Apple TV 4th Generation with Siri Remote User's Guide: Your Media Tips & Tricks Manual (6 page)

You can delete an entire photostream on your Apple TV if you want to remove the stream from the Apple TV and any associated devices or subscribers who are sharing the stream.

To delete a photostream:

1. On your Apple TV, go to Photos icon on home screen.
   
2. Go into the photostream you want to delete.
   
3. Select the People option at the top of the screen.
   
4. You should see an option to “Delete Shared Stream” which you can select to delete the entire photostream.
   
5. You’ll receive a warning to let you know you’re about to delete this specific photostream from all of your devices and the devices of any subscribers you’ve linked to the stream. Make sure it’s what you want to do and then select “Delete Shared Stream.”
   

As with any electronic device, Apple TV comes with its own set of tips and tricks to keep your usability and functionality operating optimally. Here are a few that will help along the way.

Bluetooth technology is a lot of fun, and pairing devices with your Apple TV will allow you to enjoy the very ends of your entertainment means. All you have to do is sync your Bluetooth device.

The following example relates to wireless Bluetooth headphones, which are great for listening to your Apple TV without disturbing others. Here’s how to pair Bluetooth headphones to Apple TV:

1. On your Apple TV, go to Settings > Remotes & Devices > Bluetooth.
   
2. Turn on your Bluetooth headphones or headset and make sure they are in pairing mode. You may need to refer to any instructions included with them to do this.
   
3. Wait for several moments and you should see the name of the headset show up under “Other Devices.” You can now select them and begin to enjoy the wireless Bluetooth headset with your Apple TV.
   

Note: This process may work for some other Bluetooth devices, such as a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, but not all Bluetooth devices will be compatible with Apple TV.

Updating your Apple TV operating system is incredibly important to your viewing pleasure, as it ensures that programming and functionality are completely up to date for your enjoyment. Here is how to do it:

1. Select Settings > System > Software Updates.
   
2. Apple TV checks for an available update, if one is available. If so, a download message should appear.
   
3. Click Download Now to start the download process.
   
4. Never disconnect your Apple TV during the updating process. Keep in mind, Apple TV may need to restart in order to complete the process.
   

You don't have to keep the app/channel layout on your Apple TV the way it is showing up on your screen. In fact, you can rearrange the channels to match your preferences. For example, you can have the channels you watch most towards the top, and the ones you watch least towards the bottom, or you could arrange the channels in alphabetical order.

To move a channel:

1. With your Apple TV remote, hover the selection box over the channel you'd like to move.
   
2. Press and hold down on the touchpad surface on your Apple TV remote. The selected channel will begin to shake or bounce.
   
3. Use your finger to swipe the touchpad in order to move the channel left, right, up and down, until you have it in the desired spot.
   
4. Press or click on the touchpad to place the channel there. It will now stop shaking and be in its new spot.
   

Repeat this process with each channel you want to move to a new spot on your main screen.

You can also remove apps from your main screen if you find they are no longer needed. Deleting the apps is easy.

To delete an app/channel:

1. With your Apple TV remote, hover the selection box over the channel you'd like to delete.
   
2. Press and hold down on the touchpad surface on your Apple TV remote. The selected channel will begin to shake or bounce.
   
3. Press the play/pause button on your Apple TV remote. A prompt should appear on screen.
   
4. Make sure you want to delete the app in question and use your remote to select “Delete.”
   
5. The app and all of its associated data will be removed from your Apple TV.
   

You may find that the touchpad surface on your Apple TV remote is too responsive to your swipes or not responsive enough. There are three sensitivity settings you can try to make sure it is to your linking.

Here’s how to adjust the tracking sensitivity:

1. Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices.
   
2. Go to “Touch Surface Tracking” and click your remote to choose it.
   
3. Change the tracking to the desired sensitivity: Fast, Medium or Slow, based on your preference.
   
4. Press the Home button to return to your home screen.
   

If you live in a household or environment where there are multiple people who have their own iTunes accounts, you can add more than one account for use on your Apple TV. Keep in mind that a login password might be necessary whenever switching between accounts.

