Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.2 update to its public beta testing group, a few days after providing the beta to developers and a week after releasing the tvOS 12.1.2 update.
The tvOS 12.2 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.
tvOS 12.2, paired with iOS 12.2, lets users ask Siri to play specific media on an Apple TV from an iOS device. You can, for example, ask Siri to play Modern Family on the TV in the living room. This works for music and TV content.
No other new features were discovered in the tvOS 12.2 beta as of yet, and it's often difficult to determine what's new because Apple does not provide release notes letting us know what's changed.
Hopefully tvOS 12.2 or 13.0 will provide third-party developers with the capability to add support for Dolby Atmos. The Apple TV only support Dolby Atmos on-top of Dolby Digital Plus aka the "lossy" version of Dolby Atmos. Not all that surprising as the Apple TV and tvOS did not support the lossless formats such as Dolby True HD or DTS: Master Audio to begin with.
But the saddest part of the Dolby Atmos support is how there is no API for developers to utilise in order to get it supported within their apps. Firecore, the developers behind Infuse and Plex Inc the developers behind Plex Media Player are simply not allowed to add support for Dolby Atmos within these apps.
It's only Apple themselves, and chosen streaming provides working directly with Apple that are allowed to integrate with the Dolby Atmos capabilities within tvOS. This is such a shame and is really putting some stark discrimination on the developers.
Hopefully tvOS 12.2 or 13.0 will provide a API for all the developers to use. Why limit this in such a way? It's beyond me... [doublepost=1548700522][/doublepost]The Firecore team encourages Apple TV users to raise this issue with Apple;
Dolby Atmos support has been announced at WWDC for tvOS 12!
Unfortunately, the current implementation is only useful for VOD services like iTunes, Netflix, and Vudu. Enabling Atmos for local content is a change that needs to come from Apple, and as the old saying goes “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” So...we're asking you to be as squeaky as possible...within reason of course.
Ways you can help
[LIST=1] * Request a feature or enhancement through apple.com/feedback ('http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html') * Submit an suggestion bug report through bugreport.apple.com ('http://bugreport.apple.com/') (developers only, see steps below) * Encourage other people you know to do one of the above
A good template of the details to include with your request can be found below.
Dolby Atmos is now supported on Apple TV, which is great! However, the options provided for Atmos are rather limited and not very useful for those who wish to play their own local Atmos content.
Please allow tvOS applications (e.g., Infuse, Plex, DS Video, etc.) to provide more flexible audio options to their users either through the use of Dolby MAT v2.0 or full bitstream audio passthrough.
Devices like NVIDIA SHIELD, Dune 4K, and many other Android-based media players support this feature, and it would be fantastic if the Apple TV would as well.
Steps for filing a Radar.
[LIST=1] * Log in to: bugreport.apple.com ('http://bugreport.apple.com/') * Choose: Report a new bug * For product, select: tvOS + SDK -> AV Playback * Title: “Atmos Support for Playback from Local Network Sources” * Classification: Suggestion
All we need now is a new Apple TV! Hopefully, one without the ridiculous trackpad remote. JMHO.
I like the remote. The trackpad lets me move around quickly and scrub through a show. Easy peasy. And since it has siri built in to find and play shows I fail to see why I need that through my phone as well.
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Top Rated Comments
But the saddest part of the Dolby Atmos support is how there is no API for developers to utilise in order to get it supported within their apps. Firecore, the developers behind Infuse and Plex Inc the developers behind Plex Media Player are simply not allowed to add support for Dolby Atmos within these apps.
It's only Apple themselves, and chosen streaming provides working directly with Apple that are allowed to integrate with the Dolby Atmos capabilities within tvOS. This is such a shame and is really putting some stark discrimination on the developers.
Hopefully tvOS 12.2 or 13.0 will provide a API for all the developers to use. Why limit this in such a way? It's beyond me...
[doublepost=1548700522][/doublepost]The Firecore team encourages Apple TV users to raise this issue with Apple;
No more lost remote. :)
Also, I now know which way is up or down! :D
I commonly use my iPad because I have no idea where the remote went.