Apple TV any good?

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

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I got a letter from Barclays (who I bank with) offering a free banking upgrade and it says "enjoy access to Apple's TV service at no extra cost - normally £9.99 per month". Seems like a no brainer with no catches.
For as long as I have the new banking upgrade, Apple TV will apparently be free for me. I'll call Barclays next week to discuss and will probably upgrade.

I only have Prime for a few more days on free trial and used to have Netfix via my nephew but not for a while now since Netflix clamped down. How good is Apple TV, does it include great bingeworthy shows and movies like Prime and Netflix?
 
Merlin5 said:
I got a letter from Barclays (who I bank with) offering a free banking upgrade and it says "enjoy access to Apple's TV service at no extra cost - normally £9.99 per month". Seems like a no brainer with no catches.
For as long as I have the new banking upgrade, Apple TV will apparently be free for me. I'll call Barclays next week to discuss and will probably upgrade.

I only have Prime for a few more days on free trial and used to have Netfix via my nephew but not for a while now since Netflix clamped down. How good is Apple TV, does it include great bingeworthy shows and movies like Prime and Netflix?
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Movies are generally not great, albeit in the beginning they had better films. And just like Prime and Netflix they do have the odd mega blockbuster (F1 is the best example of that).

TV shows are generally very highly rated, albeit new shows are not binge-able as all their shows are weekly releases. They have a lot of sci-fi if that's your thing.

If it's really free, I'd bite their hand off. I would just double check how long this free Barclays premier or whatever it's called lasts, before they sneak in some account charges :)


rp2000
 
I've enjoyed a few series on there , Servant if you like horror/thriller stuff, Sleeping Horses is top tier tv.
Currently watching Pluribus which i would classs as sci-fi and is really good so far.
 
Signup for a free trial or just browse their website and see for yourself?

tv.apple.com

Apple TV

Browse all movies, TV shows and more from Apple TV. Watch all Apple Originals here and on the Apple TV app across your devices.
tv.apple.com tv.apple.com

Note it is worth checking hotukdeals.com sometimes they have longer trials.


Been a while since I used it, they had some good content but had a lot less to pick from than say Prime or Netflix, the image quality was very good from what I recall they don't have different tiers for HD and 4K unlike the other platforms which charge you more for the higher quality streams.


Don't think I'd pay for a year partly because they keep offering free trials and partly because they didn't have a huge amount of content but if its not costing you anything why not...


Edit:
Masters of the air, Greyhound, Finch, Silo, Monarch, Foundation and Blitz are all worth a watch.

It depends on the type of stuff you like theres some garbage like Ghosted and some thats a bit meh but they do have a lot of original content you cant see anywhere else.
 
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If you're into sci-fi it's probably the best Streaming service out there right now.

Tv wise:

Severance - Brilliant thriller/mystery regarding people partitioning their brains, with one half of them working while the other just lives their lives.
For All Mankind / Star City - Alternative history where the Russians win the race to the moon and it prolongs the space race/cold war, each season moves forward around a decade.
See - Dystopian future where most people are blind, Jason Momoa is the lead, pretty fun.
Silo - Post apocalyptical thriller where the remnants of society are living in a massive underground bunker.
Foundation - Space opera based on the series by Isaac Asimov, can be a bit hit and miss but the parts focusing on Empire are brilliant.
Dark Matter - A scientist gets transported into an alternative version of his life.
Murderbot - Short but fun comedy series based on a series of books by Martha Wells, it's about a cyborg/android that becomes self aware but is forced to work for a corporation.

There's a bunch more I'm probably missing, I'd say all of the above are pretty bingeable.
 
AppleTV is very good for TV shows. The movie selection is a bit more limited.

In terms of selection it's definitely quality over quantity. They also don't seem to have developed a habit of cancelling things before they're allowed to conclude either.

I think it's worth £10 a month, nevermind if it's free! If you like the look of any TV programme on there I'd say it will be worth a watch.
 
Apple TV is the only streaming service I use, shows are generally high quality and there’s not reams of filler slop to wade through. Better than Netflix/prime imo.

As part of Apple One sub it’s especially good value.
 
Awesome, thanks for all the replies and suggestions guys. I asked my nephew too, he said he personally loves Apple TV and said there's some quality series on there.

the shadow said:
Cape Fear
Click to expand...

I've seen that advertised quite a bit recently. I loved the original movie with De Niro. Definitely want to see this series.
rp2000 said:
Movies are generally not great, albeit in the beginning they had better films. And just like Prime and Netflix they do have the odd mega blockbuster (F1 is the best example of that).

TV shows are generally very highly rated, albeit new shows are not binge-able as all their shows are weekly releases. They have a lot of sci-fi if that's your thing.

