Mobile firmware for Apple TV of the second and third generations up to version 6.0, which introduced very useful feature, allowing owners of small black boxes to radically simplify the procedure for its initial setup. And today a company from Cupertino published a description of this opportunity in its knowledge base.
So, with the help new feature You can automatically copy your network settings, your Apple ID account information used for iTunes/App Store purchases, and regional and language settings to your Apple TV. However, not all Apple devices support it.
This is due not so much to software limitations as to the lack of a Bluetooth LE wireless module (also called low energy). In this connection, the function automatic settings Works only on third-generation Apple TV running firmware 6.0 or later. Also, you will need one of the following mobile gadgets with iOS 7 “on board”:
- iPhone 4S or later;
- iPad 3rd generation or later;
- iPad mini;
- iPod touch 5G;
- Please note that iPhone 4 and iPad 2 not supported.
The automatic configuration process itself occurs in several sequential and fairly simple steps. To get started, you need to connect to the TV, turn on both devices and wait until the set-top box displays the welcome screen:
Unlock your mobile gadget and make sure that it is connected to the Wi-Fi network on which the Apple TV you are setting up will work. The Bluetooth module on your smartphone or tablet must also be turned on.
Lightly touch your iOS device to your Apple TV and wait until the following screen appears:
- Do you remember your account password or will you have to enter it manually every time?
- send the settings to the set-top box (no iDevice parameters will change)?
If you answered yes to the second question, all you have to do is wait for the configuration and activation process to complete successfully. After this, the small black box will be completely ready for use.
Before this feature is implemented initial setup set-top box was a rather tedious task, especially if the user did not have a Bluetooth keyboard at hand. He had to type all the information one letter at a time using the remote control. remote control, included with Apple TV.
To start using Apple TV 4th generation (2015), you need to follow a few simple steps. A few simple steps that won't take much time.
What you will need:
Apple TV 4th generation with internal storage capacity or GB;
complete power cable;
personal wired or wireless connection to the Internet - use of public networks is not allowed;
TV, monitor or other display with an interface HDMI connections;
An HDMI/HDMI cable that is not included with the set-top box - an accessory of the required length must be purchased separately.
Connection to power source and internet
Connect the power cord that came with your Apple TV to your set-top box and plug it into an outlet.
If you're going to use a wired Internet connection, connect your personal router to your Apple TV using your Ethernet cable.
If you want to use a wireless connection, you can configure it later.
Connecting to a screen
Connect Apple TV to your screen (TV, monitor, etc.) using an HDMI cable.
If you're using an HDMI receiver or breakout box, connect your Apple TV with a cable to it, and then another cable to your TV, monitor, or other screen.
Initial setup of Apple TV
Step 1: Turn on the display you connected your Apple TV to. If the Apple TV setup screen doesn't appear automatically, use Display Settings to set your picture source to HDMI output, to which the Apple TV is connected.
Step 2: Connect the Siri Remote with one tap on its touchpad.
Step 3: Use swipe gestures on the remote's touchpad to select your preferred language, country, and region. If you select incorrect settings, go back using the Menu button.
Step 4: You can continue setting up using your iPhone or iPad, or directly from the set-top box using the remote control. The first option is preferable, since you must enter passwords and other data on touch screen convenient.
« Configure by device»:
Make sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on on your iPhone or iPad. Connect to Apple TV and follow the onscreen instructions.
This way you can transfer it to a TV set-top box Wi-Fi settings, Apple ID and other settings from your mobile device.
« Configure manually»:
To manually set up Apple TV 4th generation, you need to enter your details yourself Wi-Fi networks, login and password Apple ID.
In progress manual settings set-top box, it will go through an activation procedure, which may take several minutes.
Step 5: Define your sharing options for location services, screen savers, and statistics. And complete the setup by following the on-screen instructions.
Apple TV is a universal set-top box from Apple, on the basis of which you can create a home multimedia center by connecting several high-tech devices into one network. As a result, you can access a huge amount of media content right on your TV screen.
In addition, with Apple TV, you can connect your tablet to your TV (we're talking about an iPad), work with iTunes, watch live sports broadcasts - in general, enjoy all the modern entertainment options. Of course, you can just set up Wi-Fi on your TV, but then you won't have access to the content available in iTunes.
Connection
The connection between Apple TV and TV is made only using an HDMI cable, which must be purchased separately.
If the TV does not have an HDMI interface, you will not be able to connect the gadget.
In addition, you will need an Ethernet cable, which connects Apple TV to the router, but you can get by with a wireless connection. 
All that remains is to connect the interfaces on the set-top box and the TV using wires and turn on the power for both devices. We figured out how to connect Apple TV. All that remains is to configure the device correctly to gain access to all its functions.
