The Apple TV has been around for several years and continues to gain popularity among its users, with a wide range of applications and functions, which aim to win over users with home entertainment. Today we are going to see the striking uses of Apple TV.
Mirror your iPhone with AirPlay
Have you ever been watching something on your iPhone or iPad and wanted to show it to everyone on your TV? We've all done this with photos and videos.
One of the benefits of Apple TV is mirroring your phone with AirPlay. You can use AirPlay to transmit or share content from other products Apple on your Apple TV, AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV, or on your Mac computer. Whether you're casting videos from your iOS device screen, streaming movies, streaming YouTube videos, or sharing your photos, you can send the image or the video directly to your big screen TV.
The connection is seamless and requires no configuration. All you have to do is be on the same Wi-Fi network.
Screensaver with Apple TV
Apple includes some beautiful screensavers with tvOS that revolve around one of four themes which are: Landscape, Earth, Underwater and Cityscape. You can change how long it takes to appear, what topics you see, and how often the TV checks for new ones on Settings > General > Screen saver.
You can activate these screensavers manually from the home screen.
- If you have a remote control Second generation Siri (with the «<» button back), activate by pressing and holding the «<» button to return to the home screen, and then touching the «<» button again.
- In a First generation Siri Remote or earlier, long press “Menu” to return to the home screen, and then press Menu again to activate it. Check out all the Apple TV screen savers on Benjamin Mayo's blog.
Turn your Apple TV into a second screen
If your office primarily uses Apple devices, you may be interested in Apple TV's conference room display mode, which can be activated in Settings > AirPlay and HomeKit.
Once you've enabled it, you can set a custom message and background photo to match your branding or decor. Apple TV will display information to make it easy for anyone watching the TV to quickly connect via AirPlay, including the connected network and the name of the Apple TV.
This makes Apple TV ideal for environments where quickly sharing a screen or displaying photos and videos is beneficial.
Play arcade video games
You can play some Apple TV games with your remote, but for the best experience, pair a controller with your Apple TV using Bluetooth. Compatible controllers include Sony DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers, Microsoft Xbox One and Xbox Series controllers, and Made for iPhone (MFi) controls specially designed like the SteelSeries Nimbus.
In addition to gaming, this allows you to control your Apple TV interface with your controller as if it were a standard remote. Many Apple Arcade games are designed with controller support, and most are available on Apple TV, as well as iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
You can also go to the App Store on your Apple TV to find a list of indie games to purchase or download "Play with a controller". Remember that the older your Apple TV is, the more likely you are to have performance issues.
Stream video files locally or remotely
You don't just have to stream movies from dedicated streaming apps like Netflix, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video. Your Apple TV is quite capable of streaming video files locally, which is where VLC comes in. for Apple TV. You can grab this app from the App Store and use it to play video files locally and remotely.
This works with a remote playback feature that allows you to send files to your Apple TV over Wi-Fi using a browser. Once you launch the app and navigate to the remote playback screen, you'll see a web address that you can visit on your computer, then drag and drop any file you want to play.
These files will not stay forever and your Apple TV will reclaim any space it needs at a later date from VLC. The more space you have available on your Apple TV, the larger the file you can send. However, most file types should work, including HEVC files. MKV containers may present a problem on some models.
You can also stream files locally using the Computers app once you've set up media sharing on your Mac in System Settings > General > Sharing by turning on "Media Sharing." There is also support for UPnP/DLNA streaming using VLC and Plex (to name just a few) which can access any media server running on local Windows, Mac or Linux computers (or even a NAS drive).
Pair a HomePod, HomePod mini, or stereo pair
You can pair your Apple TV with a HomePod, HomePod mini, or a pair of the same type of speakers to output audio from streaming apps (both video and music) and games. This works best with an original HomePod, which Apple has since discontinued. A pair of original HomePod speakers can output Dolby Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound wirelessly using your Apple TV, while the HomePod mini speakers can make stereo sound (2.1).
To pair your HomePod with an Apple TV, launch the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and assign your Apple TV and HomePod (or pair) to the same room. The next time you turn on your Apple TV, you should see a prompt to complete the process. Alternatively, head to Settings > Video & Audio > Audio Output and choose the speaker or pair you want.
HomePod mini pairs, a single HomePod, or a single HomePod mini can't output Dolby Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, but they probably sound better than your TV's built-in speaker. You also can't mix and match device families, you need two of the same speakers (HomePod or HomePod mini) for a stereo pair.