Yesterday I provided a hands-on look at the Apple TV’s new YouTube features. In today’s iPodBlog we’ll cover what the rest of the Apple TV 1.1 update provides.
Parental Controls You can configure your Apple TV to allow, restrict, or bar access to YouTube content. Just navigate to Settings/Parental Controls, enter and confirm a four-digit password to access the Parental Controls screen, and you’ll find a YouTube option. Here you can choose On, Off, or Ask. On, obviously means that anyone can watch YouTube content; when you choose Off, the YouTube option disappears from the Apple TV’s main screen (you can bring it back by once again accessing Parental Controls and choosing On or Ask); and Ask forces anyone who wishes to view YouTube content to enter the Parental Controls password.
Expanded screen saver With the 1.1 update you no longer lose the stock Apple photos that are bundled with the Apple TV when you sync photos of your own. (Actually, you never “lose” the photos, it’s just that in version 1.0 of the software you couldn’t access those photos when you added your own photos. They would return if you removed your photos from the Apple TV.) When you choose either the Photos or Slideshow command in the Screen Saver screen, you can choose your library, an album you’ve added, or Apple’s photos.
Slideshow? Right, the 1.1 update adds a new way to view photos when the screen saver kicks in. In addition to the cool drifting-up-and-flipping-every-so-often display, you can now choose a slideshow that acts very much like iPhoto’s slideshows—complete with Ken Burns effects.
Photos gain respect Those who wanted to view their photos on the Apple TV were slightly bummed when they learned that photos took last priority when syncing content to the Apple TV. In the past, when you chose to sync movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, and photos to the Apple TV, the device would prioritize content in that order. If there was no room for photos, they weren’t synced. The latest update lets you choose to sync photos ahead of other content.
You’ll find the option for changing photo syncing priority in iTunes’ Photos tab for the Apple TV.
Browsing other iTunes Stores Want a preview of the top 10 tracks at iTunes Stores in other countries? You can view such a preview by going to Settings/iTunes Store and selecting another Store. When you then check out the iTunes Top Songs entry in the Music screen you’ll be able to take in a 30 second preview of that Store’s top music tracks or music videos. Note that Stores outside of the U.S. don’t yet offer movies and TV shows, so entries for iTunes Top Movies and iTunes Top TV Episodes don’t appear when you choose a country other than the United States.
Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more details.