Settings
Starting with iOS 7, Apple devices have a convenient function for setting up Apple TV. Simply put, you can set up the set-top box right from your iPhone. To do this, you don’t even have to connect your smartphone to the TV – you just need to connect to Apple TV via Bluetooth.
Attention! At the time of setup, both Apple TV and iPhone must be connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
Bring your mobile device to the set-top box at a distance of 3 to 5 meters. The screen should prompt you to enter your Apple ID. 
Provide the required information to start auto-tuning. Allow Apple TV to send diagnostic data to the server. Next, the console will do everything on its own, you just need to wait a little.
If it is not possible to set up Apple TV via iPhone or iPad, you can enter the necessary information manually.
After connecting the set-top box for the first time, you will be asked to select a language and enter your Wi-Fi password, if you have one. Here you will also need to provide your iTunes login credentials. 
Once you have finished entering the required information, you will have access to all the functions of the set-top box. Now you can download multimedia content and play it directly on your TV screen.
More and more users are interested in questions about how to properly connect Apple TV to a TV and configure the set-top box. Although in reality it turns out to be not so difficult to synchronize these two devices. The products of the American company Apple are convenient and intuitive. user interfaces, which allow you to quickly connect and configure equipment. These characteristics also apply to Apple TV.
This is a universal gadget from the Apple corporation that expands the capabilities of the TV. With it you can:
- create home multimedia center by connecting all the available gadgets of this company to one network;
- use all the features of the iTunes media player developed by Apple;
- access high-quality video content from your TV screen with high resolution, which is located on special resources;
- access music tracks, trailers, video games, podcasts;
- watch online sports broadcasts;
- display information from your gadgets and devices running on the Mac OS and Windows operating systems on the TV screen.
Today, four generations of multimedia player are available to usersApple TV. In the first generation, the device was produced with an adapted operating system Mac OS X Tige. Starting from the second version, the device runs on the iOS OS.
Owners of second and third generation consoles can play content only in streaming mode. The fact is that these devices are not equipped with a capacious storage device. The Apple A5 processor and 8 GB of flash memory can only be used as intermediate storage for streaming data. But thanks to this, the capabilities of Apple TV are quite good - the player allows you to play videos from the iTunes multimedia collection with HD and Full HD resolution and multi-channel sound without delays. Latest version The device already has 32 and 64 GB of internal memory, depending on the model. In addition, the fourth generation Apple TV has access to applications fromApp Store and support for interactive voice control (Siri).
An Apple TV media player connected to a TV with a built-in Wi-Fi adapter makes it possible to expand Smart functionality.
To have access to the multimedia library of your iPhone, tablet or PC via your TV screen, just install on them software and synchronize with TV. Control is carried out through the remote control included with Apple TV or through gadgets running on iOS 7.
How to connect the set-top box to the TV
To plugApple TVcan only be connected to a TV that has a connector forHDMI-cable orWi— Fi . In the absence of such capabilities, it will not be possible to connect the set-top box to the TV. To have access to all the features of the gadget, it is best to use wired connection. If connected via Wi-Fi, the user will not have the iTunes function.
To connect you will need:
- set with Apple TV device;
- TV with HDMI connector;
- HDMI cable (sold separately);
- personal Internet connection (router).
Using an HDMI cable, the Apple TV set-top box is connected to the TV. If the connection to the router will be made throughEthernet-cable, then it is also inserted into the devices. This completes the connection stage. Now all that remains is to configure the equipment.
Apple TV setup instructions
- The power of the set-top box and TV is turned on. If the wired connection has been made correctly, settings window new equipment.
- The Apple TV remote control is connected. To do this, just click on touchpad (simulating a mouse click).
- Through the connected control panel it is possible to initial setup: language, region are installed, activated if necessary Siri function(in the fourth generation set-top box), enter the password for Wi-Fi.
- Once connected to the Internet, you can activate your Accounts on services such as iTunes.
This completes connecting the Apple TV device to the TV and setting up the equipment. Now the user can download and view multimedia content from their devices and through available services right on the TV screen. Fans of Apple products may also need information on how to connect an iPhone or iPad to a TV - all gadgets are quite easily synchronized with the TV. You can also easily watch videos from your phone on big screen, you just need to know how to output video from iPhone to TV.
The Apple TV 3 (3rd generation) network media player is an excellent multimedia gadget that provides the user with rich functionality and excellent performance when working with online applications. This device, often simply called a prefix, has not received widespread distribution in Russia and the CIS countries. Many people are simply not familiar with the characteristics and capabilities of the console, and we are ready to fill this annoying gap.
