Finally broke down and got an Apple TV after my fire stick annoyed me for the last time. What are some cool features that may not be apparent right away? Anything that improves the qol on the device at all?
Btw i loved slim cases/covers available for apple tv remote feels so premium that you will buy a case for it
Thanks! :)
Come on now. Anyone can Google this. Hes wanting a conversation and to hear real user inputs on things they use.
IMO the BEST feature of the Apple TV is the Wireless Audio Sync in the Audio settings. I have my Apple TV setup to synchronize all Music, Movies, and TV shows throughout each of my Apple devices.
- Living Room TV with my Samsung Soundbar
- Bedroom M1 MacBook Air with an external AU and 2X KRK R5’s
- Restroom HomePod Mini
And I can also control everything from my iPhone of course!
Ironically I use this feature so my neighbors won’t have to listen to my music because I can keep the volume at a normal level but hear it all over the house.
This works with non apple speakers? Just connect with Bluetooth?
Unfortunately no, my Samsung Soundbar is connected to my AppleTV.
Wish there was a way to play on the Samsung soundbar without the tv on. I don’t really like my 77” oled on just to pass through music to the soundbar.
Does your TV have a ‘display off’ feature? Found one on mine and this lets the tv be ‘on’ but you’re not sucking tons of power for the display.
There is a setting for eARC (Audio Return Channel) passthrough in the ATV. Then with a box like this you can have the separate audio output without the TV.
https://feintech.eu/en/products/feintech-vax04101-hdmi-earc-pass-switch-4x1-for-soundbar.
There are lots of other eARC passthrough boxes that will do more or less the same thing. This one from Feintech has worked really well for my setup.I use eARC to output the sound from my PS5 to my HomePod minis
You can get audio from two pair of AirPods/Beats simultaneously.
In other words, two people can listen at the same time using their own Airpods or Beats.
Useful for late night viewing or anytime two people want to watch quietly.
https://support.apple.com/guide/airpods/share-audio-on-apple-tv-4k-dev28f39a9e7/web
to add to that, new feature in tvOS17 is you’re able to also play spatial audio with atmos/multichannel with two sets of airpods as well :)
Got ourselves airpod pros and the apple tv exactly for that feature prior to our baby being born. And that is so amazing 😍
This blew my mind. Thank you so much for the tip!
Something I learned on this sub: you can swipe on the remote to change the wallpaper.
And lightly touch the center button (not a full press or click) to show a description of what the screensaver is showing. It even changes as the screensaver is progressing.
2 biggest new features for me: 1) Locating the remote by using your phone as the remote and then pressing find to open up a remote detector. 2) using your phone as the continuity camera and FaceTiming on the tv.
Tell me more about the FaceTime. How do I use the phone exactly? And link it to the tv?
Just open up the FaceTime app on your ATV and it will give you prompts to connect your phone and how to orient it. Once it’s connected, you just use the remote to manage calls
Thank you very much. Appreciate the help
Just to add, this is only available on the 2nd and 3rd generation 4K models.
Actually, FaceTime on Apple TV is exclusive to the 3rd generation 4K model only.
Not according to Apple: https://support.apple.com/guide/tv/use-facetime-atvb3cced7cd/tvos
Yeah I’ve used it personally in my 2nd gen. It’s a cool feature, but that damn continuity prompt when your phones near a MacBook is insanely obnoxious. I have to keep it off until my kid needs to FaceTime the grandparents
This post taught me so much. Well worth the read. Thanks everyone!
I’m thinking of buying an Apple TV as well specifically for the reason to pinch zoom. The feature where you double tap on the remote and the video fills the screen, like on a tablet or phone. I know I’m cutting out parts of the frame, but I really like my screen being filled 🙂
Does this feature work in tvOS17 in every app? Meaning, AppleTV, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube Movies, HBO, etc?
I’d really-really appreciate an answer, as where I live (Greece), there aren’t official Apple stores where you can go and test these things.
Thanks!
No, this is not a feature I’ve ever encountered
I find new stuff everyday and did here, thanks.
If you need to quickly power cycle, hold the back and computer buttons simultaneously until the light on the atv blinks really fast, then let go.
This is necessarily “cool” but, to me, necessary if you want the best/most accurate picture throughout apps:
Your instinct will be to accept the highest quality setting the Apple TV gives you, like 4K HDR, for example. Don’t! That will default everything to 4K HDR, even if the content is SDR. 4K SDR and match content and frame rate ON is generally accepted as the best way to mostly ensure you get SDR when you should and HDR when you should (so long as the app itself supports auto-switching.) if it doesn’t support, you can always do a one-off manual toggle.
This is really bad advice. It should be set to HDR or Dolby Vision. The screensavers will only play in SDR otherwise and the HDR ones are SO much nicer. SDR content will switch either way match content turned on
on most TVs having HDR always on means having all the UI washed out
You realize you’re going against the majority of the experts out there who test and review televisions full time? Ok 👏🏻 You may have a different preference, but the advice is not bad. Do you have sources for your non-bad advice? I’m willing to hear you out.
BL0812’s post is actually right. Setting the TV to 4K SDR and matching frame rate and content will give you the best/most accurate picture quality across all sources. Since most sources aren’t native 4K HDR or Dolby Vision, setting the tv to 4K HDR/DV will try to trick the tv into displaying the source in DV which will make the picture look very dark/dull and sometimes even washed out because the source can’t display the image how ATV is telling it to.
Setting the tv to 4k SDR with matching frame rate and content will allow sources that DO support HDR or DV natively to display at the best quality possible, but won’t force other content to display this way if its not supported by the source.I know it sounds backwards, but give it a try and you will see a world of difference.
How can you determine which apps support auto switching?
Best feature of an Apple TV is that it’s not an Amazon or google device.
This. The UI is exactly like it should be on all streaming devices, app focused, no confusing menus or multi-step processes, easy to navigate, simple to use, and no ads.
Completely agree with both of you. I am not an Apple fanboy, but you cannot buy a better streaming box from anyone else. The Chinese Miboxes are pretty decent for the price, but they run android OS and some have ads.
Under the Accessibility menu, I found that you can set up a shortcut that turns closed captioning on and off by pressing the Back button on the remote 3 times. I’m not sure if all apps support this feature, but it works well with Hulu, for example.
A hidden feature is the gaming through Apple Arcade. Your Xbox controllers are compatible with Apple TV.
Calibrating the tv colors with an iPhone X (I believe) or later. Most tvs are pretty good out of the box these days, but I’ve noticed slight improvement after running the calibration.