Apple TV 4K Streaming Reviews: Stream 4K Contents on Apple TV 4K

Posted by Abby Poole to 4K, Apple Resources, Apple TV | Last Updated on Jan 8, 2024

If you have get yourself a fancy 4K TV, now it's time to get some 4K contents. The recently released Apple TV 4K is a natural pick for that purpose, which lets you watch movies and shows in amazing 4K HDR quality. With $179 only, you are able to enjoy Apple 4K TV streaming, for example, Netflix 4K movies, 4K contents from Netflix, Hulu, ESPN with 4K HDR resolution imagery. Not only that, there are many reasons that you should buy Apple TV 4K to stream 4K contents on Apple TV.

Apple TV 4K Streaming Review: The Advantages & Disadvantages of Apple TV 4K

Top reasons you should buy an Apple TV 4K for 4K HDR streaming

It supports 4K. You know, the inability of the previous Apple TV for 4K resolution contents has always been the big problem. Even back in 2015, TV manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, LG produced the best 4K TVs. Luckily, Apple TV doesn't let us down this time with the new Apple TV 4K.
It supports High Dynamic Range (HDR). HDR delivers brighter, more realistic colors and greater details. Whatever you stream 4K contents on Apple TV, from the hottest new movie to your favorite TV shows, everything is more lifelike Apple TV 4K streaming quality than ever.
The only standalone box to support Dolby Vision. The Apple TV is currently the only standalone box that supports the Dolby Vision HDR standard, which is a big deal. Compared with HDR10, Dolby Vision looks way better with brighter and more colorful video.
HD movies upgrade to 4K for free. To be frank, this Apple TV 4K advantages will save your money a lot. If you've already bought a few HD movies from iTunes, they will be upgraded to 4K resolution, HDR versions automatically for free. Of course, on the condition that the 4K HDR version is available.
Apple TV app puts everything you watch in one place. As you know, the Apple TV app allows your to browse content from over 60 video services without switching from one app to the next. Besides, this app is already on iPhone iPad and Apple TV and works seamlessly across them all.
Intuitive interface, improved remote control, brilliant Siri and it's really easy to set up.

But Apple TV 4K streaming is not all good. There are also some disadvantages as well.

HDR processing makes some 1080p HD videos look bad. It was great when you watched HD content from iTunes, but it fell down in other apps. For example, I watched The Dark Knight in HD on HBO Go with our video team, and the Apple TV 4K HDR processing blew out all the contrast in the image, got everything too sharpening, and turned the film grain into noise.
Apple TV doesn't support YouTube 4K. YouTube 4K videos are encoded with VP9 codec, which is not the Apple TV supported format. That's to say you're unable to stream YouTube 4K contents on Apple TV 4K.
No Disney or Marvel movies in 4K HDR. It's a pity to find that Apple TV 4K's library is missing major films from studios like Disney and franchises like The Fast and the Furious. And the company clearly needs to get more 4K-enabled services aboard.
No Atoms support. Apple says Atmos is coming eventually, according to The Verge, but it's unclear when we should expect it. I'm currently running a 5.1.2 (5.1 with two upward firing speakers) Atmos configuration, and it's simply disappointing that such a high-end device can't take advantage of it properly.
Expensive. Compared with the previous Apple TV, Apple TV 4K is much more expensive indeed. You need pay $179 for 32GB Apple TV 4K, $30 more than the previous one.

Apple TV 4K Streaming: How to Stream 4K HDR from Apple TV 4K?

As for how to stream Apple TV 4K contents, it goes similar to play HD movies on Apple TV. But before that, make sure you meet all needs of watching 4K HDR Dolby Vision quality videos below:

Purchased or rented video content with high-quality version (4K HDR Dolby Vision).

A device capable of playing 4K videos, like 4K TVs, Mac/Windows computers with 4K video player etc.

The latest versions of iOS or tvOS.

An internet connection fast enough to watch, Hulu, Amazon, Netflix 4K HDR contents. Apple recommends a minimum speed of 25 Mbps for 4K streaming.

Possible Problems for Apple TV 4K Streaming

1. Apple TV 4K Won't Stream YouTube 4K Videos. You know, 4K videos are usually encoded with HEVC, H.264, VP9 codecs. When you attempt to stream 4K videos to Apple TV 4K, you'd better make clear what 4K codec your 4K videos is encoded. You have no problem on streaming hevc video to Apple TV 4K, but things are different if you're trying to stream YouTube 4K to Apple TV 4K, since YouTube 4K videos are warpped in VP9 codec, which is not compatible for Apple TV 4K at all.
2. Dolby Vision freezing Apple TV 4K. According to Apple Support Discussion, the problem is stated: "I get the Dolby Vision test screen every time I try to watch the Apple TV 4k device. It's connected to a Denon X6400H via HDMI and the Denon is connected to a Vizio "P" series display. The only way to get it to work is to unplug and plug back in. The remote buttons are completely disable for me as well."
3. Streaming 4K MKV/H.265 to Apple TV 4K not working. If you're trying to stream 4K MKV/H.265 movies on a 1815+ Synology with Plex Server, the 1815+ Synology being obviously not powerful enough for 4K transcoding with Plex. This is frustrating.

What If Apple TV 4K Streaming Buffering? Free Download 4K Contents Instead

It's inevitable that sometimes streaming buffering on Apple TV 4K, maybe an Internet connection matters, or your 4K movies are not supported by Apple TV 4K. In this case, you may consider free download streaming Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go movies or TV shows. However, according to the MacRumors Apple TV 4K support document states, "You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version." Does this mean you're at your wit's end when Apple TV 4K buffering? Not really.

You can get Apple TV 4K streaming download with a solid 4K downloader - MacX Video Converter Pro. It supports you to hassle-free download 4K contents from sites in MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV etc with no quality loss, be it YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and more. Once you saved the streaming source, you are able to eventually enjoy 4K contents on iPhone iPad or other 4K compatible portable device anytime and anywhere, even without Wi-Fi.

Secure Download

How to Download 4K Contents on Mac/Windows?

Step 1: Free download the 4K downloader for Mac or Windows version for PCs and launch it. Then click on YouTube to get ready for 4K contents download.

Step 2: Copy your target Apple TV 4K streaming content URL from 4K video sites, like YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion etc. Paste & Analyze to detect the URL details.

Step 3: Choose 4K resolutions (3840 * 2160), output format, codec, size from the popped up window.

Step 4: Tap Free Download icon to download 4K videos from YouTube, Vimeo etc. within minutes.

Apple TV 4K Streaming Reviews: Stream 4K Contents on Apple TV 4K

Posted by Abby Poole to 4K, Apple Resources, Apple TV | Last Updated on Jan 8, 2024

Stream 4K Contents on Apple TV 4K

Apple TV 4K Streaming Review: The Advantages & Disadvantages of Apple TV 4K

Apple TV 4K Streaming: How to Stream 4K HDR from Apple TV 4K?

Possible Problems for Apple TV 4K Streaming

What If Apple TV 4K Streaming Buffering? Free Download 4K Contents Instead

How to Download 4K Contents on Mac/Windows?

Download Apple TV 4K Streaming Movies/TV Shows Offline

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