I can’t seem to get that to work. They all seem to connect on the devices screen but one of the devices disconnects on the ride screen.
Do I need to forget the Apple Remote even though it shows as not connected?
Is an M1 MacBook Pro a significant upgrade to using an Apple TV 4K? The Apple TV works perfectly fine for me, but I wonder if my MBP would be worth using? Seems I read past threads here that Zwift doesn’t really optimize for M1s?
Higher frame rate and resolution. Should also be significantly better graphics (features, shadows, lighting and reflections) but it’s been broken for yonks and looks no better than Apple TV.
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Until the older AppleTV devices stop getting TVOS updates, I don’t see Zwift allowing one version of AppleTV have a better graphics profile than another version of AppleTV. Once an older version of AppleTV no longer gets TVOS updates from Apple, Zwift can sunset support for it, and make it not capable of running Zwift. Then, Zwift could enable a different graphics profiles for AppleTV devices.
It’s often hard enough for the causal user to know which model AppleTV they have. To the casual user, it’s just AppleTV.
So, to simplify support, Zwift will make all AppleTV versions use the same graphics profile.
That’s my take on it, as an AppleTV Zwift user.
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The user doesn’t need to know any better. If they don’t know the difference or care what the latest hardware is, they can be happy with what they have. For Zwift it’s as simple as a different profile for that model of TV. The software could easily detect what model the user has and load the appropriate profile.
On the other hand, I don’t know of any apps that improves graphics for newer models of TV. Maybe there is a limitation with the OS?
My point about the causal user knowing what model AppleTV they have is that {if} Zwift were to have different graphics profiles for different models of AppleTV, one question Zwift support would have to ask a customer is “what model AppleTV do you have?”
By having only one graphics profile for AppleTV, regardless of how new, that eliminates that question, and simplifies support.
By that rationale, PCs should have one graphic profile setting to make it easier for support.
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- Smaller, lighter and cheaper.
- Ethernet port only on higher capacity model.
- USB-C charging port on zapper.
- Same render resolution (1080p) and frame rate (30fps) in Zwift as existing Apple TV 4K models.
- Same graphics profile as Apple TV HD* (at present - should be fixed soon).
- Same Bluetooth connection limitation.
*HD and 4K both get Basic profile, but the HD model has a subvariety without object shadows.
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So they already have two profiles, one for HD, one for 4K? So, why not add a third profile for 4K (3rd gen), maybe with activated rider shadows?!?
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Basic is the lowest profile; that includes object shadows. I assume they made a subvariety to accommodate the Apple TV HD (4th gen) because it’s a great deal less capable than the 4K models and struggles even with the lower visuals. Whether this customisation will happen again in the opposite direction is unclear.
The next official step up is Medium profile, which gets rider shadows. This can be done at 1080p and 60fps with a lowly GT 1030, which hugely improves the experience.
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I run it in Ultra Setting (1440p) on an MBP M1. So the details are the same as on ATV, but only the image is sharper? Oh my. I just saw that is still is an Intel app running in Rosetta 2. This is ridiculous.
I ask because I think about switching to an ATV.
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Correct. It’s meant to be High profile on M1 which has vastly more detail and features, but you’re only getting access to the associated resolution setting at present (and the frame rate is higher/uncapped). Your profile is Basic, same as Apple TV and every phone, tablet and almost all regular laptops.
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This is a very useful point to make note of.
At UK prices the 128GB+ethernet model costs £20 more, which is annoying given that even the lower 64GB model has vastly more storage space than will ever be required for a dedicated Zwift device.
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I wire up my ATV for races, but honestly I don’t notice any difference from when I am running Wifi. Not to say there aren’t differences, but it doesn’t seem to make a noticeable difference from a good wifi connection. (Problem is I think most people probably have slow wifi.)
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DC Rainmaker posted an update about the new TV in the link below.
Zwift has already been working since the release of the latest edition Apple TV to get it fully supported. It sounds like things are going well there, and they’re aiming to have initial support for it in the next Zwift update (assuming no last minute snags). It also sounds like this might be a multi-phased approach to getting some quick hit wins immediately, and then starting to take advantage of the hardware more deeply in following updates.
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I just installed the new Apple TV4K (128 GB) version. I had been using the 1st generation Apple TV 4K (2017). I tried this new setup with a different cycling platform (that doesn’t limit the frame rate), and the performance of the new system is much improved. On the “high” setting, I was (2017 version), getting around 10 FPS, for reference. With the new 4k 2022 system, I now see about 35-40 FPS on high, and closer to 55-60 FPS on medium setting (which seems to be equivalent to what Zwift produces with Apple TV in terms of rendering). Additionally, the high setting now seems to produce more scenery and effects.
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Zwift’s marketing shows the apple TV getting rider shadows… isn’t that false advertising? I’ve also noticed that when they show an iPad in their adverts it is also showing rider shadows. Are those shadows only on the ultra profile?
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Yeah, they’ve always done it. There are even shadows on the preview for the game on the App store. 
Rider shadows are on Medium profile upwards. The marketing materials always use Ultra.
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Yeah, they are probably just using a PC connected to the TV to get the higher quality. You can also see that they are using an Ant+ simulator based off of their power graph 
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