The Apple TV Crash Course (2015)

Part Two: The Apple TV Crash Course

The Apple TV Interface

So now that you understand the controls, and you have the device update to the most updated software, you are at last ready to use the device.

Let’s jump back to the main menu, and get a little bit more familiar with it.

There are two main parts to the home screen: the header and the icons:

As you can see from the screenshot above, the header is the section Apple uses to promote the latest content. It’s here where you’ll see new shows and movies available for purchase.

The header also changes depending on what icon you are on. If you move it over to TV, it will be the latest TV shows; music will be the latest music.

If you want to find out more about any of the advertised content, just hover over it and press the select button. The same is true of the icons. Pressing select on TV, movies or music will open a store dedicated to that icon.

The best thing to do is to consider each icon as an application—kind of like the apps on your phone. As of this writing, Apple TV has over 50 so called apps. The first five, which make up the first row, are the only ones that cannot be moved around. They are as follows:

· Movies – This is where you’ll go to rent and watch movies; if you own digital copies of movies (you can get those by redeeming vouchers that come in many blu-rays) this is where those would be as well.

· TV Shows – This is where all the latest TV shows will be available to rent or purchase; from here you can also buy a season pass to a TV show—which means you pay for every show in advance and they become available to watch as the show airs. Usually you can get a discounted price by purchasing shows this way.

· Music –This is where you’ll go to play music you’ve already purchased through iTunes.

· Computers – This is where you’ll find content stored on your ‘Home Sharing’ enabled computers. Home sharing will be talked about in greater linked later, but for now just know that this is how you can connect devices to the Apple TV

· Settings – This is where all of the changeable settings for your Apple TV are located.

Once you’re within any of these applications, pressing the menu button will take you one step back. Pressing and holding the menu button for a few seconds will take you back to the home screen.

So that’s the interface, but before getting to comfortable, let’s leave Apple TV and talk about iTunes.