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Comment by ericmay | Hacker News Reader

Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you? If you dropped them on HBO I wouldn't know the difference. There are lots of different genres, great actors, and compelling stories.

We have Netflix (via T-Mobile), Hulu, Prime, HBO, Disney+ and Apple TV. Some of these (Disney/Hulu) are from family or friends. WE only pay for Prime (probably the lowest quality of all of these) and Apple TV (because of Apple One subscription).

HBO and Apple TV and Disney+ have the best quality content IMO. Netflix is kind of around there sometimes but a lot of just pure garbage (Looking at you Cowboy Bebop). Hulu isn't bad. Comparable to Netflix but less content. Prime is just bad for the most part. If Wal-Mart had launched it instead it's about what I'd expect it to be.

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> Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you?

What actual content do they have?

I've seen a Beastie boys doc, Ted Lasso and The morning show * edited from Newsroom when my error was pointed out.

That's a month's worth of content. What else do they have to justify continuing a subscription?

Disney has more content with just the Simpson's episodes alone. Add on top of that the entire Marvel catalog, the entire Starwars Catalog and the entire Pixar catalog.

Do they have extra features? The kind of stuff that used to come on DVDs?

I enjoyed "For All Mankind", "See", and "The Invasion". I get it for free due to a laptop purchase. I'm not sure if I'll pay for it once that runs out..

Those are all good as well, but I'm sure the person you're replying to was unaware that they could watch them.

The UX of Apple TV+(which is a terrible name) is nothing but bait and switch. After my first week of using my free subscription I completely gave up on trying to browse on the app.

90% of the content I would click on would then ask me for 5 to twenty dollars to pay for it, which is ultimately just a rental until Apple decides they aren't interested in running a streaming service anymore. There's no indication it's pay until you're already excited to watch a show and click on it.

There are good shows on there now, but I only ever bother to open the app when I see an article listing best shows on streaming services and happen to see an Apple one. Sitting down to relax and just opening the app brings about nothing but frustration.

I agree, the app is horrifically bad. Its hard to find the included content, it takes a long time for it to bring up the description of the video, the play delay is terrible, and it has smooth fast forward/rewind which I personally despise.

The only thing that makes it worth dealing with is the excellent content. Oh, and the fact that I can generally download something quickly to watch on a plane after boarding but before takeoff, since T-Mobile throttles Netflix, but apparently not AppleTV.

Do you mean The Morning Show? The Newsroom was an HBO series that ran for 3 seasons from 2012-2014.

Not OP but the only show I've enjoyed on ATV+ was Ted Lasso. They have no back catalog either. Not enough content to even get me to browse around. Only had it because they bundled it with student subs of Apple Music, otherwise never would have subbed.

> Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you?

Isn't this basically just asking why doesn't Ted Lasso appeal to you? I think the biggest problem is Apple doesn't have much of a catalog.

There isn't a lot but For All Mankind is great and The Morning Show is pretty good. Foundation is OK.

Ted Lasso is the best thing there, but far from the only thing. The catalog is pretty solid. I personally loved Mythic Quest and Schmigadoon. I have mixed feelings about Foundation as an adaptation, but I like it pretty well as a stand-alone thing.

Looking forward to trying out For All Mankind, See, Macbeth, and Invasion; the first two seem especially well liked by friends.

Bounced off Physical and Dickinson, but that had nothing to do with the quality of the shows; they're well made and have excellent acting.

The wide variety of stories and genres are lacking, but I think the quality of the average Apple TV+ show is quite a bit higher than the average Netflix show, on par with most of HBO.

HBO is known for hugely popular shows with critical acclaim. Just last year, HBO had Succession, Mare of Easttown, and The White Lotus in several top-10 lists. It's hard to compare the mostly-okay offerings from Apple TV to either the current HBO shows or its back catalog full of hits.

> I think the quality of the average Apple TV+ show is quite a bit higher than the average Netflix show

Netflix has a ton of content so 'average' is going to differ based on your algorithm. But in the last year I can think of... The Crown, You, Cobra Kai, The Queen's Gambit, Bridgerton, Squid Games, Arcane all being massive successes. There are probably more I'm forgetting because they pump them out month after month.

> on par with most of HBO.

Maybe on par with HBO Max Originals...

No, I just thought that as someone who is highly critical of TV shows and movies that even I found a few shows to be good. I was just surprised given the number of different genres that there was nothing whatsoever that was appealing to the person I was replying to.

I agree they don’t have much of a catalog, but they also don’t charge much and give the service away bundled with new devices. It’ll take some time to build up content. No big deal.

I agree. If I had to pick 2, it would be HBO and Apple TV+.

If I had to pick 1...probably HBO because their movie rotation generally has great classics.

I like some Apple TV shows a lot, but there's not a lot. RN I think I'm "finished" with what I really wanted to watch: Ted Lasso, Central Park, Dickinson. I started Acapulco and it's nice, but things in other platforms seems more appealing.

That being said, I think as they expand, it's going to get pretty good.

I have enjoyed Ted Lasso, For All Mankind, and Foundation. That’s all I can recall at the moment for AppleTV+. Still enough to make it worthwhile as part of my AppleOne account.

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