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

FYI Apple now makes a TV you strap to your head so you can walk around in the world with it hanging off your face. You will never miss anything important (on TV) again.

The same Apple that intentionally slowed down older iPhones and shortened battery life to force people to buy new phones

Have 2 tv's , one 20 yr's old and one 10 years old. Firesticks on both started acting up and wouldn't load up. Had to replace the 2 firesticks and everything is normal again. They know how to get money out of us. Seems like any movie I want to watch is one that has to be rented or purchased.

I’m outraged!

Brother Hawkeye’s life sucks. His electronic devices are aging and home delivery tracking is spotty.

Like me.

About fifteen years old, but functions flawlessly.

I don't have a TV contract. My use of the big screen is for DVDs, movies and TV purchased or rented off iTunes, and Prime media.

\

Welcome to the Apple way.......

This is less a TV than it is goggles, but it runs the Apple TV app which does about everything the actual Apple TV hardware device does.

As mentioned above, this is not a decision by Apple it is Amazon deciding to no longer support the codecs the older Apple TVs can run.

Apple works for the shareholders, as they should.

I feel for you bud cause i have been fighting the same battle. 2 iPods that still work just dandy, hook is that i cant talk to them for a music refresh unless its iTunes. Same with my phone. Everything Apple seems to be proprietary as they dont play well with others as you are finding out.
As far as TV like JP I have a huge dvd collection and only use Roku for prime or a couple others. I wont buy movies off of prime or any other site as you only own them while a member, buy the dvd used or bargain bin if i really gotta see it for some reason I rent.

I know nothing about Apple TVs..... but I would think your TV would still support Itunes as your firestick would be a seperate input. You'd be able to access internet with the TV AND firestick would you not (one at a time)?

You tell em’!!!🙄

Yeah, I saw this on mine too yesterday. I hate giving it up because I still use the radio app. I went into the menu and killed Prime from the home screen. I’ll use it until it doesn’t work and put it in the microwave.

I will continue to use apple tv because its much easier switching on and off other streaming services through apple -vs- individual accounts.

I binge watch on a service for the month and turn it off until the next set of shows drop.

Get a sound bar and use ur phone

There is some serious complaining here that needs to be cross posted to the “Let’s get it all off our chests” thread.
I hope TRH hasn’t lost his access to those Active Self Defense videos.
I rely on those to keep my pistolaro skills honed to a razor sharp edge.

Apparently not. You have mentioned two services which it can no longer decipher.

I guess you didnt google Roku Apple TV app? Just watched Old Henry(for like the 20th time) last night on my Roku TV using the Apple TV app which streamed it from .....wait for it....my iTunes library.

So how many of your movies play without the Apple TV app just using Roku?

Yep.

I didn't know that if you cancelled your membership in Prime you lose your ability to watch media you bought from them. That sucks.

Yep

Sure. I'd only need to switch inputs via the remote.

I think that's BS. If it functions today, why would it stop functioning in mid February? They are just dropping it.

See there😃👍

this is the norm for Apple. Had a laptop with all my music on iTunes.

New iTunes won't load on the old OS,
New OS won't load on the Old Laptop.

Install iTunes on WIN PC all is good.

Apple is one more vote with my feet, see ya. Take your apple and slow stick it, sideways.

App developers are not going to continue to write Apps to run on 15 year-old hardware. The hardware no longer has current enough specifications and the pool of users has shrunk dramatically.

Not Apple's fault. Talk to the App developers. Good luck.

While we’re all being outraged by Apple and Amazon, be aware that many classic movies are being censored in their digital forms by the always-vigilent Left, having their wrong-think removed for our safety. Breitbart’s John Nolte has mentioned this a few times in his columns, and recommends that those who value those old classics secure DVD/BlueRay copies while the getting’s good, before they’re all gone. I have a whole pile already, more than I’ll ever watch, but it’s something to consider for those who’ve gone digital.

Similarly, I’ve had a couple of Kindle titles that are no longer available on my devices because the license has expired, or perhaps been transferred to someone else. Only a couple, but it shows that digital purchases ain’t necessarily Forever. Fortunately, there are huge libraries of classic out-of-print, expired-copyright classics available from other sources for Kindles and other e-reader platforms, many on the Libravox site and also available as audio books on their app.

This 3rd generation, 2022 edition of the Apple TV 4K offers 64GB of internal storage and Wi-Fi access to a wide variety of content.

$124.99 Don't be CHEEEP!! BUY A NEW ONE!!!

If it lasts another 15 years, that's $8.33 per year.

You waste much more time than that posting on this stupid forum about how life sucks in America.

YES> I've seen Amazon cuts done on Brit TV shows . I still can't figure why. No violence, sex or language. One scene was just an angry woman.

