As a TV enthusiast, I was hoping for more from the Apple TV 4K

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As a TV enthusiast, I was hoping for more from the Apple TV 4K. The new Apple TV 4K streaming box has a very premium price tag and doesn’t add desired home theater features.

作为一名电视发烧友，我原本对 Apple TV 4K 抱有更高的期待。新款 Apple TV 4K 流媒体机顶盒定价极其昂贵，却并未增加人们所期望的家庭影院功能。

It’s been four long years since the last Apple TV 4K was released, and in that time there have been lots of hopes and dreams for features in whatever comes next. A new chip, 4K/120Hz support, audio passthrough, a remote locator, better home control integration — the 2022 Apple TV 4K is a great box, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. With the fourth-gen Apple TV 4K announced on Tuesday, some of those hopes were met, while others were unfortunately left out.

距离上一代 Apple TV 4K 发布已经过去了漫长的四年，在这期间，人们对下一代产品的功能寄予了许多希望和梦想。无论是新芯片、4K/120Hz 支持、音频透传、遥控器定位功能，还是更好的智能家居集成——2022 款 Apple TV 4K 虽然是一款出色的设备，但仍有很大的改进空间。随着周二发布的第四代 Apple TV 4K，其中一些愿望得到了满足，但遗憾的是，另一些愿望却落空了。

Coloring the announcement is the device’s price. Apple eliminated the cheaper 64GB, Wi-Fi-only model, leaving just the 128GB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet model — and bumped up its price to $300. I repeat, $300 for a streaming device. It’s a hefty price when every other major streamer on the market is at least half the cost.

此次发布会笼罩在设备价格的阴影之下。苹果取消了更便宜的 64GB Wi-Fi 版机型，仅保留了 128GB 的 Wi-Fi 和以太网版本，并将价格提高到了 300 美元。我再说一遍，一款流媒体设备要价 300 美元。考虑到市场上其他主流流媒体设备的价格至少只有它的一半，这个价格实在太高了。

There are new features I like about this year’s Apple TV 4K. More processing power is great — although my third generation is still running plenty fast — as is the Find My support for when the remote inevitably gets lost in the couch cushions or tangled up in blankets. Built-in far-field mics for talking to Siri are nice, too, provided you don’t stuff the box into a credenza like I do. The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K also adds a dedicated AV1 decoder, which allows for higher-quality streaming from apps that support it, such as Netflix, which is excellent. Any potential improvement to streaming content is a welcome one.

今年新款 Apple TV 4K 中确实有一些我喜欢的新功能。更强的处理能力固然很好——尽管我手里的第三代产品运行速度依然很快——“查找”功能（Find My）的支持也很实用，毕竟遥控器总会不可避免地掉进沙发缝隙或被毯子缠住。内置用于与 Siri 对话的远场麦克风也很不错，前提是你没有像我一样把它塞进柜子里。第四代 Apple TV 4K 还增加了专用的 AV1 解码器，这使得 Netflix 等支持该格式的应用能够实现更高质量的流媒体播放，这一点非常棒。任何对流媒体内容质量的潜在提升都是值得欢迎的。

My primary concern, though, is how the Apple TV 4K performs as an integral piece of my home theater. Apple added the ability to create a surround sound system by using its HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini 2 smart speakers in matching pairs for fronts and surrounds. For Apple ecosystem fans looking to build out a surround setup akin to Sonos or Bose, it’s an interesting idea (and I’m all for getting people into immersive sound in their home theaters). But as I expect is the same for many people interested in pricey streaming hardware, I already have a sound system — it’s an Atmos setup with a combination of SVS and Revel speakers. I’m not setting up my two HomePod 2s in my living room and spending another $300 on a pair of HomePod Mini 2s to replace my existing speakers.

