects.
Infuse now uses the secure HTTPS protocol to download subtitles from OpenSubtitles, increasing your privacy. Lastly, Traditional Chinese is now supported for metadata and artwork.
Infuse availabilityFor a complete list of what's new in Infuse 5.4, visit the official Infuse website.
Infuse 5.4 for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV is a free download from App Store.
Advanced features are available without limitations as a $6.49 per year Pro subscription via the In-App Purchase mechanism. A free one-month trial of Infuse Pro is available within the app.
Alternatively, buy Infuse for iOS and tvOS outright for $12.99.
How to install Kodi on Apple TV 4
Kodi, previously known as XBMC, is an open source media player, and a veritable one-stop shop for all your media needs. Whilst it has been a favourite of Apple TV users for a long time, there is not always a recent tvOS release, and the process to install it has been complex at times. This guide gives the simplest process, without recourse to unofficial distributions.
It doesn't require a jailbreak, and should work on both tvOS 10 and tvOS 9.
Amazon may launch its video streaming app for Apple TV in the summer
After pulling all Apple TV hardware from Amazon.com in December 2015 because it didn't “interact well” with its video-subscription service, online retail giant Amazon has at long last warmed up to the idea of permitting owners of Apple's set-top box to use its service.
Recode reported Friday that the two companies are “close to an agreement” that would bring Amazon's Video app to Apple TV in the third quarter of the year, possibly coinciding with the introduction of a next-generation Apple TV with support for 4K video streaming and more.
“It’s unclear what got the two companies to reach an agreement, though some industry observers suggest that any pact would have been worked out, at a high level, by CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos,” said Recode.
That app would let Amazon Prime Video subscribers watch TV shows and movies directly on their Apple TV set-top box without having to use AirPlay.
It's unclear if Apple TV hardware will be returning to Amazon.com anytime soon and whether or not the two tech giants might have settled other disputes involving their rival video ambitions.
Last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said why they stopped selling Apple TVs:
We want our player, our Prime Video player, to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms. And so, you can always get the player on the device; the question is can you do so with acceptable business terms.
And if you can’t, then we don't want to sell it to our customers, because they’re going to be buying it thinking they can watch Prime Video and then they’re going to be disappointed. And they’re going to return it.
Currently, Apple TV owners and Prime members must use AirPlay to wirelessly send movies and TV shows to their Apple TV via Amazon's pretty limited Prime Video app for iOS, which still won't let you buy or rent individual programs without visiting Amazon.com first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0
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“As we have already succeeded in developing an app for iPhone and iPad, we hope to make an app separately for the Apple TV,” said the online retailer a year and a half ago.
The app was supposed to release before the end of 2015, but negotiations between the two tech giants obviously took a lot longer than expected.
Earlier this year, Apple hired Amazon's former Fire TV chief to head up its Apple TV business.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s shopping app is available on the fourth-generation Apple TV with purchasing support for Prime members and other features.