Did you just purchase or receive a new Apple TV unit? That little box from Apple has a lot of bells and whistles that may not be apparent at first glance. If you were used to the old cable remote before trying out this new Apple TV Siri remote, you are in for some pleasant surprises. Here are 12 tips and tricks to get the best out of your Apple TV once you have finished setting it up.
The search features in your new Apple TV are a thing of beauty. Not only does it make it easy to do basic searches but you can use voice to order in some complex queries as well.
“Show me comedy movies from the Nineties” will use Siri’s knowledge of movie genres and show you the appropriate titles
If you are a fan of endless YouTube Music playlists, use the voice search feature and start with “Search YouTube for.”
Like watching documentaries? Narrow the search by using “Find documentaries about Bitcoin.”
#2: Use Siri on Apple TV to Auto Rewind
When you are watching a program and missed some of the dialog just pick up your remote and say “What Did He Say?” This command automatically rewinds and turn on the captions temporarily. You can also use voice commands such as “Rewind x minutes” to go back and catch up on the content if you had to step out for a while.
You can also use it to skip through content as well.
#3: Have an Amazon Prime account? Use it on your Apple TV
Amazon Video content is now available on your Apple TV. If you have a prime account on Amazon, you can watch Prime movies and TV Shows for free using your Apple TV. Amazon Prime video on Apple TV is now available in over 100 countries.
You can download the Amazon Prime video app on your Apple TV and get started. This feature was made available on Dec 7th. The App also supports universal search feature, so when you search for a title, the Amazon content will also be available in the search results on your Apple TV.
#4: Explore 4K Content Easily on Your New Apple TV
If you own the Apple TV 4K, you can now take advantage of all the 4K content made available by Apple. iTunes now offers hundreds of 4K HDR titles at the same price as HD titles, and which are automatically upgraded to 4K HDR if customers already own them in HD. You can try out all the “Transformers” movies and even all the “Harry Potter” movies in 4K using your Apple TV.
#5: Live Sports Ready Apple TV
Using the new dedicated Sports tab in the Apple TV app, fans can see the teams, leagues and sporting events currently playing or coming up soon, along with the time remaining and current scores.
A good app to getting started with Sports on your Apple TV is the ESPN app.
The app gives you up-to-the-minute scores and the latest news, live video and audio streaming across ESPN’s networks, and loads of video highlights. Sign in and personalize the ESPN App to get alerts about scores and news from all of your favorite teams and leagues!
#6: Games on Apple TV For the Party
There are many games out there that you can play using your Apple TV. For console lovers, Geometry Wars is a great classic arcade game to check out. You can also check out Lumino City, Oceanhorn and Alto’s adventure for other console-based titles.
If you are looking for a gaming experience on your Apple TV to be fun for a party or a group of folks, you can start by exploring the gaming titles made available by Jackbox. They have some of the best games. These are iOS-based games, but you can use Airplay and Apple TV to get it going.
#7: Dark Mode, Light Mode and Auto-Mode on your Apple TV
You can select from the various display options on your Apple TV. You can either manually turn on the modes or try using the new Auto-mode feature. The auto mode feature determines the local times for sunrise and sunset and auto adjusts your Apple TV display.
Start by going into Settings on your Apple TV. Select General and then choose Appearance. Choose ‘Automatic’ as the option here. You can also select the Dark or light modes here if you want to control the display manually.
If you do choose Automatic, you will need to activate the location services so that the TV can determine your time zone.
At any time during the TV operation, you can also use Siri to help you switch between the different display modes. “Change to Dark Mode” command will turn it immediately. This particular command is helpful especially when you are watching movies during the night.
#8: Installing iOS Apps on Apple TV
Many apps made for the iPhone and iPad also have an Apple TV version. You easily install these companion apps on your Apple TV. The best way to get a handle on this is to enable auto-install on your new Apple TV. When you purchase and download a new app on your iPhone, Your Apple TV gets automatically updated, if there is a companion TV app.
To setup auto install, start with the Settings on your Apple TV. Go to the Apps section. Make sure to turn on ‘Automatically Update Apps’ and ‘Automatically Install Apps’ here. Enter your Apple id credentials and press OK.
#9: Instantly Access Your Apple TV Screensavers
Apple TV provides you options to set up screensavers on your unit. You can choose regular screensavers or the vibrant aerial screensavers on your unit.
At any time while watching TV, if you want to set up the screensaver, tap on the Menu button twice in quick succession, and it instantly calls up the screensaver. The unit doesn’t even need to be in a period of inactivity to get the screensaver going.
#10: How to Restart Apple TV using the Remote
With every electronic device today that supports streaming, you are sometimes required to restart the unit. Restarting your Apple TV is easy, and you won’t even have to get up from your Sofa!
Press and hold the Menu and Home buttons at the same time and wait for the light on the front of the device to begin flashing. Your Apple TV will automatically restart.
#11: Watching TV Alone, Take advantage of your Airpods
You can connect any of your Bluetooth headphones to Apple TV using the Apple TV Settings. If you own a pair of Airpods, the experience is magical. The Airpods automatically pair with your Apple TV if your Apple TV is running the latest tvOS11. You don’t have to fiddle with any of the settings!
If you are planning on using a different headset, start by exploring your Apple TV settings. Click on Remotes and Devices in Settings and then choose Bluetooth. Select your units here and pair them with your Apple TV.
#12: Taking advantage of your own Digital Content on Apple TV
If you have a lot of movies already on your Computer/Mac and want to take advantage of this content on your Apple TV, there are two apps that you can explore. These are Plex and Infuse. VLC is another app in this category that is worth a mention. VLC can work with almost every media codec out there.
Finally, if you just received the Apple TV as a gift during the holidays and are mildly thinking about starting on a health and fitness regime with the arrival of the New Year, you are in luck!
7 Min workout
Fitness Apps for the New Year!
There are many fitness apps that you can choose from to help you achieve your goals. Here are a few that you can explore for yourself. The first one is for folks that are busy and need detailed video instructions in less than 10 minutes or so. The App ‘7 Minutes and under’ will help you get going with your fitness goals. The other popular ones out there are the Daily Burn, Beachbody on Demand and Yoga Studio.
We hope that you found some of these tips helpful! It’s time to get going on your new Apple TV. Sit back, relax, dim the lights and watch a 4K Movie or get fit by trying out a new 7-minute fitness buster. Your call.
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