然而，我最关心的是 Apple TV 4K 作为我家庭影院核心组件的表现。苹果增加了通过配对 HomePod 2 和 HomePod Mini 2 智能音箱来组建环绕声系统的功能，分别作为前置和环绕声道。对于那些希望构建类似 Sonos 或 Bose 环绕声系统的苹果生态粉丝来说，这是一个有趣的想法（我也非常支持让人们在家庭影院中体验沉浸式音效）。但正如我所料，许多对昂贵流媒体硬件感兴趣的人和我一样，已经拥有了一套音响系统——我的是一套由 SVS 和 Revel 音箱组成的 Atmos 系统。我不会为了替换现有的音箱，而在客厅里摆放两个 HomePod 2，并再花 300 美元去买一对 HomePod Mini 2。

What I, and many current users, have been hoping for from the Apple TV 4K for years is the addition of audio passthrough. This would allow my more expensive and capable audio/video receiver to decode the raw audio stream instead of the Apple TV using its Continuous Audio Connection, which can cause some playback issues.

多年来，我和许多现有用户一直期待 Apple TV 4K 能增加音频透传功能。这将允许我更昂贵、性能更强的音视频接收器（AVR）来解码原始音频流，而不是让 Apple TV 使用其“连续音频连接”（Continuous Audio Connection），后者有时会导致一些播放问题。

Additionally, it would have been nice to see Apple support 120fps output, especially for those who use Moonlight to stream games to it. That’s a feature that would have set the Apple TV 4K apart from all the other streamers, which top out at 60fps, and helped to justify the high price. Apple could have also used it to pivot more into TV gaming. (For movies, though, the 60fps limit is not a huge deal, as the box can be set to output 24fps, allowing a native 120Hz TV to just use 5:5 pulldown.)

此外，如果苹果能支持 120fps 输出就更好了，特别是对于那些使用 Moonlight 将游戏串流到设备上的用户来说。这一功能将使 Apple TV 4K 与其他最高仅支持 60fps 的流媒体设备区分开来，并有助于证明其高昂价格的合理性。苹果本可以利用这一点更多地转向电视游戏领域。（不过对于电影来说，60fps 的限制并不是什么大问题，因为机顶盒可以设置为输出 24fps，让原生 120Hz 的电视使用 5:5 下拉转换即可。）

Other premium features that would set Apple’s streaming box apart and make home theater enthusiasts throw their money at it include an HDMI input for HDMI passthrough or a digital optical out. I understand leaving them out if it meant raising the price further. This box is already expensive enough. But it does leave the Apple TV 4K in an uncomfortable spot, pairing a high-end price with features that are largely matched elsewhere for much less.

其他能让苹果这款流媒体机顶盒脱颖而出并吸引家庭影院发烧友慷慨解囊的高端功能，还包括用于 HDMI 透传的 HDMI 输入接口或数字光纤输出接口。我理解如果加入这些功能会导致价格进一步上涨，但这款设备已经够贵了。这让 Apple TV 4K 处于一个尴尬的境地：它有着高端的价格，但其功能在其他更便宜的设备上大多也能实现。

Are these high-end omissions a concern for the majority of people? Not really. But those people are going to look at the $300 price tag of the Apple TV 4K and then at Google, Roku, or Amazon streaming devices, which are all half that price or less. The Apple TV 4K is looked at as the premium streamer option, but the now extra premium price without some of the, admittedly niche, features gives me pause.

对于大多数人来说，这些高端功能的缺失是个问题吗？其实不然。但这些人会看着 Apple TV 4K 300 美元的标价，再看看谷歌、Roku 或亚马逊的流媒体设备，后者的价格只有它的一半甚至更低。Apple TV 4K 一直被视为高端流媒体选择，但如今在价格大幅上涨的同时，却缺少了一些虽然小众但关键的功能，这让我不得不犹豫。

Maybe the new Apple TV 4K will surprise me. I’ve certainly been looking forward to it for a while. I already appreciate the way Apple handles privacy, and if Apple adds features in coming months, maybe it could be worth it. But that $300 price? It might be better spent elsewhere in your home theater setup.

也许新款 Apple TV 4K 会给我带来惊喜。我确实期待它很久了。我一直很欣赏苹果处理隐私的方式，如果苹果在未来几个月内增加更多功能，它或许物有所值。但那 300 美元的价格？或许把它花在家庭影院的其他设备上会更好。