A full review of Apple TV 3, a description of all parameters and operating features should expand your understanding of the promising media player. In order to realize the maximum potential of the set-top box, you will need an Internet connection. Don’t forget about this; without access to the network, the point of using a media player is lost. We have already given a brief introduction to... Now let's take a closer look at all functionality branded console.
Contents of delivery
Apple TV 3 is sold in a small box inside which contains the media player itself, a special remote control, a power cable, and several leaflets (device description, user manual).
High-quality wear-resistant plastic is used to produce the case. The console has fairly compact dimensions: 10×10×2.5 centimeters. There is a glossy corporate logo on the top panel. The ends of the console are glossy, while top panel completely matte. The front panel contains a signal receiver from the remote control and a status indicator.
Apple TV 3 connects to your TV using an HDMI connection. As an addition, the media player has an “Optical Audio” port, with which you can output sound to digital quality. There are no analog connectors on the set-top box. In addition to the ports already listed, there is a microUSB connector on the rear panel, network interface(100 Mbit/s), as well as a connector for connecting the power cable.
The bottom of the media player is made of rubber, so there are no problems with stability and slipping. The ergonomic remote control includes the minimum number of necessary buttons, which are completely sufficient for comfortable control of the device. Let's continue our review of Apple TV 3 and look at the hardware features of the console.
Hardware Features
The device is capable of playing video in 1080p Full HD resolution without any problems. No brakes were noticed. Detailed specifications the following:
- volume random access memory 512 MB
- built-in flash memory 8 GB
- dual-core Apple A5 processor (one core disabled)
- PowerVR SGX 543MP2 graphics chip
- Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11n
- supported codecs MPEG4, H.264
- formats AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, AAC, WAV, AC3
Although the A5 processor has one core disabled in hardware, its performance is fully sufficient for high-quality Full HD video playback and for working with applications. Apple TV 3 uses a radio module based on the Broadcom BCM4330 chip. Its operating frequency is 2.4 or 5 GHz. Maximum speed up to 300 Mbit/s. The radio module does not directly affect the speed of the set-top box, but it is very important when broadcasting video over Wi-Fi.
The third generation console model is available with iOS versions 5.1 (some models with iOS version 5.2). Let's continue the review of Apple TV 3 and find out the features of connecting the set-top box to the TV and its subsequent configuration.
Connecting to a TV and setting up
Connecting to the TV will not take much time. You require hdmi cable, with which you need to connect the corresponding connectors on the TV and set-top box. The presence of an HDMI port on your TV is a prerequisite for connection.
The settings menu includes six items. The “Basic” tab allows you to get information about the model, firmware, connecting new remote controls, network and others important points Apple TV 3 operation. The Screen Saver tab is used to configure options for displaying photos while playing music or when the set-top box is in standby mode. The user can configure the settings of the iTunes Store brand, and can also specify the maximum quality of the video being played and the location.
In the “Audio and Video” section, hardware settings of the set-top box are made, such as resolution, Dolby Digital format, sound effects and others. The next section is responsible for setting up the AirPlay technology. This technology allows you to transfer video or audio information from supported iOS devices to your TV. In the last paragraph, you can enable support for “Home Collection”. Using this technology, you can connect multiple devices to share access to your iTunes library.
Multimedia capabilities
In terms of functionality, the media player is aimed at those users who already own Apple products. For those who want to get from regular TV analogue of Smart TV, it is more reasonable to pay attention to. Our further review of Apple TV 3 will focus on getting to know the functionality of the console.
One of the main ideas of using a media player is convenient viewing of videos and music from the iTunes brand store. The set-top box has a high-quality, full-fledged showcase of popular films and music. Its design is completely adjustable to the size of your TV screen. The user has the opportunity to buy films for repeated viewing, or rent them for one-time viewing for two days.
The new iTunes Radio service allows you to listen to your favorite songs on high quality. Considering the possibility digital connection home theater consoles, this service is very useful. Apple TV 3 supports the ability to play music files from your iTunes library on your computer, provided that the latter is connected to the same wireless network. Support for the YouTube service will appeal to users from Russia and the CIS; there is also access to less popular video services.
AirPlay technology allows you to broadcast content from mobile phones in real time. Apple devices on the TV screen. It works flawlessly, there are no problems with video freezing during broadcasting. Thus, it becomes clear the direction in which this media player can be comfortably used and the circle of people for whom it will be interesting.
conclusions
A review of Apple TV 3 showed that the main audience of the device are owners of other Apple gadgets. If you don’t mind paying 60-90 rubles to watch a movie in excellent quality or buying a film for “eternal” access for 150-350 rubles, then this prefix It will suit you perfectly. The ideal symbiosis of Apple TV 3 with devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Mac will suit many advanced users.
Problems