I think I have 1100 books on Calibre

I’d shoot it with a 44 special

So, you bought a first gen Apple TV in 2008 and were happy with it. When you bought it, Prime had been launched for 2 years, but Apple didn't support Amazon. Apple worked their asses off for their clients, and FINALLY, in 2017, reached an agreement with Amazon (to Amazon's favor) to support Amazon on your archaic device. For six years you've benefited from that, (which again was a bonus Apple negotiated for their legacy devices and cost you nothing!), yet now you're angry and indignant and blaming Apple for no longer being able to provide you for free something you never purchased... because Amazon has changed their device parameters...just fv(king WOW...


Hey, SONY...damnit, I just hooked up my Betamax and it doesn't play on my TV... sweet laird jumpin jaysus...

My tv is old as fuqk got a $10 Roku box and a sound bar I got for Xmas sometime ago might as well be at cinema movies we got a bunch of popcorn

Holy jeebus lets go back to Quicktime.

Why is that even a question?? I gave a solution to his "problem". If he wants to make it more complex by not using the Apple TV app..I mean channel....he can download all his iTunes crap and figure out how to use Plex and/or convert it to non DRM formats. This isnt rocket science.

If it works now, and they say they are going to stop supporting it on a date specific, that means they are making a choice. It's not a matter of not being able to.

I'm guessing but it's probably because Prime wants tostream more 4k and/or he newer Prime app is going to use new features/API that the old apple tv doesn't support.

Get a fire stick and plug it into another HDMI port. They're about 35 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/all-new-amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k/dp/B0BP9MDCQZ/1

Crap, I can't get media for my laser disc player! I'm gonna' sue....somebody?

Brother Hawkeye is from New York

Damnit! The five and dime has a whole bucket of VHS, and my TV won't hook up to my VHS player... I'm gonna' sue...somebody?

Buy a new TV you cheap bastages.
Seriously. A $300 TV will have 10X better display than a 15 year old TV.

My tv is 15 yrs old

Gosh darn it...I used to play Leisure Suit Larry on 5-1/4" floppy on my first computer...IT WON'T Play...I'm gonna sue...somebody?

Dad blame it...My father in law left me 80 hours of music on reel-to-reel, and his Teac reel-to-reel player. I can't hook it up to my new stereo???

JFC it ain’t that complicated

Brother Hawkeye,

Buy a new one. You’ll get a shipping update that it’s on your front step. Calm the fugk down and wait 24 hours.

Oh yeah?

What about the dead sea scrolls on papyrus that won't play on my Kindle?

wtf is a kindle😂

Right, not complicated. But complex. TRH doesnt have tv viewing pleasure issue. TRH explained how he hates capitalism. 😥

Yep, Three score and ten!

Obviously, it's a text reading device sold by Amazon that at some point in the future Apple can make obsolete and shove up your azz...

Haven't you been paying attention???

If I’m gonna watch tv I’ll turn on the roku
If I wanna listen to music I gotta sound bar
If I wanna read a book I don’t need a fqun kindle
For god sakes

So, the last 3 years I worked, 2 were in Norway and one was in Qatar...Just where would you propose to get a book in English there, genius? With a Kindle you just download one. Sooo many of you need to look beyond your tiny little worlds...

That's a CF feature, not a flaw.

Who is dropping what? That is the question.

A few years ago, my lovely 25 inch Zenith TV quit working, until I bought a digital to analog converter. Should I be cussing Zenith?

A few years later, my Galaxy S4 quit working. I had to upgrade to a 4G device. Is that Samsung's fault?

Your Apple device is no longer supported by Amazon. Is that Apple's fault? Or a product of Amazon's evolving technology?

Good point👍

Whoa - most civil reply I've seen on here. Makes me feel about 2 feet tall. Sorry for the snarkiness...

To that point, though, I agree to a large extent. Just grabbed from my briefcase:

Latest iPad Mini
Roku Streaming Stick
Bose Bluetooth Speaker



Every app in the world on the iPad for streaming movies, music, books, magazines, games...etc. Can plug the Roku into any hotel TV and bluetooth or Airplay right to it, and forward bluetooth to the speaker. Easy as pie... Have done it in double digit countries on 5 continents.

The TV isn't that old. The AppleTV plug in unit is.

This is an old video, but gives you an idea. When you open the Apple channel, at the top youll see library. Sign in with your Apple ID and boom! All your purchased content is there.

Library of your stuff looks like this...

Planned obsolescence.

Looks like Roku is the way to go. Thanks.

Welcome. Its an option, a good one. But if you really like Apple then just upgrade. Roku Ultra is like $100. A new Apple isnt much more. Try something new or stick with what ya know, up to you. Good luck