Here’s how to add other iTunes accounts:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > iTunes and App Store
   
2. Choose “Add New Account”
   
3. Enter the iTunes user ID or email and password associated with the new iTunes account you want to add.
   
4. Choose Done to complete the process.
   

Your newly added iTunes account is now a selection for use on Apple TV. Whenever someone needs to switch accounts, simply return to the Settings area to choose the other account. A login password may be required.

If you have kids who use your Apple TV, or simply want to make sure nobody can use the Apple TV and make purchases on your account, you can set up password protection. To do this, you’ll want to make sure you have already logged into your iTunes account on your Apple TV so you can set up password protection for it.

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > iTunes and App Store.
   
2. Go to Password Settings and choose it.
   
3. Go to “Require Password” and choose it.
   
4. Set it to the appropriate option of “Always,” “After 15 Minutes” or “Never.”
   
5. Once you have finished you can press Home button on your remote to return to main home screen.
   

Your Apple TV will now require that a user enters the iTunes password based on the specifics you set up, which may be always or 15 minutes after the most recent password entry.

Note: You can also protect against anyone downloading free apps or content by going to Settings > Accounts > iTunes and App Store and then to the “Require Password” option under “Free Downloads.”

You can set up parental control restrictions on the Apple TV if you want to prevent children in the home from accessing specific content as well as iTunes purchases, rentals or in-app purchases. Basically, you will create a special four-digit passcode which is required in order to unlock the restricted items.

To set up a passcode for restrictions:

1. Go to Settings > Restrictions.
   
2. Select “Restrictions” to turn it On.
   
3. You will be prompted to create a four-digit passcode using your Apple TV remote.
   
4. You will need to enter the same four-digit passcode a second time to confirm it. Make sure you keep this passcode in a safe place.
   
5. You can now return to the Settings > Restrictions screen to decide what you would like to “Allow” or “Restrict” using the passcode. There are many options to choose from. Make sure to scroll down on the screen and use the remote to choose any specific content settings you want the passcode to be required for.
   

Note:
Should you forget your passcode at any time, you can go to Settings > System to reset all settings including the passcode.

The “Computers” option on your main screen will allow you to access your iTunes library from your computer on the Apple TV. This gives you access to much more music including your iTunes playlists you might have set up on your computer. Keep in mind this works as long as your computer and Apple TV are both on and connected, within a reasonable proximity. (This will not work, if you are at someone else’s house where there’s an Apple TV and your laptop is at your house).

Here’s how to set up Home Sharing:

1. Make sure you are logged into iTunes on your Apple TV and the computer you want to share (You’ll need to be logged into both devices with the same iTunes account ID).
   
2. Open iTunes on your computer.
   
3. Go to File > Home Sharing on iTunes > Turn on Home Sharing for your computer.
   
4. Enter the Apple ID and password used to create your home share. (This is the same iTunes ID being used on your computer and Apple TV).
   
5. Click the “Turn on Home Sharing” button. You should see a Home Sharing screen on your iTunes now.
   
6. Click the “Done” button on your computer’s iTunes.
   

You should now see your iTunes library on screen on your Apple TV. You can now use your remote to access, play and pause songs from your iTunes library including playlists, artists, recently purchased items and more. If you do not see your iTunes library on Apple TV, try going to the Home screen and then to the Computers option to see if your computer is listed. Try the steps again and also make sure you are logged into the proper iTunes ID on both your computer and your Apple TV.

There are a variety of accessibility settings that can be adjusted to make the Apple TV experience more convenient. These include setting up Closed Captions, VoiceOver, Zoom, Bold Text, increased contrast, audio descriptions and reduced motion. You can access and adjust these options by going to your Settings > General > Accessibility and then tweaking the various settings. Most will be switched Off but you can select any of them to switch them On.

Some Accessibility settings will include a few more adjustments you can make such as the VoiceOver options to adjust Speech Rate or Use Pitch. This is definitely an area of your Settings on Apple TV to look into in order to find ways to make your use of the device more comfortable for those using it in your particular environment.