Issues With Watching Apple TV on Macbook.

I downloaded Apple TV to my iPhone on Sunday, and still don't know how to stream it.

Apparently, Apple TV is only available on iPhones and iPads, and iPad Touch. Try as I might, I cannot get it on either my iMac or MacBook Air even though Apple offer AppleTV+ for free on new devices for a limited time.

According to their Website, I see this:

I'm sorry that I'm unable to help resolve your problem. I only wish that Apple would explain why they limit it's availability to just those devices.

That is a screenshot from the app store, for IOS. The app would also be preinstalled on those devices. In order to have the app on Mac you would need to be updated to Catalina, and it comes built in.

I suspect you may find the following link helpful Apple TV on a Mac .

My updating to Catalina is just not going to happen in the forseeable future, but thanks anyway.

Was there a particular reason? That would be the only way to have the app on a Mac, but you could still access Apple TV + using the web by going to tv.apple.com

Yes, there was a reason. Apple TV + is free for one year on all new equipment purchases which would have Catalina pre-installed. If I wanted to trial it, I'd get it for 1 week, after which it costs £9.99 a month in the UK: $9.99 a month in the USA (£6.67 at current exchange rates). A massive disparity there, methinks.

I have the basic AppleTV app on my iPhone, but I haven't, as yet, found out how to stream from the phone to my TV set which doesn't seem to be compatible with Apple's system. In other words, Apple are being very particular as to what equipment is good enough. My Toshiba will be 6 years old on the 29th of January. By Apple's way of doing things, that would render it obsolete, just like the iPhone 5s that no-one wants.

Once you claim the free year it is available on all devices that have access to the TV app. If you already have it on your phone then you would simply upgrade to Catalina and have access to that same subscription via the app. You can also access it on the web using tv.apple.com.

Those conditions are for the initial offer, as it is tied to the new device purchase and that activation can only be done on the new device. It does not mean that you need all devices to be new in order to access the subscription.

In order to stream it to your TV you would need a smart TV that is compatible with the app, or airplay, or to get a compatible streaming device (Apple TV 3rd gen or later, Roku, Firestick). See list below. It wouldn't be Apple that is determining your TV as anything, that is based on the manufacturer.

Apple TV app - Devices - Apple (CA)

My niece suggested Firestick which have been selling quite cheaply on Facebooks foras little as £10 rising to £50. Some few months ago, Apple TV boxes were all the rage...for getting rid of. They were 2nd and 3rd generation sets, though.

As stated, I'm reticent to update to Catalina as it could spoil any apps that I depend on. It was bad enough when I updated to Mojave last year. That put paid to all of my Nikon photo editing software which is 32 bit, and I don't see Nikon getting in the groove with updating to 64 bit any time soon.

My TV is a smart TV and one day last November, I was streaming something to it from my MacBook Air via an HDMI adaptor from the Thunderbolt socket. The MBA display showed a black line top and bottom of the screen to match the 16:9 format of the TV screen. Odd, I thought. When disconnected, the MBA display reverted to normal.

Firestick would be an option for sure, just make sure it is one of the models listed from the link I posted above. I wouldn't advise getting a 2nd gen Apple TV as that is 9 year old hardware, obsolete, and would not have access to the TV app. The 3rd gen is still being supported and has access to a server version of the TV app, as that model does not run native apps. So if you did find one on the used market it is your choice as to whether you consider it.

Completely understandable about wanting to avoid losing app compatibility, though of the few that I had I found alternatives quite easily so you may want to look into that so that you can then upgrade the OS. In the meantime, as I said you can use the website to access the service.

Yes, I wasn't debating that yours was a smart TV but that it would need to be compatible with the app. Smart TV platforms are notorious for short lifespans, Samsung for example has the TV app but chose to leave out models sold earlier than 2018.