NEWS: Panasonic TVs now feature Apple TV+

[Andy Bassett]

Panasonic has announced that the Apple TV+ streaming service is now available on a wide range of its TVs.
Read the news.

 

[supersonic 395]

Will movies from Apple TV + support 4K Dolby Vision and Atmos?

 

[teeveedee]

The app appeared automatically on my GX800 this morning. Worth noting that it is only Apple TV+ you get access to - you can’t access your iTunes purchases through it.
I just had a quick look and there doesn't appear to be any Dolby Vision, only HDR10. I played the first ep of Invasion which I had previously watched on my Apple TV 4K box in Dolby Vision but it only offered HDR10 via the app on the TV.

 

[Hamad138]

Seems like only Sky App and Sky Ticket is left as major TV App .


Come on Panasonic , give us Sky App

 

[teeveedee]

Seems like only Sky App and Sky Ticket is left as major TV App .

Come on Panasonic , give us Sky App

That'll be down to Sky, not Panasonic.
Sky Ticket is known as NOW in the UK, and it's certainly possible that it may appear on Panasonic TVs at some point, as it's available on LG, Samsung and Sony TVs. Sky are planning on updating the NOW platform next year, and are also releasing a Sky Go app for Apple TV boxes as they continue their shift into streaming. This follows the release of their own Sky Glass streaming TV a couple of months ago.

 

[Barrovian]

...Worth noting that it is only Apple TV+ you get access to - you can’t access your iTunes purchases through it...

Shame. But I can see why Apple have done it. They've got to keep a way of selling the ATV boxes I suppose. And fair play to Panasonic for supporting their older models.

 

[Joe C]

Shame. But I can see why Apple have done it. They've got to keep a way of selling the ATV boxes I suppose. And fair play to Panasonic for supporting their older models.

You can watch your iTunes purchases on the ATV+ app on the other brands of TV however

 

[Barrovian]

You can watch your iTunes purchases on the ATV+ app on the other brands of TV however

Ah, didn’t know that. Blows my argument out of the water then.

 

[teeveedee]

You can watch your iTunes purchases on the ATV+ app on the other brands of TV however

Not strictly true. You can on the AppleTV app (note the lack of +) on some other brands of TV such as Samsung. You also don’t get access to iTunes extras (bonus content with purchased movies) on the Apple TV app.
The AppleTV+ app only gives you the AppleTV+ content.

 

[hebda]

I also got this on my 55HZ1000 today noticed no Dolby vision but Atmos is there, hopefully vision will come with an update.

Has anyone noticed playing any show the aspect ratio looks off and faces stretched?

 

[teeveedee]

I also got this on my 55HZ1000 today noticed no Dolby vision but Atmos is there, hopefully vision will come with an update.

Has anyone noticed playing any show the aspect ratio looks off and faces stretched?

Well spotted! I've just checked Invasion via the ATV+ app on my GX800 and it's the same as for you - the image has been stretched vertically. Watching the same episode on my Apple TV 4K box presents it properly letterboxed in the correct aspect ratio in Dolby Vision & Atmos.
I'll be sticking with the ATV 4K box - it's much faster than the app anyway too.

 

[hebda]

Well spotted! I've just checked Invasion via the ATV+ app on my GX800 and it's the same as for you - the image has been stretched vertically. Watching the same episode on my Apple TV 4K box presents it properly letterboxed in the correct aspect ratio in Dolby Vision & Atmos.
I'll be sticking with the ATV 4K box - it's much faster than the app anyway too.

Thanks for checking and confirming, I will be sticking with ATV too. I have raised the problems with Apple lets hope for a fix at some point.

 

[Buckster666]

Good work Panasonic

 

[Hamad138]

Good work Panasonic

Sky Apps only one left right now

 

[markush]

Good to see in general, though at the same time disappointing that the aspect ratio is completely off making viewing a pain and Dolby Vision is not supported. Both must have been absolutely obvious when developing or testing the app. I really wonder what they are doing in this process.
Hopefully a fix will become soon available.

 

[MahaRaja]

Tried it yesterday evening on my HZ1000, what's the point of having it there if the aspect ratio is weird!

 

[Johndm]

Same issue with incorrect aspect ratio on my GZ950B, back to watching Apple TV via Fire Cube

 

[Johndm]

Also the Apple TV app does not display forced subtitles, can't see any option to enable so totally useless for watching Invasion for example

 

[Jase]

Also the Apple TV app does not display forced subtitles, can't see any option to enable so totally useless for watching Invasion for example

The Aspect Ratio is ok on my EZ952 now but oddly enough it starts wrongly on my LG E7. It can be fixed by toggling the Aspect Ratio button so might be worth trying that on your GZ if it will let you.

To access Subtitles if you press Down on your remote the Subtitles and Audio menu will pop up at the top of the screen. From there you can select what you want. The Auto option isn't working properly though.

One thing that's rather annoying is that all content is in 2CH PCM not 5.1 (like the Disney+ App).

Edit. The Aspect Ratio is messed up again on ATV+ content.

 

[Johndm]

Tried all manual and auto options for aspect ratio, app refused to resize correctly and shows vertical stretch in all aspect ratio modes on my Panny.
Subtitle menu does not appear at all, and anyway forced subs should appear without any manual selection.
Using my Fire Cube everything works fine apart from the Dolby Vision/30hz/1080p issue which is yet another world of poo

 

[teeveedee]

Weirdly the aspect ratio is fine on Apple movies on the Panasonic app - Finch for example plays in the correct aspect ratio, but all Apple TV series, like Invasion are stretched vertically.
It's probably all just a ploy to get you to buy an Apple TV 4K box....which I did, and can heartily recommend.

 

[Jase]

Tried all manual and auto options for aspect ratio, app refused to resize correctly and shows vertical stretch in all aspect ratio modes on my Panny.
Subtitle menu does not appear at all, and anyway forced subs should appear without any manual selection.
Using my Fire Cube everything works fine apart from the Dolby Vision/30hz/1080p issue which is yet another world of poo

Sounds like the App is properly messed up on your model. You're right, subtitles should just work so somethings certainly amiss if you can't even access the menu.

Par for the course these days as things often don't work properly. You'd think they'd actually check stuff is working before releasing it!

I'll be sticking with my AppleTV4K box for now. At least that actually works.

 

[Johndm]

But it must do something wrong? I've yet to find anything that plays everything properly. All units/apps seem to have different availability of Dolby Vision and or DD Atmos on their streams. Why can't they all just work? Not tried Apple 4k box yet though

 

[Jase]

But it must do something wrong? I've yet to find anything that plays everything properly. All units/apps seem to have different availability of Dolby Vision and or DD Atmos on their streams. Why can't they all just work? Not tried Apple 4k box yet though

Apart from the recent aspect ratio glitch with the ATV+ App my LG E7 has been solid for Dolby Vision and Atmos.

I can't really find fault with my AppleTV4K though. Works perfectly with my EZ952 but that doesn't have Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos. I bought it as the EZ had limited App availability.

Got another ATV4K with a Sony XH9505 and AVR elsewhere and again, no problem at all. Dolby Vision and Atmos work perfectly. Any issues that have popped up tend to have been down to App updates rather than the box itself.

 

[Johndm]

So after reading I bought an Apple TV 4K which I installed yesterday.
Seems streets ahead of my Fire Cube as it stays locked on 4k and adjusts to the correct frame rate where the Cube will not. It’s better at Netflix playback than the cube too, but I still need the Cube for Amazon HD music and it seems to play Prime better although still testing. Really nice kit, wondering if I should swap to Apple for music?