If it's really free, I'd bite their hand off. I would just double check how long this free Barclays premier or whatever it's called lasts, before they sneak in some account charges :)


rp2000
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I checked on google AI and it tells me "Yes, your Apple TV+ subscription remains free for as long as you maintain your new bank account. There is no fixed end date or promotional trial limit, meaning you get to enjoy the perk indefinitely, provided you continue to meet the account's eligibility criteria."

So I can't binge whole seasons of shows like on Prime and Netflix, or I can for shows that have been there for a while but just not new shows?

I've just heard that Slow Horses with Gary Oldman is very good.
 
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Merlin5 said:
Awesome, thanks for all the replies and suggestions guys. I asked my nephew too, he said he personally loves Apple TV and said there's some quality series on there.



I've seen that advertised quite a bit recently. I loved the original movie with De Niro. Definitely want to see this series.


I checked on google AI and it tells me "Yes, your Apple TV+ subscription remains free for as long as you maintain your new bank account. There is no fixed end date or promotional trial limit, meaning you get to enjoy the perk indefinitely, provided you continue to meet the account's eligibility criteria."

So I can't binge whole seasons of shows like on Prime and Netflix, or I can for shows that have been there for a while but just not new shows?

I've just heard that Slow Horses with Gary Oldman is very good.
Click to expand...
New shows follow a weekly release schedule - usually Wednesday or Friday. There's a decent back log available on demand like Prime/Netflix though, Slow Horses has about 4-5 seasons out now.
 
Merlin5 said:
Awesome, thanks for all the replies and suggestions guys. I asked my nephew too, he said he personally loves Apple TV and said there's some quality series on there.



I've seen that advertised quite a bit recently. I loved the original movie with De Niro. Definitely want to see this series.


I checked on google AI and it tells me "Yes, your Apple TV+ subscription remains free for as long as you maintain your new bank account. There is no fixed end date or promotional trial limit, meaning you get to enjoy the perk indefinitely, provided you continue to meet the account's eligibility criteria."

So I can't binge whole seasons of shows like on Prime and Netflix, or I can for shows that have been there for a while but just not new shows?

I've just heard that Slow Horses with Gary Oldman is very good.
Click to expand...
All old shows/seasons that are finished, you can binge away just like on Prime and Netflix.

New seasons or new shows are weekly.

Examples from this thread, I think Cape Fear is 2 episodes in of a 10 episode season. So 8 more weekly episodes, or just wIt 8 more weeks and avoid spoilers then binge it all! Star city is another one that just started like 1-2 weeks ago.

Silo is the one I'm currently looking forward to. You can binge Seasons 1 and 2 now, but you will have to go through the weekly episodes when season 3 airs in September.


rp2000
 
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Merlin5 said:
So I can't binge whole seasons of shows like on Prime and Netflix, or I can for shows that have been there for a while but just not new shows?
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Their content is a lot fresher than some of the other platforms, they aren't going out and buying the rights for things that were made ten years ago and some of it is still in production. So sometimes you have to wait for the next season of something or wait a week for an episode but theres still a fair amount to pick from especially if you are new to the platform.
 
The smaller library is probably a plus if the average quality is higher. I'd much rather have fewer shows worth watching than endless filler to scroll through.
 
ntemples1 said:
The smaller library is probably a plus if the average quality is higher. I'd much rather have fewer shows worth watching than endless filler to scroll through.
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If it's your only streaming service then this is a negative to me, rather than a positive.

If you don't want to watch any of the very limited films on AppleTV, for example, you are stuffed as they don't license any content. On Netflix and Prime you could scroll and find some licensed movie from the 80s, 90s, 00s etc.

Same applies to TV shows, but to a lesser degree as (I think) less people are likely to go back and watch old shows from yester-years. But, things like The Office, Friends, Big Bang Theory, Parks and Rec get more viewing hours than newer shows on Netflix & Prime. (I have no stats to back this up, but you get the idea!)


rp2000
 
Lots of good stuff on Apple TV, not so much massive stuff that gets loads of coverage….but lots of really good niche series that go under the radar.

Sci-fi wise, I really enjoyed Dark Matter and Constellation, neither of which get much mention. Pluribus I need to get back to.

Got the bigger shows like For All Mankind, Foundation, Silo.

For a bit of a easy light entertainment, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Your Friends And Neighbours, Slow Horses, Severance.

I think if you sat and binged hours of TV every night you’d find it limiting, but if like me you only watch one or two shows at a time and watch an episode a day at most, there’s plenty of good stuff.

Visual and audio quality is always perfect on Apple too and the production standard is very high on all their shows.
 
Hi guys. Courtesy of Barclays I've now got free Apple TV! :) Slow Horses was mentioned in this thread and today I asked my nephew what he recommended I first watch and he said "Slow Horses!" What say ye OcUK? Or Cape Fear?
 
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