Apple Seeds First Beta of tvOS 11.2 to Public Beta Testers

Wednesday November 1, 2017 10:20 AM PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to its public beta testing group, one day after seeding the tvOS 11.2 update to developers. tvOS 11.2 comes just after the release of tvOS 11.1, the first update to tvOS 11.

The tvOS 11.2 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.


According to Apple's release notes, the tvOS 11.2 update enables a new AVDisplayManager feature for developers, designed to allow the device to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content.

The update includes support for switching the Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR and it re-introduces the Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos.

Apple says it also adds new features, bug fixes, and security improvements to the tvOS operating system.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
48 comments


Top Rated Comments

(View all)
Avatar
2010mini
12 months ago

Where’s the amazon prime app?


A software update is not needed for a new app. Amazon is the only one who can release their tvOS app.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
mikeboss
12 months ago
yeah, finally! it was about time. Apple TV unable to switch the framerate to match the content played back was a total deal-breaker for me.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
BODYBUILDERPAUL
12 months ago

No, they don’t deserve credit fir fixing a basic feature that shoukd have been there from the start!


No pleasing you MMM ;') Just be thankful that it's been implemented and rather well. Seriously, be happy with it man or sell it. Move on dude!
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
Jayderek
12 months ago

Where’s the amazon prime app?


not sure, have you asked Amazon that since they're the ones that control it?
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
jmh600cbr
12 months ago
Where’s the amazon prime app?
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
shakeyjrc
12 months ago
I can assure everyone that with the Apple TV 4k model the native frame rate option works with a 1080p Tv. It was cool last night using that mode on my Panasonic plasma tv. I noticed the 24hz working with Netflix and the Apple Trailers app.

Even with the latest PB update , my 4th generation Apple TV does not list the option for native frame rate.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
Krevnik
12 months ago

Really? The device has only been out for a month. This seems like a very fast turnaround.
As to why it launched without it in the first place is a different question.
Honest question though, don’t most 4k TV convert 24fps from 60fps already (without adding any artifacts)?


Convert? Yes. Without artifacts? That's debatable, and depends on your TV, as some will and some won't. It really is just easier to feed it a proper signal in the first place.

That said, a lot of people won't notice the difference, or if their TV fails to convert it properly, because they've been dealing with 3:2 pulldown for decades.
[doublepost=1509560251][/doublepost]

Can canyone please confirm that the mode switching is only for the 4k version?! Isnt it useful also for the 4. gen ATv?


Neither the 4K or 4th Gen will output 1080p at 24fps, and the 4th Gen doesn't support HDR, so what mode switching will it be doing?
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
rog
12 months ago
Great that it will finally become usable again by having an unwatched list. Anyone know if it will allow that list as a single list without preview icons? Many times more efficient to read and scroll that list vs. the current row and column set up.
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
Mac 128
12 months ago

Unfortunately, that feature isnt that basic.
Fire TV, Nividia Shield, Chromecast...all these devices dont have an automatic framerate switching feature.


All I know is my Sony running Android TV OS does it. If my Android smart TV does it, then the ATV 4K surely should.

I can assure everyone that with the Apple TV 4k model the native frame rate option works with a 1080p Tv. It was cool last night using that mode on my Panasonic plasma tv. I noticed the 24hz working with Netflix and the Apple Trailers app.

Even with the latest PB update , my 4th generation Apple TV does not list the option for native frame rate.


Too bad about the 4th gen. But, does the 1080p 24hz option now appear in the ATV 4K format options? And you're saying it works with a 1080p TV, does that mean on a 4K TV when the source is 1080p 24Hz, that's how it will be sent to the TV? Or will the ATV 4K upscale it to 4K 24Hz?
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
Krevnik
12 months ago

My guess is, considering how fast they implemented auto-switching into a public beta after release, that this was always planned for launch, just like the Amazon app and Dolby Atmos., and in typical Apple fashion they pulled it for whatever reason just before launch. This is the first Apple product in a while I can recall was seemingly launched mostly with desirable features it will have, versus features it does have.


I wouldn't even call this "typical Apple fashion", I'd call it "meeting a software engineering deadline." At least in today's environment. A bit different than the old days when we had to assume someone who bought our software may never be able to get an update ever, and we may not be able to make small feature additions available to customers easily in a fair way. But bandwidth is cheap these days.

The thing I know Apple has been hammered with is when they miss feature/bullet point X or Y. That's not a new thing for them. What's new here is that Apple is talking about future plans of software updates. Usually they just say nothing and drop it on people when it is ready. In some ways, I wish they would be more like the old Apple on that front.

Honestly, I would not buy any product based on future plans. Those change. As an software engineer myself, I've seen that. Either wait until those plans solidify, or understand you are buying a product with limitations, and making sure you can live with those limitations. I'd also say that the best policy for not getting people's hopes up and getting them to ask "are we there yet?" wrt/future plans is to not share them until you are nearly ready to deliver them and can give a timeline you intend to stick to.

As for Amazon, I'd love to know the politics involved in the silence from both parties. Considering the sort of shots Amazon has fired across Apple's bow in public in the past on this subject, I have a nagging suspicion they are still asking for special treatment of the App Store rules, and asking for an exception, and Apple is saying no.
Rating: 1 Votes
[ Read All Comments ]