Apple TV update brings smarter HDR and sports alerts

The Apple TV just received a major update that could make it far more appealing if you have an HDR-capable set or crave constant sports action. The newly released tvOS 11.2 update adds an optional setting that matches the dynamic color range of a video on the Apple TV 4K, rather than always running with HDR on as it has in the past. If you don't want to risk messing with a classic movie's colors, you can watch it as intended without having to compromise quality elsewhere. There's also an option to match the frame rate of a video (say, the typical 24FPS of a movie), although Apple notes that many TVs can do this by themselves.

Both the Apple TV 4K and its 2015 predecessor are also considerably more useful for sports, at least in the US. The TV app now offers optional live scores and time remaining for multiple games aired on ESPN, and gets the option of sending alerts for particularly close games. If a match is coming down to the wire, you can switch to it from whatever you're doing. There's appropriately a new sports tab in the TV app with categories prioritized by active seasons. While you'll likely want a subscription to one or more live services to take advantage of all the sports features, this is still going to be helpful if you can't bear to be left in the dark when your favorite team is playing.