MBW 844: The Oscilloscope of Sauron

Interesting, both Amazon and Google (YouTube) authenticated through my phone, either a QR code or manually going to the website and typing in a 6 digit code shown on the Apple TV…

Maybe it’s an Apple thing - I use Android. Hulu didn’t offer me that option. Neither did Disney+. It’s been too long on the others for me to remember.

It’s a frustration on both ends. Apple doesn’t have a good way of transferring to a new Apple TV (even though their migration to Macs/iPhones is stellar). Also every TV app(Hulu, HBOMax, etc) programs to the lowest common denominator, doesn’t use native APIs, and is basically garbage. I’d bet each app has it’s own quirk that Apple TV users wish X could be better, and it’s a different quirk for each one.

Of course, if you own an iPhone the AppleTV will hand off typing to the iphone (or ipad I’d guess) where it’s a lot easier. In fact, BitWarden just fills it in so there’s no typing at all.

See, life is better within the all-engulfing warm embrace of The Fruit Company!

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must be something in the air!! We bought a new 4K ATV this week also (Now we have 3)

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Not I…I got a code to go to Hulu’s website and enter, so I’m not sure what was going on with your install!! Also, for future reference, just speak the 50 character password into the ATV remote and Bob’s yer uncle!! Apple does not have a “horrible process” - I have found everything on the ATV to be simple and painless. cheers…rh

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Its not an Apple thing - I have the Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ bundle and that’s how the ATV let me set them up - through my phone with a code from the ATV

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Sorry - I’m not speaking my password. I have children and other noise going on and speaking the password is just not practical with the background noise. It may work well for some - but not for me.

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Can you not connect a bluetooth keybioard to the AppleTV and enter passwords that way?

I’m not sure that using a bluetooth keyboard makes typing a 50 character non-dictionary password much easier. The fact is the OS as a whole needs a better way for users to enter credentials. I use LastPass for my password manager, but there are other solutions in place. However, because Apple only allows you to pass credentials from an iPhone (or similar) - even those won’t work here. Everyone else has figured out a way to do this without making people jump through hoops - why not Apple.

And it’s not just the way in which the passwords are entered. There isn’t even a toggle to allow the password to be displayed in plain text while I’m entering in - so I can make sure I haven’t mistyped anything. I can only see the last character - and that’s only for a few seconds before it’s masked. God forbid I’m reading my 50 character password trying to find where I’m at so I can continue entering characters and take too long doing that.

I apologize to everyone, but this is pain point for me in a product from a company that prides itself on ‘simply working’ and being ‘magical’. It’s magical POS - that’s what it is. My XBOX handles password entry far better than this thing does. The quality of the video streams (as Alex likes to talk about) is irrelevant if I get so frustrated with the process that I give up. Which is nearly what I did with the Hulu app (and others).

Again - I apologize for my rant. It sounds like the solution to my problem is to either buy an iPhone (or iPad) so I can enter passwords - or buy a different device.

Well you do have choices. I use a Chromecast /w Google TV. Same issues apply. Depends on the app. For a long time, Netflix did not allow me to just scan a QR code. Now they do. I have pain points with other streaming apps. Reasons why Hulu forces you to type a long password is purely Hulu. Maybe the Apple app development team is not updating, maybe Hulu has something against Apple.

I’m an Apple iPhone/Mac user with Google devices around the place, so you pic and choose what suits you.

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