Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire This is BS! No More Prime On Older AppleTV

When I first bought my AppleTV device and installed it on my big screen TV, it supported iTunes, YouTube, and Prime (plus all the traditional move channels, HBO, Cinemax, etc.). Then, after a few years, it notified me that in a few weeks it would stop supporting YouTube, and if I wanted continued YouTube support, I had to buy a more recent model of the AppleTV device.

But why would I buy a new one when the old one still works perfectly? Am I supposed to throw away a perfectly functioning device? So I just stopped watching YouTube on the big screen TV (other than occasionally using the mirroring function based on my iPhone or MacBook, which isn't nearly as convenient), but still had iTunes and Prime service.

Yesterday I got a notification that, starting in mid February, Prime would no longer be supported on my older AppleTV unit, and I'd need to buy a newer model if I wanted continued Prime support.

These are clearly efforts on the part of Apple to get people to dump their old, perfectly functional, AppleTV units and buy more recent models. There's no other explanation possible. That's total BS on Apple's part. Great way to support their customer's purchases of their products ... not.

add some form of stick, like a FireStick

Roku

Yeah, but I don't think they support iTunes, so I'd have to have both devices hooked in. If they sold me the AppleTV with the promise of supporting YouTube and Prime, they shouldn't arbitrarily discontinue that just to get me to buy the latest model. That's a dirty business practice.

Does that support iTunes?

Ok

When my dad passed away he had several analog tv’s in his basement because he couldn’t just let a "good" tv go. This ain’t the first time and it won’t be the last.
I’m glad I threw my teevee out in 98’.

Not quite the same, since it's literally zero skin off their backs to continue to support these services on older units. It's just a dirty business practice.

The newer models have much more advanced information gathering and spying capabilities. Apple sells this info to the highest bidder. Apple needs you to get a more modern TV. They have ways of persuading you.

Hell if I know

I too wish they would continue support what you paid good money for...

But they need you to go out and buy a new Smart TV so they can hear what you saying and report it to the govt agency that's appropriate.

Maybe that why you can go buy a new huge Smart TV at Costco for a couple hundred bucks?

Wrong approach TRH.

It 100% is about skin.

They screwed up on your device, I can't imagine how it happened.

Think about phones, after 4 or 5 generations they quit "updating" them.
After awhile, not only are they not updated, they don't work.
So folks go buy a new(er) one.
And Apple moves product.

Your device wasn't getting obsolete.
Wasn't self obsoleteing.
For one purchase you were getting more from them than they felt fair,
they wanted some skin.

So, do you put out?
Or walk home?
😂😂😂

Your answer was just a “Roku and itunes” query away

The bad news, however, is that Roku does not support iTunes movies because iTunes movies are DMR-protected and cannot be played on non-Apple devices. There is no way to play iTunes movies and TV shows directly on Roku, which is disappointing if you're an iTunes Movies fan and have purchased or rented a ton of content on iTunes.

Comcast did that to me back when I still watched tV. My late wife and I watched Turner Classic Movies all the time . The Comcast arbitrarily dropped it and in order to get it back I had to subscribe to the next higher cost option. They did not like my response. When I showed up at their office and told the manager I'll return their equipment as a suppository. That was when I decided to stop watch commercial TV. These days the TV set is used strictly to was movies in my collection. Even the Hollywood freaks don't make a cent as I buy used DVDs from swap meets, pawn shops and yard sales. Works for me.
PJ

A new one is $130, about the cost of a cheap date.

A Fire TV Stick is $29 bucks and up. Both require a subscription. I use the Fire Stick and am tearing Amazon a new one with free shipping.

Get off your wallet and live a little!

It's quite likely the app providers (YouTube and Prime in this case) no longer support running on older hardware. Not Apple's fault. The latest apps are not capable of running on old hardware because the old hardware simply does not have the specifications now required. Which in essence means it doesn't work.

Things in the technology world are generally backwards compatible.... to a point ....... then obsolescence comes into play.

You didn't say how old the hardware actually is...?

Very true, MS and everybody else is and has been trying to get backwards compatibility killed off for years. Life cycle on Tech is 3-5 years max anymore.

My firestick has an open internet app just like searching on a PC. Couldn't you access iTunes there ?

Planned Obsolescence...........it's a strategy