Apple TV is continuing to decline but what’s going wrong?

Despite its recent revamp, Apple’s attempt at a video streaming box isn’t having the best time. Not only was it roundly criticized in reviews, recent data from eMarketer shows that its sales aren’t picking up either.

According to eMarketer Apple TV "is at the bottom of the U.S. connected TV market, behind Google Chromecast and Roku, with its share shrinking.” That’s got to hurt for a company that’s not exactly known for releasing unpopular products.

The company reports that in the US Apple TV is used by just 11.9 percent of connected TV customers, marking a steady decline from 12.5 percent in September and 12.6 percent in 2015. 

Shrinking share

So what could Apple be doing wrong with its offering?

When the fourth generation Apple TV launched in late 2015 it was a significant improvement on the previous generations of Apple TVs with its 1080p output, third party apps, and speedy hardware. However, in the context of the wider streaming device market it just wasn’t good enough and unfortunately that’s still the case. 

The problem is that though Apple TV does the basics fairly well, the devices Google and Roku are offering do the same and more for less money. You can expect to pay around $149/£139 for a 1080p 32GB Apple TV which is a significant sum when you consider the fact that you can pick up a 4K Amazon Fire TV set-top box, or the 4K Chromecast Ultra for almost half that. 

Keeping up with the competition

If you’re entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, own several iOS devices and you buy all of your films and music from iTunes the Apple TV is likely to hold some attraction for you. Otherwise, the other streaming devices out there are likely to draw you in first as they’re more affordable and offer more content. 

Though Apple began working on introducing third party apps to its device and it continues to add more over time it feels rather like a too little too late situation. 

It’s also worth noting that Apple’s relationship with some of the most popular streaming services like Amazon and Spotify means it’s unlikely we’ll see them bring apps to the device any time soon which puts Apple TV at a disadvantage when devices like Roku are able to offer more. 

Not only that, Apple still isn’t able to offer the live TV subscription service it had originally hoped to launch. Increasingly we don't want to have to access apps to watch our shows, we want everything in one large diverse streaming ecosystem.

That market is now increasingly dominated by companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu to the point where even if Apple does manage to pull together its own service, it may struggle to compete unless it’s able to offer something extremely attractive these other services can’t. 

Apple recently announced that it would up the maximum allotted size for apps on the Apple TV from 200MB to 4GB which should make the device more appealing to game designers but improved gaming options isn’t likely to make the Apple TV more appealing to those looking for a TV streaming device.

Besides this, the Apple TV’s internal memory hasn’t increased beyond 64GB so despite being able to hold bigger apps, it won’t be able to hold many of them in its current form.

Is there hope?

This could, however, point towards a new generation of Apple TVs with larger hard drives on the horizon.  

Though Apple clearly isn’t giving up on the Apple TV, it's highly unlikely that improving it is at the top of the company’s priority list. 

Apple had a great vision for the Apple TV, going as far as calling it the “future of television.”

Unfortunately, though the Apple TV is undoubtedly a solid device in its own right, we haven’t really seen any sign of it being “the future of television” just yet. 

Apple is making improvements but its competitors – who were already offering more – are too which could make it hard for Apple to catch up enough to be considered serious competition. Until it's able to offer a service that justifies its higher price point, Apple don't give consumers much reason to choose AppleTV over any other streaming box. 

• These are our picks of the best set-top boxes

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Your Sky subscription is about to reduce by 13 channels - here's why

Bad news Sky subscribers, you’re about to lose 13 channels after January 31 from your subscription whether you like it or not. 

The channels in question are those owned by Discovery, and include Eurosport, Discovery History and Discovery Science. 

Now TV (Sky’s streaming service) does not currently allow live streaming of any Discovery-owned channels, and so its subscribers will feel less of an impact. 

What's causing this?

The situation has come about due to a price dispute, although it’s not clear exactly how the dispute started.

Reuters reports that Sky is unhappy with the price Discovery is asking for its channels and quotes a representative as saying, "We have been overpaying Discovery for years and are not going to anymore."

In a statement on its website, Sky has said that Discovery asked for close to £1bn for the right to broadcast its channels, when Sky claims many are in decline.

It sounds as though with fewer people watching linear channels in favour of on-demand content, Sky is looking to spend less on the former while it shifts its focus to the latter with products such as Sky Q.

Both companies appear to be running PR campaigns to get the public onside. Discovery has set up a countdown on its website to drum up support the channels on Sky’s service with instructions for its fans to contact Sky to petition for a deal to be made.

Meanwhile Sky has set up a ‘We Love Discovery Too’ page to put across its side of the argument.

With both companies sticking to their guns it’s hard to see the situation resolving itself any time soon, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that Discovery fans won’t have to search too far to get their fix.

Which channels are affected?

