Entertain Yourself from the Couch - iConnected: Use AirPlay, iCloud, Apps, and More to Bring Your Apple Devices Together - page 84

1. From your Apple TV's Home screen, select Computers.
2. Select the iTunes library you want to access, if there's more than one available.
3. Select from the list of available content such as Music, Movies, TV Shows, and Podcasts.
4. Select the media you want to play.
TIP: When playing music or podcasts via your Apple TV to your stereo system, you need the TV
on to see what you're selecting, whether from the Remote app or the physical remote that comes with
the Apple TV. But once your music or podcast is playing through the stereo, you can turn off the TV.
That will also cause the Apple TV to stop playing. However, all you need to do is press the Play/Pause
button ( ) to have the audio resume, even though the TV screen is off. Of course, if you're using
the TV's speakers to play the audio, you need to leave the TV turned on.
Use the iTunes Store on an Apple TV
As well as accessing content on your computer via an Apple TV, you can purchase and rent
movies and TV shows in both high definition (HD) and standard definition from the iTunes Store
right from your TV — no computer required. You can even add items to a wish list so you can quickly
find them in the future. Alternatively, for TV shows, you can purchase a season pass that provides the
latest episode of a particular show when it has aired on broadcast or cable TV.
Each video on the Apple TV includes a preview as well as additional information such as reviews
from Rotten Tomatoes and from iTunes customers.
TIP: The Apple TV lets you get content from more than the iTunes Store and your computer's
iTunes library. It also supports YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Internet-based “radio stations,” several
sports networks, and — if you're a subscriber — Netflix and Hulu Plus. You'll see buttons on the
Apple TV's Home screen for all these content sources.
Change the default video resolution on an Apple TV
The second-generation (late 2010) Apple TV model by default shows 720p HD content to rent or
buy via the Apple TV but you can change this setting to access SD (standard definition) content,
which downloads faster and usually looks just fine on smaller TVs. The third-generation (early 2012)
Apple TV model by default shows 1080p HD content, which you can change to either 720p HD or SD,
both of which take less time to download at the price of reduced resolution. (The first-generation
Apple TV only shows SD video.) There's also no reason to download HD versions of movies and TV
shows if you're not watching them on an HDTV. To change the default quality setting:
1. Navigate to the Settings button on the Apple TV's Home screen and select it.
2. Select iTunes Store in the list that appears.
3. Select Video Resolution in the list that appears; each time you select this option, the Apple
TV cycles to the next available option: 1080p HD, 720p HD, and SD on a third-generation
Apple TV and 720p HD and SD on a second-generation Apple TV.
Rent or buy movies and TV shows on an Apple TV
Renting is an easy way to watch a movie without buying it and taking up the space on your com-
puter to save it. It's like renting a movie from your local video store but with far less effort. Rentals
are charged to your iTunes Store account and must be viewed within 30 days of renting. Once you