Here is a complete list of the Discovery channels that will be leaving Sky’s service:

• Discovery Channel
• Discovery Channel HD
• Discovery Channel +1
• Animal Planet
• Animal Planet HD
• Animal Planet +1
• Discovery Science
• Discovery Science +1
• Investigation Discovery
• Investigation Discovery+1
• Discovery History
• Discovery History+1
• Discovery Turbo
• Quest
• Quest+1
• DMAX
• DMAX+1
• TLC
• TLC HD
• TLC+1
• TLC+2
• Home & Health
• Home & Health +1
• Discovery Shed
• Eurosport 1
• Eurosport 1 HD
• Eurosport 2
• Eurosport 2 HD

• Check out our full Sky Q and Now TV reviews.

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The best free PDF reader 2017

Netflix spent the most on a single movie at this year's Sundance film festival

We’ve already seen that Netflix is spending more than many traditional TV broadcasters on its shows, but this year at Sundance it also took the title for the most money spent on a single film. 

The film in question was Mudbound, a film about post-WWII racial segregation in America which Netflix paid $12.5m for the rights to distribute. 

The streaming company will follow a similar format to its past film releases by releasing the film simultaneously across cinemas and its core streaming service. 

Oscar ambitions

After investing heavily in television shows, Netflix and Amazon now appear to be getting into movies.

Last year Amazon paid $10m for the rights to Manchester by the Sea, which has gone on to secure a nomination for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars as well as netting a healthy $40m in revenue.

It certainly seems as though the worlds of both TV and cinema are getting more diverse than ever before, with new streaming providers making some pretty intelligent bets about what will resonate with viewers.

It’s also a positive move that these providers are providing these films through their streaming platforms at the same time as their cinematic releases, especially for those of us that prefer to do our movie watching in the comfort of our own homes. 

• Check out our guide to the best films on Netflix.

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Sky Q to include high-end 3D surround sound Dolby Atmos by end of 2017

Fans of high-end audio rejoice, according to an infographic produced by Sky, the company is planning on bringing Dolby Atmos to Sky Q in 2017. 

Additionally the infographic, which was included in a presentation to investors and later spotted by WhatHiFi, mentions voice search and voice control, following in the footsteps of Amazon Fire TV’s Alexa integration and should make it quicker than ever to find the content you want to watch without having to input text using the system’s remote. 

Unfortunately beyond ‘2017’ no extra information about when we could expect the features was forthcoming. The graphic appears to suggest that voice search would be the first feature to make its way, with voice control and Atmos support coming later in the year.

Cinematic ambitions

Sky is not the first company to be experimenting with the technologies.
Late last year BT announced that it would be bringing Dolby Atmos support to select football matches, but Sky’s extensive film catalogue makes its integration of the technology a much more interesting proposition.

Future cinematic Atmos releases include Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman, and last year Dr. Strange was a high profile movie to make use of the 3D surround sound technology.

With features like this and the Ultra HD support, Sky Q is fast becoming one of the most feature-complete ways of watching TV.

Now if it could only get Netflix and Amazon Prime into the box we’d stop needing to have anything else plugged into our televisions…

• Here's everything you need to know about Dolby Atmos.

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Could Windows Defender be the last antivirus you will ever need?

Do you use third-party antivirus software? Well you shouldn’t if you’re running one of Microsoft’s newer operating systems, at least according to a developer who used to work on Firefox (but has since left Mozilla).

Those who are running Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, Microsoft’s two most recent versions of its desktop OS, should simply stick to the built-in protection of Windows Defender, according to Robert O’Callahan.

He argues that in actual fact there isn’t any compelling evidence at all to indicate that going with a third-party antivirus solution will actually make your PC any more secure (unless you’re running an older operating system – Windows 7 or further back – in which case it may help a little).

Otherwise, O’Callahan says that Windows Defender is good enough for basic security needs – but the real point he’s making is that it doesn’t introduce bugs and problems that third-party efforts suffer from, which can actually make the machine they’re installed on more vulnerable to attackers. And that Microsoft follows standard security practices, whereas third-party security vendors don’t.

At any rate, we don’t have to look back very far for an example of the aforementioned bugs, as it was reported last week that Trend Micro, a big-name security firm, had over 200 flaws present across its range of products (which white-hat hackers uncovered over the second half of 2016). The vast majority of those vulnerabilities could be exploited remotely, as well.

The ex-Mozilla employee also warned that the various makers of antivirus software often managed to break the code included in browsers designed to keep users safe from certain exploits, again making them more vulnerable rather than secure. And critical browser updates can also be blocked by third-party security software, he further noted.

Antivirus vendors = terrible

O’Callahan wrote: “Antivirus software vendors are terrible; don't buy antivirus software, and uninstall it if you already have it (except, on Windows, for Microsoft's [Defender]).”

He explained that it’s difficult for browser makers to air these sort of issues because they need the cooperation of antivirus companies when it comes to fixing any problems that crop up – and a bad relationship could make this more difficult, obviously enough.

He further observed: “Users have been fooled into associating AV vendors with security and you don't want AV vendors bad-mouthing your product.”

As mentioned, he does advise that those on older operating systems may feel more benefit, although his phrasing isn’t exactly positive even then: “If you're on Windows 7 or, God forbid, Windows XP, third-party AV software might make you slightly less doomed.”

Incidentally, Windows Defender is slowly gaining a better reputation for security, as we saw this time last year.

Via: ZDNet

• If you don’t agree, we’ve picked out the best antivirus software

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Top 5 best presentation software of 2017

If there’s one type of software that’s been around for decades, it’s presentation packages. Systems for creating and displaying professional-grade slides have been available since the 1980s, and they’ve become a standard in the business world.

Of course, presentation software has come a long way since then, and modern apps give users the ability to create, edit, format and present some pretty stunning slideshows capable of really wowing an audience.

A good presentation program will provide you with all the tools you need to generate and manipulate graphics, and the main aim is that users are able to present their ideas effectively to other people – and do so with pizzazz.

There’s nothing worse than having to sit through a mundane, or possibly even boring presentation. Fortunately, these apps generally include stock themes and easy ways of personalising slides to make them interesting and attractive.

Microsoft PowerPoint is the most notable presentation software, of course, but it’s been covered to the nth degree (if you want to read up on it, check out our Office 365 review). You will, naturally, do fine with PowerPoint, but there are plenty of other great options out there – and here are five of the best.

• We’ve also rounded up the best project management solutions

Branding says a lot about a business, and it’s something firms need to get right from day one – from a good logo to a suitable font. CustomShow is business presentation software that puts all these elements of branding first.

Using the system, you can design and present customised, branded presentations that reflect your company and the products you offer, featuring the aforementioned logo and custom fonts. As well as this, you get a slide library and analytics to ensure your presentations are a success.

What’s more, you can import presentations into the software, and use it to tweak them further. There’s also integration with SalesForce, and because the platform is cloud-based, you can access your presentations on computers, tablets and smartphones. Considering the focus on branding, this offering could be good for marketing and sales teams.

• Sign up for CustomShow here

Just like CustomShow, ClearSlide has a niche focus for companies. The platform is targeted at firms looking to generate successful marketing campaigns, pushing sales via presentations (and more).

The firm bought SlideRocket a few years ago and has integrated its presentation might into a wider sales engagement platform. With the product, you can upload a range of files, including PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF and Excel. 

This system is pretty complex and may offer too many irrelevant features for some businesses, but you can create customised content that reflects your company and the message you’re trying to get out to customers. There are also some good metrics and analysis features, and you can sign up for a free trial before making any decisions.

• Sign up for ClearSlide here

Any presentation app will allow you to personalise your slides to at least some extent, but Haiku Deck goes one step further than the competition. It comes with a wide range of themes suited to different needs, and you also get access to 40 million free images from the Creative Commons.

When it comes to creating a presentation, you have the option to do so on the web, iPad or iPhone. Regardless of the device used, you’re able to select from a variety of different fonts, layouts and filters to make the perfect presentation.

The great thing about these various customisation options is that they’re categorised into different industries and use-cases. For instance, you’ll find themes for teaching, cooking, real-estate and startups. Most of the features require you to be online, but hopefully you’ll have a sturdy net connection wherever you go.

• Sign up for Haiku Deck here

It’s all too easy to end up creating a presentation that’s unappealing, and the last thing you want to do is make the audience fall asleep. SlideDog lets you combine almost any type of media to create a rich presentation that’s sure to keep the viewers’ peepers open.

Marketed as a web-based multimedia presentation tool, it gives you the ability to combine PowerPoint presentations, graphics, PDF files, Prezi presentations, web pages, pictures, videos and movie clips. You can drag these into custom playlists and display them to your audience with ease.

You’re able to remotely control your presentations and playlists from your smartphone, the web or a secondary computer, and there’s also the option to share slides in real-time. Audience members can even view your slide from their own devices by clicking a link. That’s a handy feature if you’re looking to create an immersive presentation experience.

• Sign up for SlideDog here

Prezi is one of the more unique presentation tools. Instead of presenting your graphics and text in a slide-to-slide format, you can create highly visual and interactive presentation canvases.

For business users, there are a variety of handy tools available. By downloading Prezi Business, you can build and edit presentations with your colleagues in real-time, which is perfect for companies with teams based around the globe.

When you have created a presentation you’re happy with, you can present it live (in HD) and send a direct link to viewers. There are some analysis tools here, too – you can see who’s accessed your presentation, which parts of it, and for how long. The app is available for Mac and Windows devices.

• Sign up for Prezi Business here

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